Dear World
Since 2007, the United Nations recognises Diabetes as a Global threat and designates November 14th each year as World Diabetes Day, in honour of Frederick Banting’s birthday. (1)
Diabetes is a very common disease, which is rapidly growing. In the past it was a problem of industrialised nations, but today it is fast becoming a global epidemic.
Sir Banting was a medical scientist from Canada who was the first person to use insulin on humans.
So what has changed in the past 9 years since we started World Diabetes Day?
Here are some statistics, which clearly confirm that this disease is on the rise and it most certainly is a ‘global threat’.
Global
There are 422 million adults with diabetes worldwide. This figure has more than quadrupled since 1980 when it was 108 million. (2)
1 in 2 adults with diabetes is undiagnosed. (3)
Every 6 seconds 1 person dies from diabetes. (3)
5 million deaths from diabetes in 2015. (3)
2014 (2)
These statistics are from a study called ‘Worldwide Trends in Diabetes Since 1980: a Pooled Analysis of 751 Population-Based Studies with 4.4 Million Participants.’ The study was published in The Lancet on 6th April 2016. The research was led by scientists from Imperial College London and involved Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the World Health Organization and nearly 500 researchers across the world. The study compared diabetes levels among men and women from 1980 to 2014.
The study found –
The cost of diabetes had reached $825 billion International dollars per year. ($825,000,000,000).
This cost includes treating and managing diabetes and its complications including limb amputations. This figure does not include the number of working days lost. If this were included, the cost would be much higher.
Diabetes was highest in Polynesia and Micronesia where 1 in 5 adults had diabetes.
In Nauru and American Samoa, the figures are nearly 1 in 3 men and women.
Half of the 422 million adults with diabetes lived in 5 countries – Brazil China India USA Indonesia
Diabetes among men had more than doubled from 4.3% in 1980 to 9% in 2014.
Diabetes in women had increased from 5% in 1980 to 7.9% in 2014.
If current trend continues, over 700 million adults globally will be affected by diabetes in 2025.
USA 2012 (4)
Estimated total direct and indirect cost of diabetes – $245 billion ($245,000,000,000)
2014 (2)
8.2% of men had diabetes. 1980 this was 4.7%. Increase of more than two-thirds.
6.4% women had diabetes. 1980 this was 4.3%.
Canada 2016 (5)
11 million Canadians today have diabetes or pre-diabetes. Every 3 minutes someone is diagnosed.
UK
2014 – 6.6% of men and 4.9% of women had diabetes. (2)
2016 – 1 person is diagnosed with diabetes every 2 minutes. (6)
2016 – Over 4 million people have diabetes. (7)
England (8)
5 million people in England are at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Estimated 1 in 3 people will be obese and 1 in 10 will develop Type 2 diabetes by 2034.
Current estimated budget is £10 billion on diabetes every year. This is 10% of the NHS budget.
Hello
That is over $12,400,000,000 billion US dollars.
10% of the NHS money is quite a lot. If it continues at the current rate, certainly it will not be sustainable.
Dr. Srikanth Bellary, Clinical Director, Diabetes. (6)
So just in case you don’t know, England is a small part of the UK.
Check out these figures again and this is super serious and no wonder they say diabetes will bankrupt the NHS if we don’t make lifestyle changes now.
Diabetes will have a tremendous burden on our National Health Service, which is probably unaffordable and it will be much cheaper to actually change lifestyle now and prevent people from developing these complications than to try and pay for it through the NHS.
Prof. Timothy Barrett, Birmingham Children’s Hospital (6)
Consider what England could do with a spare £10 billion every year.
Consider if funding was available to inform and educate every single person about diabetes.
Consider the impact on our families, communities and society as a whole if we start to take Responsibility for how we are choosing to live every day.
The total cost associated with diabetes in the UK currently stands at £23.7 billion. (8)
Australia
2 out of every 5 adults will develop Type 2 diabetes in their lifetime. (9)
2015 (10)
280 Australians develop diabetes every day – 1 person every 5 minutes.
Approx. 1.7 million Australians have diabetes. This includes all types of diagnosed diabetes. 1.2 million known and registered and up to 500,000 silent and undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes.
More than 100,000 Australians had developed diabetes in the previous year.
The total annual cost impact of diabetes is $14.6 billion ($14,600,000,000)
March 2016 (11)
By the end of 2017, Type 2 diabetes will be the single biggest burden on Australia’s health system.
Just in case you are not up to date, we had a World Health Day back in April this year (2016) and the topic was Diabetes. https://simplelivingglobal.com/world-health-day
Our blog back then mentioned a few things about one of our oldest known human diseases, which is also one of the major causes of premature illness and death in most countries.
This speaks volumes if you stop and think about it for a moment.
Next – we have a kingpin on diabetes saying –
This is the first time we have had such a complete global picture about diabetes – and the data reveals the disease has reached levels that can bankrupt some countries’ health systems. The enormous cost of this disease, to both governments and individuals could otherwise go towards life essentials such as food and education.
Until we find effective ways of addressing the global obesity epidemic, the key to tackling diabetes crisis is focusing on individuals who are at high risk of the condition.
Professor Majid Ezzati, senior author of ‘Worldwide Trends in Diabetes Since 1980: a Pooled Analysis of 751 Population-Based Studies with 4.4 Million Participants.’ Ezzati is from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London and is an adjunct Professor of Global Health at Harvard Chan School. (2)
The most important risk factor for diabetes is obesity. Yet global obesity levels are soaring out of control. Goodarz Danaei, co-lead author of ‘Worldwide Trends in Diabetes Since 1980: a Pooled Analysis of 751 Population-Based Studies with 4.4 Million Participants.’
Danaei is an assistant Professor of Global Health at Harvard Chan School. (2)
So here we have the bigwigs on this global study telling us that our health systems are in serious trouble and we need to address our widespread issue on obesity, which is out of control.
Can we agree that we now have enough evidence, statistics and proof that there is a direct link between sugar, obesity and diabetes?
Do we need more research?
What more is there now that we need to prove?
Are we getting any closer to the root cause of diabetes?
WHY is diabetes on the rise?
WHY are our kids getting diabetes at such young ages?
WHY does someone get diabetes in the first place?
WHY are we accepting diabetes like it is some bad luck thing some of us get?
WHY are we using the blame game but not asking if we have a hand in this?
Does diabetes have something to do with how we are choosing to Live?
Is diabetes telling us something more as it has been around since day dot?
We now know it is one of our oldest known diseases and yet no cure.
Why have we not asked the WHY questions?
WHY is this human disease still around today when it was first mentioned in 1552 BCE? (1)
WHY is diabetes and the rising rates not the hot topic on every dinner table today?
WHY are we not making this our business to know what is going on?
WHY are we not aware of what diabetes really is?
WHY is diabetes such a common disease?
WHY do we not know 100 years later, how insulin exactly works?
WHY do we not know the real facts about the dangers of diabetes?
WHY are we just thinking it is ok to live with diabetes?
WHY are we saying living with insulin every day is living a ‘healthy life’?
WHY are we not all aware of pre-diabetes?
WHY are we not well informed and educated about pre-diabetes?
Are most of us aware of what this actually is and how serious this is?
WHY are there long-term complications with Type 1 diabetes?
1996 (1)
75th anniversary of the discovery of insulin is celebrated worldwide.
WHY are we celebrating the 75th anniversary of the discovery of insulin?
What exactly are we celebrating?
Is this evolution for one of our oldest diseases?
Have we got the answers?
Are are we any closer to finding a cure?
WHY do we not have the answers for diabetes if the first insulin patient was in 1922? (1)
WHY did Insulin go into mass production 94 years ago? (1)
16th Century (1)
A Swiss physician, Phillipus Aureolus Paracelsus, considered the ‘Martin Luther of Medicine’ identified diabetes as a serious general disorder.
WHY is diabetes not seen as ‘a serious general disorder’ when we were told 500 years ago? 1776 (1)
When urine was evaporated from a patient with diabetes the residue was like granulated sugar and tasted like sugar.
Modern diabetes treatment has now abolished the idea of emaciation caused by the excessive loss of glucose into the urine. In its place, diabetes has transformed into a wholly different kind of killer. (9)
How many of us think of diabetes as a killer disease today?
WHY are we so complacent about this illness that so many now have?
WHY do we accept that diabetes is ok as we view it as not life threatening?
1916 (1)
Pathologist Elliott Joslin stated in his book ‘The Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus’ that the mortality of patients had reduced when fasting and regular exercise were introduced. For the next 50 years this man established a reputation as one of the world’s leading experts in diabetes.
WHY have we not taken on board that there maybe a possible clue to what was discovered exactly 100 years ago?
Could it be possible that Joslin was telling us something simple and basic about diabetes?
Could it be possible that by addressing what the body needs this can make a difference?
Could it be possible that lifestyle changes are the simple answer?
Could it be possible what this man was telling us 100 years ago is relevant today?
So What Exactly is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a permanent change in our body’s internal chemistry. This results in too much glucose in the blood. The cause is due to a deficiency of the hormone insulin. (12)
What is Insulin?
Insulin is a hormone and is the main regulator of the sugar (glucose) levels in the blood.
Hormones regulate the cells of the body and are produced by glands. Our glands are part of the Endocrine System which regulates metabolism, growth and development and tissue function. It is also responsible for sleep and mood and much more. Diabetes is known as a common endocrine disease.
Insulin is produced in our pancreas by the beta cells within the cluster of cells called the Islets of Langerhans.
Insulin helps a cell to absorb glucose from the bloodstream.
When we eat our glucose levels rise and insulin is released into the bloodstream. The insulin opens up cells so they can take in the sugar and use it as an energy source.
Our body gets sugar in many forms and carbohydrates are the main ones.
In the digestive process carbs are broken down to glucose.
Carbohydrates include bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and all sweets.
Those who have diabetes either have a lack of insulin or a resistance to insulin, which means the sugar remains in the blood, which then results in blood glucose levels rising.
Type 1 diabetes requires an exact dose of insulin a few times a day.
Overdose of insulin lowers the blood sugar concentration and can result in a coma or even death.
A clear confirmation of the seriousness of this disease.
If blood glucose levels are low, the patient suffers from an overdose of insulin.
If blood glucose levels are high, the patient does not have enough insulin.
So if the blood sugar is too low, it needs to be treated with glucose, like orange juice, which is high in sugar.
Hypoglycaemia (12)
This is also known as ‘hypo’. When someone has low blood sugar, it deprives the brain of the energy it needs. With severe hypoglycaemia, people can become drowsy, unconscious or even have an epileptic fit.
Symptoms of Hypoglycaemia
Feeling sweaty or cold and clammy
Trembling and feeling weak
Feeling hungry
Blurred vision
Looking pale
Unable to concentrate
Feeling irritable
Feeling upset or angry
Behaving like person is drunk
Common Causes of Hypoglycaemia
Drinking too much alcohol
Eating later than expected
Burst of unexpected exercise
If the blood sugar is high, it is treated with insulin as this helps the cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. (13)
To date researchers do not know exactly how insulin works. (14)
Hello – can we stop and re-read this please
How come we don’t know?
WHY is this not a priority?
Are our researchers eating too much sugar so they are blind to the answer?
Our current intelligence marvels on all the advancements made like, life on other planets, building a city from desert land BUT we don’t know how insulin works?
Is this making any sense?
The Discovery of Insulin
We have known since the 19th century that patients who died of diabetes often showed that the pancreas was damaged.
1869 – Paul Langerhans, a medical student from Germany found that inside the pancreatic tissue which produces digestive juices, were clusters of cells and their function was unknown. These cell clusters which produced insulin were named the Islets of Langerhans.
1889 – Physiologist Oskar Minkowski discovered two main functions of the pancreas: 1. to produce digestive juices 2. to produce a substance that regulates the sugar glucose
1921 – Dr. Frederick Banting and Charles Best began experiments by removing the pancreas from a dog which resulted in the following:
Blood sugar rise
More thirsty
Need to drink more water
Urinating more often
Body became weaker and weaker
The dog had developed diabetes. (15)
Next experiment they surgically tied up the pancreas on another dog to stop the flow of nourishment so the pancreas degenerated. It was then removed, cut up and frozen in water and salts. This substance was ground up and filtered. The substance was called “isletin” and it was injected into the diabetic dog few times a day.
Blood Glucose levels dropped
More healthy
Stronger
To continue testing more, larger supplies of organs were needed so pancreases from cattle and pigs were used. The extract was called insulin.
Biochemist Bertram Collip joined the team with the task to purify the insulin so that it would be clean enough for human testing. Whole fresh pancreases from adult animals were being used.
1922 – Leonard Thompson aged 14 was near death. After the insulin shots he rapidly regained his appetite and strength. (15)
1923 – Medical firm Eli Lilly started mass production of Insulin. They were producing enough insulin to supply the entire North American continent. (15)
The discovery of insulin was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.
To date it is one of the biggest discoveries in medicine. (15)
1936 – Protamine, a protein found in fish sperm was added to make insulin release more slowly into the blood. The body was able to break this protein down slowly. (14)
Today genetically modified bacteria or yeast is produced to get a perfect copy of human insulin.
1982 – Mass production of Humulin which is the first biosynthetic and identical in chemical structure to human insulin. (1)
Human insulin is grown in the laboratory inside common bacteria.
The human protein that produces insulin is manufactured through an amino-acid sequencing machine that synthesises the DNA.
Synthesising human insulin is a multi-step biochemical process that depends on basic DNA techniques and understanding of the insulin gene.
Manufacturers manipulate the biological precursor to insulin so that it grows inside simple bacteria.
If you really want to know the ins and outs of the chemical structures and the full manufacturing process, check out this website on how human insulin is made. http://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Insulin.html
March 1999
Scientists conduct the first successful islet transplant at the University of Alberta Hospital. The surgical procedure becomes known as The Edmonton Protocol. (1)
Researchers are currently producing several new drug delivery devices. They are also exploring ingesting insulin through pills but need to look at covering them with plastic if they are to bypass the stomachs highly acidic environment.
There is also talk about inhaling insulin, using aerosols to administer insulin to the inner cheek and insulin patches. They are also talking about one day replacing the non-working pancreas cells with insulin-producing cells.
September 2016
Researchers at the University of Alabama, USA are looking at ways to wrap pig tissues with a protective coating. The ultimate goal is to transplant insulin-producing cell clusters from pigs into humans that have Type 1 diabetes. This would replace the need for daily injections. (16)
So how do we feel about having pig tissue inside us?
Are we now tampering with the laws of nature by taking from the animal kingdom?
Are we concerned where we get our insulin from? Are we bothered about the animal welfare here?
Are we aware of the quality of the organ that we are receiving?
Are we just desperate to get ‘fixed’ so we can continue life as usual?
Are we any closer to finding out WHY we get diabetes?
Is this really the ‘ultimate goal’ or is there more?
Scientists are also working on correcting the insulin gene’s mutation so that diabetics would be able to produce insulin on their own.
WHY are we finding more ways to administer insulin?
WHY are we not focused on funding research to get to the root cause?
WHY on earth have we developed this disease in the first place?
According to the American Diabetes Association –
Rapid-acting insulin reaches the blood within 15 minutes and peaks at 30 to 90 minutes and may last 5 hours.
Short acting insulin reaches the blood within 30 minutes, peaks about 2 to 4 hours later and stays in the blood for 4 to 8 hours.
Intermediate-acting insulin reaches the blood 2 to 6 hours after injection, peaks 4 to 14 hours later and can last in the blood for 14 to 20 hours.
Long acting insulin takes 6 to 14 hours to start working, followed by a small peak soon after and stays in the blood for 20 to 24 hours. (14)
With due respect to modern science for all that it is doing to keep us alive and existing with new forms of medicines – is this the answer?
Is this the solution?
Is this the remedy to keep us going so we can function?
Is this the licence to continue existing but not look at how we are choosing to live?
Is this the passport to live like we used to before diabetes and not make any changes?
Is this dependent way of staying alive causing us other ailments or illnesses?
Is self-management the real way forward for this global epidemic?
England
2016
Information from the data analysis company, Exasol found that the prescribing of second line drugs, used when people with diabetes are getting sicker, has doubled in 5 years. (17)
Many people with diabetes also need to take medications to control their blood pressure and to control their cholesterol.
USA
High Blood Pressure (4)
71% of adults diagnosed with diabetes had high blood pressure or used prescribed medications to lower blood pressure. (2009 – 2012)
High Cholesterol (4)
65% of adults diagnosed with diabetes had high blood LDL cholesterol or used cholesterol lowering medications. (2009 – 2012)
WHY is there a direct correlation with diabetes and medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol?
Could it be possible the diabetes medication may have side effects that affect our blood pressure?
Could it be possible that our body is under pressure because of the way we are living?
Could it be possible that our breathing is altered with excess sugar and this gives rise to our blood pressure?
Could it be possible that our modern high fat diet is the main contributory factor to why we have high blood cholesterol?
Could it be possible that by reducing fat and sugar in our diet we would see a significant change in blood glucose levels?
Could it be possible our body is simply reacting as it does not want artificial foods to alter its natural state?
Can our lifestyle choices really make a difference?
Could it be possible that the way we are choosing to live plays a hand in this illness?
Could it be possible that we need more education about what diabetes is?
The prevalence of Diabetes is 3 times the number of all the cancers combined together. Dr Srikanth Bellary, Clinical Director, Diabetes, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital (6)
The need to tackle this serious health condition has never been so stark or so urgent. Tragically, we are continuing to see too many people with diabetes suffering serious complications, and even dying before their time, and we know the key reasons for this are that they are being denied both the care and access to education that would help them to manage their condition well. Diabetes education needs to be readily available everywhere and commissioned along with a proper local system that explains to people with diabetes the benefits they will gain from attending an education course and ensures that courses are well run.
Chris Askew, Chief Executive, Diabetes UK (7)
WHY are most of us not aware of the serious complications related to diabetes?
WHY is there little education in all our communities worldwide about diabetes?
Do we have a say who can run courses to educate us on diabetes?
Would it be wise to have those who have the condition to tell us more?
OR would it be more benefit to have presenters to educate us on diabetes who clearly are not in the pre-diabetes category?
In other words, they are choosing to live in a way that demonstrates they are taking RESPONSIBILITY for their own health and well-being.
Could it be possible that we need to get more real and honest about this epidemic that is threatening health systems around the world?
1959 – Two types of diabetes were identified.
Type 1 diabetes previously known as insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is non-insulin dependent.
Type 1 Diabetes
Accounts for approx. 10% of cases. (13)
Did you know that Type 1 is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks its own insulin-producing cells which destroys insulin production? This means that the pancreas is no longer able to produce insulin.
Scientists do not know why this happens.
We all know our human body has an intelligence like no other.
Do we honestly think that our body is making a ‘mistake’ when it attacks itself in some way?
Can we simply just accept what we are being told by the experts that “by mistake it attacks its own insulin producing cells”? (13)
Could it be possible that the way we are choosing to live is why our body is attacking itself?
Are we complacent in thinking that there is going to be enough insulin to keep us going forever?
Are we aware that our fat cells are doing another job than what they naturally need to?
Do we realise that our body’s internal systems are not in harmony if we have diabetes?
In other words – inside the body our organs are having to work in an un-natural way.
Back to Type 1 –
People with Type 1 diabetes usually inject insulin three to four times daily
Kidneys have to work harder to remove the excess glucose
More water being extracted leads to heavy urination
Feeling of insatiable thirst
Fat cells are broken down to counter sugar loss
Toxic levels of acids build up in the blood – Ketoacidosis
Without daily insulin treatment this type of diabetes can rapidly lead to a life-threatening situation.
Is it true to say that patients can ‘live a perfectly normal life’ with insulin treatment?
Who is defining what a ‘perfectly normal life’ actually is?
Has our ‘perfectly normal life’ deviated further away from our natural state?
Are we accepting the words ‘perfectly normal life’ because we can function?
Are we ok with the fact that our kidneys are overworking because of our diabetes?
Is a kidney condition a secondary condition because of diabetes?
Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes (13)
Excessive thirst and dehydration
Frequent urination
Hunger accompanied by weight loss
Blurred vision
Weakness, tiredness and sleepiness
Vomiting or nausea
Sudden irritability
Type 2 Diabetes 85-90% of diabetes cases are Type 2. (2)
The cells in the pancreas do not react to insulin in a natural way and this is called insulin resistance. Normally, insulin binds to receptors on the cell surface. This then activates the glucose transporter molecules in the cell membrane so glucose can enter the cell.
Insulin resistance occurs when some glucose is locked out of the cells.
Average of seven years from onset of the disease to diagnosis.
This means some already suffer damage to blood vessels, kidneys, eyes and nerves. (13)
Type 2 diabetes generally occurs in obese people and those middle aged and older.
Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes (13)
Fatigue
Excessive thirst
Frequent urination
Blurred vision
Mood changes
High rate of infections
Slow healing process
Drugs are prescribed to manage Type 2 diabetes and patients are instructed to have a healthy diet and plenty of exercise.
Can we stop for a moment and ask who is defining the words “healthy diet”?
Are those writing diabetic diets equipped and educated in the facts about diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes can be delayed or prevented in 58% of cases. (11)
We all know that for most cases of Type 2 diabetes it is preventable through lifestyle choices.
So who knows what lifestyle choices are good medicine and who is advising us?
Does the person giving us the message Live in a True way that is not harming the body?
Is it just about diet, nutrition and getting more sleep?
Have we forgotten some of the vital ingredients like living a deeply self-connecting life?
That means our priority is staying connected with our body and listening to it.
Are those putting websites out to guide diabetics on what to eat really the masters of healthy living when they themselves are diabetics?
WHY have we allowed the Internet to be a licence to post anything we want, which includes 3 tablespoons of sugar in a chocolate caffeine drink for diabetics?
If we stick our common sense hat on for one moment – is this making any sense?
Could it be possible that if an organisation posts a recipe for a diabetic beverage containing 3 tablespoons of sugar, we have a responsibility to question this with our common sense hat on?
Have we lost our moral compass?
Are we going to just read what’s out there and apply it as it suits us?
Could it be possible that we are going to find websites that don’t truly offer real change because that is what we are seeking?
Could it be possible that in our campaigns to defeat diabetes we may have a blind spot in us because we are pre-diabetes or already have the dis-ease in our body?
Possible?
WHY are our healthy eating advisors not getting long-term results?
WHY are there more and more new diets reducing sugar that are not really working?
WHY do we continue to eat copious amounts of sugar every day whenever we want?
WHY are we pretending that sugar free is not really sugar free in our body?
WHY do we consistently need this excess sugar to keep going?
WHY are our children craving more and more sugar every day?
WHY is our human body not valued and appreciated as a precious vehicle?
WHY do we need sugar taxes and regulations to try and stop us eating sugar?
WHY does the optician tell us that cutting out sugar will improve our eyesight?
Is there a direct correlation with eating sugar and the health of our eyes?
Do we just want a solution to keep on functioning but not ask the WHY questions?
Are we asking – WHY has our body arrived at diabetes?
What is going on in our life at the time when diabetes is triggered?
Was there something major that happened to us when we were diagnosed with diabetes?
Are we afraid to go there and look at the possible answers to these questions?
Do we truly want to take Responsibility?
Does our body really want exercise that is too aggressive for our overworked kidneys?
October 3rd 2016
BBC 1 ‘Diabetes: The Hidden Killer’ (Panorama) reported that approx. 40% of the patients at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital on kidney dialysis were Type 2 diabetic. (6)
If we have Type 2 diabetes we are over three times as likely to have kidney disease. (6)
UK
There are approx. 3.5 million adults with Type 2 diabetes. (17)
If current growth rates continue, numbers are expected to reach 5 million by 2020. This is 5 years earlier than previously expected. (17)
Type 2 diabetes prescriptions in England have increased over the last 5 years from 26 million to 35 million. (17)
2nd October 2016 – The numbers of children developing Type 2 diabetes is increasing. 16 years ago there was not a single case of a child being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the UK. (18)
Type 2 diabetes in children –
I didn’t quite believe it. It wasn’t in any of our medical textbooks. We didn’t get taught it in medical school, so we didn’t expect to see it as an issue. We thought it was an American problem but in the year 2000 we saw the first cases in the UK, here in Birmingham.
