Cancer cells consume and use nutrients differently than their healthy counterparts. Cells need to generate energy to keep living, but cancer cells have an increased demand for energy in order to grow and multiply quickly, specifically glucose.

90 years ago, German physiologist and physician Otto Warburg knew that normal cells use oxygen to turn food into energy through a process called oxidative phosphorylation. But cancer cells preferred to fuel growth through glycolysis, a process that involves consuming and breaking down glucose for energy.

The phenomenon was coined “the Warburg effect,” the foundation for the field of cancer metabolism and earned Warburg the Nobel Prize in 1931. the Warburg effect occurs in virtually all cancers. Lactate is the end-product of the Warburg effect.

The Warburg effect is also observed in other diseases, including sepsis, autoimmune diseases, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and aging.

We have heard a lot about the harmful effects of refined grains on our health. Interestingly, recent research seems to point in a different direction, exonerating them from the label they have held for so long. Are refined grains not so bad after all? What are the facts? In this article, we will take a closer look at why refined grains seem to have been unfairly vilified.

1. Refined grain consumption and your health

Have you been avoiding refined grains such as white bread and pasta? Do you feel bad when you do eat them? Apparently, there’s no evidence to show that refined grains are “bad” for you. Conversely, there is evidence that shows that whole grains are good for you. Somehow along the way, the message has been mixed up – putting a slice of white bread or a dish of white pasta in the same category as pie and piece of cake.

The dietary recommendation has been to make half of your grains whole grains. This does not mean “avoid all refined grains”. They too can fit into your diet.

Contrary to previous research findings, refined grain consumption is not associated with any of the adverse health effects it has been linked to, such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. This is according to a new study from the Healthy Lifestyles Research Center at Arizona State University (ASU) published in Advances in Nutrition. The researchers note that what counts is the number of consumed calories, not so much their source.

Analyses of existing research – including 32 publications with data from 24 distinct cohorts – showed that refined grains are not linked to increased disease risk or premature death. The study highlights that the current dietary recommendation to reduce refined grain consumption conflicts with the substantial body of published scientific evidence.

Professor Glenn Gaesser, Ph.D., Director of the Healthy Lifestyles Research Center at ASU“Simply put, refined grains are not the bad guy,” says study author, Professor Glenn Gaesser, Ph.D., Director of the Healthy Lifestyles Research Center at ASU. “Contrary to popular belief and current dietary guidance, refined grain intake is not associated with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, cancer or death.”

Gaesser theorizes that refined grains have developed a guilt-by-association reputation. He explains that while refined grains are frequently characterized as unhealthy, this can be attributed to their inclusion in a dietary pattern that contains a range of foods that are the real culprits in the link between an unhealthy dietary pattern and an increased risk of a number of chronic diseases.

What were the results of the study?

• No association was observed between refined grain intake and cardiovascular disease or coronary heart disease.
• No association was found between refined grain intake and stroke risk. In fact, one study demonstrated a 10 percent lower reduction of stroke risk.
• No association was found between refined grain intake and risk of Type 2 diabetes.
• Cancer studies are limited. Nonetheless, one meta-analysis shows an inverse association between refined grain intake and total cancer deaths. A second meta-analysis shows that refined grain intake was not associated with the risk of rectal or colorectal cancer.
• Five out of six studies show no relationship between refined grain intake and death rate. The other study shows a statistically significant inverse association between refined grain intake and all-cause death rate.
• Three systematic reviews show no consistent relationship between refined grain intake and body mass index (BMI).

2. Is there a link between refined grains and obesity?

The demonization of refined grains has deterred people from consuming them, opting for whole grains instead. Whole grains are higher in calories but touted as more nutritionally-rich.

In reality, the association between refined grain consumption and obesity is murky, with no clear relationship. Weight gain is essentially a result of consuming more calories than you burn. It’s the number of calories that matters most, not so much the type of calories. In studies that do indicate that refined grains are associated with increased risk of weight gain, the association is “inconsequentially small.” Randomized dietary interventions of whole grains and refined grains compared head-to-head reveal no differences between the two.

