Browsing Tag

type 2

Protein and Carbs

More protein in our diet is good for us, says one of the country’s top diabetes researchers, Osama Hamdy, MD and PhD. He is the medical director of the obesity clinical program at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

But whether you are a vegetarian or not protein still presents problems.

He spoke about “Higher Levels of Protein Intake are Good” at the American Diabetes Association’s June annual meeting in San Francisco, as I previously reported here. Since then, he has posted his slides for that presentation online.

We got to know each other in San Francisco and have been in touch by email. And we just got another chance to talk about his protein concerns.

by David Mendosa

Diabetes Diet

Taste More, Eat Less

When our food tastes better, we might eat less. Maybe that doesn’t sound logical. But a new study of 2,436 overweight or obese people shows that at least some things that stimulate our sense of taste can help us to lose weight, which almost everyone with type 2 diabetes wants to do.

Alan Hirsch, MD, studied a variety of calorie-free seasonings and sweeteners that that can stimulate the sense of taste. Dr. Hirsch, the founder and neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, presented his findings at the recent annual meeting of The Endocrine Society.

The people in the study sprinkled savory or sweet crystals on their food before eating their meals during a six-month study period. While they knew that the flavors were either salty or sweet, they didn’t know anything more about them.

by David Mendosa

Diabetes Developments, Exercise For Diabetes

The Best Time to Lose Weight

Any time is a good time to lose weight if your body mass index is over 25. So I’m surprised to learn that there is a best time.

A large study that the professional journal Diabetes Care will publish in its October issue indicates that if you have diabetes, the best time to lose weight is right after your diagnosis. Even if you gain back that weight, by taking off the pounds then you have a better chance of keeping your blood glucose and blood pressure levels under reasonably good control.

The study comes from Kaiser Permanente in Oregon and Washington, one of the country’s largest health maintenance organizations with about 480,000 members. Its Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon, has taken the lead in analyzing the electronic health records of its members. This is one HMO that knows how the improved health of its members can improve the organization’s bottom line at the same time — and acts on that knowledge.
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by David Mendosa

Diabetes Developments, Diabetes Medication

Living Longer with Byetta

The diabetes drug Byetta can help us control our blood glucose and lose weight. That’s huge — and just the beginning of the story.

Full disclosure: I own 100 shares of stock in Amylin, the company that developed Byetta.

About a year ago, after the Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in Chicago, I reported here how Byetta can reduce our risk of heart attacks and strokes. These are the most common and deadly complications of diabetes.

Now a study presented at the ADA’s recent Scientific Sessions in San Francisco indicates that the reduced risk to our hearts may lead to previously unheard of benefits. Taking Byetta can lower our chance of dying compared with other diabetes drugs. The Times says that the chance of dying while taking Byetta is about 75 percent lower than on the other drugs.
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by David Mendosa

Diabetes Basics, Diabetes Developments, Diabetes Diet, Exercise For Diabetes

Looking AHEAD to Weight Loss

One of the biggest and most important diabetes trials is well underway. But so far it hasn’t received much attention. That will change

The Look AHEAD trial began in 2001 and is scheduled to conclude in 2012. In it they randomly assigned 5,145 overweight people with type 2 diabetes to either a lifestyle intervention or to enhanced diabetes support and education.

AHEAD is shorthand for Action for Health and Diabetes. We sure like catchy acronyms, don’t we!

by David Mendosa

Diabetes Complications, Exercise For Diabetes

Exercise and Peripheral Arterial Disease

Since I knew almost nothing about peripheral arterial disease (PAD), I jumped at the chance to talk with Dr. Michael Jaff a few days ago. He is the medical director of the Vascular Diagnostic Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital and a specialist in treating PAD.
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by David Mendosa

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