Prof. Timothy Barrett, Birmingham Children’s Hospital (6)
So here we have a Professor of a Children’s Hospital saying diabetes was not in the medical textbooks so obviously the question is who was writing our textbooks? We are seeing twice as many children developing Type 2 diabetes than we were seeing in 2004/5. A striking number of the children have evidence of fatty infiltration of their liver and abnormal liver function tests.
Prof. Julian Hamilton-Shield, Bristol Royal Hospital for Children (6)
Have we considered what the ‘striking number’ may possibly be today?
What is going on that our kids have abnormal liver function?
Children are developing Type 2 diabetes as young as ages 11 and 12.
One doctor says: “I saw a child last week who was developing cirrhosis of the liver.” (6)
Type 2 Diabetes in children may be a different disease to Type 2 diabetes in adults. Adults who get this at age 50 may not necessarily get these other types of complications, but the children we see with Type 2 seem to have got a more aggressive progress and they’re getting complications earlier than you would expect Prof. Timothy Barrett, Birmingham Children’s Hospital (6)
Please re-read this as this is super serious stuff here.
Children are showing different complications to adults with the same disease and the process is more aggressive.
WHY?
Australia
The highest incidences of Type 1 diabetes are among children aged 10 to 14. (9)
WHY are our children amongst the highest in Australia?
What is going on for these children that triggers diabetes?
Diabetes risk doubles with more than 2 soft drinks daily. (19)
Researchers found that adults drinking two 200ml of soft drinks a day – whether it contained sugar or artificial sweetener were twice as likely to develop LADA and 2.4 times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes.
Adults who consumed five 200ml servings of soft drinks daily were found to be at 3.5 times greater risk of LADA and 10.5 times at greater risk of Type 2 diabetes, regardless of whether the drinks were sugary or artificially sweetened.
Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) LADA is a subtype of Type 1 diabetes. It is sometimes referred to as “Type 1.5” diabetes as it shares some characteristics of Type 1 and Type 2. It is believed to be an autoimmune disease like Type 1 but it also incorporates insulin resistance like Type 2. (19)
So here we have it in black and white with no mincing of words.
There is no difference in the body if we have sugar or artificial sweeteners.
Hello again,
Have we been fooled by the name when it says sugar free or zero sugar?
Are we ever told that it makes no difference when we have these diet drinks?
Are the advertisers taking any responsibility selling us sugar free beverages?
Would we benefit if our social media alerted us with raw uncut facts about diabetes?
Do we realise that the harm to our body is going on and nothing has actually changed?
Are our sugar drinks’ manufacturers really interested in our health and well-being?
Are we accepting that profits before people is the norm these days?
WHY are we not asking questions about what goes into our food and drink?
WHY do we love the taste of sugar so much?
Could it be possible that we crave sugar because there is a lack somewhere?
Could it be possible that all the questions in this blog is spelling out another way?
Sleep Apnea (20)
Researchers found that people with severe obstructive sleep apnea were 70% more likely to have Type 2 diabetes compared to normal sleepers.
Obesity leads to a greater risk of Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea. Patients at particular risk for developing diabetes are overweight and physically inactive people.
Dr. Paul E. Peppard
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, Madison, USA (20)
Again we have it – another confirmation about being overweight and not physically active.
Do we actually need more evidence or proof that there is something in the way we are living that is directly contributing to our ill health?
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have released trial findings involving a lower carbohydrate diet and exercise program for people living with Type 2 diabetes.
They are advocating for government funding to translate research findings into a lifestyle modification program that can be offered to the public. (21)
Would a common sense diet be enough to start with while we are waiting for a lifestyle modification program to tell us what to do?
Is this confirming that having less carbs in our diet means better glucose stability in our blood?
Is this study the proof we need, as the low carbohydrate diet showed greater reductions in diabetes medication requirements?
Any kind of weight loss will make a difference to diabetes control.
Professor Noakes, Research Director for Nutrition and Health, CSIRO (11)
9 out of 10 Type 2 diabetes patients are overweight or obese. (6)
Hold on – can we just stop and press the pause button here.
90% of our Type 2 Diabetes patients are overweight or obese.
So what is going on in life that makes a person overeat consistently?
WHY are we not concerned when our BMI is well over the average?
WHY do we ignore the excess fat we are carrying around every day?
WHY are we not educated about eating only what our body needs?
What is our emotional state, if we are being honest, when we have an obesity issue?
Pre-Diabetes (22)
Pre-diabetes, also commonly referred to as borderline diabetes is a metabolic condition and growing global problem that is closely tied to obesity.
If undiagnosed or untreated, pre-diabetes can develop into Type 2 diabetes.
Pre-diabetes is characterised by the presence of blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be classed as diabetes.
For this reason, pre-diabetes is often described as the “gray area” between normal blood sugar and diabetic levels.
UK
7 million people are estimated to have pre-diabetes and thus have a high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.
Australia (9)
1 in 5 have pre-diabetes. Over 60% of these people will ultimately develop diabetes without intervention.
So here we have even more to add to the statistics of diabetes. Thank God is what we should be saying as we now have enough technology to detect that we may get diabetes.
Is this enough for us while we chomp away at our chocolate or high sugar coffee shop drinks?
Is this the wake-up call we need to stop eating foods that are cooked with sugar and fats that our body simply does not need?
Is this shocking number going to get us away from our take-away full of hidden sugar?
Is this word ‘pre-diabetes’ stirring up anything inside us to make a change now?
It can be very frustrating walking down the high street and seeing all the high fat, high sugar, high calorie cheap food on offer. There does still seem to be a huge resistance to looking at changes. Mr. Martin Claridge, Clinical Director, Vascular Surgery (6)
HbA1c (23)
HbA1c is a term commonly used in relation to diabetes. It develops when haemoglobin, a protein inside the red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout our body, joins with glucose in the blood becoming ‘glycated’.
By measuring HbA1c (glycated haemoglobin), clinicians are able to get an overall picture of what our average blood sugar levels have been over a period of weeks/months.
This is important for people with diabetes as the higher the HbA1c, the greater the risk of developing diabetes-related complications.
HbA1c is also referred to as haemoglobin A1c or simply A1c.
HbA1c provides a longer-term trend, similar to an average of how high your blood sugar levels have been over a period of time whereas blood glucose level is the concentration of glucose in the blood at a single point in time e.g. at the time of the test only.
So here we have the know how – the tools to detect even more about our blood sugar levels.
What happens now?
What next?
How are we going to use this information?
What do our medical experts need to say for us to make changes?
WHY do we need a HbA1c to confirm our trend in lifestyle choices?
Do our daily choices have a hand in our blood sugar levels?
Is it the job of the hospital consultant to tell us to change our diet and start exercising?
Is it our responsibility to apply some common sense and just get on with it?
Is it our responsibility to take note of the medical staff and take action?
Is it ok to simply turn up and nod at the hospital staff but make no effort to change?
Is it acceptable to go back and take up another appointment without making any changes?
WHERE IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY?
Is HbA1c going on inside our body because we feel alone, isolated, dis-connected to who we truly are and no longer a part of the whole?
In other words, we cannot feel unity or inter-connectedness with others even if we live with them?
Have we in some sense lost the togetherness that we innately know we come from and move around like individuals who are divided away from others?
Research has shown that people with Type 2 diabetes who reduce their HbA1c level by 1% are: 19% less likely to suffer cataracts 16% less likely to suffer heart failure 43% less likely to suffer amputation 43% less likely to die from peripheral vascular disease (23)
Another Hello please stop and re-read moment.
Just 1% reduction in HbA1c level is speaking volumes to us.
If we just put our common sense hat on, we can feel that the sugar we consume directly or indirectly from food and drink is having a big effect on our blood sugar levels.
Even a slight reduction helps our heart and eyes.
Consider never having to worry about having a foot or leg amputated, just because we reduced our own blood sugar levels.
WHAT ABOUT DIABETES-RELATED AMPUTATIONS?
WHY do we not know more about this?
WHY does diabetes lead to PAD – Peripheral Artery Disease?
Why are toes, feet and lower legs being amputated for people with diabetes?
2015
WHY is the NHS saying diabetes-related amputations have reached an all-time record high of 135 per week? (24)
What is the actual real figure a year later – today?
The fact that the total number of amputations is continuing to rise is a huge concern because we know the devastating impact they have on people’s lives. As well as the psychological impact, they also cost lives as most people die within five years of having one. Barbara Young, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK (24)
There is a stigma associated with diabetes, so now people don’t talk about it and are not seeking support … so we are seeing more and more of these complications. Sturt Eastwood, Chief Executive of Diabetes NSW (11)
At the Royal Prince Alfred Foot Clinic, Sydney, Australia they have a ‘queue backed up for months.’ (11)
WHY are we waiting for someone to advise us about feet care?
WHY are those who know more and can do more not coming forward to help others?
WHY do we not have simple, easy to follow instructive educational websites, offering foot care for diabetes as a general well-being tip?
Healthy circulation to our feet can help to keep the tissues strong.
We can then encourage this healthy blood flow by eating the correct foods, keeping control of diabetes and not smoking. (12)
Could the ‘common sense medicine’ shared in one of our blogs have some answers for our foot care?https://simplelivingglobal.com/cold-hands-cold-feet
Australia
2016 (11)
Numbers of people needing amputations has grown by 25% in 2 years.
Patients are depressed and frightened of this disease that is eating away at them. Gary Fettke, Orthopaedic Surgeon.
Australia (25)
$875,000,000 is spent every year on diabetes-related amputations and other costs related to diabetic foot disease.
Surveys show that the general public underestimates the seriousness of diabetes and many do not know the connection between diabetes and amputations.
85% of diabetes-amputations are preventable if problems are detected early and managed appropriately. Professor Johnson
Almost all diabetes-related amputations are preceded by sores and ulcers on the foot. Professor Zoungas
England (6)
The NHS spends nearly £1 billion (£1,000,000,000) a year on foot ulcers and amputations caused by Type 2 diabetes.
In England approx. £400 per night in hospital. After an amputation a stay in hospital could be as long as one month which is around £12,000.
An amputation can cost the NHS £18,000 with rehabilitation costing a further £20,000.
Global
In 2005 the theme for World Diabetes Day was Diabetes and Foot Care.
In a joint publication of The International Diabetes Federation and the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot, the following is stated –
People with diabetes have a responsibility to themselves. They must play an active role in their own care and learn as much as they can about their condition in order to seek, recognise and act upon good advice.
Many complications of diabetes can lead to death or severe disability. (26)
Just in case you missed the date that was over 10 years ago.
WHY has a 200 page report with global contributions not made the figures go down?
What has really changed in the last decade?
Why do we celebrate this world awareness day?
What exactly are we celebrating?
WHY are the statistics on this blog confirming things have got much worse?
People with diabetes are encouraged to take a lot of responsibility for their own health, paying careful attention to their diet and carrying out regular tests on their blood and urine in order to monitor their progress. (12)
Professor Rudy Bilous – Understanding Diabetes, under Personal Responsibility, (p.1)
Is encouraging our patients enough for them to make the changes?
Is more needed?
Could it be possible that those encouraging also have a Responsibility?
In other words, those motivating, advising or encouraging diabetics need to ensure they are living a certain quality that is not pre-disposed to diabetes?
What is clear is that people are not aware of the dangers diabetes is having on their vascular system and how this relates to their feet.
Diabetes leads to an increased risk of developing hardening and narrowing of the large blood vessels or arteries, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes and poor circulation in legs. (12)
Could it be possible that we are not correctly informing and educating people of the dangers, when they are diagnosed with diabetes?
Could it be possible that our lack of connection means the mind is not focused on the body and this leads to us not being aware when our feet have sores or ulcers?
Could it be possible that if we are not connecting to our inner-most self on a daily basis we are likely to ignore any minor foot pain or injury?
Could it be possible that if we are in ‘checked out’ mode, where our mind is not with our body, then chances are we will not acknowledge if our feet have some infection going on?
Could it be possible that if we are suffering with obesity, our priority is not to check our feet every day?
Could it be possible that most of us pay very little attention and have no regard for our feet?
Could it be possible that we do not take deep care of our body and this is what is missing?
When our body has high blood glucose this causes Atherosclerosis, which is the hardening of the arteries. That means we have poor circulation in our feet and it can also lead to a stroke or heart attack.
Australia
Heart disease and stroke account for about a third of deaths in people with diabetes. (9)
When we read figures and numbers do they really hit home to us about the real problem?
WHY do a third of diabetics die with a stroke or heart disease?
What is going on with our vascular system that it just shuts down?
In the past a large share of vascular problems were caused by smoking. (6)
All aspects of healthcare that are affected by Type 2 diabetes are straining at the seams, bursting at the seams, trying to manage this increasing number of patients with these complications. Each time one of these episodes occur, each time the patients come into hospital there is a huge price tag in terms of economic cost and mobilisation of staff and resources.
I am worried that the NHS will have to decide what conditions it does or does not treat.
We now probably need around double the number of beds in vascular surgery to help with this influx of the disease.
It used to be that perhaps it was unusual to find a patient with diabetes but now almost every patient that I come across on the vascular ward has diabetes.
Mr Martin Claridge, Clinical Director, Vascular Surgery (6)
WHY is it that we are not paying attention to what our health professionals are saying?
WHY are we comfortable taking insulin or medication for our diabetes but not really digging deeper to see if we can do more? WHY are people smoking and overeating even after being diagnosed with diabetes?
WHY are we not taking action to exercise more and eat less?
WHY are we choosing to not take full RESPONSIBILITY for our lifestyle choices?
WHY are we looking to our health systems to correct our bad habits? WHY are we seriously taking note after a foot or leg amputation?
WHY are some of us not asking questions about our lifestyle choices that may have led to diabetes?
Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes cause damage to blood vessels and peripheral nerves that can result in problems in the feet and legs.
Peripheral artery disease and peripheral neuropathy are responsible for the increased risk of foot problems in people with diabetes.
Nerve damage can cause numbness in the feet and this can make people less aware of injuries and foot ulcers. If not treated this can lead to serious infections, which in turn can lead to amputation. (27)
“I was a young lout, enjoying my mates company with a bit of invincibility I suppose. I’d eat what I wanted to eat, and would skip insulin. If I could take it all back, I’d be checking my sugars regularly, eating that healthy diet, taking my insulin — don’t take anything for granted.”
In his 20’s this man lost many of his toes and has since had a foot amputation, kidney transplant, dialysis and eye surgery. (28)
Can we look at the cost to the quality of human life here?
Can we also look at the cost to our health systems as this is not an isolated case?
There are many many of us who neglect our body even though we know we have a disease and are prescribed medication.
To eat what we want and skip our insulin is dangerous not only to ourselves but to all those that are affected by our choices.
To drink alcohol which contains copious amounts of sugar is not good medicine for anyone let alone a diabetic?
Can we blame anyone?
Is it our responsibility to research, learn and educate ourselves if we have diabetes?
What about those who have no access to education – do they have a Responsibility?
Is it possible to change the systems and tell them they need to do more?
Is it the governments job to give us more funding because we like to live irresponsibly?
Do we ever stop and ask how our choices impact society in the long term?
Can we learn from those who are warning us to pay attention to our body?
Diabetes just ravages most of the systems. It has effects on the heart, it has effects on the blood vessels, it has effects on the kidneys and it’s just non remitting, unrelenting, you know it just carries on. At the back of your mind you always think that they have a limited lifespan because there’s only so much you’ll be able to do for them.
In a way you feel helpless. With the way things are going it’s probably going to get worse rather than better. Dr Jyoti Baharani, Clinical Director, Renal Medicine (6)
Is tweeting our Secretary of State for Health making any difference if numbers are rising each week?
Are celebrity shoe donations to support a campaign enough or just another form of reducing this huge global problem that is not going away?
Could it be possible that defeating diabetes, campaigning and fighting for a cure are simply forms of reductionism?
In other words, we are reducing this massive global problem that has been around for a long time and we are no closer to the answer?
Is the reductionism coming from those who want a cure for themselves as they are suffering with diabetes?
Do the people who research, study and have websites about diabetes live free of this disease?
In other words, are they pre-diabetic or do they have a lifestyle that confirms they are not likely to get diabetes?
WHY are Diabetes UK relying on charity donations to keep going?
Are donations the answer to this wake-up call that we all need right now or is there more?
Is the latest bariatric weight loss surgery the answer, the solution or the cure?
Bariatric surgery is seen as a life-saving operation.
England (6)
Bariatric surgery costs approx. £5,000.
It is viewed as a cure for diabetes.
One surgeon says: This is an investment that the NHS has to make, so the resources have to be moved from somewhere else towards bariatric surgery and it is not always easy. He says bariatric surgery is the only way to control the problem. (6)
There are 6,000 weight loss operations per year. The European average is 50,000 per year. It is suggested that if the UK met this and increased the number of weight loss operations, it would make a ‘small dent’ in the diabetes epidemic.
Is this telling us we are ok to go ahead and eat what we want, drink sugar beverages and continue on the ill health road because we have the cure at the end of the diabetes road.
In other words, there is a way now that will control our problem called diabetes.
Would it make any difference if we did not have the NHS paying for our surgery?
Would it make a big dent in the diabetes epidemic if we made sensible lifestyle choices?
Could it be possible that if we started to take responsibility, then the health systems could spend the resources on other types of diseases that urgently need funding?
Can we stop the blame game and do our bit?
How long will the flame of hope burn at the birthplace of Insulin in Ontario, (Canada) until a cure for diabetes is found?(1)
Is hope all we have when it comes to getting to the root cause of why we have diabetes?
Why do we have a time capsule locked away waiting for a cure for diabetes?
Will this evolve us in any way? (1)
The million-dollar question is – How are we LIVING that is causing diabetes?
Dear World
We don’t have the answers to WHY we have diabetes, so here are some simple questions to ponder deeply and consider –
Could it be possible that we are exhausted and this is why we crave foods to keep us going?
Could it be possible that we need the artificial sugar in foods just to stay awake and function?
Could it be possible that our natural body requires no bread, cake, candy or chocolate?
Could it be possible that our lifestyle choices have a big hand to play in why we get diabetes?
Could it be possible that our emotional state may be contributing to our food choices?
Could it be possible that when we give up on life, it maybe the start of pre-diabetes?
Could it be possible that some event or trauma triggers diabetes in our children?
Could it be possible that our lack of expression and holding back requires substances like sugar to push it down further?
Could it be possible that we love the comfort and relief that we get from eating foods that are high in sugar?
Could it be possible that we don’t bother to check the high sugar content in alcohol and soda?
Could it be possible we are too tired to check the ingredients at the supermarket?
On that note – has anyone checked the ingredients on most foods, including junk foods?
Whether it’s a healthy salad dressing or a packet of flavoured crisps, there seems to be some sugar. Do not be fooled as there are plenty of names for sugar.
If it says zero sugar then bet your bottom dollar there is some substitute made in the lab, which in effect does the same job as sugar inside our body.
Could it be possible that we choose to ignore the facts about the harmful effects of sugar?
Could it be possible that we think we have made changes when we use sugar substitutes?
Could it be possible that it suits us to not look at what goes into what we eat?
Could it be possible that we don’t have any real understanding about what diabetes is?
Could it be possible we have no real clue what the pancreas is and what job it has to do?
Could it be possible that we are not committed to life and so we don’t really value our body?
Could it be possible most of us don’t realise how serious and life threatening diabetes is?
Could it be possible that we know in the back of our mind we can eat what we want and live how we want because our health systems will take care of us when things get bad?
Could it be possible we are exhausted, eat foods just to keep going and we have given up on our potential?
In other words, we lack the vitality to Live a True Life that has meaning and purpose because we feel that we have nothing of value to offer this world.
Could it be possible that in our inner most essence we are sweet and because we don’t connect to that sweetness, we look for the sweet stuff through sugary foods?
Is our connection to our essence, the core of our being, the very thing we are choosing to ignore every day?
Could it be possible that we are in some form of denial about the Truth of who we really are?
In other words, we are divine beings but we don’t want to know that as that would mean taking Responsibility.
Could it be possible, to keep that denial going we have to stay distracted with the outer entertainment, which includes driving ourselves to overwork, stimulating the body with our screen time on the computer and social media non-stop and eating what we want when we want?
Could it be possible that we have lost our inner-most connection and this is the root cause of all the disharmony and dis-ease in our bodies?
In other words, we are dis-connected from our natural state of being and so in that dis-connection we are seeking foods and making choices that are not aligned to who we truly are to fill the void.
Dear World
Enough has been said on this blog to confirm that we have a big fat problem in our world right now and we are not really taking it seriously.
We are eating what we want, living how we want, doing what we want, when we want and there is no RESPONSIBILITY for the consequences of our choices.
People need education, people need help, people need support, people need others to direct them, guide them, inspire them and show them that there is another way to live.
Is it time we took our health into our own hands and that means it is up to each and every one of us to recognise that diabetes is a major threat to our well-being and we need to take action. True actions speak louder than words and so we need to actively be responsible for all the choices we are making that is contributing to this lifestyle disease that is not going away.
It is clear diabetes is an overwhelming health crisis.
Hello
What are we waiting for?
Who are we waiting for?
WHY are we waiting around?
Is it time to get real, get honest, so that we can get to Truth and call out what we know is not working for us so that we can get on track and live a life of RESPONSIBILITY.
In other words, take an honest look at our lifestyle and knock out our bad choices that harm our body, drain our health systems and affect the whole world.
Could it be that simple?
On that note – client notes taken from a real life case study.
Michael D. Thompson
Computer Programmer
Age 41
September 2015
I applied only parts of the Simple Living Global Back to Basics Program.
If ALL of the program had been applied and lived there would be even more significant changes in my life today.
Note I only received support from Simple Living Global via skype and not in person.
Before Simple Living Global
Angry
Frustrated
Maximum 2 hours’ sleep REM once a month
Dark circles under eyes
Empty vacant looking eyes
Very pale skin
Constant monitoring of blood sugar minimum 8 times a day
Constant battle of highs and lows
One day can be low as 35 and high as 450 in the same day
Long Range Insulin twice daily 50 units
Short Range 12 – 14 units after every meal 3 – 4 times daily
High Blood Pressure
Diet was lots of Ice Cream, Pizza and 2 litres of Soda per day
Would have sinus drainage and raw throat if did not take Zyrtec
Obese 250+ pounds
November 2016
I do not get angry.
I have a deeper understanding about what was going on for me when I was diagnosed with Diabetes aged 11.
I consistently call out all the things that frustrate me now and my mood has stabled.
I take full responsibility for the choices I make which are sensible and realistic.
I have received support from Simple Living Global to deal with my buried issues.
The Simple Living Global Back to Basics Program has given me practical simple ways to live everyday that actually work.
Sleep is now 8 to 10 hours per night. REM sleep several times weekly.
No longer take Allergy medications that I have been taking for past 9 years.
Been off Zyrtec for 9 months now. Long Range Insulin reduced to 37 units twice daily.
Short Range Insulin is zero to 7 units.
Only for safety do I need to check my blood now but could go days without checking it and it would still be in control.
Skin tone alive
NO dark circles
I no longer look like a member of the walking dead
My eyes are very alive and bright
Enjoy LIVING life for the first time
Blood Pressure Stable
However, Insurance Law in USA insist I take medication for high blood pressure because I am diabetic even if it is not needed. I therefore choose to take the lowest dose because I have to or I cannot get medical care if I don’t take the medications the Doctor prescribes.