Both refined grains and whole grains are important in people’s diets. Whole grains are important for health since they provide fiber and essential vitamins. Enriched/refined grains provide fiber too, and 39 percent of the dietary fiber Americans eat comes from refined grains. “As a population, US consumers still fall far short of reaching their daily goals for fiber.

It is important to note that eliminating enriched grain products will result in nutrient shortfalls. Refined grain foods that have been enriched and/or fortified help to alleviate shortfalls including B-vitamins, folic acid, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, and iron.

A good example is that enriched grains are the largest contributor of folic acid in the American diet. This is key to preventing neural tube birth defects.

3. So, what should you eat?

To reduce disease risk and balanced nutrition, the DGA dietary recommends you eat:

• A variety of vegetables from all of the subgroups—dark green, red and orange, legumes (beans and peas), starchy, and other
• Fruits, especially whole fruits
• Grains, at least half of which are whole grains
• Fat-free or low-fat dairy, including milk, yogurt, cheese, and/or fortified soy beverages
• A variety of protein foods, including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes (beans and peas), and nuts, seeds, and soy products
• Oils

4. What is the future for refined grains?

Future research efforts must distinguish between staple grain foods, such as cereals, bread and pasta and indulgent grain foods, such as cakes, cookies, and donuts, according to Gaesser. Most of the studies included in the current paper did not make such distinctions, so it’s impossible to know whether the results would be different if refined grains were categorized separately as a staple or indulgent grain foods.

It is possible that the risk of chronic diseases would be different for the consumption of staple grain foods as compared to the consumption of indulgent grain foods. Randomized-comparison trials are needed to better differentiate the health effects of whole grain and refined grain foods. Most published studies have been too short and do not include enough outcome measures to draw definitive conclusions.

As currently stands, the results of randomized-comparison trials show no consistent benefits of whole-grain foods over refined grain foods. These findings are at odds with the results of large-scale observational studies, which show a clear superiority of whole grains over refined grains. This is a paradox that needs to be resolved,” Gaesser concludes.

References

1. Nutritioninsight (2019): Let us eat cake? Refined grains “falsely” linked to obesity and chronic disease risk. Retrieved from https://www.nutritioninsight.com/news/let-us-eat-cake-refined-grains-falsely-linked-to-obesity-and-chronic-disease-risk.html

2. Rust Nutrition (2019): Refined Grains Redefined. Retrieved from https://rustnutrition.com/blog/2019/07/03/refined-grains-redefined/

3. NCBI (2019): Perspective: Refined Grains and Health: Genuine Risk, or Guilt by Association? Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6520038/

4. Baking Business.com (2019): Study disputes negative health claims surrounding refined grains. Retrieved from https://www.bakingbusiness.com/articles/48376-study-disputes-negative-health-claims-surrounding-refined-grains

The very mention of a ketogenic diet can throw some physicians into a tailspin. As physicians, we are taught about diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening medical emergency. We are not routinely taught about nutritional ketosis, the default human state of existence.

Our brain requires either glucose or ketones as a primary fuel source. Ketones are a vital evolutionary advantage, since we have only about 24 hours storage capacity for glucose or glycogen (500g total), but a nearly unlimited supply of ketones converted from fat. As a species we would have all died out, but for the ability to survive in nutritional ketosis.

Diabetic ketoacidosis occurs when diabetics with no insulin production (usually Type I diabetics, or late-stage insulin-dependent Type II) enter cellular starvation despite high circulating glucose. Without insulin, they can’t get glucose into their cells and start to have organ failure with a drop in pH. They then enter into starvation recovery mode and generate ketones out of fat and proteins. By the time ketone levels approach 15 to 25 mm, the resulting pH imbalance leads to profound metabolic derangement.

