Today over 26 million Americans (8 percent of the population) have diabetes. Estimates indicate that another 7 million Americans may be unaware they have the disease. In 2007, the Center for Disease Control characterized the rise in Type 2 diabetes an epidemic - it is still characterized as such.
Diabetes is currently the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. and new global research indicates that diabetes can shorten a person’s life expectancy by six years. In comparison, smoking is estimated to shorten a person’s life by 10 years.
For some time, researchers have been aware of the toll diabetes takes on one’s heart - high blood sugar can damage blood vessels and nerves leading to heart disease and a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. But according to the research published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March 2011, new studies that examined medical information from over 820,000 people in Europe and North America indicate that diabetes can cause a wide range of other medical conditions. Over the 13 ½ years the participants were followed, more than 123,000 participants died; most of the participants had Type 2 diabetes.
According to the study, the participants with diabetes were two times as likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than those without diabetes. They also had increased death rates from infections, pneumonia, lung and kidney disease and falls. They were 25 percent more likely to die from breast cancer and their risk was doubled for liver cancer. It was also noted that diabetics had a greater tendency to suffer from depression and commit suicide.
Researchers have not yet determined why diabetes has the above effects, but researchers do recommend cancer screenings for those with diabetes and emphasize the need to treat and prevent diabetes.
The symptoms of diabetes may be rather nonspecific and diagnosis may take a while. With Type 1 diabetics, the initial presentation of the disease may be rather rapid with significant illness. Many new onset diabetics present to the emergency department after a few days of a flu-like illness, including nausea, vomiting, and severe dehydration. Their blood sugar may be up over 1000 mg/dl, with normal being 100 mg/dl. This is an emergency situation that requires rehydration, control of sugars, and infusion of electrolytes while hospitalized. Left untreated, this patient can die.
Type 2 diabetics usually have a presentation that is slow and may be monitored over a few years. The usual Type 2 diabetic symptoms may include increased thirst, increased urination, weight loss, fatigue, poor healing wounds, and visual changes. Fasting blood glucose levels are usually over 110 mg/dl. Many times, weight loss will cure the problem. With more severe cases, a variety of oral medications can be taken to address the problem. There are a few cases that require both oral medications and shots of insulin.
According to new research, caffeinated and non-caffeinated coffee can help prevent the most deadly form of prostate cancer. The results from Harvard University’s research are pretty impressive. Researchers followed 50,000 men for 20 years. Of those numbers, 5,000 men got prostate cancer and over 600 got the most deadly form of it. What the researchers found is that the men who drank the most coffee were most likely to get the deadly form of prostate cancer — their risk was 60% less than men who didn’t drink coffee. Men who drank at least 6 cups of coffee daily had a 60% risk reduction; those who drank 3 cups had a 30% reduction.
Researchers also noted that they saw the same results whether the coffee was caffeinated or decaffeinated. Thus, caffeine is not the beneficial ingredient. Other research has shown that coffee can help prevent Parkinsons’ Disease, diabetes and liver disease. Coffee is an anti-oxidant that can help lower insulin levels.
Of note, the study also found that weekly exercise (walking 2-3 times a week was sufficient) also reduced the risk of dying from prostate cancer — by 50%.
If you were to ask your friends whether they were “night owls” or “early birds” you might just find that women and men answer differently. New research in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” shows that men and women tend to have different circadian rhythms. Specifically, women tend to have “faster clocks.” That means women tend to be early risers.
Every one of us has a unique circadian rhythm - think of it as your own internal biological clock. This “clock” has an effect on your sleeping and eating patterns; it is also associated with cycles of brain wave activity, hormone production and other biological activities.
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital placed subjects into a windowless sleep lab for eight weeks. This was done because the environment around you also plays a role on your circadian rhythm - specifically the amount of light or dark. By placing the research subjects in these windowless rooms, each person’s natural circadian rhythm became evident. On average, women’s clocks were six minutes shorter. It may not seem like much, but those minutes add up. Some women had a daily cycle that was less than 24 hours.
According to the researchers, if you have a shorter clock, you need to block out light that can interfere with your sleep. If your cycle is longer than 24 hours, you need to be certain early morning light streams in to get you going in the morning.
Many women probably aren’t getting enough sleep -that may, in fact, be fighting their own inner clock.
So why does all this matter? Well, sleep plays an important role in your health. The role between sleep and your immune system is complicated. Prolonged sleep deprivation can compromise your immune system’s ability to fight off illness, but losing a little sleep here and there may actually be beneficial. When you are ill, however, it’s a common response to sleep for extended periods. Research has found that non-REM sleep tends to increase when you’re ill.
When you are asleep:
- Your body works to repair itself, producing extra protein molecules that are important to fighting infection.
- You give your cardiovascular system a much-needed break from stress and inflammation.
- Your brain takes the day’s events and organizes them - this leads to clearer thinking in the morning.
- Your body is regulating the hormones that affect your appetite. Research shows that those who are sleep-deprived can have hormonal imbalances that cause them to eat calorie-rich fats and carbohydrates. This can lead to obesity.
- You help your body better process glucose, thus reducing your risk for diabetes type 2.
Sleeping like eating, drinking and exercising - you need it to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
The microbes in your guts help you digest food and synthesize vitamins — playing an important role in your health. Now researchers have discovered that people have three distinct ecosystems within their guts. So far, researchers have not been able to find a link between the three enterotypes (gut ecosystems) and ethnicity, weight, health, sex or age. So why does one person have a specific enterotype? Researchers will continue to look for the answer.
Why does a person’s gut type matter? Well, think of blood types. Today, many treatments are dependent upon your blood type. In the future, one’s enterotype may play a role in dietary recommendations or prescriptions. Enterotypes may even alter our use of antibiotics — if researchers discover means of restoring good gut bacteria, rather than eliminating the disease-causing bacteria (as antibiotics commonly do).
Read the entire article in Nature magazine, or a synposis of the findings from the New York Times.
Noroviruses - which can lead to diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting - are highly contagious. Thus outbreaks typically occur in crowded environments such as resorts, daycare facilities, hospitals, cruise ships or nursing homes. The infection can be spread by close contact with an infected person - who may or may not have symptoms - or via food or drink that has been contaminated by an infected person or animal.
Most people infected with norovirus become ill within 24 to 48 hours and recover within three days after becoming ill. However, in some cases infected persons may suffer from more severe diarrhea and vomiting, and may be sick up to five or six days. In such cases it is very impotant that the person drink plenty of fluids in order to remain hydrated. Remember that sodas, sugary drinks and caffeinated beverages do not help a person hydrate and can, in fact, lead to more frequent urination that contributes to dehydration.
Follow Us