No junk food.
Diet is Gluten Free, Dairy Free.
Very careful when shopping for foods that have sugar content.
Weight – 215 pounds and still going down.
I authorise Simple Living Global to publish my name with these notes taken from my case study, which are accurate. M.D. Thompson.
The Simple Living Global Back to Basics Program is inspired by the work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
References
(1) (2016). History of Diabetes. Canadian Diabetes Association.
http://www.diabetes.ca/about-diabetes/history-of-diabetes
(2) (2016, April 6). Cost of Diabetes Hits $825 Billion Dollars a Year. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
http://bit.ly/2eM86rD
(3) (2015). Diabetes: Facts and Figures. International Diabetes Federation
http://www.idf.org/about-diabetes/facts-figures
(4) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Statistics Report: Estimates of Diabetes and Its Burden in the United States, 2014. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2014
http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/statsreport14/national-diabetes-report-web.pdf
(5) (2016). Types of Diabetes. Canadian Diabetes Association
http://www.diabetes.ca/about-diabetes/types-of-diabetes
(6) (2016, October 3). Diabetes: The Hidden Killer. Panorama. BBC One
(7) (2016, January 5). Number of People With Diabetes Reaches Over 4 Million. Diabetes UK https://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/News/Number-of-people-with-diabetes-reaches-over-4-million
(8) State of the Nation 2016 Time to Take Control of Diabetes. England. Diabetes UK. (p.5) https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Documents/Position%20statements/Diabetes%20UK%20State%20of%20the%20Nation%202016.pdf
(9) (2016, June 9). How Australians Die: Cause #5 – Diabetes. The Conversation https://theconversation.com/how-australians-die-cause-5-diabetes-57874
(10) (2015). Diabetes in Australia. Diabetes Australia https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/diabetes-in-australia
(11) Barlass, T. (2016, March 13). Amputations Due to Diabetes Up 25 Per Cent in Two Years. The Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/amputations-due-to-diabetes-up-25-per-cent-in-two-years-20160310-gng434.html
(12) Bilous, R. (n.d). Understanding Diabetes. Family Doctor Publications Limited in association with the British Medical Association. (p.1, p.4, pp. 80 – 84, p.122, p.124)
(13) “Facts about Diabetes and Insulin”. Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2016 http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/insulin/diabetes-insulin.html
(14) (2016). Insulin. How Products Are Made
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Insulin.html
(15) “The Discovery of Insulin”. Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 11 November 2016 http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/insulin/discovery-insulin.html
(16) (2016, September 8). Stealth Pig Cells May Hold the Key to Treating Diabetes in Humans. University of Alabama at Birmingham
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160908084340.htm
(17) (2016, October 10). Type 2 Diabetes: Data Reveals Hotspots for Cases. BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37584818
(18) (2016, October 2). Type 2 Diabetes in Children on the Rise. BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-37524488
(19) Whiteman, H. (2016, October 21). Diabetes Risk Doubles with More Than Two Soft Drinks Daily. Medical News Today
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313612.php
(20) Woodfield, J. (2016, October 17). Obstructive Sleep Apnea Linked to Increased Type 2 Diabetes Risk. Diabetes.co.uk
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2016/oct/Obstructive-sleep-apnea-linked-to-increased-type-2-diabetes-risk-92168325.html
(21) (2015). CSIRO Low Carb Diet Study – the Facts. Diabetes NSW & ACT
https://diabetesnsw.com.au/csiro-low-carb-study-the-facts
(22) (2016). Prediabetes (Borderline Diabetes). Diabetes.co.uk
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/pre-diabetes.html
(23) (2016). Guide to HbA1c. Diabetes.co.uk
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html
(24) (2015, July 15). More Than 135 Diabetes Amputations Every Week. Diabetes UK https://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/News/More-than-135-diabetes-amputations-every-week
(25) (2016, July 10). Amputations – 4,400 Reasons to Take Diabetes Seriously. Diabetes Australia https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/news/15266?type=articles
(26) (n.d). Diabetes and Foot Care Time to Act. International Diabetes Federation & the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot. (p.8, p.9) http://www.idf.org/webdata/docs/T2A_Introduction.pdf
(27) (2016, February 5). Foot Complications. American Diabetes Association http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/foot-complications
(28) Burin, M. (2016, July 10). Calls to Address ‘Staggering’ Number of Australians Losing Limbs to Diabetes. ABC News
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-10/diabetes-australia-calls-on-urgent-action-to-reduce-amputations/7577688
Comments 125
When something is not working, (no one understands why diabetes in the world is increasing so alarmingly), it is time to do to do something different. Simple Living Global has presented a way of living that is simple and makes sense. It has supported me to make many positive changes in my life, physically and mentally.
10 years ago I was having issues with blood sugar levels and no one seemed to understand what was going on. By doing intensive self care and support from Simple Living Global, my body in its amazing wisdom basically healed itself. I have changed my relationship with my body and if I can truly listen to it, it knows exactly what to do in any situation.
Great what you say here Ken – when something is not working then it is high time we done something different.
Our very first blog on this website for humanity – Is there another way? presents a simple way of living that has been tried and tested and does work.
It would be very true to say that I was pre-diabetes and my partner was morbidly obese.
Thanks to the teachings of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine we have both completely turned our life around and in total we have lost over 16 stone in weight and that in itself speaks volumes. Diabetes coming from lifestyle choices is simply not on our radar now.
This is why I have been able to support people like yourself living in another country. You are inspired by my living way which is taking RESPONSIBILITY for the choices I make every single day. No perfection needed.
Smoke detectors are built to have an unbearably loud repetitive chirp when the batteries need changing. It is loud and this chirp hurts my ears and yet I personally know of more than one family to leave their smoke detectors chirping over the bed (every couple minutes!) for many weeks to months simply because they are so overwhelmed and exhausted…
If we cant cope with changing batteries what kinds of choices are we making around food and other important things?
Is this not evidence that people are not coping with daily life well at all?
How can we ALL not be talking about this?
How can we ignore these kinds of behaviours which are signs that what we are doing is getting us exhausted and leading to poor choices which might just shine some light on how we are making ourselves ill?
Looking at our priorities is a good place to start and I recommend Simple Living Global blogs as priority.
What you are saying here Jo Elmer is very serious. We are so exhausted and overwhelmed to even change a smoke alarm battery that is going off every few minutes.
Have we become deaf or immune to the noise or have we just given up totally?
It then leads onto your next question about food choices and other important things in life which need to be priority but are not.
This website is saying a lot about our lifestyle choices and it is also presenting another way that has been lived.
Science is up there with government agenda which is all about research but we cannot negate real life anecdotal evidence. If we are to be honest, we as human beings are a living science so what we say and feel does count and does matter.
Therefore I am living proof that living in a way that does not make you pre diabetes is possible and it comes down to that word again RESPONSIBILITY. It is a key word in this whole website.
Thank you so much for writing this blog, the statistics that you are sharing with us are shocking.
How did we allow it to get this bad?
At the rate that Diabetes is increasing it is like the plague.
What will it take for us to truly stop and look at how we are living and make the link between this and illness and disease?
Does it have to take an amputation for us to stop?
Why do we allow things to get to extremes before we are honest enough to say that there is something wrong?
There definitely needs to be many, many more awareness raising websites like this one, so that we can start looking at life and questioning it in a different light.
Yes the statistics on this blog are shocking as you say Shevon. A wake up call for all of humanity as things are getting seriously worse.
So what is it going to take for us to stop or will we ever stop?
The programme mentioned in this blog had a woman about to have a second leg amputation above the knee as the foot was first amputated and now it needs more.
Is this confirmation that not even an amputation changes anything because at no point is the patient asked to look at lifestyle or make changes. We live in this ‘do as you want free will society’ so thats exactly what we do.
It would be great if we have more awareness raising websites like this one so that others are informed and not left in the dark about diseases like diabetes.
A human being dying every 6 seconds from diabetes. A disease costing £24billion in just one country alone. 1 human diagnosed every 2 minutes. These statistics are off the scale. It is hard to understand how this is not front page news.
The questions this blog raises on the subject go way beyond any normal research and perhaps that is why I feel I’ve been woken up to something huge and un-ignorable here. Why are we focused on cure not understanding? Why is this getting worse not better? Why haven’t we tried looking at this issue from another perspective, instead of focusing only on ways of administering insulin at scale? Where are we at as a race of people if this is going on all around us and we are not talking about it and taking an honest look at it? And if a big missing piece here could be ‘how much responsibility are we each taking for how well we live and take care of ourselves’, then where is my own responsibility in that, at after reading this blog?
Correct JS these statistics are ‘off the scale’ and confirming the seriousness of what we now have in our world. This is one disease and one country costing £24 billion pounds. Your questions need to be looked at as they make sense. Just talking in this way is opening up something for this topic to be discussed so more become aware of the real seriousness of Diabetes.
This blog is ground breaking in the way it is asking us all to wake up and not ignore what is going on today. So why are we making it all about science and research for cure but not digging deeper to ask WHY on earth is this one of our oldest diseases and we have not yet found the real answer because things are getting worse.
Is it time we started ‘looking at this issue from another perspective’ as you say.
Is the missing piece that word RESPONSIBILITY which is a thread weaving through the blogs on this website?
Thanks to this blog and its awareness raising I was discussing diabetes with someone this week. We both shared our experience of a low carbohydrate diet and its benefits. The person I was speaking with said that even when he eats bread, it puts him on a wheel of craving more and more sugar. We then came onto the subject of bariatric surgery and what he shared was very interesting. He spoke of someone that he knows that has lost a lot of weight through the surgery but in his view she has just replaced one addiction now for others as he has observed his friend go into using drugs and alcohol. This sharing was an eye opener and confirms that bariatric surgery is not the answer or the cure that it is heralded to be, as the root issue is still not being addressed through the use of this surgery.
Thank you for your comment Shevon. This is interesting what you share about a real life case where the bariatric surgery to stop excess eating was simply replaced with drugs and alcohol. With due respect to the medics and those who are doing their best to offer solutions, could it be possible that there is more and science has not gone there yet?
How many surgeries of this type can we continue?
The list is endless as we see more and more obesity and less and less funding for our health systems to cope with.
WHY are we not taking our life into our own hands and doing our bit with the word RESPONSIBILITY?
Would it be wise if we started educating our youth about the effects of sugar, low carbohydrate diet and other useful information so that they can be better informed and then make choices?
Would it be wise to bring in true health and well being presentations into Diabetes hospital waiting rooms and GP surgeries?
Would it have a greater impact or effect if the presenter was not on the road to pre-diabetes because of the choices they were making to live RESPONSIBILITY in all areas of their life?
Would that be a game changer?
What an amazing blog, this need to be shared around the world. It is so detailed and informative. It gets down deep and dresses the true cause of why we make lifestyle choices that are detrimental to our own health.
It all comes down to our connection with ourselves, our attitude to self. Do we act in a self-nurturing way, are we self-loving and respectful or do we gravitate towards the opposite end of the scale? Do we actually like ourselves, do we self-nurture at all, are we in disregard of who we are?
Can we in fact change this attitude and what would a change in attitude bring? It may be that we would then take more loving lifestyle choices and in doing so vastly improve our health and wellbeing.
Thank you for your comment Christopher Murphy. Yes this blog needs to be shared around the world and we plan to print this into a booklet format so more have access.
Great point you make about our ‘attitude’ and’ what would a change in our attitude bring’? Well worth considering with our lifestyle choices as the topic.
Truthful articles like this one and the True Support offered by the Simple Living Back to Basics Program are so needed.
Without True Support we are lost.
There are therapies out there claiming to be healing modalities that advocate that diabetics miss insulin injections. There have been deaths as a result.
As this blog so clearly presents, diabetes is a very serious disease. Any true healing can only occur alongside conventional medicine and not in opposition to it, as the Simple Living Global Back to Basics program clearly demonstrates, hence the remarkable results of Michael Thompson’s case.
Correct this article is very truthful Shevon and to the point. Not everyones cup of tea but well worth reading as it spells it out in a easy simple way so we ‘get it’.
Once we read and feel something we cannot unread or unfeel it even if we tried.
We then have a choice what we do with this new knowledge. Keep it as knowledge in our head and quote it or say its ‘interesting’ OR we live what is being presented and maybe things will change.
Many critics would argue that the Thompson case study mentioned at the end is one and we need quantitive research double blind and triple blind tested in closed conditions.
But what if Thompson is one of many real life anecdotal evidence which is qualitative. He is a living science, as we all are, so why negate the results and dismiss them because they are not what science wants right now.
The Simple Living Global Back to Basics Program is not a modality saying stop taking insulin. It works with any medication and highly respects conventional medicine. What it is saying is that applying and living the Program brings results that are long lasting.
What makes it different it that it is basic, simple, easy and practical. The person presenting lives this way and this is what brings the results. The bonus is it is a very cheap way of supporting our health systems.
Dr Gary Fettke has been in the news this week, as it is stated that he has been silenced from speaking of the benefits of a low carbohydrate diet as he is not qualified to advise on nutrition.
Do we have to be qualified to speak on nutrition?
Reading this blog and research about low carbohydrate diets and Michael Thompson’s case study, I do wonder why someone would be silenced for speaking of the benefits rather than encouraged.
I am not qualified in anyway, however I can speak about how I feel when I eat certain foods. Personally speaking I have seen weight loss and less health problems as a result of paying attention to the foods that I eat and their affects in my body and this includes both complex and non complex carbohydrates.
This is a great point Shevon, what qualifies us to talk on nutrition.. for me someone who is speaking from a lived experience is definitely qualified, especially when it is about something that is affecting so many of us and has proven health improving for them, as you have shared about your experience with complex and non complex carbohydrates.
Whilst weight loss surgery is seen as the current cure for diabetes, a recent study has found that the effects of weight loss surgery (laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery) are gastrointestinal problems. Two years after surgery many patients reported problems with indigestion and food intolerances including red meat. http://www.news-medical.net/news/20161219/Patients-who-undergo-weight-loss-surgery-complain-of-gastrointestinal-problems-study-finds.aspx
I do question what the other effects of this type of surgery are and whether having this as a cure, means we swap one problem for another?
Nothing really changes and the human being is not really healing when we focus on solutions rather than getting to the root cause of any issue.
Thank you for sharing this link Shevon and what they are saying is making sense. We tend to focus on short term results but not look at the effects further down the road.
Could it be possible that this is a form of Reductionism as we are not focussing on the whole and looking at the bigger picture?
Consider this – if we know we are getting away with eating whatever we want in the KNOWING that weight loss surgery or our healthcare systems will take care of us one day, why on earth would we be motivated to make changes?
Whilst we cannot change the mindset of people who refuse change of any kind, how about we bring in true health education to our young children and inform them of the facts about Diabetes and other diseases. This way they can make up their own minds if they want the sugar road or other ill behaviours that may lead to bad health.
This is one of the best articles I have ever read about Diabetes – one that everyone would do well to read. So well researched, with many questions that start a much needed conversation about diabetes and many related aspects. That the “Cost of Diabetes Hits $825 Billion Dollars a Year” is incredible – and this is one single disease – so when you add the cost of cancer, obesity, heart conditions, to name a few others illness in our world today must be costing trillions of dollars. With that in mind, why are we not asking why all of these conditions are escalating? And, if everything continues to rise – how will our world be in years to come given our healthcare systems are already becoming bankrupt?
I don’t think we realise how serious a problem this is and actually how simple it can be to not go down the road of pre-diabetes if we are prepared to make lifestyle changes and question life. I am deeply inspired by the case study of Michael Thompson. Being on such a cocktail of drugs he was clearly willing to see and explore another way which has changed his life around and has had remarkable results. I have no hesitation in recommending this article and this website to anyone who wants to know what True Health and Well-Being is.
This website is a game changer for humanity and that means for us ALL.
Correct Shevon – most of us do not realise how serious this problem is and it is not going away.
Great what you say about how simple it is to not go down the pre-diabetes road by making lifestyle changes and to question life.
In other words, start by being honest with everything you know that is not working in your life and then make choices to change that.
True actions speak louder than words so we have to get on with it, not blame anything or anyone, not beat ourself up or judge but say oops and commit to life like never before. As the author of this blog, I can state that I was guaranteed to get diabetes with my poor diet filled with sugar, carbs and nothing else to speak of. This is no longer in my radar because of my commitment to life and the daily choices I make to not harm me, others or my environment to the best of my ability with no perfection.
Thank You Jane Keep – Yes, this is a well researched article that deserves to be printed and distributed so more people can be aware of what this one disease is costing our world.
What this is saying is so far nothing seems to be working that is making a U turn so we need to find another way and could it be as simple as bringing things BACK TO BASICS.
Yes we know science is the latest thing which means everything has to be tested and tested but what if one true case study as mentioned here of Michael Thompson confirms it is possible and it requires Lifestyle changes.
Is this a simple answer and we keep looking for complication and not really getting anywhere?
The cost of this one single disease is scary and ADD to that other conditions like heart disease, cancer and obesity and there is a worry about our future health systems.
What is our Responsibility here?
We are bringing up our kids and this is what they hear on the news headlines?
If we do not start educating our young children about taking care of themselves, from wrapping up warm daily and feeling what to eat and wear, which means learning how to truly connect to their body – what chance have we got?
These kids are our future and ignoring these facts and hoping it won’t happen to us is not taking Responsibility.
Even those with no children still have a Responsibility to do their bit as we can inspire others if we live what we want the world to be.
Two papers have been published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology (5th January 2017), showing that even though gastric bypass dramatically reduced teenagers’ weight and helped them maintain weight loss over more than 5 years of follow-up, the surgery was also associated with the development of Vitamin D and B12 deficiencies and mild anaemia. Some of those who had the bypass surgery needed further surgery to deal with complications.
While the surgery resulted in dramatic weight loss and Body Mass Index reductions, many of the teenagers remained obese. It is reported that earlier intervention may be needed with lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20170106/Studies-reveal-long-term-effects-of-gastric-bypass-surgery-in-severely-obese-teenagers.aspx
Thank you for sharing this article Shevon.
What would be wise to look at is WHY on earth is nothing truly working in the long-term and WHY have we got such a global obesity crisis with your youth.
The teenagers are our future adult population. There is now heaps of evidence that our health systems are not able to cope with the rise in all the illness and diseases which are becoming even more complicated. So where are we heading?
Where are we going?
How is this going to end up?
How concerned are we as individuals about our future?
Are our band aid solutions to function in life the real answer?
Are we giving away our power to science and medicine so we do not have to take any personal responsibility?
Are we ready to re-read the case study mentioned in this blog how Michael Thompson made only a few changes from the Simple Living Back to Basics Program and had lasting results?
Are we as a world ready to get back to basics and be the change we want for our world?
Note – if the answer is Yes then the word RESPONSIBILITY has to be the priority.
Seriously? How dire must things be, to leave the alarm going off? It’s like ‘hello, there’s literally an alarm going off, are you listening?’.
There’s that big R word that keeps coming up: RESPONSIBILITY. I was just reading about the ‘nootropics’ movement, where the next wave of innovation will be in the human body and what they are calling ‘biohacking’. So if you are tired you take a legit upper, with the amount and type depending on how long you need the up and the type of activity you’ll be doing (physical, mental, creative etc). If it’s bedtime you take a downer. There’s even a well funded Silicon Valley company focused on normalising this and they see it as a billion dollar opportunity.
It’s tantalising to think you could just ‘pop a pill for that’, but does it feel true? Knowing there is more for humanity and our potential than the way we are living – yes. Knowing that our food choices have a big impact on energy levels – yes. Knowing that quality sleep is powerful – yes. Knowing that our everyday choices have a big impact on our vitality and output – yes. Giving away that responsibility and thinking we can just take a tablet – surely no?
Wow, ‘biohacking’… marketing uppers and downers as a legitimate way to cope with life;
to socially normalize the drugging of our bodies to force them to do want we want instead of learning to honor that the body knows and tells us what it needs is yet an even more extreme form of wayward behavior.
How much deeper do we want to push ourselves into exhaustion and illness before we realize that there is no escaping the law of cause & effect?
An update from Diabetes.co.uk on 13th January 2017, states that smart watches could predict the risk of Type 2 Diabetes developing as well as the common cold?
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2017/jan/smart-watches-could-help-predict-type-2-diabetes-risk-99768958.html
It does raise the questions of –
How much is being spent on this technology?
and
Is it really necessary given that if we address the way that we are living and commit to making changes to our lifestyle, change is actually inevitable?
I find it very telling that we are willing to invest huge sums of money into technology, surgeries and medications as partial solutions to our symptoms of ill health but there is very little interest, talk or commitment to taking responsibility for our selves in how we live our lives and how this is effecting us.
Simple Living Global and the many people who have applied, even in part, it’s principals of self care and responsibility presents clearly that we do hold the power to transform our ill health.
This article is digging deeper in the questions being presented to the reader. It is not just about our daily food choices but a lot more.
However, if we start to knock out the nonsense which is pure poison to our body, then that in itself can give rise to a clearer mind which may be ready for more questions and deepening a true relationship with the body.
Speaking from lived experience, sugar was giving out crazy thoughts that would not stop. Removing that from the diet was not going on a sugar free diet or any diet. It was addressing my sleep and working on that and staying committed. Then I introduced walking everyday and this was easy.
The rewards have come from living a life of consistency. Sounds boring but the deep joy it brings far outweighs these ‘momentary happy’ days that were really just better than a crap day.
Incredible blog Simple Living Global, so informative about this disease that seems in an epidemic state.
1 person dies every 6 seconds, this brought me to a stop moment .. every 6 seconds .. that’s massive.
This sentence stood out to me – “We are eating what we want, living how we want, doing what we want, when we want and there is no RESPONSIBILITY for the consequences of our choices” and yet we want someone else to fix us, pick up the pieces of our broken body and make it work again without doing anything ourselves, I know I have done this.
With all the focus and expense done on research and the refinement of treatments the numbers are still increasing, doesn’t this tell us something ?
Michael D Thompson – thank you for sharing your turn around experience with your health from the Back To Basics programme and support from Simple Living Global … and this was in just over a year. This is lived proof that this health condition can be improved and prevented by life style changes.
I was certainly a statistic for Diabetes with my vast intake of sugar and taste for alcohol and in my mid twenties I was diagnosed as Pre-Diabetic> Thankfully I listened to the warning and reduced my intake by a large amount, alcohol too, to completely stopping both of these. Also later on I made other changes to my lifestyle and daily living, taking more care of myself as Simple Living Global presents, no diabetes has developed for me, my blood sugar has been normal for years.
Every time I read a blog on this site I learn so much more about the intricacies of the body, how it really is for humanity in the world today, and I am left so much more informed, with much to consider.
This Website and blogs are monumental in what they are offering humanity, well researched factual information, a choice to make changes .. Simple Daily Living Choices that can turn around what can seem progressively worsening conditions for life, with lived examples of those changes here on this site .. surely it is worth trying.. really having a go.. consistently.
http://wtop.com/health/2017/02/diabetes-death-toll-is-bigger-than-expected/
Washington’s Top News report saying DIABETES DEATH TOLL IS BIGGER THAN EXPECTED.
New research offers evidence that 12 percent of deaths in the U.S. are caused by diabetes or its complications, making it the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer.
The finding should be a “wake-up call” for people with the disease.
People rarely die directly from the disease. They die from a condition that is caused by diabetes, such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease or dementia.
Samuel Preston, Sociology Professor at University of Pennsylvania.
Preston has done research that shows most of the increase in Type 2 diabetes is attributable to the increase in obesity. “The two are very clearly linked.”
Because so many people are developing Type 2 diabetes, it will continue to be a significant contributor to the mortality data in this country.
Ann Albright – Director Diabetes Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
This report confirms that more that 29 million people have diabetes and 90 to 95% account for all diagnosed cases of Type 2 diabetes.