Nutritional ketosis does not have a metabolic derangement, because the feedback loop of insulin clears the bloodstream of excessive circulating glucose, and the ketones being produced are used for energy or exhaled. Nutritional ketosis maintains beta-hydroxybutyrate levels between about 0.5 and 3.0 mM, far less than the levels required to cause acid-base abnormalities. Longterm, keto-adaption the brain shifts from being primarily dependent on glucose, to being primarily dependent on beta-hydroxybutyrate.

Of all the chronic diseases currently known to mankind, diabetes is the most common. The onset of diabetes starts years before it becomes full-blown and starts affecting one’s health. How can you know if you are on the path to being a full-blown diabetic? What can you do to arrest and reverse this process? In this article, we will discuss both the signs to look out for and the remedies.

1. What Is Prediabetes?

Prediabetes is a “pre-diagnosis” of diabetes—a warning sign of sorts. It happens when your blood glucose level (blood sugar level) is higher than normal but not high enough to be considered diabetes.

Prediabetes is an indication that you could develop type 2 diabetes (T2D) if you don’t make some immediate and lasting lifestyle changes.

During the prediabetes phase, your pancreas still produces enough insulin in response to ingested carbohydrates. The insulin is less effective at removing the sugar from the bloodstream, though, so your blood sugar remains high. This condition is called insulin resistance.

2. What are the indications that you might have it?

Diabetes develops very gradually, it could take up to several years. It follows that when you’re in the prediabetes stage, you may not have any symptoms at all. You may, however, notice that:

• you’re hungrier than normal
• you’re losing weight, despite eating more
• you’re thirstier than normal
• you have to go to the bathroom more frequently
• you’re more tired than usual

All of these symptoms are typically associated with diabetes, so if you’re in the early stages of diabetes, you may notice them.

3. Understanding the risk factors that could lead to prediabetes…

It is not very clear what exactly causes the insulin process to go askew in some people. There are several risk factors, though, that make it more likely that you’ll develop pre-diabetes. These are the same risk factors related to the development of type 2 diabetes:

• Weight: Being overweight (have a body mass index—a BMI—of higher than 25), increases your risk for developing prediabetes. This is especially true if you carry a lot of extra weight in your abdomen. The extra fat cells can cause your body to become more insulin resistant.
• Being inactive: This often goes hand-in-hand with being overweight. If you aren’t physically active, you’re more likely to develop prediabetes.
• Having a close family member with type 2 diabetes: Prediabetes has a hereditary factor. If someone in your close family has (or had) it, you are more likely to develop it.
• Race/ethnicity: Certain ethnic groups are more likely to develop prediabetes, including African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans.
• Age: The older you are, the more at risk you are for developing prediabetes. At age 45, your risk starts to rise, and after age 65, your risk increases exponentially.
• Gestational diabetes: If you developed diabetes while you were pregnant, that increases your risk of developing prediabetes later on.
• Other health problems: High blood pressure (hypertension) and high cholesterol (the “bad” LDL cholesterol) increase your risk of getting type 2 diabetes.
• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) also raises the risk of prediabetes because it’s related to insulin resistance.

• Hypothyroidism(low thyroid function; not enough circulating thyroid hormone), and you have prediabetes, then your risk of developing T2D more than doubles in comparison to individuals with normal thyroid function.

4. How then can you know for sure?

You should visit your doctor who may want to test your blood glucose levels if you’re overweight (have a body mass index—BMI—of over 25) and if you have one or more of the risk factors listed above.

If your fasting blood test indicates that you have prediabetes, your doctor may want to do an A1C blood test. On the other hand, your doctor may skip the fasting blood sugar test and go straight to the A1C blood test, which provides information about your average blood sugar levels over a 3 month period. These results are stated as a percentage:

• Normal = below 5.7%
• Prediabetes = between 5.7% and 6.4%
• Diabetes = 6.5% or higher.

