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Low Carb Mediterranean Diet Effective In Controlling Blood Sugar Levels

A recent research reported that low carb Mediterranean type of diet is more effective in controlling diabetes than a normal low calorie and low fat diet.

According to the researchers, a Mediterranean diet also leads to more weight loss, better control over the blood sugar levels, reduction in the risks of developing heart disease and lessen dependence upon medicines for lowering blood sugar levels. Dottore Dario Giugliano of Second University of Naples, Southern Italy, led the study which involved more than 200 men and women suffering from Type 2 diabetes. These people were provided with regular counseling by the professional nutritionists and they were asked to either follow a low carb Mediterranean diet or a low fat diet for a period of 4 years.

Results from the study showed that only 44% of the people who took Mediterranean diet still require medicine for lowering down their blood sugar levels compare to 70% for who took the low fat diet. The group who took Mediterranean diet also lose more weight, have thinner waists, and showed an increase in good cholesterol level and decrease in the harmful triglycerides.

Giugliano further explained that results of this study accentuate the significance of healthy lifestyle and how it affects people’s health. He added that it is necessary not to ignore the healthy eating habits, despite the fact that several medicines are now available for controlling blood sugar levels in diabetic patients.

Many experts believe that if people are given the choice to eat a low fat diet, a low calorie diet or a low carbohydrate Mediterranean diet, most of them will choose the latter because it is much tastier and has more variety. With the positive results from this research on controlling blood sugar levels, it is expected that many more people with diabetes will be following the diet. If you are suffering from diabetes and would like to try on the diet, it is advice that you check with qualified doctor or nutritionist before changing your diet patterns.

Bio-Transformed Blueberry Juice To Fight Against Diabetes And Obesity

International Journal of Obesity published a study which states that researchers from Canada have found a kind of blueberry juice which may help to fight against diabetes and obesity.

According to the study, the juice extracted from the North American lowbush blueberries, bio-transformed with the bacteria from the berry’s skin, proves to be a great anti-diabetic and anti-obesity agent.

The bio-transformed juices were compared to the regular blueberry drinks and their effects were tested on mice by researchers from University of Montreal, University of Moncton and Institut Armad-Frappier. Dr. Pierre Hadda, the lead author of the study and pharmacology professor in the Faculty of Medicine of the University Montreal says that the results that were derived after the study clearly indicate that the bio-transformed blueberries juice has strong potential against diabetes and obesity.

Haddad said that the bio-transformed juices decrease hyperglycemia in the mice suffering from diabetes and has the ability to protect the young mice from developing diabetes and obesity. The effects of the bio-transformed juices were tested on a mice group that was prone to insulin resistance, hypertension, diabetes and obesity. It was found that by adding bio-transformed juice into the drinking water of the mice, their food intake and also their body weight got reduced.

Bio-transforming the juice from blueberries was achieved with the help of bacteria of a new strain that is isolated from the plant of the blueberry. This is known as serratia vaccinii which, according to the researchers, increases the antioxidant effects of the fruit.

Tri Vuong another leading authors with University of Montreal said that consuming fermented blueberry juice significantly and gradually reduces high glucose levels in the bodies of the diabetic mice. He said that after 3 days consuming the juice, the glycemia levels in the mice subjects were reduced by 35%.

Saturated Fats Can Cuase Alzheimer’s Disease

Researchers from Curtin University of Technology in Perth have been studying about the scientific link between diet and Alzheimer’s disease. Now they have come up with clear explanation to why consumption of high saturated fats is more likely to cause Alzheimer’s disease. Their study is the first one to be published in British Journal of Nutrition, describing the link of saturated fats in diet and Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers found that saturated fats can damage the blood vessel lining of brain, thereby allowing inflow of a protein called amyloid. Professor John Mamo, co-author of the study and national director of the Australian Technology Network’s Centre for Metabolic Fitness said that brain consists of millions of blood vessels having a selective permeable lining to cover them, which gets damaged by high saturated fats. The lining is generally called as blood brain barrier. So when the brain blood vessel lining gets damaged it no longer regulates the flow of proteins in or out.

Amyloid, a protein that is produced in the small intestine is secreted into blood. It deposits in the brain and causes inflammation and nerve cell death. Researches in the past have confirmed that amyloid secretion is stimulated by consumption of high saturated fats. Since the blood brain barrier is damaged the deposition becomes wide spread. During the study, the researchers made tests using mouse models. They fed mice a diet of either saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats and compared them to mice which were genetically designed to develop Alzheimer’s.

Within two months the mice fed with saturated fats showed changes in blood vessel architecture and more amyloid deposits in brain. But such modifications were absent in case of mice fed with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats. The brains of saturated fat mice were similar to those of genetically modified Alzheimer diseased mice. The researchers used antibodies with a fluorescent tag to confirm that dietary fats were also inside amyloid deposits.