We have a huge problem, it is not going away and there is a direct correlation with obesity.
So is it time we started to look at WHY so many in our world have an obesity problem?
Can we blame the food manufacturers and producers or do we blame those in government that allow us free will to trash our body?
OR do we stop and say we have a hand in this because we made the choices?
We are not forced to consume foods and beverages that harm us – it is always a choice even if we conveniently would like to think it is not.
So is it time for that ‘wake up call’ that Professor Preston talks about and start making daily choices that have the word RESPONSIBILITY at the start?
Is this what will one day be the game changer or shall we say life changer?
I read in an article by Dr Mercola – http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/31/big-sugar-coke-conspiracy.aspx#
“The rise of chronic metabolic disease in the U.S. follows the growth of the U.S. sugar industry and increases in per capita sugar consumption.
Today, we consume about 20 times more sugar than our ancestors did, and we have very little control over the amount since what was once a condiment has now become a dietary staple added to countless processed and fast foods.
Yet, if you were to visit with a conventional nutritionist, you’d likely still hear rhetoric that’s been parroted since the 1950s — incorrect and misleading rhetoric at that — that “a calorie is a calorie” and obesity is the result of consuming more calories than you expend.”
Its quite remarkable given what this blog presents about diabetes, and given we know that obesity continues to be a problem in the world today that we have this rhetoric about calories being the issue – and that we are not being honest that we have a world wide addiction to sugar on our hands.
I have improved my endocrine function simply by taking better care of my whole self.
Diabetes is known as an endocrine disease so this is significant.
For about 10 years I had increasingly darker and larger brown splotches on my skin.
My doctors told me this was a sign of endocrine distress… but they had no recourse to recommend…
This was a period in my life where I was pushing myself daily, over riding strong feelings that my relationship and my life needed to change and I began experiencing exhaustion.
Over the past 6 years, with the support of Simple Living Global, I have been getting more honest, taking more responsibility and taking much better care of myself; Not juice fasting, special diets, workshops and appointments with all kinds of practitioners… but really, truly ME taking-care-of-my-self, consistently so…
along with my life-long sugar cravings, the brown patches are now entirely gone.
Also gone is my hypoglycaemia, excessive thirst and frequent urination, icy hands and feet, blurring vision, extreme dry mouth in the morning, feeling spun out, excess weight, caffeine intake, deep mood swings, lethargy, over sleeping and my concern about pre diabetes.
I know I am not developing diabetes now.
I know this because my body tells me in the same way it used to tell me I was hurting it
My body is now letting me know, in its many voices, that what I am doing is supporting it.
A huge thank you to Simple Living Global; I can only imagine the very different path I would be taking if I had not been inspired by Bina Pattel and asked for her support.
Thank you for this well written and well researched blog Simple Living Global.
The facts and figures you have highlighted are astonishing.
Considering the possible outcomes of this illness, this blog should be sent to everyone diagnosed with diabetes because, with some people, it seems the attitude towards their diabetes is treated with nonchalance and disrespect.
Recently I went to a restaurant with a group of work colleagues and two of them had Diabetes. They both ordered dessert with chocolate cake and ice cream.
The statistics and consequences are very scary, considering that the medical experts are saying that 90% of Type 2 diabetes diagnoses are avoidable simply by lifestyle changes.
Is it that, only an amputation or loss of sight will change this attitude in some towards this illness?
It brings that old adage to mind – ‘you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink’.
Being inactive is linked with a greater risk of developing pre-diabetes even for those of a healthy weight.
Researchers from the University of Florida have said that these findings may explain why up to a 1/3 of slim Americans have pre-diabetes.
People with inactive lifestyle were more likely to have blood sugar levels of 5.7 or above than those who are active.
In the study 40% of inactive people aged 45 and older met the criteria for pre-diabetes or diabetes.
https://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/misc-weight-news-704/slim-but-sedentary-risk-of-prediabetes-may-rise-718888.html
So this research is letting us know that our overall lifestyle is the pre-cursor to diabetes and pre-diabetes and not just what we eat.
Tim Bowyer is someone who’s lifestyle choices have enabled him to completely change his health, with both diet and exercise being key factors. Check this blog to find out more
https://simplelivingglobal.com/do-diets-work/
A US endocrinologist and childhood obesity expert, Professor Robert Lustig, is targeting Australia’s ‘burgeoning waistlines’ in arguing for a tax on sugar.
http://www.9news.com.au/health/2017/04/22/12/13/us-expert-argues-case-for-aust-sugar-tax?app=applenews
He says, ‘like alcohol and cocaine, sugar is toxic and addictive and is harming the future health of children.
Fixing the obesity epidemic isn’t as simple as calories in, calories out. It depends on where those calories come from and how they are metabolized’.
He makes a very interesting point when he says there is an improvement in all aspects of metabolic health when you take out added sugar from our diets.
Two thirds of Australian adults and one in four children are classified overweight or obese.
There are about 1.7 million Australians that have diabetes and an estimated 500,000 people are living with type 2 diabetes without knowing it.
Professor Lustig says that personal and societal intervention with rehab and laws is what is required to tackle the issues of obesity and diabetes. “We have to have intervention of some form, and taxation is one way of doing it”.
Having a sugar tax may be one way to help to solve the problem of having too much sugar in our diets but how high will this tax have to be to make any difference?
If it’s just a few pennies, people may well moan about it, but we will always find a way to have our sugary treats.
If it’s a large increase in tax, people may be up in arms about it and governments may well be fearful of the backlash.
Even if it is a large tax increase there will always be those who can afford to buy there products and it could have the potential to create a black market in cheaper, unhealthier products for the poorer people.
Having a sugar tax to tackle obesity and diabetes may well be ‘one way of doing it’, but will it be the most effective way?
Is it possible that more education is needed about the harmful effects of sugar?
It could be said that the food industry is culpable here because they have added fructose to many foods for decades which has created an addiction for sweet foods.
Could it be that the governments need to do more to bring awareness about the dangers of these hidden sugars?
Could it be that we need to look at targeting the manufacturers of these foods that have added sugar to their products?
It is quite easy to blame the manufacturers, the government or the stores for stocking the products but the reality is, no-one is forcing us to eat these foods.
Could it simply be, that we as individuals, need to take more responsibility for what we eat?
A golden question you ask here Tim:
‘do we simply need to take more personal responsibility for what we eat?’
Could the answer be this simple but we don’t see it because… we don’t ‘want’ to.
With our world wide over weight issue we have a supply and demand for sugar so we cant just blame the suppliers; we need to face the fact that the demand is ours and we need to look at why we “need” sugar?
Taking personal responsibility for our health is confronting but gets to the root of the issue, as Simple Living Global has shown in hundreds of case studies (mine included) where a sugar tax does not get to the actual ’cause’ of the problem and is only a partial solution and one with it’s own societal complications.
This article states that in an estimated 45% of cases people with mental illness and diabetes go undetected. (Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism).
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317458.php
The article also states that 30 – 50% of people with diabetes experience diabetes distress. The responsibilities of managing the condition is one reason given as to why.
Making adjustments to one’s diet and constantly checking blood sugar can also lead to feelings of anxiety and depression.
When we are faced with changes that seem beyond our control and life is not what we would like it to be, we can easily slip into feelings of depression and completely give up on life. Diabetes is a very serious condition that is life threatening and I can understand that a person’s whole life has to change as a result.
The fact that we are repeatedly told that Diabetes is preventable through lifestyle choices tells us that it is not a given that we should have this disease and that something is seriously wrong in the way that we are living that is causing the numbers to rise and rise and rise.
How can our health systems almost be bankrupted by a disease that is preventable through lifestyle choices? It doesn’t make sense.
The massive dose of common sense around statistics on obesity and diabetes in this blog beckon the next question(s) which goes like this:
“…OK, if self accountability is needed to reverse world wide health issues then what is the key to unlock our sense of self preservation and the ability to choose what supports, heals and brings harmony instead of the many things we have been choosing which harm us? How do I find the key to unlock true responsibility?”
If we simply need to change what we eat and perhaps how and why we eat than how do we actually do this when…
…a most common phenomenon is that, when it comes to health and well being, we so often end up doing things we say and think we don’t want to do and we don’t do the things we decided to do…
…and so diets and discipline do not work as they do not address the reason we are behaving disharmoniously in the first place.
We can wait until the pain forces us to try something different… OR we can ask for more awareness now.
For me true change, healing and learning to take responsibility started like this:
1. I reached a point of saying “There has to be more I am not wanting to see”.
2. This opened me to accept a deeper level of commitment to get to the truth of my choices.
3. This led me to Simple Living Global, since I was willing to work on my self-accountability.
4. Simple Living Global supported me to get to the root of what I was holding onto that was in the way of me being loving to myself and living my life as I feel I am to live it.
5. As I did the work of Getting Back to Basics and developing a foundation of being self honoring (consistently and without perfection) my need for things that hurt my body or took me away from my essence dwindled away; even things I could not imagine living without (*like ice cream*) have no hold over me anymore.
The key is inside each one of us.
Simple, true, miraculous. You have to use it to believe it.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/alzheimer-s-risk-for-those-with-high-blood-sugar-finds-study-117022400506_1.html
Scientists are saying that high blood sugar levels may not only cause Diabetes, but also lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
Our current world subscribes to science and we want research and evidence about anything and everything. Would it be true to say that man has become multi-symptomatic?
In other words, we have more than one thing going on that the medics are struggling to keep up with in terms of solutions and managing our symptoms.
Is there another way and are we ready to at least consider this as nothing is stopping the rise in Diabetes and now with Alzheimer’s on the radar, our future does not look good in any way.
If we simply read this in-depth blog that gives us plenty of information in simple language, so we can understand what Diabetes is about we are left in no doubt that it is a killer to our body and common sense would tell us that sugar is not what our natural body wants.
We all know our lifestyle choices affect our body and Diabetes is now predicted to bankrupt our health systems.
Are we bothered? Are we concerned? Are we worried?
Or do we just keep doing what we do without giving it much thought until things go wrong?
We maybe the lucky ones but is that enough?
Is there more we could do or are we going to just continue as we are now living, in the hope that the world will come up with another solution and if it doesn’t, then the medical world will help us even if it is a poor quality of life.
On August 30th 2016 Diabetes UK reports that the weekly figure for amputations had risen to 20 a day, totalling 7,370 a year.
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/News/Twenty-devastating-amputations-every-day/
This is a significant increase in just one year and we are a year on from this report, so will the statistics of what is for most preventable going to be increased again a year later?
Chris Askew, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, said: “The fact that the total number of amputations is continuing to rise is a huge concern. We know the devastating impact they have on people’s lives as well as the huge cost to the NHS, yet we are not seeing action happening quickly enough across all areas of the country to address this.”
Are WE part of the action needed in how we are taking care of ourselves to reduce what is largely a preventable procedure for most? to take care of our precious body and keep our limbs, feet and toes?
‘1 in 3 people will be obese and 1 in 10 will develop type 2 diabetes by 2034, in the UK, plus the current estimated budget is 10 million pounds on diabetes every year’ these are serious statistics you share and a huge cost to the NHS.
This is just one health condition causing such a strain on our medical system.
If this condition can be improved greatly or prevented through our lifestyle choices.. why are we not doing this for ourselves? allowing these statistics to grow and our health to decrease?
BBC Radio 2 today on the afternoon talk show with Jeremy Vine was about Type 2 Diabetes. The GP who was speaking said in his surgery almost every Type 2 he has treated or diagnosed was obese.
Of course there were some who disputed this as their case was different but if we just stop and pause for a moment…Is there a direct correlation between Diabetes and Obesity?
If we simply read this blog and join the dots, would we be able to say that Obesity is linked to the chances of getting Type 2 Diabetes?
We have heard it over and over again that lifestyle choices are playing a big part in WHY anyone gets Type 2 Diabetes in the first place.
The radio program talked to people who had cut out carbohydrates and sugar and this immediately had a positive effect.
With simple common sense we all know that sugar is not needed if we lived in our natural state and had adequate quality sleep and walked every day.
We forget easily because it suits us that most foods contain sugar and this is a killer.
Sugar is linked to Obesity and this blog is spelling out the ins and outs of insulin, the pancreas and the job it has in maintaining our blood sugar.
What if we are exhausted because of our ill lifestyle choices and this leads to us eating and craving foods to give us energy to keep going but it is a false energy?
What if our body converts ANYTHING we consume to sugar inside us, just to keep going and eventually this false way of living affects our organs and in particular the pancreas as it picks up the slack?
Is this making any sense?
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/562390.html
International team of scientists calculate costs of $1.3 trillion as the new global cost of Diabetes.
The results of the study are published in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
$1,300,000,000,000
Does this number bother us or scare us in anyway?
Where are we going to come up with this kind of money?
Do we need to get our researchers not looking for solutions, but digging deep to find out WHY on earth Diabetes has got so bad?
With all the modern technology and all the so called Intelligence we have in this world, how have we let this dis-ease get so out of control?
This journal is saying that the growing prevalence of Diabetes, specifically in low and middle income countries, reveals the massive shifts in health trends since the 1990’s.
WHY are we not taking this seriously and what is missing here for the general public who seem to be unaware of the real dangers of what Diabetes is doing to the human body?
When are we going to join the dots and keep it simple?
Diabetes is on the rise and it will bankrupt our health systems worldwide if we do not get to the root cause.
Public Health England have just produced a report entitled: ‘Health Profile for England’ which states that
Diabetes has just made the top ten causes of ill health and disability (morbidity) for the first time.
The two biggest risk factors behind levels of ill health are excess weight and high blood sugar.
The findings published in the report state that there are health inequalities between the rich and the poor, with people living in richer areas experiencing 20 more years in good health than people in the poorest areas.
Whilst this news report focuses on the health inequalities, the first 2 points above regarding Diabetes and the risk factors behind ill health are equally worth taking notice of and discussing.
https://www.bjfm.co.uk/people-living-longer-but-spending-more-time-in-poor-health
We know that ‘excess weight and high blood sugar’ are risk factors behind Diabetes as detailed in this article by Simple Living Global, but Public Health England have found that these two are the biggest factors behind ill health and hence not just Diabetes.
We know that lifestyle choices like poor diet and a lack of exercise lead to excess weight and high blood sugar but would we benefit from a deeper understanding about what leads to these lifestyle choices?
What is actually behind this and why would any of us make choices that guarantees ill health?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40900269#
BBC News – 12 August 2017
Type 2 Diabetes rise in children ‘disturbing’.
Local councils are warning that the rise in cases of Type 2 Diabetes in children is a “hugely disturbing trend”.
The youngest children affected are aged between 5 and 9.
Being overweight is the biggest risk factor.
75% of these children were obese.
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health doctors are saying Type 2 Diabetes is preventable in most cases and more action is needed to reverse the trend.
Diabetes UK said there should be moves to reduce the sugar and saturated fat content in food.
WHY are we not ready to listen to the experts?
WHY are our children not educated with information from blogs like this, from Simple Living Global?
WHY are our children as young as 5 getting Type 2 Diabetes?
WHY are we all not asking more questions and finding out WHY?
WHY are certain children from Asian and black and ethnic backgrounds more affected?
WHY are kids in deprived areas more likely to have Type 2 Diabetes?
WHY are we not considering blogs like this one that give us some insight into Diabetes?
WHY are we not looking at our lifestyle choices that may be affecting our children?
WHY are we as adults allowing this to continue on our watch?
How are we choosing to live that gives rise to childhood obesity?
What is our part here for those who are not parents, as true citizens of this world?
What can each of us do as individuals to address this killer disease called Diabetes?
Is cutting out 5% sugar in products going to stop our kids from eating sugar or over eating?
Are daytime TV adverts on sugar going to stop overnight, whilst this disturbing trend is on the rise?
Can we be doing more – in other words taking true action on the street and in our homes?
Are we as individuals all responsible here and not just the parents of these children?
Are we willing to at least be honest and put our common sense hat on?
What if we re-read the case study at the end of this blog, which confirms there is another way?
WHY have we allowed this to happen to our children, who are the future teenagers?
Are we aware that these teenagers are not going to have a true quality of life?
Have we realised they are going to be our future generations on earth?
We are continuously being told now that Diabetes has got worse and the age of onset is getting younger and younger.
Is this of concern to us and do we care enough to at least start talking about this at every dinner table and every conversation with anyone and everyone?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-39232620
BBC news story – 11 March 2017
Here we have a real life story about a guy called Marino who is saying he developed Type 2 Diabetes after spending a year live streaming on video gaming. He calls himself a professional user of an online platform that has a huge community of gamers and game watchers.
He quotes “viewers equal money”.
Warning others about his health risks of his streaming career received comments from other gamers who said they too experienced health issues following marathon gaming sessions.
For those of us who don’t know what that is – basically you don’t move from your seat and this is covered in detail in our Video Game blog – see link
https://simplelivingglobal.com/video-games-day-12-september/
Could we ask a sensible question once we see the picture of this man in front of his gaming setup. Is this really a career and if it is WHY would he get Type 2 Diabetes?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/19/one-five-children-obese-time-leave-primary-school/
Figures are now suggesting that 1 in 5 children leaving primary school are obese.
NHS data showing that 9.6 percent of children are dangerously over weight by the time they start school.
“Each year, the childhood obesity statistics tell the same devastating story.’ says Caroline Cerny leader of the Obesity Health Alliance, a coalition of more than 40 organisations.
With obesity levels rising 2 years consecutively in children starting school is it time we all looked at how this is happening?
What is our role in it? I don’t have children but can see that every choice I make around food contributes to whether I am being a role model for children to eat to nourish themselves or not. Whether I exercise to keep my body healthy in day to day life, whether I care for myself to make these changes.
Do we have a responsibility not just to ourselves for our health but to our children, our next generation?
What level of illness and disease do we need for us to stop and realise something has to change.. and is it possible that that change that is so needed starts with each one of us?
Metro – 3 November 2017
A study has shown that drinking 2 cans a week of sugar-sweetened fizzy drinks puts an increased risk of getting Type 2 Diabetes.
Drinking one can of pop raises the chances of high blood pressure.
The findings demonstrate there is a clear need for public education about the harmful effects of excess consumption of sugar sweetened beverages.
74% of 85,471 food and drink products in US have added sugar.
If we just stopped, read this blog, put our common sense hat on and added some real honesty – we would be on our way to asking questions and wanting to learn more…
Something is seriously wrong if we need any stimulation to our natural state. Babies are not born requesting a spoon of sugar as their first meal. Somewhere along the line we introduce this false man made substance, which has a drug like affect on us and leaves us wanting more.
Who has not got a fix that they go to for different feelings that come up during the day?
Is it time to ask more questions and get to the root cause of WHY we need any sugar drink or food with added sugar?
Is it because our lifestyle choices are not giving us the vitality levels that are possible?
Is it because we do not want to take Responsibility for the exhaustion that we feel on a daily basis?
Is it because we have no idea where to start with the tension we have everyday in our body?
Is it because we have this constant jittering that we think, goes away when we eat or drink sugary stuff?
Is it because we prefer to numb what we feel, by simply reaching for the can as it is what we always do and it’s our preferred choice?
Is it time to get real, get honest so we can get to the Truth of WHY we need any sugar to keep us going?
An article in ‘The Week’ magazine, 1st April 2017, talks about “How to reverse diabetes.”
Type 2 Diabetes is generally considered to be a lifelong condition that can only be managed rather than cured. But a small trial has suggested that it can be for significant periods – if patients follow an intense treatment regime.
Researchers at McMasters University in Canada recruited 85 patients with diabetes.
Of these patients, 55 were put on a diet plan that cut their energy intake by 500-750 calories a day and were given dietary advice, a personalized exercise program and medicines and insulin to control their blood sugar levels.
They than maintained this program for either 8 or 16 weeks.
The other 28 patients were given the standard lifestyle advice and blood sugar management.
Three months after completing their program, 11 of 27 people in the 16 week group were in remission, as were 6 of those in the 8 week group.
In the control group, by contrast, only 4 out of the 28 people were.
After a year, however, the difference was negligible – perhaps the patients had not committed to the lifestyle changes.
This last sentence says it all really – whilst we are in this controlled environment, in this bubble, it is so much easier to stay on the program, but once we get back to the real world of everyday life, it sinks in that we have to maintain this way of life forever – we have to change our way of life, our lifestyle, for the rest of our lives.
For many of us, we find this level of commitment and responsibility too much.
Is it possible that we like the idea of change, but deep down we don’t really want to permanently change because we like our comfortable lives?
What this study has shown in those people that went into remission, is that if we start to make those choices to take care of ourselves, if we make lifestyle changes that truly support our bodies, we have the potential to change illness and disease.
Is it possible then, that actually, we are the creators of all of our own illnesses and diseases?
Is it possible then, that all of our illnesses and diseases come FROM us rather than coming TO us?
Although this article says –
“Type 2 Diabetes is generally considered to be a lifelong condition that can only be managed rather than cured. But a small trial has suggested that it can be for significant periods – if patients follow an intense treatment regime.” –
we can change things if we truly commit to taking responsibility for ourselves. It can be healed rather than cured, it can be for the rest of our lives rather than for a significant period and it certainly doesn’t have to be intense.
The Week – Issue 1149 dated 4 November 2017
Dolphins show signs of dementia after scientists analysed the brains of eight dead dolphins that were washed up on Spain’s coast.
Dolphins, like humans, carry on living for decades after their most fertile years.
It is a rare trait in the animal kingdom and it has physiological consequences.
As we age, we grow less sensitive to insulin. This can lead to overproduction of insulin, pressure on the circulatory system and type Type 2 Diabetes.
Insulin resistance has been detected in dolphins and linked to increased Alzheimer’s risk in humans. This backs the theory that altered insulin production in later life is a cause of the disease.
What is it that we as humans could start doing to ensure we do not alter our insulin production?
If the world is currently banging on about lifestyle changes, would it be worth funding studies to see how lifestyle choices alter our insulin production?
What if we continued our research not just looking at food and drink choices but also how emotions could affect our insulin production?
What if we considered the whole of the being and not focus on a certain part of the whole to get the truth?
What if Scientists asked us – the general public on the street, what is the best way to go forward with public money on funding research?
What if this was the way forward when it comes to real research?
What if we studied those like the author of this article and comment, who have no signs of even pre-diabetes and have maintained that for over 10 years?
Would that be worth our time as they may just be living in a way that could give us some answers?
What great benefit would that be to a world that is seriously in deep trouble with the rising costs of Diabetes and all related illnesses that go with that?
Daily Mail – 3 March 2018
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5456451/Now-five-types-diabetes-not-two.html
A major project has discovered there are now five types of Diabetes and this should now prompt a ‘paradigm shift’ in treatment say researchers.
It was published in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal.
The disease up until now has been considered to be two different forms
Type 1 – an autoimmune disease where body stops producing insulin
Type 2 – body becomes resistant to insulin
The researchers said Type 1 should be renamed
SEVERE AUTOIMMUNE DIABETES
Type 2 should be split into four categories, two serious and two mild.
This will include people with high blood sugar, low insulin production and moderate insulin resistance.
Another type of severe insulin-resistant Diabetes is predominantly linked to Obesity.
Diabetes is rapidly becoming Britain’s fastest growing health crisis with patient numbers double in 20 years to 3.7 million.
Finding subtypes will help us personalise treatments and potentially reduce the risk of diabetes-related complications in the future says Dr. Emily Burns of Diabetes UK.
Is all this research going to cut it or are the general public who know very little about the real Truth of Diabetes going to really understand the complications of subtypes?
Do we need to get to the root cause and look deeply at individual lifestyle choices that we all know play a big part of why we may get this disease?
Could this be the SIMPLE answer before the cost of Diabetes bankrupts our health systems?