It is advisable to start testing your blood glucose levels every three years beginning when you’re 45, even if you are not overweight and do not have any of the risk factors. That will ensure you catch any anomaly at an early stage as the risk of developing prediabetes (and therefore type 2 diabetes) increases with age.

5. What then if you have prediabetes?

Serious lifestyle changes are effective in preventing type 2 diabetes after you’ve been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Your doctor will give you advice on what you need to do, but here are some additional things you can do on your own…….

• Assess Your Food Choices:  Get a healthy food plan is to assure that you are controlling your blood glucose level by keeping it in a healthy, normal range. A registered dietitian (RD) or certified diabetes educator (CDE) can assist you in creating a meal plan. It should reflect your preferred foods and be contain foods that are good-for-your-blood-glucose-level. Your meal plan should be adjusted to be comfortable and satisfying to you, taking into account your overall health, physical activity, and what you like to eat.
• Exercise regularly:  During exercise, your body burns up more glucose, thus lowering your blood glucose level. Also when you exercise, your body doesn’t need as much insulin to transport the glucose; your body becomes less insulin resistant. Since your body isn’t using insulin well when you have prediabetes, lower insulin resistance is a very good thing.
  It is recommended that you do at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week—that’s 30 minutes five days a week. You can get that through activities such as walking, bike riding, or swimming.
• Lose weight. If you are overweight, losing just 7 percent of your starting weight can help delay or prevent diabetes. That means if you weigh 200 pounds, losing 14 pounds can make a difference. Weight loss also helps lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

• Metformin: Medication might be recommended for people who are at very high risk of developing type 2 diabetes after being diagnosed with prediabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, metformin should be the only medication used to prevent T2D. It works by keeping the liver from making more glucose when you don’t need it, thereby keeping your blood glucose level in a better range.

6. Some good news….…

If you have prediabetes, you should know you are definitely not alone. In 2015, it was estimated that 84.1 million Americans age 18 and older suffered from this condition. That is a whopping 1 in 3 Americans!

Being prediabetic doesn’t mean you will certainly develop diabetes. It is, however, a warning of what could lie ahead. People with prediabetes have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes as opposed to someone with normal blood sugar levels.

Those chances increase if you don’t make any healthy changes to your diet or activity habits.

It is not all bleak though…. “It can be reversed and you can stop the progression to diabetes. You can take control of your health by making the right choices and actively monitoring your blood sugar to ensure you do not slip into a prediabetic state or develop into a full diabetic.

References:

1. Healthline (2018): Understanding Borderline Diabetes: Signs, Symptoms, and More. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/diabetes/borderline-diabetes-know-the-signs

2. Endocrineweb (2008): Prediabetes- How to prevent prediabetes from becoming type 2 diabetes. Retrieved from https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/pre-diabetes/pre-diabetes
3. WebMD: Prediabetes (Borderline Diabetes). Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/type-2-diabetes-guide/what-is-prediabetes#1
4. org(2019): Prediabetes. Retrieved from https://familydoctor.org/condition/prediabetes/

We have been looking at metabolic inflammation and its role in the development of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Does overnutrition contribute to metabolic inflammation? How?

1. Some background on overnutrition….

It is estimated that by 2020, two-thirds of the global burden of the disease will be due to chronic non-communicable diseases, most of which are associated with diet. While hunger is a tremendous global health concern that cannot be minimized, overnutrition should similarly be given concentrated attention. Malnutrition affects up-to 1 billion people. Even though undernutrition is the main cause of malnutrition, people who are overweight could also be malnourished.

The “double burden of malnutrition” is a term coined by the World Health Organization (WHO) to describe a situation which is characterized by “the coexistence of undernutrition along with overweight and obesity, or diet-related non-communicable diseases, within individuals, households and populations, and across the life course. Globally, the problem is not the availability of food resources, but the allocation and consumption of food.

