Let’s start with our monthly headlines and then go on to our abstracts. This month we share info on diabetes and depression, and insulin use and hypertension in type 2 diabetics. So here we go. If you have looked at our recipes you know we have called for virgin or extra virgin olive oil. Now we have science behind our good taste. The September Annals of Internal Medicine, 2006, vol 145, Issue 5, pages 333-341 has an article by Dr. Maria Coves et al titled The Effects of Polyphenols in Olive Oil on Heart Disease Risk Factors. In a study of 200 young and middle-aged healthy men found that virgin olive oil-rich in antioxidants called Polyphenols-showed stronger heart-health effects than the more extensively processed “non-virgin" variety. The research which was set in 6 research centers in 5 European countries used glucose levels, plasma lipid levels, oxidative damage to lipid levels, and endogenous and exogenous antioxidants at baseline and before and after each intervention. Virgin olive oil is the only vegetable oil that’s rich in Polyphenols as all others are refined and these Polyphenols are lost. The men used one of three olive oils for three weeks apiece. One oil was a virgin olive oil. The other two were more heavily processed varieties. The oils were used in place of other dietary fats. At the end of the study, the researchers found that the men’s levels of “good" HDL were highest after three weeks on virgin olive oil. They found that olive oils higher in polyphenol content increased HDL cholesterol levels and decreased serum markers of oxidation. The increase in HDL level was small, however they felt that larger clinical trials are needed to see whether there is a health advantage.
Patients with type 2 diabetes who have already suffered a stoke have a 47 percent less risk of having a second one if they take Takeda Pharmacy’ Co. Ltd’s drug Actos. This finding was presented at the World Congress of Cardiology which shows once again that anti-diabetic medicine provides benefits beyond lowering blood glucose levels. Dr. Robert Wilcox of Nottingham, England said that adding Actos to standard care reduced the incidence of a secondary stroke by nearly half to 5.6 percent from 10.2 percent in this group of patients.
If you read our web site you know how important we think exercise is for all people with diabetes, no matter the type. You also know that waist measurements are important in rating heart disease and diabetes risk factors. Now scientists in Helsinki found that people with large waistlines who exercise were less likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes than their less active counterparts. “People who were obese were more likely to be diagnosed with glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes but if they were physically active their risk was significantly lower," said Katja Borodulin who headed the study. “The novelty value of our study is that we used waist-to-hip ratio which is a measure of abdominal obesity and not body mass index which was used in studies." For your information, there are currently an estimated 194 million people with diabetes worldwide. Experts expect that number to reach 333 million by 1025. Borodulin and her team studied 1,812 normal and overweight people and published their findings in the journal Diabetic Medicine. The bottom line is that they found inactive people with large waistlines had a 5.5 times greater risk of suffering from diabetes than active people with small waists. They added that adding 30 minutes of exercise five times a week could help people with large waists lower their odds of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Simon O’Neil, of the charity Diabetes UK, said the research showed that exercise can lower the risk of developing diabetes regardless of a person’s waist size.