Do we need to study this forensic blog, which really is spelling it all out to us and presenting another way that may save us so much money and bring a quality of life that is worth considering?
Are our drug companies just coming up with more and more that researchers discover, but we are no closer to finding out what on earth creates our pancreas to stop doing its natural job?
Metro – 20 March 2018
Big Breakfast Diet ‘Helps Weight Loss’
A big breakfast followed by an average lunch and a small dinner is said to have a significant impact on weight loss in people with diabetes and obesity.
I know that what, when and how we eat are all equally important factors in nourishing our bodies.
I also found it interesting to note, when reading the article that people were able to lose weight the less that they ate during the day and so the knock on effect for those diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes were that they needed less insulin.
Could eating less as the day goes on have anything to do with the fact that there are optimum times for us to sleep and rest and so if we are adhering to these and not eating in excess during those times, it means that the human body is not processing food when it is preparing for sleep?
Could this make all of the difference and have a profound effect on the bodies’ metabolism during the night and the day, as the body comes more into sync with it’s natural rhythm, by not processing foods at the incorrect time?
Could this be why there is significant weight loss and a need for less insulin.
I do feel it does matter what we eat, but this study is an excellent start in looking at when we eat as I am not sure how much research has actually be done into this area before, especially in people with diabetes.
Daily Mail – 5 May 2018
Dear World
We now have a new hormone injection that could help us lose a stone of weight in one month.
We call this an exciting breakthrough and no doubt our researchers will be told they are on the front foot, as we the public demand the quick fix and fast answer to our Obesity epidemic that is out of control all over the world.
The scientists think the drug is ‘successful’ in trials but let us note here that 20 people were involved, so there will be others saying is that enough or do we need to monitor this in the long term and let’s all ask WHAT ABOUT THE SIDE EFFECTS?
Common sense tells us all drugs have side effects and there is no getting away from that fact.
What we need to be asking is could this be giving a false hope to so many who are suffering with their weight and just want to get rid of it?
Are we on the front foot with our solutions to tackle and combat obesity, which is now a huge burden on society?
Is fighting it with our new drugs the answer or do we need to get to the root cause?
In other words, would it be wise to dig deep and keep asking questions, until we get to the answer as to WHY we become overweight in the first place?
WHY would we have lifestyle choices that hurt our body and harm us in so many ways?
What is going on for us that gives rise to a dis-ease that increases our risk of heart disease, cancer and so much more?
Even with gastric bands and all the numerous weight loss products the industry keeps giving us because we demand it, we can all admit SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT.
We have not nailed it when it comes to obesity, diabetes and all the other dis-eases we have created with our modern day way of living.
Would it be wise to consider that wearing a pump and having patches may not be the real answer and asking what is really going on that gave us the weight increase be another way of looking at this problem?
Our world seems to be geared at giving us this ‘free will – licence to do what we want’ and then we demand that our consequences be taken care of?
So the question is – what is our RESPONSIBILITY in all of this?
This blog and this website is dedicated to presenting another way and the key word is RESPONSIBILITY – for all the choices we make everyday.
The Guardian – 25 June 2018
Insulin pill may be on the horizon for diabetics as researchers have successfully administered insulin to rats in capsule form.
Can we raise our hopes as currently a significant number of insulin doses are missed because people with diabetes cannot face giving themselves another injection?
Is this progress, advancement or evolution in the real sense?
Have we cracked it as rats are telling us it works?
Is this a solution helping us to not look at why we have Diabetes in the first place?
Are we ready to ask – what is the root cause of Diabetes?
WHY have we not yet bothered to find out, after knowing how old this disease is?
What if we spend all the resources we have combined on earth and get every scientist in this world to find out and study why why why we develop such a debilitating dis-ease in our body?
What if we sorted this out and then go and find the root cause of say Cancer and not budge until that is sorted and eradicated?
OR what if we studied those people, like the author of this blog and website who do not have Diabetes on their radar, but once upon a time were a strong candidate for pre-diabetes?
Could this be the simple, wise anecdotal evidence that is the game changer for humanity?
In other words, real life people who have a living way that is not creating Diabetes.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health – 18 June 2018
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/graphic-warning-labels-linked-to-reduced-sugary-drink-purchases/
Warning labels that include photographs linking sugary drink consumption to Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and Tooth Decay may reduce purchases of the drink according to a new study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Business School.
Researchers found that graphic pictorial warning labels reduced sugary beverage purchases in a hospital cafeteria by 14.8%.
Text warning labels and calorie labels had no effect.
Purchases of water increased during the weeks that the graphic pictorial warnings were displayed.
“Sugar sweetened beverages are the largest source of added sugars in the American Diet and reducing intake of these beverages could improve population health said co-lead study author Laura Zatz, doctoral student in the Departments of Nutrition and Social and Behavioural Sciences at Harvard Chan School.
It’s interesting how it is only when things are in our face that we will take action and if we are to use this study as an example, 14.8% is a significant amount statistically but still tells us that over 75% of people did not change their behaviour even when faced with the truth.
There is a stubbornness about us humans where we dig our heals in to continue with abusive behaviours even though we are being warned against them. I have seen this with cigarette smoking where people have been told to give up by their doctors due to health concerns and they have refused.
I do not smoke but I do know I have also seen this stubborn behaviour in myself.
This study does show however that, spelling out the harms of sugary beverages does have a significant impact on a few and this supports the view that if we educate people about what harmful substances are really doing to us, we are then able to make an informed choice and are less likely to feel resentful as we have not been dictated to.
Any changes are then likely to be sustainable as the decision has come from us and not from any outer source telling us what to do.
I was putting a twitter news story out today about a rise in teenage Diabetes and it led to some more research.
I saw an online well known company who advertise as “medical information and health advice you can trust” and they had a selection of cartoons about Diabetes.
One was a pancreas with a face sipping cola from a straw on a sofa.
The caption was “I am not ill, my pancreas is just lazy”
Funny ha ha would be most people’s response.
But for me I observed that this is a form of reductionism.
Here we have a serious life threatening dis-ease that is affecting millions and we can joke about it.
My question is – would there be people who actually took this on board and think they are not ill and they have Diabetes because they have a lazy pancreas?
What kind of messages are we putting out there and where is the responsibility?
If we all make serious health issues a laughing matter, does that somehow reduce the real truth about Diabetes, which this blog has brilliantly presented?
Evening Standard News – 1 February 2019
70% rise in teenage Diabetes in London in 5 years according to Department of Health figures.
90% of cases, the diagnosis was Type 2 Diabetes.
Fizz Free February is being backed by celebrities | politicians | schools | councils to give up fizzy drinks for February to help tackle weight gain and tooth decay.
One scientific study found just one soft drink a day can increase the risk of developing Type 2 by 18%.
This may just seem like a small number, but what is it really spelling out to us?
If we read this forensic blog, we would be left in no doubt that Type 2 Diabetes has something to do with lifestyle choices.
Being inactive, drinking sugary drinks or excess eating can all lead to weight gain – that we know.
But have we bothered to dig deep and ask more questions like WHY do we go for the sugar and overeating?
What on earth is going on inside that mind of ours that instructs us to drink and eat something that is clearly going to harm the body and have serious consequences?
MP Tom Watson quotes “ The mounds of sugar in fizzy drinks popular with children is as good as poisoning them”.
There is heaps of research confirming that sugar is not designed for human consumption because of what it does to our body but who bothers to listen when we just want the cake, the soda or fast food full of sugar that could even be hidden?
Back to Fizz Free February – what is one month going to do?
Will it really kick start us to give it up or drop the habit?
Will we find another way to dose up our body if sugary drinks are off the menu?
Will our kids find something even more harmfull because we stopped the fizz in February?
Who comes up with these ideas and who then joins the masses to promote something that may not actually get to the root cause of WHY our teens want so much fizzy drinks?
Are their parents drinking the stuff?
Is it just seen as normal in the home?
Has anyone educated the kids on sugar and what it does to the human body?
What if our schools gave lessons based on blogs like this one on Diabetes?
Would this be the real education that can then be studied and rolled out across the country?
Would education help our kids to understand that they do have a choice?
Have we ever considered that if our body needs a quick source of energy, sugar seems to do it and for some it is fizzy drinks and others it may be another stimulant like coffee?
But what if underlying this is a body that is exhausted with lack of sleep?
Could this be something to consider, explore and study?
The Telegraph – 2 April 2019
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/04/02/record-numbers-amputations-nhs-amid-warnings-1-10-will-soon/
Estimates now suggest there will be 5 million adults who will suffer from Type 2 Diabetes by 2035.
This means Diabetes will soon afflict 1 in 10 adults. This is linked to soaring obesity levels.
In addition, record numbers of people are undergoing amputations on the NHS.
Public Health England reveal 27,465 amputations between 2015 and 2018.
147,000 hospital stays for diabetic foot disease, which accounts to 1.8 million bed days used by those being treated for the condition.
Britain’s obesity levels are the highest in western Europe and rising faster than the United States.
2 in 3 adults are overweight or obese and 1 in 3 children by the age of 11.
1 in 6 hospital beds are now occupied by someone with Type 2 Diabetes and 22,000 people die each year in England as a result of the disease.
These figures may just be numbers or we can take another look and feel the seriousness of this disease that is preventable.
The first thing to be empowered with is that it is lifestyle choices that lead to Diabetes and this is why it is preventable.
WHY is Diabetes the greatest health challenge in Britain?
WHY are many adults in danger of developing this deadly but preventable disease?
How are we living in our daily lives and what choices are we making that lead to Diabetes?
We each have a responsibility and what is clear is that SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT.
What if we started with real education?
Get those like the author of this blog and website who are free of the signs and symptoms of Diabetes and ask them to present on the subject?
Find out how they and others free of pre-diabetes are choosing to live and see what more we could learn and become aware of.
With greater understanding, chances are we could turn the tides but it would require a dose of honesty to admit the choices we are making that heads us down the direction of the Diabetes road.
Without honesty, we stand little if no chance of real change.
Imagine teaching young kids from day dot about what sugar does to the body and how it works inside them?
Imagine informing every child, parent, teacher and every member of society about the consequences of eating food and drinking beverages that are not natural but full of additives including sugars of different kinds.
What if we were all aware of sugar and how addictive it really is – no different to any other drug as it alters our natural state?
For those who are diagnosed, what if we could inform them of the dangers of amputation, why diabetics are at greater risk and what they can do to keep in touch with their limbs to ensure it never leads to amputation?
In other words, body awareness and simple practical and easy tips to connect to their body every day – few times a day – so they are alerted if something is not right because they would know.
Is this the type of front foot real education that is now needed, if we are to ever see those statistics go down and keep going down?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6917831/One-four-beds-hospitals-taken-diabetes-patients.html
Mail Online – 13th April 2019
one in four beds at some hospitals are taken up by diabetes patients in an epidemic that is costing the NHS £14 billion every year.
These figures, compiled by NHS Digital, show the impact of diabetes with some 90 per cent of the patients suffering from Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity. Diabetics spend longer in hospital as they are slower to recover from illness.
Experts believe the diabetes epidemic is the ‘biggest health crisis of our time’.
In a major hospital in Manchester, nearly a third of patients on wards had the condition.
A London hospital said 27 per cent of beds were occupied by diabetes patients.
Five other trusts across England said patients with the illness accounted for at least a quarter of the beds at any one time.
There are an estimated 4 million cases in Britain, nearly double the number of 20 years ago and of those 4 million, 90 per cent have Type 2 diabetes, and although it was stated earlier, it feels important to say again, that Type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity.
Another million people are thought to be living with the condition but do not know they have it.
A member of the National Obesity Forum said the figures were ‘truly shocking and should act as a wake up call. It should be enough to prompt every individual to really consider eating healthily and as a sharp reminder that the government needs to give people ample support to achieve healthy lifestyles’.
While some diabetes patients may have been admitted due to complications caused by the illness, others will have been admitted for unrelated reasons.
Complications can be serious and include kidney disease, liver disease, strokes, heart attacks, blindness and nerve damage to the feet, leading to amputations.
There is growing evidence that diabetes can be reversed if patients lose significant amounts of weight.
There seems to be a lot of emphasis put on the government to help those that have Type 2 diabetes and one organisation says that, along with the individuals’ responsibility, the government needs to give people ample support to achieve a healthy lifestyle…
Is it possible that, bar those that have a medical reason as to why they put on weight and then can’t lose the weight, Type 2 diabetes is purely the individual’s responsibility?
At one point in my life I was close to weighing nearly 30 stone and was a sure candidate for a host of illnesses and diseases including diabetes.
I reached that weight level simply because I was eating the wrong types of food, eating too much food and not exercising enough – simple really.
I reversed that by changing my diet and exercising more and exercising more doesn’t have to be strenuous – walking is one of the best exercises we can do and it is free.
We can blame anyone and everyone for having diabetes and we can look to the NHS to fix it because we pay our National Insurance contributions, but is it possible that we are the makers of this disease by the way we live our lives?
If that is the truth, which I feel it is, is it possible then, that we can reverse diabetes simply by changing our way of living?
£14 billion a year spent on just one illness – isn’t that the wake up call that we need?
Daily Mail – 13 July 2019
Page 25
Diabetes rockets in under 25s
This in itself is an alarming news headline and possibly missed by many as it’s a small story and not at the front page of the newspaper.
We are being told it is because of the obesity epidemic.
85% were obese of the under 25s who received treatment.
50% had high blood pressure.
Type 2 is much more aggressive in young people than in adults and is linked to lifestyle.
20 years ago we had never seen children with Diabetes in the UK.
This information speaks volumes and it is time to question WHY we have got to this point.
A disease that has been around for a very long time, is now showing up in kids and young people.
What is going on and WHY are the experts telling us it is linked to lifestyle?
Are there some clues here and can we join the dots and use our common sense?
We could start with saying SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT.
How are we raising our kids that they end up with Diabetes?
We are being told it is more aggressive in young people – this is serious and time we wake up.
We have a 911 on our watch and we all need to be asking – what on earth is going on and how have we got this type of news where most are not even aware of the facts.
Nothing seems to be working and our solutions are not cutting it and we are no where near making movements that could get us on the front foot – in other words ahead of what’s coming next.
There is another way to live and we ALL know this is possible, because there are people out there doing it consistently and it works. A living example of this would be the author of this website.
Lifestyle choices – we seem to have this free will attitude which means a licence to do what we want, how we want and when we want and if that means junk food, excess overeating everyday and zero movement if we can help it – in other words no exercise or even fresh air walking then so be it.
We have no real role models for these kids growing up as we maybe struggling raising our kids with all the social media influence, peer pressure and demands at school plus the bullying and all the other factors that we need to consider.
We may have given up on life because of our own undealt with buried hurts and issues and we want the best for our kids so we let them literally do what they want, without any real discipline or boundaries.
We may lack the real education needed about the seriousness of what foods do to the human body, where fat salt and sugar are added in a combo that is perfect so we want more and more of the same and can’t get enough of it.
Think fast foods and junks foods and read the blog on this website for more awareness.
https://simplelivingglobal.com/fast-food-junk-food/
What is missing?
Can we bring in real education for everyone and get this on the school agenda?
Informing kids and making them aware of how food works inside the body and what it does and then can we teach them how they need to express fully and give themselves permission to share how they feel and not think they cannot say something in fear of what may come back at them.
Could we teach them the value of walking and talking with another about how they truly feel?
Before we blame obesity and label our kids and young adults, can we bring in an understanding as to WHY someone gets to that point?
What is going on inside them and how are they truly feeling?
Could we gain more from research if we really got to the root of WHY someone has the tendency to eat the wrong choices of food consistently, to the point where the weight starts to pile on?
Is there more?
Can buried hurts and emotions unexpressed ADD to the bloated-ness and weight gain?
Do we need to get independent studies and focus on anecdotal evidence and observational studies and not dismiss them, as they may hold value and above all they may give us some real answers?
Diabetes does not just appear out of the blue – that we know.
Our lifestyle – so that means something we are doing is not what our body wants.
How we know this is because our body is telling us so.
Our body has an intelligence and it is high time we paid more attention to what it is communicating to us.
Our kids need our support but if their role models think rewards like sweets and chocolates are ok, then where is this going to end?
Our world it geared up to continue selling us fast foods and junk foods and we love it, so there is no chance we can tell our kids to stop eating it.
20 years ago children in the UK did not have Type 2 Diabetes so let us examine and look at lifestyle choices that are different now to back then.
Let us look at screen time, social media, the internet, school agenda and all other factors that may have contributed to WHY we have this going on today.
WHY is it more aggressive in the young people?
What is the body telling us here and are we ready to listen?
What we do know but may not want to admit is – we cannot do what we want and expect things to be ok inside the body.
Our body speaks loud to us and communicates with messages like illness and disease if we deviate from its natural state.
Would it be a wise move to find out how to read those messages or at least connect to the body and learn how to be aware of what it is conveying in any given moment?
On that note read our blog – Plug in and Connect
https://simplelivingglobal.com/plug-in-and-connect/
For further inspiration read every blog and every single comment on this website and there will be no doubt that it is very possible to live another way, but it requires that word most of us hate – RESPONSIBILITY.
Metro News – 13 August 2019
page 7
Thousands with risk of Type 2 Diabetes to receive wearable technology to monitor exercise levels and get access to apps containing health advice.
The NHS wants 40,000 people per year to access the DPP (Diabetes Prevention Programme) digitally.
Is this solution breaking new ground and will it cut it in the long-term?
In other words, is it going to work as they want it to and deliver the results?
How have we got to the point where a nation is not willing to take personal Responsibility for lifestyle choices that would actually support us to turn around and not continue on the road towards getting Type 2 Diabetes.
We have been told over and over again that it is our lifestyle choices that are leading to Pre-diabetes and Type 2.
So WHY are we not getting our act together or seeing this as a 911 wake up emergency call?
The NHS has been known to contribute to the ‘nanny state’ which means we are nannying our people instead of calling them to account and saying it as it is.
We want to give an app and spend more public money because we are not asking people to take responsibility. This means we are enabling others to remain in an irresponsible way of living.
How does that help if we are to ever evolve?
What if we started with proper real education at schools with forensic blogs like this presenting the stats and facts and then using the questions to open up conversations and discussions.
Imagine giving homework to our kids where they go away and talk about blogs like this with parents and siblings and others in their neighbourhood.
What if we use this website to inform and educate children, adolescents and every other person, that true health and well-being is in our own hands and if we change our behaviour, our movements then chances are things will not escalate down the road of ill health?
Have we considered that the marker or call it standard for the word well-being has dropped?
Have we thought about the fact that what we call true health is the absence of a life threatening disease?
How far have we, as the most intelligent species on earth deviated from our true natural state of being and have we joined the dots and realised SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT, simply because our bodies are telling us so?
The Times – 3rd January 2020
Diabetes Nearly Doubles the Risk of Heart Failure
A study suggests that Diabetes sufferers are almost twice as likely to develop heart failure as people with similar heart health.
Those with Diabetes are also more likely to suffer from high blood pressure or coronary artery disease, which are other factors that can increase the risk of heart failure. This has made it difficult to ascertain the role played by each factor on its own.
Researchers have now found that Diabetes is a significant risk factor in itself, independent of any other condition that sufferers may have.
They suggested that “aggressive management” of body-mass index and glucose and cholesterol levels may be needed in Diabetes patients to reduce their risk of heart failure.
Scientists examined about 350 patients, tracking a group of 116 with Diabetes and matching them with 232 patients who did not have Diabetes but were of the same age and had the same levels of blood pressure and heart function.
It found that 21 per cent of those in the Diabetic group went on to develop heart failure, compared with 12 per cent of those in the group who had similar heart health but did not have Diabetes.
The risk of heart attacks and strokes was found not to be significantly different between the two groups. The researchers said: “The study shows that Diabetes is an independent risk factor for the development of heart failure.”
Published in a medical journal, the research followed participants for ten years to assess the rates of heart failure in each group.
A cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, US, said: “The key takeaway is that Diabetes Mellitus alone is an independent risk factor for the development of heart failure. Our hope is that this study provides a strong foundation for further investigations into Diabetes and heart failure. There is still much to learn and study in terms of this association and how to best diagnose and treat this condition.”
Is it possible that this research brings the focus of treating Diabetes much more to prominence?
In itself, Diabetes is a very costly expense to health systems, but adding this new development to it, brings urgency to dealing with this disease.
With many cases of Type 2 Diabetes lifestyle choices like the food we eat, smoking, alcohol consumption and inactivity, contributing greatly to having this disease, it makes sense that changing our lifestyle will help to minimise the harm that Diabetes causes.
Although changing our lifestyle choices is a responsible step in the right direction, is it possible that we can take our Responsibility in having this disease to another level?
What if illness and disease doesn’t come ‘to us’ but comes ‘from us’?
What if having a disease like Diabetes is telling us that something is not right in how we are living at a deeper level?
If we all knew that illness and disease came from us because of the choices we make everyday, how would we start to live our lives?
Is it possible that we would start to take more Responsibility and look at ‘WHY’ we have any disease?
This research is showing that there may be a link between Diabetes and Heart Failure.
What if this is only the start of research like this and more and more diseases are found to contribute to other diseases?
One single illness like Diabetes puts a huge strain on any health system.
How are these systems going to cope when we become even more multi-symptomatic with these illnesses and diseases?
Science Magazine – 27 February 2020
https://scienmag.com/getting-off-of-the-blood-sugar-roller-coaster/
Researchers are pioneering a new artificial pancreas system that provides life changing support to those who have Type 1 Diabetes.
250,000 people in Canada have Type 1 Diabetes and this would mean trying to keep their blood sugar stable will soon be coming to an end according to the team of researchers.
We have had insulin pumps for over 30 years and these portable devices allow people living with diabetes to manually select the amount of insulin into their bloodstream.
The majority use the finger prick test for blood glucose level in order to determine the right amount of insulin but there are a growing number who use an automatic glucose sensor.
However, the average person hits their glucose target less than 50% of the time. As a result, they spend most of their time in a state of hyperglycemia, which causes headaches, weakness, dizziness, confusion or difficulty speaking.
This is great news on the ground for those suffering who see this solution as an answer.
We seem to really nail it with the next solution for our ills, but have we stopped long enough to consider that maybe our way of living and being in this body of ours may just have something to do with what ills we have.
Our current intelligence in some way is so advanced – it is now able to virtually give us an artificial pancreas system but can this intelligence get us to WHY we have Diabetes at this current epic level, with no signs of things getting better.
Do we need to stop coming up with the next solution and reverse our way of thinking by putting ALL our resources and focus on to the root cause of WHY and HOW anything happens, in this case Diabetes?
Does this new artificial pancreas system give us a strong message?
In other words, is it indirectly telling us “don’t worry, if you get Diabetes, we have you sorted and until then do whatever you want”.
Is Type 1 just genetics, bad luck or some kind of karma or mis-fortune OR is it something else that we have thus far overlooked, dismissed or not brought to the fore to discuss?
Until we use our questioning from every possible angle, we can be assured that more and more artificial solutions will be available to meet the demand.
We have all heard that lifestyle choices have a link to Diabetes and we all know that at the current rate it is going, chances are our health systems will be bankrupt sooner than we realise.
Is it time dear residents, citizens and people of this world to at least consider if there is another way and what is our part?
In other words, where is our personal Responsibility in all of this?
The Canberra Times – 12th May 2020
Beating Type 2 Diabetes: Is it Time for Cigarette Style Bans and Taxes on Sugary Food and Drinks
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6764189/no-more-sweet-talking-lets-declare-war-on-type-2-diabetes/
An Australian man had his life changed overnight due to having Type 2 Diabetes. He went to sleep one evening with normal eyesight and woke up the next morning blind in both eyes. His diabetes also led to amputation.
He is just one of the estimated 1.6 million Australians living with Type 2 Diabetes, which is the sixth biggest killer in the country, a growing epidemic and the greatest threat to the country.