1. What is overnutrition?

Overnutrition is defined as the overconsumption of nutrients and food to the point at which health is adversely affected. Overnutrition can develop into obesity, which increases the risk of serious health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, and type-2 diabetes.

Until recently, overnutrition had been viewed as a problem that only affected developed nations. However, this has been reviewed to affect most populations. The prevalence of obesity is increasing in developing countries with the introduction of fast food and refined sugars.

While once considered the disease of the rich, low-income groups in richer countries are also being affected by this condition.

2. What is overnutrition induced inflammation?

Inflammation is a biological response launched by the immune system against dangerous assaults that threaten the integrity and normal physiology of an organism. Chronic nutrient overload causes an increase in adipose irregularities in that, if adipose tissue expandability is low, there will be an increased presence of thickened tissue. This condition would lead to a pro-inflammatory state that can trigger insulin resistance, the release of macrophage chemoattractant proteins, and in chronic inflammation, even the death of the thickened adipose tissue itself. This creates cyclic an action that extends the insulin resistance to all adipose tissue.

An important characteristic of overnutrition-induced diseases is chronic low-grade inflammation caused by nutritional excess. Overnutrition-induced inflammation is thought to occur in the brain and thus plays an extensive and steering role in overnutrition-induced diseases.

3. Overnutrition and the metabolic syndrome

The metabolic syndrome is a constellation of metabolic risk factors including high cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, insulin resistance, and elevated serum glucose, a pro-inflammatory state, and a prothrombotic state.

Most persons with metabolic syndrome are obese and usually have abdominal obesity. Generally, obesity is a reflection of overnutrition. A current view is that when adipose tissue fails to store all excess nutrients as triglyceride, lipid begins to accumulate in various tissues (eg, muscle, liver, pancreas, and heart). The foundation of the metabolic syndrome thus appears to be overnutrition, that is, more nutrient intake than can be safely disposed of by lipid oxidation.

When obesity is present, adipose tissue becomes inflamed. This inflammation may result in a pro-inflammatory state, which could contribute to both ASCVD and diabetes.

4. What is carbohydrate overnutrition?

Most evidence supports the concept that fatty acids represent the final common pathway to tissue nutrient overload. Less attention has been given to the possible negative effects of excessive intake of carbohydrates.

Chronic overstimulation of insulin secretion induced by dietary carbohydrates could have the following adverse effects:

• The β-cell function may be impaired by chronic glucotoxicity
• Carbohydrate-induced hyperinsulinemia may suppress muscle insulin sensitivity.

Furthermore, high-carbohydrate intakes can prompt lipogenesis in the liver; fatty acids produced in this way can feed into the final common pathway of ectopic lipid accumulation. There is thus a need to look further into the role of carbohydrate overnutrition in the development of the metabolic syndrome.

5. What factors Contribute to Overnutrition?

Obesity in the United States has reached startling heights. The National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that in 2015-2016, the prevalence of obesity in the United States was 39.8% in adults and 18.5% in youth.

While obvious factors including genetics, drugs, and other medical conditions may contribute to obesity, the behavior is perhaps the most common contributor. Healthy weight on an individual level is associated with a healthy diet and regular physical activity. Restaurants serve incredibly caloric meals, with some meals containing as much as 2,000 calories. The sedentary lifestyle practiced by most adds to the epidemic.

Unfortunately, this obesogenic culture has spread to other nations, including many developing countries. China, for example, now has more than 5,000 Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurants in 1,100 cities. Similarly, McDonald’s expects to have 4,500 restaurants in China by 2022, up from 2,500 in 2017. A growing number of Chinese households also own television sets, personal vehicles, and other technologies that reduce physical activity and facilitate weight gain.

It is of note that economic inequality in developing nations is a primary cause of both overnutrition and undernutrition. Studies conducted in India show that income inequality had the same effect on the risk of being overweight as it did on the risk of being underweight; specifically, for each standard deviation increase in income inequality, the odds of being underweight increased by 19% and the odds of being obese increased by 21%.

