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September 5, 2008
If you have ever been to China, you couldn’t have missed the strange sight of people gathering in groups in every possible open space to perform a little dance, in the mornings. This little dance is the practice of Tai Chi. On the outlook it looks like a mixture of slow motion dancing mingled with martial art movements. But if you experience it, you will know that it is a type of meditation that brings vitality and many benefits to your everyday living.
If you are skeptical about its effectiveness, take a look at the Chinese people as they are the living evidence of its glory. Among the many secrets and wisdom from the East, the Chinese people have been thriving on the effectiveness of Tai Chi and its many benefits from the dawn of their generations. In order to prove its effectiveness, two groups have conducted studies on Tai Chi and its impact on type II diabetes.
The first study was carried out in Taiwan where two groups were formed each consisting of 30 individuals categorized in to the groups of those who were suffering with type II diabetes and those who were not. All participants were then assigned to a one hour Tai Chi class three times a week for twelve weeks. At the end of the twelve weeks, people with type II diabetes were checked for their HbA1c level which is the measurement to check how well the body can control blood sugar and showed positive results.
A similar study carried out in Australia shows evidence that Tai Chi combined with Qigong for twelve consecutive weeks showed decreased levels of blood sugar in people who had elevated blood sugar levels, previously.
Having walked in the path of western medicine for many decades, people are increasingly on the outlook for alternative methods of remedies nowadays. Tai Chi if performed and learnt the correct way would bring the relief you seek in life. However, it is important to remember that your instructor should be a qualified professional. Practices such as Tai Chi carry no side effects. After all, it is renowned as a perfect way of keeping life in balance. So why not try it out?
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August 29, 2008
Whatever the controversies you may have heard about men being at higher or lower risks of diabetes than women, scientists have conducted a several studies to determine a proper answer and their findings are alarming.
According to scientists at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Aurora, men need to work harder to gain the same benefits of reducing diabetes risk than women. Having conducted a study of 1100 adults who are at risk of type II diabetes, scientists have discovered that men work harder and for longer to cut down calories. Consequently they would lose more weight and would exercise for longer yet their reduction of diabetes risk is not significant.
Another interesting study carried out at the University of Buffalo brings forth alarming news as the endocrinologists claim to have found a condition that could have a critical effect on mens’ quality of life and their procreation ability. The study was conducted followed by earlier research which claimed that one third of middle aged men with type II diabetes had significant low levels of testosterone levels which led them to require treatment for erectile dysfunction and similar disorders.
Furthermore, the scientists add that patients with type II diabetes have been reported of having very high concentrations of C reactive protein which could increase their risk of developing heart disease and atherosclerosis, apart from the other risks involved with diabetes.
Interestingly, the hypothesis of the study was proved once again with majority of young men with type II diabetes having significantly low levels of testosterone.
So the important thing for you to understand from all these findings are that if you are a young man who is suffering from type II diabetes, it is time for you to act now and work hard to reduce calorie intake while losing weight. The lack of testosterone during critical years of your life means you are vulnerable to have diminished bone mass and diminished development of skeletal muscles. It will also make you gain more weight and become more insulin resistant.
Now it’s the time for you to act on it and make things right in order to avoid many implications that type II diabetes may have in your life. If you are a parent with children suffering from type II diabetes, this is your chance to educate them and motivate them to control their condition to avoid further issues.
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August 11, 2008
Most of us would take medicines or eat fruits and vegetables for controlling diabetes as a precautionary step. But the latest researches suggest that taking broccoli regularly with your meal would undo the damage caused by diabetes to heart blood vessels.
The research team in The University of Warwick believes that a compound found in vegetables called “sulforaphane” is the key. Chemically speaking, this particular compound encourages the production of enzymes which protect the blood vessels and also helps the reduction of molecules that causes cell damage.
The vegetable family where broccoli is also a member is known for reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The specialty with diabetes patients is that they have a risk of getting heart attacks and strokes five times than usual. So broccoli can be considered as one of the best food for reducing this fivefold risk.
I would like to quote a statement made by the lead researcher Professor Paul Thornalley: “Our study suggests that compounds such as sulforaphane from broccoli may help counter processes linked to the development of vascular disease in diabetes. In future, it will be important to test if eating a diet rich in brassica vegetables has health benefits for diabetic patients. We expect that it will.”
As the key observation of the research, the research team recorded a 73 percent reduction of molecules in the body called Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and it is a clear and direct indication of risk reduction for cell damage. Usually high glucose levels (hyperglycaemia) can cause cell damages and produce a high level of ROS.
The research team also found that sulforaphane activated a protein in the body called “nrf2” which protects cells and tissues from damage by activating protective antioxidants and enzymes. So eating broccoli would protect and undo the damage caused by diabetes in multiple ways.
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July 30, 2008
As we know, there are hundreds of parameters involved in diabetics and age is only one of them. But it has more prominence than other factors as it has a direct and linear relationship with the decease. Researches show this linear relationship to have a positive trend with the age so in simple terms, when you grow old, you have more risk of getting diabetes.
It is found that diabetes is marginally common among the men than women. This margin becomes wider at higher age. From 1990, the records indicate that the number of diabetes patients has become doubled and it is reflected among all the age groups. But the amazing fact is that the percentage of increase for the age group from 20 to 39 years has hardly changed. The higher and prominent percentage is recorded in higher age groups than 39 years. So this increase does not have a linear effect but it has an exponential effect. There can be many reasons for this sharp increase of diabetes such as food, overweight problems, media etc. Due to media, more people tent to take medical tests for diagnosing diabetes and get in to records.
Age increase the risk of only type 2 diabetes as type two has many risk factors involved over type 1. But medical observations suggest that there have been number of cases reported where diabetes with children below 12 years of age. The theory behind this is that pancreas ages right along with us and does not pump insulin as efficiently as it did when we are younger. Also on the other hand, when our cells age, they become more resistant to insulin than they were younger. Both these issues cause type 2 diabetes to be increased with the age and both seems quite natural.
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July 21, 2008
Nanotechnology is one of the fastest growing technologies which have number of applications in almost all the fields of sciences. From medicine to rocket science, it finds more and more applications day-by-day. In this short article, we discuss the application of nanotechnology in curing diabetes.
What is nanotechnology? It is a chemical and mechanical technology which is in nano-scale. These nano-scale devices are made of few or more atoms or molecules. Nano-devices can be designed in many ways to perform many functions. Due to the small scale of these devices, they are perfect for dealing with human body as these devices fall in to the same scales as many of the building blocks of human body such as enzymes, tissues, chemicals such as insulin, glucose etc.
There are few approaches made by the nanotechnology to heal diabetes. First one is to change the drug delivery method for diabetes patients. The current method is to inject insulin doze whenever necessary. I think I don’t have to mention the hassle the patients go through when they are supposed to get few injections per day. The new approach would facilitate patients to inhale insulin so it will go down to lungs and then be absorbed to the blood stream. The nanotechnology touched insulin will have the ability to be absorbed by the lungs. So, no more painful injections.
The second approach is to implant a nano-scale devices in the body where they can measure the blood glucose level in the body and let the patient know when the doze is needed and how much. This is quite handy as the patient doesn’t have to go through the conventional blood test to see whether his or her blood sugar level is fine. But unfortunately this does not stop the need of injections.
Anyway, what nanotechnology achieved so far is promising when compared to the current treatments for diabetes. There are so many other nanotechnology approaches to cure and manage diabetes but still in their primary stages. It can be believed that above two methods will be the first success stories of the field.
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