Gangrene of the feet, amputation of the lower limbs, impotence, kidney failure, heart attack and stroke are just some of the other life-changing or life-threatening complications that await people with this insidious disease.
Dealing with the complications of Diabetes is expensive. The total annual cost in Australia is estimated to be close to $20 billion.
The word Diabetes comes from the ancient Greek “to pass through” and suggests excessive urination, one of the earliest symptoms of the disease. There are two types; Type 1 and Type 2 with Type 2 being the more common, making up nearly 90 per cent of all Diabetes.
Type 1 is due to auto-immune damage to the pancreas, the organ that secretes insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin is the hormone responsible for moving dietary glucose from the blood into every cell of our bodies, where it’s stored and used as an energy source.
Without insulin, blood glucose levels rise dangerously, and this can be life threatening. The onset is usually rapid and can happen at any age.
Type 2 is a progressive metabolic disorder where the body becomes resistant to the effects of insulin. Modifiable risk factors include an unhealthy diet (too much added sugar and refined carbohydrate), physical inactivity and weight gain – a gain of 20-35kg increases the risk by 11,300 per cent.
There is strong evidence we can prevent the development of Type 2 Diabetes with lifestyle behavioural changes.
These days sugar is cheap and sweet products are everywhere but things changed in 1980, when American Dietary Guidelines were released in response to the rising incidence of heart disease noted in in the decades since World War 2.
Based on little scientific evidence, the guidelines recommended reducing dietary fat to less than 30 per cent and increasing consumption of carbohydrates to 60 per cent.
The result: Heart Disease and Type 2 Diabetes soared. Globally, there’s been a four-fold increase in Type 2 Diabetes since 1980. The growth has been even more profound in some countries.
The increasing intake of cheap, highly processed foods and an explosion in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (up 30 per cent in Australia in the decade to 2017) and a more sedentary lifestyle (”the sitting disease”) has been catastrophic to our health – and the economies of many nations.
Among the Aboriginal population, Diabetes has increased 80-fold since 1980. A diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates underlies the concerning increase in Type 2 Diabetes among Aboriginal adults and now teenagers and primary school children.
Type 2 Diabetes takes on average 13 years to develop following the onset of insulin resistance. In children and teens the disease can develop within two years.
Minimising our ingestion of sugar, refined carbohydrates and highly processed products containing these substances can prevent fatty liver, insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes.
Once a person has been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, it can be managed successfully in many people without medication or surgery – with dietary modification and increased physical activity.
With so much evidence pointing to the fact that Type 2 Diabetes is easily managed by reducing sugar in our diets and increasing physical activity i.e. changing our lifestyle, is it possible that we are solely responsible for this disease?
Governments can introduce taxes and bans on sugary foods and drinks, but is that the answer?
Is it possible that that this will be just another band-aid solution?
It is well known that if something is banned, we will find a way to get it.
If they raise taxes we will simply go to a cheaper and, more likely, worse option.
Because sugar like nicotine, alcohol and drugs is very addictive, banning it or raising taxes is not going to stop us from being able to satisfy our needs and because sugar doesn’t have the same stigma as nicotine, alcohol or drugs and is seen as a norm by society’s standards, breaking this addiction is going to prove difficult.
Diabetes is referred to as the “sitting disease”.
This is a very appropriate saying and one that clearly shows we are not only responsible for contracting Diabetes, but we have the power to make all the necessary movements to not get this debilitating disease.
BBC News – 4 June 2020
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52920786
The most famous e-sports player in China has officially retired from gaming aged 23 due to ill health. He had a nickname “Mad Dog” because of his aggressive playing style.
In his own words he states that as a result of staying up late for years, a fatty diet and being under insurmountable stress, he found out last year that he has Type 2 Diabetes. He also says that his mental state is not as good as it was before.
Although he has changed his work schedule, exercised and taken medicine, his situation has not changed.
His fans call him a legend and 600,000 of them use a hashtag about his early retirement.
HELLO
We praise him as a national hero and also a world player, who at such a young age competed in competitions drawing in the crowds and from that, many would have profited from his short career.
China happens to be the second largest gaming market in the world, so this young man would be a very popular character indeed.
Could it be possible that the recognition from such a large audience would have an impact on his decisions to continue playing in the gaming world as it gave him something – identification, recognition and adulation from millions globally?
Can we go back and re-read the highlights of this brief news story as it is speaking volumes?
Then can we read this monumental blog and all the comments thereafter and consider what on earth are we fostering, endorsing and championing in the name of e-sports?
It seems to be that the human body can be pushed beyond its natural limits and whilst our mind is telling us one thing, the body is clearly breaking down to the point where one day it just says “enough mate of this behaviour, we cannot continue in the natural harmonious way we are designed to live” and bang we get diagnosed with an illness or dis-ease in our body.
In this case, can we really make out we are surprised, or can we examine the young age when this type of gaming behaviour started and the ‘aggressive’ character that evolved out of this way of moving, day in and day out?
Movements matter as they shape our behaviour, our patterns.
In other words, if we are going to be in front of a screen competing with gaming, day in and day out, then what are we doing to our body? It will just be moving to the seat and on the screen and that’s about it. Food quality and nutrition are not even on the radar and neither is any form of proper exercise.
So on that note – are we surprised at the end result which is Obesity and Diabetes?
How can we if the recipe is there – no exercise, fatty foods and INSURMOUNTABLE STRESS.
WHY on earth have we got someone so young having any form of stress, let alone insurmountable amounts?
Does this not spell it out for us that gaming is not healthy at all for any human being?
The fact that is has had a direct link to Diabetes is well worth placing a comment on this blog.
Talking to the taxi driver the other day, he was talking about his diagnosis for Diabetes and how he finds it difficult to accept he now has this condition in his 40s.
I asked him a few questions, the main one being “what was going on during the time of the diagnosis”. Initially he told me nothing, then he looked like he had a lightbulb moment and said OMG so much had happened the year leading up to his hospital doctor telling him he has Type 2 Diabetes. He was about to lose his business, which was doing very well and made him financially secure. However, he recalls being a very horrible shop keeper where he found himself shouting at customers and at home he said he was an awful husband and father.
Meeting him in his cab it would be true to say this man was very gentle by nature and that description above was certainly not him in his natural state.
We continue – he says that he would only eat if he felt hungry and not wash or have a change of clothing unless it became obvious to him, which was not often.
He said his dis-regard and neglect was at an epic level and he had no idea at the time.
Once he lost the business and had been told of his illness he started to feel the deep regret of the choices he had made, that led him to this point.
He goes on to say that he is always up and down – at times feeling happy and then he would drop so low he feels depressed. I sensed he was a man who bottles things up and rarely expresses what he truly feels. He told me I was bang on as he never ever talks to others including his wife about how he feels and he was like this growing up too.
Just saying what I felt to say in the moment, without a hidden agenda or trying, I was able to offer a take on WHY he may be having those ups and downs. I also added that his issues that he never speaks to anyone about are still inside his body and they keep coming up and he keeps ignoring them. He was nodding like this is what he does and this was making sense to him.
I gave him some questions to consider and he said it made sense.
One thing I asked him to contemplate was “Could it be possible that how he was choosing to live was not in sync with his natural way of being and over time he developed an illness?” He said he was heading down the ill health road and now he is on the real road that allows him the space to make different choices to support his health.
It took him the diagnosis of Diabetes to make different lifestyle choices that his wife and others had been suggesting for many years.
I am no medical professional but I come with lived experience and a lot of wisdom. ADD to that I have done some research and know a bit about Diabetes, having written this blog and my mother also had Type 2.
What I understand is that we do have a hand in WHY things happen to us and just that alone stops the blame or thinking that it came to us from out there. Instead we get an opportunity from our body, communicating to us that “Hey mister or mrs – you just can’t keep going like that as it’s way off kilter here inside the pancreas”.
We all know as it’s out there – lifestyle choices play a huge part in Diabetes.
This man was not even aware until he met me, as he totally forgot all the things that were going on in his life at the time of diagnosis.
At the end of this journey, he thanked me and said he felt a lot of relief and he had more understanding about how our lifestyle choices everyday actually matter and are important for our health and well-being.
As a world we champion the intelligent people on the planet, but what if there is an intelligence in our hearts that can offer us wisdom beyond our years and express exactly what another needs in a given moment that may just support them on their path to evolve out of the place where they are currently at?
I reckon this conversation was one of those moments.
Mail Online – 12 June 2020
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8414205/People-diabetes-four-times-likely-break-bone-review-finds.html
People with Diabetes are 4 times more likely to break a bone in their hip or one of their limbs and the risk increases over time for Type 2 patients, a review study has found.
Furthermore, the researchers concluded that the risk for individuals with Type 2 Diabetes increases both with insulin use and the duration of their condition.
The list of well known complications relating to Diabetes are covered in this forensic blog which is presenting the facts and the stats to bring more awareness.
People with Diabetes are unaware that they are at greater risk of bone fractures says the author of this study.
76,000 people in the UK suffer a hip fracture every year and around 20% will die within a year of the fracture. Many others do not regain mobility and for many people it can cause a loss of independence.
Most of us have heard that our lifestyle choices are a major contributory factor when it comes to Diabetes and yet very few heed the warnings or pay any attention to this.
Is it because we are wired in a way with our ‘free will, do what we want’ behaviour, that it seems impossible to break free from these unhealthy ways of living?
Is it because we just do not want to take full Responsibility for those lifestyle choices we are making that harm our body on a daily basis?
Is it because we love the comfort and distraction that our lifestyle gives us and the thought of change is just not for us, unless we are forced to by our body when it shows us an illness?
How many people today are bothered about breaking a bone or seeing this as a risk if they get Diabetes?
Would it be true to say we know our lifestyle choices are not great and yet we do nothing to make the changes. In other words, we do not move in a way that activates change, so things continue down the ill road until we are stopped by illness, disease or some calamity that will not let us continue with our “business as usual” way of living?
The Daily Telegraph – 20th June 2020
Signs of Adult Diabetes Seen in Eight-Year-Olds
Scientists have warned that children as young as 8 are showing signs of susceptibility to adult Diabetes.
Symptoms of the Type 2 form, which means the body does not produce enough insulin, were detected in primary school children decades before they were likely to be diagnosed.
Researchers at the University of Bristol analysed blood samples from more than 4,700 people, some of whom were genetically susceptible, when they were aged 8, 16, 18 and 25.
It revealed those vulnerable to developing diabetes had raised levels of “bad cholesterol” called low-density lipoprotein, when they were eight.
The lead doctor on the study said: “It is remarkable we can see signs of adult diabetes in the blood from such a young age. Diabetes is most common in older age, but we see signs of disease susceptibility very early on – about 50 years before it is usually diagnosed. Knowing what early features of Type 2 Diabetes look like could help us to intervene much earlier.”
Around 4 million people in the UK have Diabetes. About 90 per cent of them have the Type 2 form of the condition, which can lead to heart disease, kidney damage and blindness.
A growing number of youngsters are being treated for Type 2 Diabetes. Some 745 patients were treated in specialist paediatric clinics in 2018/19, a 47 per cent rise on the 507 cases in 2013/14.
Why are young children getting an ‘older persons’ disease?
Why has this information only come to light now?
Are children being born this way or is it the body’s way of showing that something is not quite right?
What if all illness and disease wasn’t ‘God’s plan’, wasn’t fate, wasn’t just the way it is, wasn’t bad luck?
What if we had more of a direct hand in creating our illnesses and diseases?
Is it possible that all illnesses and diseases come from us and not to us – which means it is the way we live our lives that cause illness and disease?
What if genetics only plays a very small part in our lives and it is our lifestyle that determines what illnesses or diseases we contract?
If all illness and disease comes to us, is it possible then, that we can rule out a hereditary reason and see this as a lifestyle illness or disease?
Type 2 Diabetes is considered to be a disease that we have due to our lifestyle choices.
If children as young as eight are showing symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes, do we, as parents, need to start to look at the way we lives our lives?
Now of course, we can totally dismiss out of hand the notion that all illness and disease comes from us but what would be the more responsible approach?
To play the blame game and leave it for God, bad luck or fate or to start to take responsibility for our choices?
Diabetes Research Institute Foundation
https://www.diabetesresearch.org/diabetes-statistics
Diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate in the United States according to the CDC – the Center for Disease Control. Their National Diabetes Statistics Report 2020 estimate that Diabetes cases have risen to 34.2 million.
2018 – Diabetes in Adults and Children
1.5 million new cases were diagnosed among U.S. adults over age 18
210,000 were children and adolescents younger than 20 years old
2016 – Hospital discharges
7.8 million reported with diabetes as any listed diagnosis among U.S. adults over age 18.
1.7 million for major cardiovascular diseases, including
438,000 for ischemic heart disease
313,000 for stroke
130,000 for lower-extremity amputation
209,000 for hyperglycemic crisis
Kidney Disease
Prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease was 37.0% during the period 2013 – 2016 among U.S. adults aged 18 and older diagnosed with Diabetes.
Cost of Diabetes
£327 Billion – cost of diagnosed diabetes in 2017.
See link for full report
https://www.diabetesresearch.org/file/national-diabetes-statistics-report-2020.pdf
Metro News – 27 October 2020
A new study has found that a type of ‘super pea’ may help control blood sugar levels and cut the risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
Scientists say that this super pea has higher amounts of resistant starch.
For those who want this news it would sound like a life saver.
We can hope that this super pea will save the day and let us live the lifestyle we want because it is going to work for us.
Before we go any further, please take note of the words “may” and if we know the meaning it tells us it is a possibility being expressed.
WHY are anyone of us not demanding or asking some serious questions, when we have been told over and over again that Type 2 Diabetes for the majority is linked to lifestyle choices?
Hello – what is it that we want?
Are we comfortable waiting for some miracle solution to fix our dis-ease that we have created called Diabetes?
Have we even bothered to reflect on our lifestyle and how we were living before we were diagnosed and how life is now we have this thing we call Diabetes?
Have we been thinking we are smart as we have worked out how to carry on ‘business as usual’ with our choices in daily life, winging it with the Diabetes disability that we now have for life?
Are we waiting for this super pea to control our blood sugar levels because we have no intention of doing that as we are way too busy?
Dear World
Time is running out as we know it. Diabetes has become a new normal with the masses and that means it seems like no big deal if you end up with it or tell others you have it.
WHY have we not got our researchers worldwide to work together and get to the root cause of WHY and HOW anyone ends up with any form of Diabetes?
We have advanced so much with modern medicine saving lives and the pharmaceuticals making billions and if not trillions now, all in the name of making our health better, but have we really and truly made advancements if we have no real answer for WHY we have had this age old disease we call Diabetes still around and on the rise.
WHY are we ok with just accepting everything and giving up?
WHY are we all not up in arms demanding and burning to know why we have created this ill in the first place and why are we being told it is coming from our lifestyle choices?
Are we ready to admit that SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT and then can we get super honest about our lifestyle choices, so we can at least reflect on how we have been living that may be linked to why we now have Diabetes?
We have all waited long enough to be fixed with the plethora of solutions bombarding us with the next best thing or a cure or whatever but history has told us simply, it is not working.
If it was then WHY have we got so many illnesses and diseases plaguing us and destroying the human frame?
World Health Organization – 9 December 2020 | News Release | Geneva, Switzerland
https://www.who.int/news/item/09-12-2020-who-reveals-leading-causes-of-death-and-disability-worldwide-2000-2019
The World Health Organization reveals the leading causes of death and disability worldwide:
New data from 2000 – 2019 inclusive.
Non communicable diseases make up 7 of the world’s top 10 causes of death, according to WHO’s 2019 Global Health estimates just published. Their website states that this clearly highlights the need for an intensified global focus on preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases as well as all injuries in every region of the world.
Deaths from Diabetes increased by 70% globally between 2000 and 2019, with an 80% rise in deaths among males.
In the Eastern Mediterranean, deaths from Diabetes have more than doubled and represent the greatest percentage increase of all WHO regions.
This is a major 911 and the question is WHY did the world media forget to report on this alone?
WHY is this not front page news headlines and WHY are the masses unaware of these staggering statistics?
It is widely known that Diabetes alone will bankrupt our health systems?
We can continue to make the pharmaceuticals even richer and get them to come up with more drugs to keep us living longer but what is the quality of our life when we have to adjust and live with a debilitating disease?
Just because the masses now have Diabetes, it does not equate to normal and acceptable.
Lifestyle choices are a major contributory factor for Diabetes and yet we continue to see a rise and for the record it is meteoric. 70% is not a small number and the fact that we have an 80% rise in deaths among males needs further questioning. How can we leave it at a website page on the World Health Organization platform? Surely we all need to know about this right now?
We seem to be great at solutions and fixing the problem but we are far off the mark from finding out why we have a disease that has been around for centuries and we call ourselves intelligent, forward thinking and advanced, but are we really if we have Diabetes killing millions every year?
National Institutes of Health – 28 July 2021
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/serious-complications-youth-onset-type-2-diabetes-arise-young-adulthood
Serious complications from youth-onset Type 2 Diabetes arise by young adulthood. Findings – first of its kind funded largely by the National Institute of Diabetes and Kidney Diseases, part of the NIH.
Those with Type 2 Diabetes diagnosed during youth have a high risk of developing complications at early ages and have a greater chance of multiple complications within 15 years of diagnosis.
60% had at least one Diabetes related complication
33% had 2 or more complications
The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine – 29 July 2021
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2100165
Participants were between ages 10 – 17 and had been diagnosed with Diabetes for less than 2 years and were overweight or had obesity. The follow up average age was 26.
Monitored annually for signs of Diabetes complications, including heart disease, kidney disease, diabetic foot complications.
67% had high blood pressure
52% had dyslipidemia or high fat levels in the blood
55% had kidney disease
32% had evidence of nerve disease
51% had eye disease
The study lead shares that compared to what we see in adults with Type 2 Diabetes, these young participants developed complications much earlier in their disease course and at a much faster pace over time.
Is the solution aggressive therapy and this news story tells us “we need to be prepared for polypharmacy”?
https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/news/20210730/early-complications-teen-onset-type-2-diabetes
The common definition of polypharmacy is 5 or more medicines. In the past we had the use of multiple medications more commonly in older patients. Now we are told to prepare for our youth.
Something is clearly not right and do we have the answers to this very old disease?
We seem to find solutions and manage the disease but is there something we are missing and where do we start?
So all the children in this study had a common factor – all obese or overweight.
We immediately go to their diet and lack of exercise. But what if there is even more to consider and what if we find a different approach?
As this in depth article, call it a blog presents and the numerous well-researched comments thereafter, we are left in no doubt that Diabetes is going to bankrupt all our health systems, as this is an out of control global disease.
Now with this study informing us that our youth are getting Diabetes related complications by young adulthood, it is time we get on with finding another way.
Have we even bothered to consider real EDUCATION? Is this what is missing on the school agenda from day dot?
What if we had our teachers pass on wisdom and understanding about the human body and how it works well when we do not bludgeon it with our so-called lifestyle choices under the banner of “Free will, I can do what I want, when I want because I can”?
What if those teachers need to be society’s living role models and they must live a life where they have clear vitality levels every day and are using the word Responsibility in their every movement, without perfection of course?
What if these teachers of our future – walk the talk and live human life and therefore are equipped to present on this topic, which lets face it will do far more good than exploring the stars and other planets and galaxies or algebra and complicated mathematical stuff that will never be needed outside the classroom in future life?
Dear World
With due respect to all researchers and all those that think they have the answer. Can we – the everyday citizens that make up the masses, use a dose of honesty and common sense to wake up and admit nothing is working because if it was Diabetes would not be showing up in young kids? Hello.
The Guardian – 4 September 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/04/lockdown-weight-gain-more-at-risk-type-2-diabetes-nhs-study
Weight gained during the pandemic is putting more people at higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes, according to a new NHS study.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(21)00218-7/fulltext
It is estimated that even gaining 1 kg can increase the risk of developing Diabetes by 8%.
Projections suggest that at the current rate the growing number of Diabetics could result in nearly 39,000 extra people suffering a heart attack in 2035, and more than 50,000 experiencing a stroke.
Professor Jonathan Valabhji, NHS national clinical director for Diabetes and Obesity who produced the findings said that the increase in weight was also associated with many of the common types of cancer, blindness, amputations, heart attacks and strokes.
This is one nation and we can expect more of the same going on in other parts of the world.
The National Health Service in the UK is running into greater debt with the escalating rise in illness and disease and it has been said that the cost alone of having a nation to take care of with Diabetes will bankrupt the system.
2035 is not that far away and if these predictions are anything to go by then we better start making changes in our lifestyle choices now.
The pandemic was what most of us would blame because we can, but that takes away our personal responsibility and so we need to make the movements, change our behaviour and our attitude towards taking care of this one body we have that stays with us until our very last breath.
When we hear over and over again that Type 2 Diabetes is preventable, we must wake up and pay attention. Our poor diets, our lack of taking note that our bodies are exhausted by living in a way that is not supporting it is coming through our symptoms.
Why wait for a diagnosis if we can take small sensible steps in the right direction?
The NHS have enough patients to deal with and if we took more care of our body, we may support them. What if clapping and championing how great the staff are and how hard they work was not needed but what would help them greatly and benefit the whole nation is if we stepped up in our own health and wellbeing choices and stopped the over eating, zero exercise and comfy elasticated waistbands every day of the week.
None of us want to suffer, get ill or be told we have a disease like Diabetes. Yet we are reluctant to make some small changes that would benefit us greatly and society as a whole.
Do we realise that there are so many other illnesses associated with Obesity, not just Diabetes, like Cancer and blindness. For most of us, that would be tragic and we would not want that to happen and yet we do nothing even after we know we can make simple changes, like going to bed early consistently to work through our exhaustion and that means we will crave less of the foods that give us instant energy and put on weight.
Next – how many of us are aware that man is now multi symptomatic and that means we present to our physicians with multiple illnesses or dis-eases? In the past, our medics were designed to treat one such disease or illness and today, in our so called modern world, these professional medical people have to work through many different symptoms that we present.
This confirms that we are seriously going down the wrong road when it comes to our health and wellbeing. We can no longer negate that our way of living is not supporting our body and for this reason alone, we must make the necessary changes.
If we choose not to, because we like the lifestyle choices we make, then we can expect more ills, as that is what comes from living a life of irresponsibility and having little or no regard for the human body.
Diabetes UK – 2 September 2022
Researchers have developed an insulin tablet that may be as affective as taking the hormone via an injection.
Tablets lose some of their ability to lower blood glucose as they travel through the digestive system, often accumulating in the stomach.
Scientists from Canada have discovered that insulin from their latest iteration of oral tablets is absorbed as effectively as the injected form of the hormone.
Type 1 Diabetes means insulin-dependent and often people take multiple insulin injections daily to regulate blood sugar levels.
Sometimes Type 2 Diabetes may also require multiple insulin injections, particularly if they have high blood sugar levels.
Tablets would help environmental waste from the needles and plastic that may not always be recycled and end up in landfill.
Note – the tablets have only been tested on rats but it could mean a non-injectable version of insulin could be available for human use in the future.
While we wait for the study to move on to human trials and get more funding, can we read this article, ponder on the statistics worldwide and answer the questions presented.
QUESTIONS
WHY have we got this human disease that was first around in 1552 BCE ?
WHY with our so-called intelligence have we not got to the root cause of Diabetes and eradicated this disease?
Diabetes UK – 28 October 2022
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2022/oct/tiktok-trends-are-causing-shortages-of-diabetes-drug-ozempic.html
The American Food and Drug Administration is reporting shortages of the common Type 2 Diabetes drug, Ozempic.
Ozempic has gained popularity on social media platforms as a weight loss drug.
Celebrities and influencers are reportedly taking the medication to lose weight.