While some people have the resources to purchase amounts of food beyond their daily caloric requirements, others cannot meet their recommended caloric intake. However, increasing numbers of poor people are becoming overweight in more nations, as these individuals consume affordably, yet highly caloric meals, such as fast food and processed foods.

6. What then should be done to avoid overnutrition?

An approach to understanding the effects of overnutrition on the metabolic profile is through overfeeding studies. These indicate that overnutrition produces a deterioration of metabolic status. Variability in individual response is, however, is expected. Such investigations are potentially useful for identifying those who are particularly susceptible to the development of metabolic risk factors.

The host of genetic factors likely acts at tissue levels to influence the response to nutrient excess. Different people may react differently to the accumulation of fat. However, overnutrition is generally considered to trigger metabolic disorders and predispose one to chronic conditions like Type 2 Diabetes. When choosing what to eat, one should be careful to ensure they choose balanced meals rich in fiber and nutrients and avoid the modern-day fast-food craze, as there cost of bad eating is too high.

References

1. Unite for Sight (2018): Module 4: Overnutrition. Retrieved from http://www.uniteforsight.org/hunger/module4
2. NCBI (2009): From chronic overnutrition to insulin resistance: the role of fat-storing capacity and inflammation. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19171470
3. NCBI(2013): Neuroinflammation in Overnutrition-induced Diseases. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4389772/
4. American Federation for Medical Research (2016): Overnutrition, ectopic lipid, and metabolic syndrome. Retrieved from https://jim.bmj.com/content/jim/64/6/1082.full.pdf 
5. NCBI (2009): From chronic overnutrition to insulin resistance: the role of fat-storing capacity and inflammation. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19171470

The most common endocrine dysfunction of women – affects 10-20% of women.

A life-long disease with enormous medical, emotional and financial consequences.

High risk for diabetes and metabolic syndrome & 80% are overweight/obese.

PCOS is the result of hyperinsulinemia * The effects of insulin on the ovary Theca cells results in release of testosterone * The resulting manifestations have devastating effects (obesity, facial hair, acne, and emotional disorders) on teenage girls * Many cases have been reversed with lifestyle changes that act to lower insulin * IGF plays a role but addressing hyperinsulinemia can reverse the condition and its manifestations.

Theca cells endocrine cells in the ovary made up of connective tissue surrounding the follicle. The theca cells are responsible for the production of androstenedione.

Androstenedione is a precursor of testosterone and other androgens, as well as of estrogens like estrone.
Androstenedione has weak androgenic activity.

FSH induces the granulosa cells to make aromatase that converts the androgens made by the theca internal into estradiol.

We live in the modern-day age of convenience where everything is available to us at the touch of a button. A study published in the Journal of Translational Medicine proves that obesity and Type 2 diabetes are even more closely linked to high-calorie diets than was initially thought. According to the findings of the research, overeating can tip your body into a pre-diabetic state in less than a week. This article seeks to shed some light on some of our eating habits and how they might lead us down a path of chronic illness.

1. Diabetes Mellitus and Diet

Diabetes exists in two forms: type-1 and type-2. It is not known what the exact cause of type-1 diabetes is. Type-2 however, has been attributed to poor diet and a lack of exercise.

Approximately 95% of all cases are type 2. Both types Present with excess glucose, or blood sugar, in their blood that is not removed by the hormone called insulin. In type-2 diabetics, insulin resistance develops, and fat, liver and muscle cells no longer respond correctly to insulin. Symptoms of type-2 diabetes can include fatigue, hunger, increased thirst, blurred vision, erectile dysfunction, increased urination, and slower healing. Notably, people diagnosed with type-2 diabetes more likely to be overweight because excess fat makes it more difficult for the body to correctly utilize insulin.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) was first recognized as a disease around 3000 years ago by the ancient Egyptians and Indians, illustrating some clinical features very similar to what we now know as diabetes. DM is a combination of two words, “diabetes” Greek word derivative, means siphon – to pass through and the Latin word “Mellitus” means honeyed or sweet. In 1776, excess sugar in blood and urine was first confirmed in Great Britain.