Read the paper or magazine and you’ll find the latest diet with promises that you’ll loose weight easily and keep it off. The models in the advertisements have little to do with us. They are often half our ages or less and weigh less than we need or want to weigh. The “magic" answer to weight loss is not magic at all. Just read our web site. It is not necessary to never eat an ear of corn, fresh fruit and vegetables, or beans, rice, or milk. These carbohydrates are part of a healthy diet and an article in JAMA 2006;295:39-49, written by Barbara V. Howard, PhD of the MedStar Research Institute in Washington, DC and her colleagues outlines how they came up with the information that a high-carbohydrate diet is not associated with weight gain over a 7.5 year period in post-menopausal women. The results of this study are based on the Women’s Health Initiative which looked at over 48,000 post-menopausal women who ate a low-fat diet that included fruits, vegetables and whole grains and found that it is not associated with weight gain over the period. As we stated before the results of this study fly in the face of those who promote diets low in carbohydrates. These researchers were looking at the effects of this low fat diet with increased fruit, vegetable and grains on breast and colorectal cancers and cardiovascular disease. Between 1993 and 1998, 48,835 subjects were randomly assigned to either low-fat dietary intervention (40%) or self-selected dietary control (60% in this control group). Results showed that after losing 4.8 pounds in the first year, women in the intervention group maintained a modest weight loss, compared to the control group and showed no increase from their baseline weight at any point during the study. This was true independent of age, ethnicity, or body mass index. Weight loss was greatest among women in either group who decreased their percentage of energy from fat. A similar but lesser trend was observed with increases in vegetable and fruit servings, and a nonsignificant trend toward weight loss occurred with increasing intake of fiber. “In summery, the results of this long-term trial of diverse postmenopausal women demonstrate that long-term recommendations to achieve a diet lower in total and saturated fat with increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and without focus on weight loss, do not cause weight gain. Long-term effects of this dietary pattern or other health benefits will be available after confirmation of end points and data analysis is completes…"
We receive many e-mails each day and if they are not concerning a recipe many are about depression and diabetes. The Archives of General Psychiatry, 2006;63;480 has an article of interest titled Sertralin for Prevention of Depression Recurrence in Diabetes Mellitus by Patrick J. Lustman, PhD et al. The researchers knowing that depression is a prevalent and recurrent problem which affects medical diagnosis in diabetics tested whether maintenance therapy with sertraline hydrochloride (Zoloff) prevents recurrence of major depression in this population. They used a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, maintenance treatment trial. Patients who recovered from depression, during open-label sertraline (n=79) or placebo (n=73) and were followed up for up to 52 weeks or until depression recurred. The settings were Washington University, the University of Washington, and the University of Arizona. The primary outcome was length of time to recurrence of major depression as defined by DSM-IV. The secondary outcome was glycemic control, which was assessed by serial determinations of glycosylated hemoglobin levels. Sertraline conferred significantly greater prophylaxis against depression than did placebo. Elapsed time before major depression recurred in one third of the patients increased from 57 days in patients who received placebo to 226 days in patients treated with sertraline. Glycosylated hemoglobin levels decreased during the treatment phase and remained significantly lower than baseline during depression-free maintenance and did not differ between treatment groups. The researchers concluded that in patients with diabetes, maintenance therapy with sertraline prolongs the depression-free interval following recovery from major depression. Depression recovery with sertraline as well as sustained remission with or without treatment are associated with improvements in glycosylated hemoglobin levels for at least 1 year.
The Archives of Internal Medicine 2006;166:1184-1189 has an article of interest titled Exogenous Insulin Use and Hypertension in Adult Patients with Type 2 Diabetes by Chin-Hsiao Tseng, PhD. Endogenous hyperinsulinemia, along with insulin resistance, is associated with hypertension. This study examined the link between exogenous insulin use and hypertension in type 2 diabetic patients. Using national health insurance records in Taiwan, data from 87,850 adult patients with type 2 diabetes were collected cross-sectionally with retrospective recall on onset of events. Data were analyzed to evaluate the strength of association, consistency, dose-response relationship, and temporality between exogenous insulin use and hypertension. There were 5927 insulin users, who were characterized by being 1 year older in age, female preponderance, longer duration of diabetes, slightly lower body mass index, and less smoking but higher prevalence pf hypertension, with higher blood pressure. After adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, duration of diabetes, smoking, and parental hypertension, the odds ratio for hypertension for patients using insulin for less than 6 years, 5 to 9 years, and 10 years or more were 1.14, 1.35, and 1.46 respectively, compared with nonusers. In insulin users who did not have hypertension at the start of insulin use, the respective odds ratios for those using insulin for 5 to 9 years and 10 years or more were 1.5 and 2.15 respectively compared with those using insulin for less than 5 years. The author concluded that in patients with type 2 diabetes, insulin users are at higher risk for development of hypertension. These observational data suggest the need for further study of the relationship between exogenous insulin use and hypertension.
BSP