Due to its popularity on social media, the drug is in short supply again. As a result, people with Type 2 Diabetes are struggling to get the medications they require to treat their condition.
Ozempic is a drug that contains Semaglutide, a GLP–1 receptor agonist which works by increasing insulin secretion, increasing blood sugar removal and improving glycaemic control.
The side-effects of this drug include constipation, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting.
Independent News – 22 November 2022
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/type-2-diabetes-nhs-university-of-exeter-uk-biobank-people-b2230981.html
250,000 middle-aged adults do not know they have Type 2 Diabetes, according to new estimates.
Researchers said that all adults aged 40-70 should be screened for the condition, with earlier help cutting a person’s risk of complications linked to the disease.
People taking part in the study were tracked for 10 years. Researchers found the average time to diagnosis was 2.2 years.
Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes in the early stages to look out for are being thirsty, unexplained weight loss, tiredness and passing urine more often.
University of South Australia – 2 December 2022
https://www.unisa.edu.au/media-centre/Releases/2022/trouble-sleeping-you-could-be-at-risk-of-type-2-diabetes/
TROUBLED SLEEP ASSSOCIATED WITH RISK FACTORS FOR TYPE 2 DIABETES
In the 1st study of its kind, researchers found that people who reported trouble sleeping were on average more likely to have indicators of poor cardiometabolic health – inflammatory markers, cholesterol and body weight, which can contribute to Type 2 Diabetes.
Australia
1 million adults have Type 2 Diabetes
Global
422 million affected by Type 2 Diabetes
“Everyone knows that sleep is important. But when we think about sleep, we mainly focus on how many hours of sleep we get, when we should also be looking at our sleep experience as a whole.
How soundly we sleep, when we go to bed and get up and how regular our sleep habits are, may be just as important as sleep duration.
It is important to think about sleep as a whole and not just one aspect.”
Dr. Lisa Matricciani – University of South Australia researcher
CDC | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Press Release 29 December 2022
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p1229-future-diabetes-surge.html
Future Surge in Diabetes Could Dramatically Impact People Under 20 in U.S.
According to a new study, the number of young people under age 20 with Diabetes in the United States is likely to increase more rapidly in future decades. The study was published in Diabetes Care.
The expected upward trend may lead to as many as 220,000 young people having Type 2 Diabetes. This could increase as much as 65% in the next 40 years.
Even if the rate of new Diabetes diagnoses among young people remains the same over the decades, Type 2 Diabetes diagnoses could increase 70% by 2060.
Type 2 Diabetes has increased substantially among young people over the last 2 decades.
“This new research should serve as a wake up call for all of us” said CDC Acting Principal Deputy Director Debra Houry, MD, MPH.
“Increases in Diabetes – especially among young people are always worrisome, but these numbers are alarming” said Christopher Holliday, PhD – Director of CDC Division of Diabetes Translation.
Dear World
If this should serve as a wake up call then how are we going to make those changes?
Taking into account that lifestyle choices are an important risk factor when it comes to Type 2 Diabetes – can we examine closely HOW our kids are living in daily life?
Would that be a starter?
If the rise is significant over the last 2 decades, can we apply some much needed common sense with our use of Screen Time, Junk Foods and a global pandemic with lockdown restrictions that have had an enormous effect on our kids?
Complexity Science Hub Vienna – 3 January 2023
https://www.csh.ac.at/women-with-diabetes-mellitus-at-higher-risk/
A research team from the Complexity Science Hub and MedUni Vienna analysed 180,034 patients with Diabetes Mellitus and found evidence that women are at higher risk of Venous Thromboembolism than men.
Data from 45 million hospitalisations and 7,239,710 patients in Austria between 2003 and 2014 were studied.
The analyses show for the first time that Diabetes Mellitus might be associated with Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) to a greater extent in women than in men. The risk of women with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) also suffering from VTE is 1.52 times higher than for women without DM. For men, on the contrast, the risk is only 1.3 times higher. After the age of 40 the relative risk of VTE increases. The effect peaks in women between 50 and 59 years of age, with a risk 1.65 times higher, according to the results of the study published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice.
Science Daily – 11 January 2023
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/01/230111104258.htm
Artificial Pancreas Successfully Trialled for Use by Type 2 Diabetes Patients
Scientists have successfully trialled an artificial pancreas for use by patients living with Type 2 Diabetes.
The device – powered by an algorithm developed at the University of Cambridge doubled the amount of time patients were in the target range for glucose compared to standard treatment and halved the time spent experiencing high glucose levels.
415 million people worldwide are estimated to be living with Type 2 Diabetes, which costs around $760 billion in annual global health expenditure.
4.9 million people in the UK have Diabetes
90% have Type 2 Diabetes
£10 billion estimated cost to the NHS
The disease is usually managed through a combination of lifestyle changes, improved diet, more exercise and medication, with the aim of keeping glucose levels low.
The artificial pancreas can help maintain healthy glucose levels. The device combines an off the shelf glucose monitor and insulin pump with an app developed. The app, run by an algorithm, predicts how much insulin is required to maintain glucose levels in the target range.
The team used several measures to assess how effectively the artificial pancreas worked. Details are in the news link above.
“Many people with Type 2 Diabetes struggle to manage their blood sugar levels using the currently available treatments, such as insulin injections. The artificial pancreas can provide a safe and effective approach to help them and the technology is simple to use and can be implemented safely at home.”
Dr. Charlotte Boughton – Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science
Dear World
Re-read this in depth article by Simple Living Global and all the comments thereafter about a disease that for most has been created through our own lifestyle.
How far are we from the Truth as a so-called intelligent species that we create an artificial organ to regulate our blood glucose levels?
What is this saying about us humans?
Diabetes UK – 17 April 2023
5 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE UK NOW HAVE DIABETES.
The rising number of people with Diabetes in Britain may be due to the Obesity epidemic, according to health experts.
850,000 people have Diabetes but are unaware of it.
Type 2 Diabetes accounts for 90% of Diabetes cases, usually diagnosed in middle age and is linked to Obesity.
Two thirds of the UK’s adult population are obese and overweight.
Chief Executive, Chris Askew of Diabetes UK says that the UK are in the grip of a rapidly escalating Diabetes crisis, with millions at high risk of developing the condition. It is a relentless condition and the fear of serious complications is a lifelong reality for millions across the UK.
1 in 6 people in a hospital bed has Diabetes.
Every hour, someone with Diabetes has a toe, foot or leg amputated.
30 people a week in England lose their sight due to Diabetes.
700 premature deaths per week in England and Wales due to Diabetes.
23% rise in people under age 40 diagnosed with Diabetes in 5 years.
200,000 more people aged 18 – 39 predicted to have Diabetes by 2027.
Tufts University – 19 April 2023
https://nutrition.tufts.edu/news/study-links-poor-diet-14-million-cases-type-2-diabetes-globally
STUDY LINKS POOR DIET TO 14 MILLION CASES OF TYPE 2 DIABETES GLOBALLY
Dietary intake in 184 countries estimated that poor diet contributed to over 14.1 million cases of Type 2 Diabetes in 2018, representing over 70% of new diagnoses globally.
Of the 11 dietary factors considered, 3 had an outsized contribution to the rising global incidence of Type 2 Diabetes.
Insufficient intake of whole grains
Excesses of refined rice and wheat
Over consumption of processed meat
“Our study suggests poor carbohydrate quality is a leading driver of diet-attributable type 2 Diabetes globally”.
Senior Author – Dariush Mozaffarian
Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition and Dean for policy at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.
Diabetes UK – 25 April 2023
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2023/apr/shake-diet-to-reverse-type-2-diabetes-sends-the-wrong-message.html
A new “soup and shake diet” is trending and is shown to reverse Type 2 Diabetes. This is sending the wrong message.
The results of a trial of the 800 calories a day have shown that people with the condition can put Type 2 Diabetes into remission for at least 5 years.
According to Professor Tim Spector “real food” is the solution to better long-term health.
As meal replacement shakes and soups are made up of ingredients not found in a kitchen, they are classified as “ultra-processed foods”.
The Diabetes UK funded diet involved participants with Type 2 Diabetes consuming a soup or shake diet for 12 to 20 weeks.
In the following 3 years – 23% remained in remission and 95 of the 149 participants received further support.
Diabetes UK – 2 May 2023
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2023/may/type-2-diabetes-in-women-linked-to-cardiovascular-disease.html
Women with Type 2 Diabetes are 20% more at risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event compared to those living without the condition, according to new research.
Additionally, women with the condition were more likely to be obese, hypertensive and have hypercholesterolemia, compared to men with Type 2 Diabetes. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/dyslipidemia.html
On average, women were 24 kilos heavier than men if they were diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes at a young age.
This research adds to a body of evidence showing that there is a difference between the genders when it comes to disease.
Diabetes UK – 3 May 2023
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2023/may/lung-disorders-linked-to-type-2-diabetes.html
People living with Type 2 Diabetes are at risk of developing a lung condition, according to latest research presented at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference 2023.
Academics have now confirmed that lung disorders should be seen as a severe complication of Type 2 Diabetes.
In the largest ever genetic study, researchers explored how genes affect blood sugar levels and health outcomes.
Prior research has found a link between Type 2 Diabetes and lung disease, fibrosis and pneumonia.
Respiratory disease is the 3rd biggest cause of death in England and hospital admissions for respiratory diseases in England and Wales doubling over the last 20 years. The findings of this study highlight the need for healthcare professionals to be vigilant to lung complications in people with Type 2 Diabetes.
Diabetes UK – 10 May 2023
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2023/may/excess-deaths-among-people-with-diabetes-up-by-7000-as-experts-warn-of-diabetes-care-crisis.html
New figures released by Diabetes UK show that the number of deaths among people with Diabetes is up by 7,000 a year from pre-pandemic levels.
Due to the backlog caused by the pandemic, 1.9 million people are missing vital checks which provide ‘life saving care’.
The number of deaths in 2022 rose by 13% from pre-pandemic levels and the situation already appears to be getting worse. In the first 3 months of 2023 the excess deaths was 3 times higher than the same period last year.
Diabetes UK – 28 May 2023
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2023/may/the-link-between-diabetes-and-eating-disorders.html
1 in 3 people with Type 1 Diabetes develop an Eating Disorder.
Type 1 Diabetes requires those with the condition to monitor what they eat and check ups that involve checking their weight. These necessities can be problematic for people who are susceptible to developing an eating disorder.
TIDE (Type 1 Diabetes and Disordered Eating)
When people with Type 1 Diabetes decide to limit or stop taking their insulin to prevent them from putting on weight, it is described as TIDE.
Diabulimia can result in fatal consequences. It is a term created to represent a condition of Diabetic Bulimia.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/Diabetes-and-Diabulimia.html
Diabetes UK – 7 June 2023
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2023/jun/countries-with-highest-number-of-diabetes-cases-unveiled.html
Data from the International Diabetes Federation shows 31% of the Pakistan population are living with Diabetes, making it the highest ranking country for Diabetes cases.
25.2% French Polynesia
24.9% Kuwait
See link for the top 20 countries with the highest Diabetes prevalence.
In Pakistan, over 25% of adults with Diabetes are unaware they are living with the condition.
Previous research findings highlight that 75% of adults living in Pakistan have an inactive lifestyle.
Experts say that Obesity is a key factor that has caused Type 2 Diabetes cases in the U.S. and UK to skyrocket in recent years.
IHME – The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation – 22 June 2023
https://www.healthdata.org/news-events/newsroom/news-releases/global-diabetes-cases-soar-529-million-13-billion-2050
GLOBAL DIABETES CASES PROJECTED TO 1.3 BILLION BY 2050
More than half a billion people are living with Diabetes worldwide, affecting men, women and children of all ages and in every country.
The projection to more than double in the next 30 years is including every country seeing an increase.
Globally, Diabetes is one of the top 10 leading causes of death and disability. The highest rate is in North Africa and the Middle East at 39.4%.
Diabetes was evident in people age 65 and over in every country and recorded a prevalence rate of more than 20% for that demographic worldwide.
96% of all global cases are Type 2 Diabetes.
Dr. Liane Ong, Lead Author and Lead Research Scientist at IHME said “The rapid rate at which Diabetes is growing is not only alarming but also challenging for every health system in the world, especially given how the disease also increases the risk for ischemic heart disease and stroke.”
Diabetes UK – 27 July 2023
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2023/jul/diabetes-related-nerve-pain-improves-following-faecal-transplants.html
Researchers have said that faecal transplants could offer relief to the nerve pain experienced by many people with Diabetes.
More than half of people with Diabetes suffer from painful neuropathy which causes tingling, numbness and stinging.
There are currently no treatment options available for people with diabetic neuropathy but this study highlights methods which could be further developed in the future to offer relief.
Researchers did note that the beneficial effects of the faecal transplants did begin to wear off after 3 months.
A faecal microbiota transplant, also known as a faecal transplant, is a procedure that involves collecting stool from a healthy donor which is first screened for safety. It is then mixed with a saline solution and administered to the recipient. The transplant can be conducted through a colonoscopy, endoscopy, sigmoidoscopy or a pill.
Diabetes UK News – 26 August 2023
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2023/aug/nhs-spent-more-than-1-billion-on-diabetes-drugs-last-year.html
2022
NHS spent more than £1 billion on Diabetes drugs – the highest figure since records began.
50% increase over the last 5 years in the cost of insulin and metformin due to rising Obesity rates triggering a surge of Type 2 Diabetes cases.
Tam Fry – Chair of the National Obesity Forum said “We should actually be trying to prevent Obesity in the first place.
We are now entering an era which is hugely concerning. We have now got into a ridiculous situation.
To me, it is absolutely bananas that we are now starting to spend a lot of money for quite an expensive drug when we should be actually trying to prevent Obesity in the first place.”
2022/23
Over 3 million people living with Diabetes were prescribed drugs
2022
66 million prescriptions were administered for people living with Diabetes
Equivalent to 180,000 per day.
Diabetes UK – 1 September 2023
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2023/sep/divorced-men-with-diabetes-most-at-risk-of-limb-amputation.html
Divorced men with Diabetes are more likely to have their limbs amputated, compared to females and married individuals, according to researchers from Sweden.
Divorcees were 67% more at risk of having a limb amputation.
Men were 57% more likely to have an amputation compared to women.
People with Obesity were 46% more at risk of having an amputation.
The authors said “Divorcees could be higher risk due to change in self-care and food habits observed in people when they divorce and are more likely to be living alone. Specifically with men, this is often related to more social isolation with a secondary effect of low physical activity.
Lifestyle variables have a strong association with lower limb amputation and an increase in physical activity, avoidance of being underweight and smoking cessation may be impactful interventions to reduce the risk.”
180 amputations a week in the UK are Diabetes related.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital – 11 September 2023
https://www.brighamandwomens.org/about-bwh/newsroom/press-releases-detail?id=4521
A new study has found people with later sleep and wake up times had less healthy lifestyles and were at a greater risk of developing Diabetes than those with early bird sleep habits.
Researchers found evening ‘chronotype’ or going to be late and waking up late was associated with 19% increased risk of Diabetes after accounting for lifestyle factors.
Data from 63,676 female nurses was collected from 2009 – 2017.
The evening chronotype was associated with 72% increased risk for Diabetes before accounting for lifestyle factors.
Those with evening chronotypes were found to be more likely to drink alcohol in higher quantities, have a low-quality food diet, get less hours of sleep per night, currently smoke and have weight, BMI and physical activity rates in the unhealthy range.
Dear World
This website rarely duplicates a news story unless it serves.
This research study is posted both on our Sleep and Diabetes posts.
What is evident and repeatedly coming up for ALL of us is how we are living in daily life and that means our lifestyle choices have consequences and we simply cannot get away from this fact.
Not having a sleep routine because we simply do not care enough or care very little or not at all about our body is not a wise move. Our body is our vehicle that we have until our last breath and we can ignore the signs or wait for more evidence based research before we make any changes or we take some simple steps to make changes that support and nurture our body.
What we have yet to expose is that most of us do not have the awareness that basic 101 tips for living daily life actually benefit us and others too.
This website is a great example of that.
The author got the sleep thing locked in and nailed it and so it is no surprise that they can not only write but present to absolutely anyone that sleep is super important, why and how this can be done, regardless of where we live or what job we do.
For the record – there is no Diabetes on the radar for the author of this website.
This is the confirmation that lifestyle choices work when they are used to support and deeply nurture the body. Not disregard or indulge, as that brings in serious consequences.
University of Cambridge – 3 October 2023
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/type-2-diabetes-diagnosis-at-age-30-can-reduce-life-expectancy-by-up-to-14-years
International team of researchers have warned that an individual diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes at age 30 could see their life expectancy fall by as much as 14 years.
Analysis data from 19 high-income countries.
“Given the impact Type 2 diabetes will have on people’s lives, preventing or at least delaying the onset of the condition should be an urgent priority.”
Dr. Stephen Kaptoge
AAAS – American Association for the Advancement of Science – 5 October 2023
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1003726
Low muscle mass is associated with a 2-fold risk of death from heart disease in people with Diabetes.
New research with the analysis of U.S. data underlines the need to consider body composition as well as weight when managing weight in individuals with Diabetes.
Sarcopenia – age related loss of muscle mass and strength was known to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in individuals with Diabetes.
Low muscle mass was associated in this study with a higher risk of all cause mortality and CVD mortality.
Participants with low muscle mass were 44% more likely to die of any cause during follow up than those with normal muscle mass.
They were also twice as likely to die from CVD as those with normal muscle mass.
Diabetes Times – 5 October 2023
https://diabetestimes.co.uk/study-reveals-distinct-illness-trajectory-in-the-years-leading-up-to-type-2-diabetes-diagnosis/
According to a new research study – there is a distinct illness trajectory in the years leading up to and immediately prior to Type 2 Diabetes.
The study suggests an early phase of inflammation-related disease activity long before any clinical diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes is made.
The trajectory analysis that for individuals eventually diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, a number of common conditions increased consistently in the years leading up to the diagnosis, specifically: high blood pressure, respiratory tract infections, heart conditions (i.e., heart failure, heart attack, angina, coronary angioplasty, coronary artery bypass graft and heart disease), asthma and eye, nose and throat infections.
Researchers also found that immediately prior to the Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis, more than 1 in 3 experienced high blood pressure and respiratory tract infection and 1 in 5 had a heart condition or eye, nose and throat infection. 1 in 10 developed asthma.
Both heart conditions and asthma continued to increase in those diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.
Diabetes UK – 19 October 2023
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2023/oct/common-prescription-drugs-increase-cardiac-arrest-risk-in-people-with-type-2-diabetes.html
According to new research, common prescription drugs increase cardiac arrest risk in people with Type 2 Diabetes.
Those that use certain antibiotics, anti-sickness and anti-psychotic drugs are 50% more at risk of having a cardiac arrest, even among those with no previous history of heart disease.
Prior studies have found that a lack of exercise, high blood pressure and smoking are all factors that can contribute to having a cardiac arrest.
The study results show that people without heart disease who were taking anti-psychotic medication were 187% more likely to have a cardiac arrest.
People with Type 2 Diabetes who take prokinetic medication are 66% more likely to have a cardiac arrest, regardless of whether they have heart disease.
Academics have said that these drugs prolong the heart’s QTc interval – a measurement of the electrical activity linked to the contraction of heart muscle cells.
Chief author, Peter Harms said “the link with low fasting glucose and antibiotic, antipsychotic and prokinetic medication is less well known”.
GPs will already be aware that classic cardiovascular disease risk factors such as high blood pressure raise the risk of sudden cardiac arrest in people with Type 2 Diabetes.
30,000 cardiac arrests occur in the UK outside of hospital.
1 in 10 of these people survive, according the to the British Heart Foundation.
Diabetes UK – 9 November 2023
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2023/nov/artificial-sweeteners-associated-with-type-2-diabetes-and-depression.html
Artificial Sweeteners associated with Type 2 Diabetes and Depression
New evidence shows those who regularly consume artificial sweeteners are more at risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes and Depression.
Over 2 million people in the UK consume artificial sweeteners a minimum of 4 times a day.
Previous research from Sorbonne University in Paris found that artificial sweeteners are up to 13,000 times sweeter than natural sugar.
When a larger number of sweeteners are consumed, the human brain recognises them as normal and starts to dislike blander foods such as fruits and vegetables.
According to a research study at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital – Sweeteners are linked with Depression as they can trigger the transmission of particular signalling molecules in the brain – an important factor for mood.
Artificial sweeteners are also linked with Type 2 Diabetes as they can stop the body from being able to regulate blood sugar levels healthily.
Prior studies showed saccharin and sucralose sweeteners can increase the blood sugar levels of healthy individuals.
Other research shows that artificial sweeteners can cause weight gain, despite many people using sweeteners instead of sugar in an attempt to prevent the development of Type 2 Diabetes by losing weight.
This is because individuals who frequently drink artificially sweetened beverages are more likely to eat sugary snacks compared to those who drink water or sugar sweetened drinks, academics from Texas Christian University identified.
Recent research showed artificial sweeteners prime people’s metabolisms to prepare for a large influx of calories and when the calories do not arrive, the body ramps up its appetite cravings in search of the missing calories, so people subsequently binge on Junk Foods.
Researchers from Bordeaux University said “Evidence in humans shows that sugar and sweetness can induce reward and craving that are comparable in magnitude to those induced by addictive drugs.”
Dear World
On that final note – how many of us know that sugar is a drug as our body responds like we have ingested an addictive drug?
What we ALL know, even if we don’t want to admit it is sugar in any form is not what our body wants. It is a drug and we are not ready to even go there to find out why we all love the stuff that is literally killing us inside.
George Mason University – 20 November 2023
https://publichealth.gmu.edu/news/2023-11/poor-nutrition-contributes-poor-mental-health-and-risk-diabetes
Poor Nutrition contributes to poor mental health and risk of Diabetes.
People with Diabetes are 2 – 3 times more likely to have Depression than people without, according to the CDC – Centers for Disease Control.
2 literature reviews from Professor Raedeh Basiri show that poor nutrition plays a dual role, contributing to both the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes and impacting mental health, including Anxiety and Depression.
According to the findings, mental disorders, such as Depression and Anxiety, increase the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes and Diabetes is also linked with an increased risk of developing Depression and Anxiety.
Nutrition interventions can aid in both of these health issues.
The research team found that a diet with a large number of processed foods was found to have a negative effect, increasing the susceptibility to Type 2 Diabetes, Depression and Anxiety.
Additionally, the research team found that a diet with energy-dense foods but lacking in essential nutrients is associated with the exacerbation of unfavourable symptoms in both mental health and the development of Type 2 Diabetes. The connection emphasises the importance of nutrient-rich dietary choices for overall health and well-being.
Staffordshire University – 1 December 2023
https://www.staffs.ac.uk/news/2023/12/researchers-caution-diabetes-patients-use-of-fitness-video-games
Researchers are warning people with Type 1 Diabetes to use fitness videos with caution.
A study by Staffordshire University and Federal University Vale do San Francisco has found that ‘exergames’ can change people’s perceptions of how fatigued they are – which is potentially harmful for those with the condition.
Type 1 Diabetes patients need to control their blood glucose regularly, both before and after exercise to prevent complications. As part of this, it is important to regulate the intensity of exercise, whether real or virtual, said Dr. Pooya Soltani, Senior Lecturer in Games Technology at Staffordshire University.
NIHR – Exeter Biomedical Research Centre – 23 January 2024
https://www.exeterbrc.nihr.ac.uk/news/long-term-high-blood-sugar-can-cause-upper-limb-problems-including-frozen-shoulder/
Long term high blood sugar can cause upper limb problems including frozen shoulder and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Researchers used data from over 370,000 participants.