2. What is the role of diet in T2DM?

In India, a startling observation was made. The disease was almost always confined to rich people who consumed oil, flour, and sugar in excessive amounts. This was further proved by the First and Second World Wars, where declines in the diabetes mortality rates were documented due to food shortage and famines in the countries involved such as Germany and other European countries. In Berlin, the diabetes mortality rate declined from 23.1/100,000 in 1914 to 10.9/100,000 in 1919. Adversely, there was no change in diabetes mortality rate in other countries that did not experience food shortage in the same period such as Japan and North American countries.

Though consumption of carbohydrates has been shown to increase the risk of developing T2DM, sugar is a more harmful culprit. In a study that involved more than 500 ethnically diverse schoolchildren for 19 months, it was found that for each additional serving of carbonated drinks consumed, the frequency of obesity increased. This was after adjusting for different parameters such as dietary, demographic, anthropometric, and lifestyle.

Recent evidence suggests a link between the intake of soft drinks and obesity and diabetes. This is as a result of the large amounts of high fructose corn syrup used in the manufacturing of these drinks. They have the potential to raise blood glucose levels and BMI to the dangerous levels. It was also noted that diet soft drinks contain glycated chemicals that significantly boost insulin resistance.

There has been a strong link between food and obesity. Both the composition and volume of food matter in this case. High intake of red meat, sweets, and fried foods contributes to the increased risk of insulin resistance and T2DM. Inversely, consumption of fruits and vegetables may protect against the development of T2DM, as they are rich in nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants which are considered as a protective barrier against the diseases.

A recent study of Japanese women revealed that elevated intake of white rice was associated with an elevated risk of T2DM. Dietary knowledge is a significant factor that influences dietary behaviors.

3. What then can we do to decrease our chances of getting diabetes?

• Avoid Fast Food

Several studies have shown that fast-food consumption can further the development of type-2 diabetes. A 2013 study published in the “European Journal of Nutrition” set out to clarify the role of dietary patterns in the onset of type-2 diabetes in overweight people. The study found that diets high in soft drinks and french fries, and low in fruit and vegetables, were associated with a greater risk of type-2 diabetes in overweight participants, particularly among those who are less physically active. A 2005 study published in “Lancet” concluded that fast-food consumption has a strong positive correlation with weight gain and insulin resistance, implying that fast-food intake may promote obesity and type-2 diabetes.

• Minimize Your Sugar Intake

High-sugar diets promote both weight gain and insulin resistance, which eventually leads to a susceptibility to type-2 diabetes. In addition, having type-2 diabetes significantly increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Dietary modifications, therefore, can greatly reduce the risk of both type-2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

• Note the quality of fats you use

It may be more important to focus on the quality of the fats and carbohydrates consumed in order to prevent type-2 diabetes. High intakes of trans- fatty acids, saturated fats, refined carbohydrates, and other processed foods increase the risk for type-2 diabetes, whereas whole grains, polyunsaturated fats, fiber-rich foods, omega-3 fatty acids, and other minimally processed foods can lower your risk.

• Breakfast should not be skipped

Breakfast is an important meal that, it is even argued that it is the most important. When missed, it can result in health issues. 2012 a study published in the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition” found that skipping breakfast increased the risk for type-2 diabetes, even after adjusting for body mass index. Snacking between meals was also found to increase type-2 diabetes risk.

• Increase Vitamin D intake

According to the National Institutes of Health, Vitamin D studies show a link between people’s ability to maintain healthy blood glucose levels and having enough vitamin D in their blood. Fish oils, trout, salmon, cheese, eggs, and mushrooms are all gold sources of Vitamin D.

