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Diabetes & Coffee Consuming beverages
that contain caffeine may not be a good idea if you have type 2 diabetes,
researchers report. In a small study, Duke University scientists found a
link between caffeine at mealtime and increased glucose and insulin levels
in people with type 2 diabetes. The finding suggests diabetics should reduce
or eliminate caffeine in their diets, according to the report in the August
issue of Diabetes Care. "Caffeine seems to impair the metabolism
of carbohydrates in patients who have type 2 diabetes," said lead
author James D. Lane, an associate research professor of medical psychology
at Duke University Medical Center. "So it seems to make diabetes worse." Levels of glucose --
blood sugar -- are elevated in people with diabetes after a meal because the
body isn't able to metabolize the glucose, Lane said. "If your blood
glucose goes higher after every meal, then your average blood glucose level
is going to be higher, and that could aggravate diabetes or increase the
risk of complications," he said. Diabetes is a disease
in which the body doesn't produce or properly use insulin, a hormone needed
to convert glucose into energy for the body. In their study, Lane and his
team recruited 14 regular coffee drinkers who had had type 2 diabetes for at
least a six months. These subjects took medications for their diabetes, but
did not require insulin. The researchers looked at how much caffeine the
people consumed over a week. The subjects were also given two 125-milligram
caffeine capsules or a dummy drug, which were taken with a commercial liquid
meal (BoostR) that has 75 grams of carbohydrates. Lane's team measured
the patient's blood glucose levels before and after eating and taking the
caffeine pills. The researchers found
caffeine did not affect glucose and insulin levels after fasting. However,
the study participants who drank the liquid and then took a caffeine pill
experienced a 21 percent increase in glucose and a 48 percent rise in
insulin levels, compared to the other study subjects getting the placebo.
Lane's group also compared the effect of caffeine with the medications
diabetics take to lower glucose after a meal. "We found that the size
of the increase in glucose due to the caffeine is as large as the decrease
that occurs when people take medications to lower glucose," he said. Based on the findings
of this small study, Lane believes that "people who have type 2
diabetes may be better off if they avoid caffeine." Curiously, a study
released earlier this year found that coffee can help to prevent the onset
of type 2 diabetes, reducing the risk by almost 50 percent. However, the
protective effects didn't become significant until people drank at least
four cups a day. Tomas de Paulis, a
research assistant professor from the Vanderbilt Institute for Coffee
Studies at Vanderbilt University, said, "It is well known that caffeine
has a detrimental effect on glucose tolerance." "What is less
known is that coffee also contains compounds with the opposite effect. It is
not coffee but the caffeine that should be avoided by diabetes patients,"
he added. Oral health & diabetes Is There a Link Between Gum Disease and Diabetes? How
does this happen? Gum disease can cause bacteria to enter the bloodstream
and activate cells that produce inflammatory biological signals that have a
destructive effect throughout the body. In the pancreas, the cells
responsible for insulin (blood sugar) can be damaged or destroyed. Once this
happens, it may trigger Type 2 diabetes - even in a healthy individual with
no other risk factors for diabetes. The
Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health states that good oral health is
integral to general health. So be sure to brush and floss properly and see
your dentist for regular checkups. If
I Have Diabetes, Am I at Risk for Dental Problems? How Can I Help Prevent Dental Problems Associated with Diabetes?
What
Can I Expect at My Checkup? Should I Tell My Dentist About My Diabetes? The
wright job & diabetics A diabetic who does
just a bit of exercise during the workday can reduce the risk of dying from
a heart attack or other cardiovascular condition, a Finnish study finds.
Tracking more than 3,300 people with type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes for 18
years, researchers at the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki found
those whose jobs had them on their feet and lifting light objects were 9
percent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease than their compatriots
who spent the working day behind a desk. This was the case after the
researchers took into account other risk factors such as smoking, blood
pressure and cholesterol levels. More strenuous work,
such as heavy lifting and manual labor, was associated with a 40 percent
reduction in such deaths, said a report in the July 27 online issue of Circulation
by a group led by Dr. Jaakko Tuomilehto, a professor at the institute's
Diabetes and Genetic Epidemiology Unit. This is the first
large-scale study to compare the effects of on-the-job, leisure and
commuting activity in diabetes, the researchers said. "People with
diabetes need to look for ways to build activity into their work, their
commuting and their leisure time," Tuomilehto said. As many other studies
have found, the Finnish trial showed leisure-time physical activity by
diabetics brought even greater cardiovascular benefits. Those who engaged in
moderate leisure activity, defined as more than four hours a week of walking,
cycling or gardening, reduced their risk of cardiovascular death by 17
percent compared to people whose idea of exercise was pushing buttons on the
TV remote. The risk reduction was
even greater, 33 percent, for people who led an active leisure-time life,
defined as more than three hours a week of such things as swimming, running
or jogging. But the benefits of
working-time activity can't be ignored, Tuomilehto said. "Too often people
only think of leisure-time physical activity or other aerobic activities,"
he said. However, one of Tuomilehto's suggestions, that "physical activity during commuting is one of the easiest, least time-consuming ways to promote health," would be difficult to implement in the United States. More than 40 percent of the Finns in the study get to work on foot or by bicycle, the researchers said -- a lot less than in China, where an estimated 90 percent of people hoof it or cycle to the workplace, but unquestionably more than in America. According to 1990 U.S. Census statistics, 73 percent of people in the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas traveled to work alone in a car. Another 6.5 percent took public transportation, which would presumably mean a walk to a bus stop or train station, and 7.6 percent took "other means," including bicycling and walking. The study results are no great surprise, said Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association. "There is compelling evidence that exercise lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease in the general population, and people with diabetes are at high risk and have the most to gain from preventive strategies." But this study is different in a couple of ways, Manson added. First, "there have been surprisingly few studies of physical activity in populations with type 2 diabetes," she noted, and "most previous studies have addressed recreational activity. It is important to note that occupational activities have a similarly beneficial role."
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