Food with a lot of fat and few carbohydrates may actually benefit type-2 diabetics who are advised to stick to a low-fat diet.

The results of a two-year dietary study led by Hans Guldbrand, general practitioner, and Fredrik Nystrom, professor of internal medicine at the Linkoping University, Sweden, show that this kind of diet could have a better effect on blood sugar levels and blood lipids.

Diabetes millitus type-2 is a lifelong disease in which there are high-levels of blood sugar (glucose). Diabetes is caused by a problem in the way your body makes or uses insulin. Insulin is needed to move glucose into cells, where it is stored and later used for energy.

In type-2 diabetes, your fat, liver, and muscle cells do not respond correctly to insulin. Consequently, blood sugar does not get into these cells to be stored for energy. Increased fat also makes it harder for your body to use insulin the correct way.

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Following a series of simple health steps could be a key to avoiding potentially life-threatening consequences of diabetes, say experts.

The fresh advice came as part of a damning report warning that the country has drifted into a `state of crisis` in which fewer than half of sufferers get the minimum care they need.

The state of the nation 2012 report by Diabetes UK has highlighted 15 key checks, essential to staving off devastating and sometimes deadly consequences of the condition, the Daily Express reported.

How Ayurveda can help control diabetes

Nine of the checks are recommended by the health watchdog, the national institute of Health and Clinical excellence.

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People who wolf down meals are two-and-a-half times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, say scientists.

This could be because eating very quickly encourages weight gain, which can trigger the illness.

Scientists in Lithuania presented their finding at the International Congress of Endocrinology and European Congress of Endocrinology in Florence, Italy, the Daily Mail reported.

They looked at 702 people, including 234 who had just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Top 10 ways to prevent diabetes

They all filled in a detailed questionnaire about their lifestyles, which included sections on diets, exercise and whether they smoked.

Overweight women miss out on jobs because of `fat discrimination`ne question asked them if they ate faster, more slowly or at the same speed as others.

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Dr. Tejas consults at Diabetes Care Clinic, the Apollo Centre for Obesity and Bariatric Surgery and at Sanjeevani Mulispeciality Hospital.

Dr. Tejas specialises in gestational diabetes, diabetic neuropathy and type 2 diabetes for youth.

He is the founder member and Treasurer of United Diabetes Forum and a member of the Research Ssociety for the Study of Diabetes, India (RSSDI)

Dr. Tejas took time off his busy schdule to answer Sify readers’ questions on diabetic neuropathy, HBA1C levels, and provided diet recommendations and foot care counselling in an exclusive chat. Read the chat transcript here.

I am a gujrati & you know the eating habits of gujjus however I request you to suggest diet care to be taken & foot care to be done as i am a diabetic. I have fasting reading between 140 to 160 I am taking tablets like glypride 2 mg before lunch,glyciphage 500mg after dinner & breakfast, 15 units insulin before breakfast & 10 units insulin before dinner. Insulin was started from Jan 12 as i was to be operated for appendicitis. however operation did not happen as barium X-Ray did not show
appendicitis, but all the medicine intake is there.I want to get rid of insulin & bring diabetes into control naturally.
What steps needs to be taken?
You need to avoid high calorie foods like fried foods , junk foods , juices, colas. Try to eat frequently, but small meals, exercise regularly, keep a check on your blood sugar count regularly and slowly your medications will come down…

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New research sends a stark warning to overweight teens: If you develop diabetes, you`ll have a very tough time keeping it under control.

A major study, released Sunday, tested several ways to manage blood sugar in teens newly diagnosed with diabetes and found that nearly half of them failed within a few years and 1 in 5 suffered serious complications. The results spell trouble for a nation facing rising rates of `diabesity` – Type 2 diabetes brought on by obesity.

The federally funded study is the largest look yet at how to treat diabetes in teens. Earlier studies mostly have been in adults, and most diabetes drugs aren`t even approved for youths. The message is clear: Prevention is everything.

`Don`t get diabetes in the first place,` said Dr. Phil Zeitler of the University of Colorado Denver, one of the study leaders.

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White rice might be pleasing to the palate, but it significantly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes when eaten regularly.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health study who analysed previous studies found a linkage between consumption of white rice by the Asian population and type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease in which there are high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. It is also the commonest form of this condition.

The authors analysed the results of four studies: two in Asian (China and Japan) and two in Western countries (US and Australia). All participants were diabetes free at study baseline, reports the British Medical Journal.

White rice is the predominant type of rice eaten worldwide and has high Glycemic Index (GI) values. High GI diets are tied with a greater risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a Harvard statement.

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Taking a regular break from work to walk around in the office helps to reduce the body`s levels of glucose and insulin after eating, a new study has revealed.

Though the results of the study, which was conducted by Australian researchers, don`t show if this has a lasting health benefit, experiencing large glucose and insulin spikes after a meal is tied to a greater risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Spacing meals for better glycemic control

`When we sit our muscles are in a state of disuse and they`re not contracting and helping our body to regulate many of the body`s metabolic processes,` the Daily Mail quoted David Dunstan, the study leader from Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia as saying.

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Dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food.

Most desserts tend to be highly processed and often prepared with added sugar. Sweet, mealcapping treats are always tempting. But when you have type 2 diabetes, sweets are more than just extra calories. You also have to think about how the foods you eat will affect your blood sugar.

Contrary to the misconception on intake of sugar/glucose leading to hyperglycemia, recent studies have proved that eating sugar or carbohydrates such as potatoes, bread, etc has similar effects on blood glucose levels.

Hence, blood glucose levels can be maintained in the normal range even with intake of desserts and/or sweets. Though, the sweet does not provide any important vitamins and minerals, they may be high in fats and calories but while including them in the meal plan one must make sure that it provides necessary nutrients.

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Reduction of pressure, or off-loading, is an essential aspect of diabetic wound care.

Foot pressures, shock and shear can be reduced with appropriately fitted footwear, insoles and socks.

Total non-weight bearing, which allows the wound to be at rest, is the most ideal method of relieving pressures but it is hardly practical. It is therefore necessary that care must be taken in selecting the most appropriate footwear as any inappropriately applied device may cause additional problems like exacerbation of postural instability, acute infection, deep ulcers accompanied by additional contraindications.

The guidelines for selecting the appropriate off-loading devices are:

• The ability to effectively remove all pressures from the ulcer site
• Cost effectiveness
• Ease of use
• Ability to address the characteristics of the diabetic ulceration
• Ability to encourage patient adherence

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Scientists have suggested that problems controlling blood sugar – the hallmark of diabetes – may begin in the intestines.

The finding may upend long-held theories about the causes of the disease. Because insulin is produced in the pancreas and sugar is stored in the liver, many scientists have looked to those organs for the underlying causes of diabetes.

In the new research, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis studied mice that are unable to make fatty acid synthase (FAS) in the intestine.

Why are you at risk for diabetes

FAS, an enzyme crucial for the production of lipids, is regulated by insulin, and people with diabetes have defects in FAS. Mice without the enzyme in the intestines develop chronic inflammation in the gut, a powerful predictor of diabetes.

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