• Increase Your Activity

NIDDK studies show that insulin resistance goes down when you increase how much you move throughout the day. Try increasing your time spent walking for 30 minutes, five days per week (that’s only five 6-minute walks each day at work).

• Do not Smoke

Ever. According to the CDC, smokers are 30-40 percent more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than nonsmokers.

• Keep Your Waist in Check

According to NIH, a waist measurement of 40 inches or more for men is linked to insulin resistance and increases a person’s risk for Type 2 diabetes. This is true even if a person’s BMI falls within the normal range.

4. Everybody’s responsibility

Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable by taking several simple steps: keeping weight under control, exercising more, eating a healthy diet, and not smoking. Yet it is clear that the burden of behavior change cannot fall entirely on individuals. Families, schools, worksites, healthcare providers, communities, media, the food industry, and government must work together to make healthy choices easy choices.

References

1. NCBI (2017): Effect of diet on type 2 diabetes mellitus: A review. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5426415/
2. Livestrong.com(2017): Can a Poor Diet Cause Diabetes? Retrieved from https://www.livestrong.com/article/445709-can-a-poor-diet-cause-diabetes/
3. Men’s Journal (2019): Overeating Makes You Fat and Diabetic Faster than you Think. Retrieved from https://www.mensjournal.com/ www health-fitness/overeating-makes-you-fat-and-diabetic-faster-you-think/
4. HSPH (2019): Simple Steps to Preventing Diabetes. Retrieved from https://.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/disease-prevention/diabetes-prevention/preventing-diabetes-full-story/

Risk factors, the following factors increase your chances of developing insulin resistance metabolic inflammation:

Ethnicity may be a genetic factor or a lifestyle factor.

All of these diseases are increased when you develop Insulin Resistance & Metabolic Inflammation

Prevention: 

A healthy lifestyle prevents conditions that cause metabolic syndrome:

• Eat only when really hungry, don’t snack.
• Get at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day.
• Eat real food and avoid all processed foods.
• Avoid sugars and artificial sweeteners.
• Avoid industrial seed oils.
• Maintain a healthy weight and build muscle.
• Sleep well.
• Avoid screens.
• Have real friends.
• Don’t smoke.

Patients with chronic pain have a signaling mechanism, whether induced by medications or their endogenous pain, that causes them to seek out dopaminergic stimulation, to relieve their pain.

Some of these dopaminergic stimulation can be substituted by dietary intake.

Excessive nonnutritive dietary intake leads to obesity and visceral adipose tissue accumulation, which is inflammatory.

Excessive inflammatory mediators aggravate pain, and the cycle repeats.

Soybean oil not only leads to obesity and diabetes but could also affect neurological conditions such as:

maternal-child bonding
autism
Alzheimer’s disease
anxiety
depression

A previous study published in 2015 suggested that soybean oil-induced obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, and fatty liver in mice. A more recent 2020 study published in the journal Endocrinology, compared mice fed diets high in fat: soybean oil, a polyunsaturated fat vs. coconut oil, a saturated fat.

Soybean oil produced pronounced effects on the hypothalamus, which regulates body weight via metabolism, maintains body temperature, is critical for reproduction and physical growth as well as response to stress. Surprisingly, mice fed soybean oil downregulated the gene which produces oxytocin in the hypothalamus, the hormone responsible for mother-child bonding and is also known as the “love” hormone.

Nearly an additional 100 other genes were also affected by the soybean oil diet, which may have ramifications not just for energy balance, but also for brain function and diseases such as autism.

One day we will view industrial seed oils with the same disdain as cigarette smoking…

BTW: Soybean oil is polyunsaturated fat and is often touted as a healthy option over saturated fats, but the saturated fat from coconut oil, produced very few changes in the hypothalamic genes.

Dysregulation of Hypothalamic Gene Expression and the Oxytocinergic System by Soybean Oil Diets in Male Mice. Endocrinology, 2020; DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqz044.