That's Fit

Recent research shows that people who are newly diagnosed with type II diabetes can gain better control over their health if they lose weight. While that isn't terribly surprising, what is surprising is that the benefits seem to last even if the patient gains back some of the weight. Losing some excess pounds helps people with type II diabetes better control blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

In the study, more than 2,000 people recently diagnosed with type II diabetes were followed for four years. 12% of those patients lost a mean of 25 pounds. Other groups either gained weight or their weight remained stable. Within 36 months almost all of the patients who had lost weight had regained it. Surprisingly, those patients continued to have better blood sugar and blood pressure control at the end of the four-year study -- even though their weight had been regained.

Obviously, this isn't an argument for losing and regaining weight. Researchers don't know how long the benefits would last after the four-year mark. The best bet for people with type II diabetes (or anyone for that matter) is to lose their excess weight and keep it off for good.

It isn't surprising that pregnant women are supposed to eat healthfully. Good nutrition will help a baby develop properly. But did you know that poor nutrition can not only negatively effect a baby's development, but it can also cause long-term damage?

A study by the Royal Veterinary College and London's Wellcome Trust, shows that when pregnant rats are fed fatty, processed foods during pregnancy, their offspring have high levels of fat in their bloodstream and around major organs -- even into their teenage years.

Fat gathered around internal organs has been linked to development of type II diabetes. Male rats tended to have higher insulin levels and normal blood sugar, while female offspring tended to have low insulin, high blood sugar, and tended to be more overweight.

While further research is obviously necessary, this is just one more link between healthy diet and a healthy life.

Believe it or not, skin secretions from a South American frog stimulate insulin release. Scientists are hard at work on a synthetic version of the secretion. The synthetic version, called pseudin-2, may be useful in creating medications to treat type 2 diabetes. In fact, the synthetic version has been more effective than the natural form and there are no toxic effects on the cells. The concept isn't new. Another diabetes medication called exenatide was created from a saliva hormone from Gila monsters (a lizard).

Type 2 diabetes is where the body doesn't produce sufficient insulin or the body doesn't respond properly to insulin. The medication could help people with type 2 diabetes by generating more insulin production so glucose in the blood stream could be processed more efficiently.

It lurks in your favorite easy chair, your hair dryer, even your microwave ... what is it? It's a chemical known as polybrominated diphenyl (PBDE). It's a flame retardant used in many different kinds of products to reduce their flammability, and manufacturers -- who have been using the chemical since the 1960s -- say the chemical could prevent consumer injury or death by fire by 45%.

So why do PBDEs have experts concerned? The chemical is so pervasive in our environment that experts say we come into contact with products containing PBDE over 100 times every day. The chemical is fat soluble, which means it dissolves in body fat, and it's been found to mimic the female hormone estrogen, as well as thyroid hormones. Researchers are unsure what those findings mean, but they believe the chemical may cause insulin resistance -- which can lead to type 2 diabetes -- or even make the body more prone to producing fat cells.

New studies on the effects of PBDEs in mice are just getting underway, but if these theories are proven true, researchers say it will be a mixed blessing. On one hand, PBDEs are nearly impossible to avoid. On the other, findings from these studies could yield even more clues in the development and treatment of obesity.

Did you know there are 450 different types of soda sold in the United States today? If you're like many Americans, chances are you've had one already today. In fact, the average American drinks 18 ounces -- 2 full glasses -- of soda a day.

Two glasses, that's not so bad, right? Wrong. Recently, a That's Fit blogger wrote about what happens when you drink a coke, and another wrote about how quickly liquid calories add up. In fact, according to this article at AOL's 30-day Jumpstart, two glasses a day could help you pack on a whopping 24 pounds a year.

Not only do they pack on calories, sugary liquids in general add on pounds in a hurry. Because they pass through the stomach more quickly, they don't seem to register fullness like food does. The sweet in soda is high fructose corn syrup. Studies have found that, unlike other carbs, corn syrup doesn't trigger the hormones that tell us we're full. You could drink a day's worth of calories in soda and still feel hungry. And what is all the high fructose corn syrup doing to your internal organs? Your pancreas has to dump out increasingly larger loads of insulin to help the body process all that sugar. In the long run, this can put you at risk for Type II diabetes. As if that wasn't reason enough, soda also erodes the enamel on your teeth and may contribute to bone loss.

Ever wonder why there seems to be more portly kids these days? Many places I visit and shop at show me an increasing amount of young kids and pre-teens that seem to be getting larger every year. So, when I read that one in every 523 kids in the U.S. actually has diabetes (diagnosed), it was not a surprising revelation to me.

I'm a firm believer that although diabetes is part of genetics, it's exacerbated greatly by bad nutrition -- a common staple in most children's diets that I've personally witnessed. A recent report stated that 154,369 youths had physician-diagnosed diabetes -- and that was in 2001.

The majority of those kids diagnosed with diabetes were non-Hispanic white children, and the most common form of diabetes here was type 1 (a deficiency of blood sugar). Type 1 diabetes is the most common form of the disease in children, while type 2 diabetes -- the body's inability to use insulin effectively -- strikes adults more often.

It's extremely hard to find and prepare solid and nutritious meals with the busy lives we all have, but the effort -- while painstaking -- may easily be well worth it.