Based on the research, now the Alzheimer’s drug treatment can take a new dimension to improve nerve cells and repair the damaged vessels. The announcement of this link between saturated fats and Alzheimer’s disease came along the same time when a French study two genes related to Alzheimer namely CLU and PICLAM. CLU produces a protein known as clusterin. It helps to deduce the inflammation caused by amyloid deposits. Whereas, PICLAM plays vital role in inter communication between brain and nerve cells. The study co-author believes that these discoveries will be helpful in better understanding and early detection of Alzheimer disease.

Vitamins May Lower Risk Of Heart Disease, Says Study

A recent study revealed that people who consume vitamin E and multivitamin supplements daily for a period of 10 years are likely to lower the risk of death due to dangerous heart disease. Speaking about this Dr. Gaia Pocobelli and his colleagues in Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre, Seattle, Washington, wrote in their note that people who take vitamin C and vitamin E supplements seem to lower the risk of dying in a span of 5 year period while people who took vitamin C may also enjoy lower risk of demise from deadly cancer.

It is a known fact that vitamin C and E are good antioxidants that are normally thought to protect our body cells fighting against the harmful radicals. However, how the use of these vitamins in lower the risk of death is still an unsolved puzzle for the scientists. The authors also added in the report in American Journal of Epidemiology that the finding of this study clearly backup earlier studies. They stated that in many cases the decreased risks are relatively small and is mostly related to the healthy behaviors and habits of the people who take these vitamin supplements.

The research team surveyed around 77, 719 women and men in Washington. All these people where between the age of 50 and 76. 67% of the people in the group had ever taken multivitamins, 47% had ever had vitamin C and 48 % had ever had vitamin E. The survey was carried on for a period of 5 years, during this period there were around 3,577 deaths. In the group who had never used vitamin supplements, 350 people died from heart diseases while there were around 519 death cases amongst the other group that used vitamins. After a bit of adjustments made for age and gender, diet, lifestyle and medical conditions the researchers saw a slight decrease in the death risks from deadly heart diseases among the people who used multivitamins frequently.

Drilling down the vitamin usage the researchers found that people who took more than 322mg of vitamin C per day seemed to decrease the risk of death due to cancer and the other diseases within the monitored 5 year period in comparison with the non-vitamin users. The study also revealed that even people with history of heart diseases seemed to reduce the risk of deaths when they took this level of vitamin C. In the case of vitamin E supplements, men and women who took more than 215mg of vitamin E per day had decreased slightly in heart related and overall risk for death compare to non-vitamin users. The researchers saw no clear association with the intake of vitamin E and cancer death risk.

Though the report has taken the lifestyle of people into account, the authors feel that the findings or the results should be interpreted carefully because the health behaviors of people may differ. The authors added that some of the health behaviors might not have been accounted and they may tend to be common in vitamin supplement users than in people who do not use it.

Swine Flu Vaccine Trial

At the age of 16 years, Will Ross is among the first participants of the pediatric study of H1N1 vaccine which started recently at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. The UI or the University of Iowa is one of the 8 sites around the nation chosen by National Institutes of Health for testing vaccine for H1N1 virus, formerly known as swine flu. Tests have been speeded up in the race against a foreseen resurgence of swine flu that the experts believe can be more serious than what has been experienced by the country so far.

Dr. Patricia Winokur, the leader of the study said that safety data from the adult trials has been analyzed before giving any shots to the children. She added that getting data from the kids is an urgent need because they are the high-risk group.

Unlike the seasonal flu that usually attacks the elderly people, H1N1 disproportionately affects young adults and children. An advisory committee of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends all people from 6 months to 24 years of age to receive the vaccine, once it becomes available.

Winokur said that some of the vaccine is expected to be available in Mid-October but the quantity that will be available is not yet known. The trials will help in determining how the country will distribute the limited supply of the vaccine.

170 adults have already enrolled in another part of the study conducted at the University of Iowa. Winokur said that some adults reported tenderness at the site of the injection and low-grade fever, but nothing serious or unexpected was reported. Children at the University of Iowa will get 2 H1N1 vaccinations and a seasonal flu shot. It will be analyzed and determined by the researchers that when and how the H1N1 shot has to be given with the seasonal shots.

St. Louis University has been the leading site for pediatric study, with 650 young participants expected around the nation. Around 100 children from 6 months to 17 years of age are going to participate in the UI Children’s Hospital.

Ross had to miss his band practice and 2 classes to start his vaccine trial. He is planning to use the $370 he will receive for participating in the trial for a trip to Spain with classmates. Jill Ross from Iowa City, his mother said that both Will and she herself had to suffer with the flu 2 winters ago for a whole week. She hopes that Will and his brother, 13 years old Paul who is also participating, will get protection from the illness.

The WHO reported that last week, more than 2185 people from around the world died due to H1N1 novel influenza A, including 522 alone in US. The average age of these people was 38 years.