Published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, the research study found that having consistently high blood sugar – known as glycemia, increased the risk of all 4 conditions:
Frozen shoulder
Dupuytren’s Disease
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Trigger finger
“Our study consistently demonstrates that having high blood sugar over the long term causes these upper limb conditions. We can now classify them as Diabetes complications”. Dr. Harry Green, Lead Researcher.
Diabetes UK – 19 February 2024
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about-us/news-and-views/30-people-living-type-2-diabetes-england-are-undiagnosed-ons-analysis-shows
30% of people living with Type 2 Diabetes in England are undiagnosed
1 in 9 of all adults are estimated to be living with Pre-Diabetes
This analysis was made by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and gives us new insights into the risk factors related to living with undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes and non-diabetic hyperglycaemia (NDH), also known as Pre-Diabetes.
Analysis of data between 2013-2019 from the Health Survey for England.
Younger adults, if they have Type 2 Diabetes were more likely to report better general health than those with a diagnosis.
Women were more likely to be undiagnosed if they had a lower mass index (BMI), lower waist circumference, or were not prescribed antidepressants.
Around 1 in 9 adults were estimated to be living with Pre-Diabetes, approximately 5.1 million people in England.
People from Black and Asian ethnic groups had more than double the prevalence of Pre-Diabetes and undiagnosed Type 2 Diabetes compared to White, mixed and other ethnic groups.
Those most at risk of having Pre-Diabetes were those with known risk factors from Type 2 Diabetes.
However, significant numbers were also seen in groups typically considered low risk – for example, 8% of people not living with Obesity or overweight were estimated to have Pre-Diabetes.
The results are concerning, because living with undiagnosed Diabetes means people are unable to access the help and support they need to maintain their health and reduce the risk of complications.
The figures are also a reminder that it is not only those considered to be at high risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes who need to be aware of the signs. Type 2 Diabetes can impact people usually considered low risk, such as younger people and those not living with being overweight or Obesity, with significant numbers impacted.
The numbers of people developing Type 2 Diabetes at a younger age, under 40, is increasing and that onset of complications can be more rapid in this group.
The Policy Manager at Diabetes UK said: “The figures published by the ONS reveal a shockingly high number of people living with Type 2 Diabetes without a diagnosis, while millions more are at high risk of developing it.
We’re particularly concerned about the prevalence of Pre-Diabetes and undiagnosed Type 2 Diabetes in people from Black and Asian backgrounds, and the worrying proportion of younger people who are undiagnosed, as we know Type 2 Diabetes is more aggressive in younger people.
The findings are a reminder of just how important it is for Type 2 Diabetes to be detected and diagnosed as early as possible, so people can get treatment and support to reduce the risk of devastating complications and, importantly, be offered remission programmes where appropriate.”
As someone who has just gone into the realm of Pre-Diabetes, I can honestly say that I am not worried about it at all – in fact I am glad I have this diagnosis because it has made me look at my lifestyle and I have already started to implement changes.
And that is the thing about Type 2 Diabetes – it is all about lifestyle choices.
The medical world says that we can stop being Pre-Diabetic and reverse Diabetes by changing our lifestyle:
• By losing weight if we are overweight or obese
• By eating healthier
• By being more active
• By not smoking
But here’s the kicker – research is now showing that people who are younger, not overweight and or obese, are now being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.
Is it possible that there may be a deeper reason why people who are considered low risk of having Diabetes are now being diagnosed?
Is it possible a Diabetes diagnosis is not simply about our body weight, our consumption of healthy/unhealthy foods, our lack of activity?
What if there is something else that is contributing to the escalating prevalence of those being diagnosed with Diabetes?
American Heart Association – 19 March 2024
https://newsroom.heart.org/news/sugary-drinks-fruit-juices-linked-to-higher-risk-of-developing-type-2-diabetes-among-boys
Findings from a long-term study of children have potentially linked regularly drinking sugary drinks and fruit juices (8 ounces or more daily) during childhood and adolescence to a higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes based on glycaemic markers, among boys but not girls.
While these findings are preliminary, they support existing evidence about the potential relationship between beverages with added sugar and long-term risk of Type 2 Diabetes in children.
“Paediatricians and other health care professionals should caution young patients and their parents about sugary drinks and fruit juices when discussing healthy eating habits.”
Soren Harnois-Leblanc, Ph.D., – Harvard Medical School, Boston.
2022 AHA fact sheet about sugary drinks says 2/3rds of children and adolescents in the U.S. consume at least one sugary drink, such as soda, lemonade or an energy drink each day.
The fact sheet also notes that in addition to weight gain, eating too many foods with added sugars, especially from sugary drinks, raises the risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 Diabetes and tooth decay.
https://www.heart.org/-/media/Files/About-Us/Policy-Research/Fact-Sheets/Access-to-Healthy-Food/Decreasing-Sugary-Drink-Consumption-Fact-Sheet.pdf
An ongoing long-term study of women and their children that began in 1999, researchers explored whether drinking sugary drinks, 100% fruit juices and eating fresh fruits were associated with markers for developing Type 2 Diabetes.
The analysis found:
Each daily serving of sugary drinks during childhood and adolescence among boys was associated with a 34% increase in insulin resistance.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science – 20 March 2024
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1037557
Exposure to Tobacco before birth and beginning smoking during childhood or adolescence were SIGNIFICANTLY associated with the development of Type 2 Diabetes in adulthood, according to a new study of half a million adults in the UK.
Among those exposed to Tobacco before birth or who began smoking during childhood or adolescence, those that had genetic predisposition to develop Type 2 Diabetes and started smoking in childhood or adolescence had the HIGHEST RISK of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
22% increased risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes for Tobacco exposure before birth.
57% higher risk for those that started smoking as adolescents.
Double the risk for those who started smoking in childhood.
33% higher risk for those that started smoking as adults.
People with a high genetic risk score had:
330% higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes if exposed to Tobacco before birth
639% higher risk if they started smoking in childhood
427% higher risk if they started smoking in adolescence
Results of the study provide evidence that lifestyle factors could powerfully modify the risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
30% – 40% more likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes for people who smoke cigarettes, according to previous research.
Diabetes UK – 29 March 2024
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2024/mar/high-salt-intake-and-pro-inflammatory-diet-associated-with-type2-diabetes.html#google_vignette
High salt intake and pro-inflammatory diet is associated with Type 2 Diabetes
All participants under review did not have Diabetes at the start of the study.
More than 6,000 developed Type 2 Diabetes during the median follow-up period of the study.
20% more likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes for participants who followed a pro-inflammatory diet, compared to those following an anti-inflammatory diet.
In addition, the study results found participants who sometimes, usually and always add salt to their foods are more at risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
The authors said “Our findings indicate that a pro-inflammatory diet and higher habitual salt intake were associated with an increased risk of Type 2 Diabetes.”
Dear World
Do we get it or is it not simple for us to understand that what we eat could lead to Diabetes and for some we may already be borderline, which is Pre-Diabetes?
Foods that create inflammation inside our body is something we ought to be educated on and pay attention to.
The masses in our world eat some or all of the following which Harvard Medical School tell us cause inflammation:
• Refined Carbohydrates – white bread, pastries
• Chips, french fries and other fried foods
• Soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages
• Burgers, steaks and processed meat – hot dogs, sausages
• Margarine, shortening and lard
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight-inflammation
ADD to the above – when we eat these foods our immune system becomes activated as our body recognises anything that is foreign and this then triggers a process called inflammation. This in itself tells us how intelligent our body’s mechanisms are and how it all works inside us perfectly if we do not assault or harm it.
Most of us do not know any of this and yet we do know that those junk foods, fast foods, empty nutritional value kind of foods do us more harm than we would love to admit.
Harvard article also states that many major diseases like cancer, heart disease, depression, arthritis and Alzheimer’s have been linked to chronic inflammation.
If we used common sense we can see how our body ends up with chronic inflammation, if we consistently eat a pro-inflammatory diet and that means we are heading down the road of Type 2 Diabetes or some other major disease.
Our eating has consequences.
University of Eastern Finland – 4 April 2024
https://www.uef.fi/en/article/few-newly-diagnosed-type-2-diabetics-succeed-in-losing-weight-weight-gain-linked-to-much-higher-risk
Few newly diagnosed Type 2 Diabetics succeed in losing weight – weight gained linked to a much HIGHER RISK of complications.
A new register-based study from the University of Eastern Finland identified 3 distinct BMI trajectory groups among patients with newly diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes.
10% lost weight
3% gained weight
Mean BMI exceeded the threshold of Obesity in all groups at baseline.
Weight loss is a central treatment goal in Type 2 Diabetes but this study shows that few patients actually succeed in it.
The study was published in Clinical Epidemiology.
Each trajectory group were followed up for another 8 years for Diabetes complications.
During the follow-up:
• 13% of All patients developed Microvascular Complications
• 21% developed Macrovascular Complications
• 20% of patients deceased
• Risk of Microvascular Complications was 2.9 times HIGHER
• Risk of Macrovascular Complications was 2.5 times HIGHER
among patients with an increasing BMI
Microvascular Complications and Macrovascular Complications of Diabetes include:
• Retinopathy
• Nephropathy
• Neuropathy
• Cardiovascular Diseases
Inserm Press Room | Public Health – 24 April 2024
https://presse.inserm.fr/en/the-consumption-of-certain-food-additive-emulsifiers-could-be-associated-with-the-risk-of-developing-type-2-diabetes/68334/
Emulsifiers are among the most commonly used additives. They are often added to processed and packaged foods such as industrial cakes, biscuits, desserts, yoghurts and ice creams.
The consumption of certain food additive emulsifiers have been associated with the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
Emulsifiers are among the additives most widely used by the food industry, helping to improve texture of food products and extend their shelf life.
The research team studied the link between the dietary intake of food additive emulsifiers and the onset of Type 2 Diabetes between 2009 and 2023. They analysed the dietary health data of 104,139 adults participating in a large French cohort study.
Findings – association between the chronic consumption of certain emulsifier additives and a higher risk of Diabetes.
The study was published in Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(24)00086-X/fulltext
University of Eastern Finland – 7 May 2024
https://www.uef.fi/en/article/eating-disorder-symptoms-are-surprisingly-common-in-people-with-insulin-dependent-diabetes
Eating Disorder symptoms are common in people with insulin-dependent Diabetes.
1 in 4 patients with insulin-dependent Diabetes aged 16 years and older also exhibit some kind of Eating Disorder symptoms, according to a recent meta-analysis conducted at the University of Eastern Finland.
In addition to typical Eating Disorder symptoms, such as binge eating and food restriction, insulin-dependent Diabetes is also associated with Insulin Omission.
Insulin Omission is a unique form of dis-ordered eating where insulin doses are intentionally restricted or skipped entirely due to fears of weight gain.
“Intentional skipping or restriction of insulin doses will lead to weight loss but this also maintains high blood glucose, throwing the management of Diabetes off balance.”
“Eating Disorder symptoms are often thought to affect adolescents and young adults.
However, our meta-analysis shows that adults too, suffer from Eating Disorder symptoms.
For example – we currently don’t have a care pathway for patients who have both Diabetes and Eating Disorders.”
Doctoral Researcher – Pia Niemela of the University of Eastern Finland
The meta-analysis compiled findings from 45 previous studies.
The data include 11,592 individuals with insulin-dependent Diabetes.
Diabetics with Eating Disorder symptoms have a higher risk of co-morbidities and complications associated with Diabetes.
The Guardian – 22 May 2024
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/22/type-2-diabetes-uk-rise-obesity-health-inequalities-junk-food
SHARP RISE in Type 2 Diabetes among people under 40 in the UK
39% rise in diagnoses in 6 years with the condition fuelled by Obesity, health inequalities and junk food, according to a new study
168,000 Type 2 Diabetes cases among the under-40s
Britain has one of the highest Obesity rates in Europe
2 in 3 adults are overweight or obese
£6 BILLION a year NHS spending for treating obesity-related ill health
The forecast is £10 billion by 2050.
“Drastic changes to the environments we live in and the food we eat over the last 25 years are taking a toll on our health. We are bombarded by adverts for cheaper, unhealthy food.
The foods on our shelves are increasingly high in fat, salt and sugar. And rising costs are pushing a healthy diet out of reach for millions.”
Colette Marshall – Chief Executive of Diabetes UK
The authors report 150,000 people under 40 are diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in England alone.
Thousands more are living with the condition undiagnosed.
Analysis suggests half of the people aged 16 to 44 with Type 2 Diabetes are unaware they have it.
It warned of a growing impact on the economy.
43,000 people out of work as a result of long-term sickness “primarily because of their Diabetes.
79% increase since 2019″.
Diabetes is also listed as a secondary condition for hundreds of thousands more people who are unable to work, the study said.
5 million – number of people living with Diabetes in the UK.
The independent report said ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and products high in fat, sugar and salt had become “normalised” in children’s diets with poorer parents powerless to curb them.
Diabetes UK – 2 June 2024
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2024/jun/youth-onset-diabetes-linked-to-higher-risk-of-alzheimers-disease-in-later-life-research-suggests.html
People who are diagnosed with Diabetes in childhood or adolescence linked to higher risk of early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in later life, according to a new research study from the University of Colorado.
https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/diabetes-in-youth-may-increase-risk-for-neurodegenerative-disease-like-alzheimers-later-in-life
The researchers say it is a cause for concern in light of the growing rates of Obesity among young people – a condition that can contribute to Type 2 Diabetes.
“Preliminary evidence shows that pre-clinical Alzheimer’s Disease neuropathology is present in young people with youth-onset Diabetes.
We are about to enter into a different world of health care because of the Obesity epidemic in young people. Young people are catching up with adults. We are now seeing more aging-related diseases in young people.
This trajectory is concerning.
Allison Shapiro PhD, MPH – Assistant Professor of Paediatrics and Endocrinology and study lead author
Most studies investigating the connection between AD and Diabetes have focused on people over age 40 who have a 60% to 80% greater likelihood of developing Dementia and possibly AD, compared to the same age group without Diabetes.
This latest research looked at a younger age group.
The full study was published in Endocrines
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-396X/5/2/14
University of Pittsburgh – 12 June 2024
https://www.health.pitt.edu/news/social-determinants-health-are-linked-adolescent-prediabetes
Social Determinants of Health are linked with Adolescent Pre-Diabetes.
Food insecurity, low household income and not having private health insurance are associated with higher rates of pre-diabetes in adolescents, independent of race and ethnicity, according to a new study.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2819834
Pre-Diabetes is defined by higher-than-normal blood sugar, which can progress to Type 2 Diabetes if not addressed with lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise.
Type 2 Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes are more prevalent among youths who identify as Native American, Alaska Native, Asian, Black and Hispanic.
These groups are also more likely to experience adverse social determinants of health and likely that these social factors, rather than race itself influence disease risk.
Flinders University – 26 June 2024
https://news.flinders.edu.au/blog/2024/06/26/fight-the-late-night-bright-light/
A new large modelling study published in the journal Lancet Regional Health – Europe reveals the relationship between exposure to light and the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(24)00110-8/fulltext
“We found that exposure to brighter light at night was associated with a HIGHER RISK of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
Light exposure at night can disrupt our circadian rhythms, leading to changes in insulin secretion and glucose metabolism.”
Andrew Phillips – Associate Professor from the College of Medicine and Public Health
Having more exposure to light at night (between 12:30am and 6:00am) was linked to a higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes and this was true regardless of how much light people were exposed to during the day.
Even after taking other factors into account associated with Type 2 Diabetes, such as lifestyle habits, sleep patterns, shift work, diet and mental health, the findings showed that getting more light at night was still a strong predictor of developing Diabetes.
The American Journal of Managed Care – 17 July 2024
https://www.ajmc.com/view/inconsistent-sleep-may-heighten-older-adults-risk-of-diabetes
INCONSISTENT SLEEP LINKED TO RISK OF DIABETES IN OLDER ADULTS
According to research published in Diabetes Care, the study included 84,421 participants and patients sleep patterns were monitored for a week and followed up for more than 7 years to determine sleep habits between 2013 and 2015. They did not have Diabetes at the time.
https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article-abstract/doi/10.2337/dc24-0213/156955/Association-Between-Accelerometer-Measured
Irregular sleep durations were linked to a higher risk of Diabetes with those experiencing the greatest sleep irregularity having a 34% HIGHER RISK of Type 2 Diabetes.
Compared with patients whose sleep varied by 30 minutes or less each night, the risk of developing Diabetes increased by:
15% for those with 31 to 45 minutes of variation
28% for those with 46 to 60 minutes of variation
54% for those with 61 to 90 minutes of variation
59% for those with over 90 minutes of variation
Irregular sleep duration can increase the risk of Diabetes by disrupting the body’s circadian rhythms, which regulate insulin secretion and glucose metabolism. When sleep patterns are inconsistent, it leads to unstable daily routines, which in turn can affect light exposure and meal timing and lead to reduced insulin sensitivity and poor glucose control, which can further result in Diabetes and other metabolic issues.
Irregular sleep is also linked to poor sleep quality, extreme sleep durations and evening chronotypes, all of which are associated with a HIGHER RISK of Diabetes.
Irregular sleep may interrupt behaviour rhythms and induce unhealthy habits, such as disrupted mealtime, irregular exercise timing and late-night snacking, which are emerging risk factors for cardiometabolic disease.
Other pathways through which irregular sleep duration may cause cardiometabolic outcomes are inflammation, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction and autonomic dysfunction.
University of California San Diego – 22 July 2024
https://vchs.ucsd.edu/blog/2024/07/cannabis-use-among-adults-with-diabetes-is-on-the-rise.html
Researchers have found a SIGNIFICANT INCREASE in Cannabis use among adults with Diabetes in the United States, raising concerns about the potential impact on their health outcomes.
The drive could come from perceived therapeutic benefits, including insomnia and pain relief for neuropathy.
Additionally, the legalization of Cannabis in multiple states has resulted in increased access to cannabis products, leading many people with chronic illnesses to turn to Cannabis as an alternative means to manage their symptoms.
The study also found that those with Diabetes who engaged in other substance use, such as Tobacco use, Binge Drinking and mis-use of Opioids and stimulants, were more likely to have used Cannabis.
Use of these additional substances could further exacerbate the health risks associated with Diabetes and also emphasise the important of addressing poly-substance use among adults with Diabetes.
The study was published in Diabetes Care journal
https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/doi/10.2337/dc24-0597/156943/Past-Month-Cannabis-Use-Among-Adults-With-Diabetes
Columbia University – 30 July 2024
https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/news/physical-activity-offsets-mortality-risk-associated-excessive-sitting-time-adults-diabetes
Physical Activity offsets the Mortality risk associated with Excessive sitting time in adults with Diabetes, according to a new study at Columbia University School of Public Health.
This is the 1st study to show that getting adequate exercise can counteract the elevated risk of mortality associated with sitting for long periods of time each day, even for people with Diabetes.
The findings were published in the journal Diabetes Care
https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article-abstract/doi/10.2337/dc24-0673/156982/Sitting-Time-and-Its-Interaction-With-Physical
Excessive sedentary time is a SIGNIFICANT public health issue with increased mortality risk for the general population.
Johns Hopkins Medicine – 1 August 2024
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/2024/08/study-uncovers-connections-between-obesity-and-heart-failure
A new study uncovers connections between Obesity and Heart Failure.
The study published in the journal Nature Cardiovascular Research revealed the impact of Obesity on muscle structure in patients having a form of Heart Failure called “Heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction” (HFpEF)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44161-024-00516-x
According to the journal of Cardiac Failure, HFpEF represents over half of all heart failure worldwide.
In the United States it accounts for over 3.5 million heart failure cases.
Originally, this form of Heart Disease was associated with having a high blood pressure and along with this, excess muscle growth (Hypertrophy) to help counter the pressures.
Over the past 2 decades, HFpEF is occurring more often in patients with severe Obesity and Diabetes, according to the journal of the American College of Cardiology.
https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2023.01.049
HFpEF is a complex syndrome, involving abnormalities in many different organs, said lead investigator Professor of Medicine – David Kass M.D.
Prior efforts to treat HFpEF using standard heart failure drugs have not worked. Success has since come from using drugs to treat Diabetes and Obesity.
Columbia University – 12 August 2024
https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/news/type-2-diabetes-cases-more-doubled-seven-decades-after-exposure-famine
Type 2 Diabetes cases more than DOUBLED 7 decades after exposure to Famine.
Those exposed to early gestation to the famine had more than 2-fold likelihood of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
The study results were published in the journal Science
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adn4614
The famine led to 4 million excess deaths in the short-term and losses were concentrated in a 6 month period.
The Holodomor famine of 1932-1933 far exceeded other famines in terms of its intensity.
Life expectancies at birth in 1933 were 7.2 years for females and 4.3 for males.
At the peak of the famine in June 1933, there were on average, 28,000 famine-related deaths per day caused by the famine. Equivalent to 1,167 deaths per hour or 19 per minute.
University of Michigan – 22 August 2024
https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/mental-health-and-chronic-diabetes-complications-strongly-linked-both-ways-study-finds
Mental Health and Chronic Diabetes complications are strongly linked both ways, according to a new study.
Millions with Diabetes are at greater risk of some of the complications which include – Heart Attack, Stroke and Nerve Damage.
When a person has any of these chronic Diabetes complications, they are more likely to have a mental health disorder.
The relationship goes both ways: having a mental health condition increases the risk of developing chronic complications of Diabetes.
The findings highlight a need for clinicians to actively screen for mental health disorders in patients with Diabetes in addition to screening for chronic complications, which is the recommended standard of care in Diabetes.
The results of the study were published in Diabetes Care
https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article-abstract/47/9/1638/156976/Bidirectional-Associations-Between-Mental-Health
Results reveal those with chronic Diabetes complications had up to 3 times GREATER risk of having a mental health condition, such as Anxiety or Depression.
The effect INCREASED as adults got older.
Those with mental health disorders were 2.5 times MORE likely to experience sustained Diabetes complications.
People with the more common Type 2 Diabetes were more likely to experience mental health difficulties.
News Medical – 25 August 2024
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20240825/Diabetes-rates-surge-18625-in-the-US-highlighting-racial-and-economic-disparities.aspx
DIABETES RATES SURGE IN THE U.S.
18.6% RISE during the study period (2012-2022) highlighting racial and economic disparities.
23.8% greater – the prevalence of Diabetes in age 65 and older.
Reflects the significant role of ageing in the development of Diabetes.
16% non-Hispanic Black individuals had the HIGHEST prevalence of Diabetes.
56% HIGHER in people with lower incomes than those with higher incomes.
19.23% individuals with Obesity had a Diabetes prevalence.
Certain states in the U.S. had the HIGHEST INCREASES in Diabetes –
Arkansas, Nebraska, Kentucky.
Researchers evaluate national trends and disparities in the prevalence of Diabetes among adults in the United States. The study was published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.
https://dom-pubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dom.15797
96 MILLION adults currently have Pre-Diabetes
37 MILLION diagnosed with Diabetes in the U.S.
$413 BILLION total cost of Diabetes which included direct and indirect medical expense and lost wages and work.
$622 BILLION – cost of Diabetes in the U.S. will reach by 2030.
Various factors – sedentary lifestyle, age and Obesity increase the risk of Diabetes.
While the U.S. has a high prevalence – China and India have the largest number of people with Diabetes.
140 MILLION cases in China.
240 MILLION worldwide living with undiagnosed Diabetes
537 MILLION adults are living with Diabetes
643 MILLION by 2030
783 MILLION by 2045
3 in 4 adults with Diabetes live in low and middle-income countries
https://idf.org/about-diabetes/diabetes-facts-figures/
UPI Health News – 9 September 2024
https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2024/09/09/obesity-increases-risk-infection-diabetes/9261725886644/
Obesity INCREASES risk of severe infection, especially in Diabetes patients.
“1 in 3 hospitalizations in people with Diabetes are for infections and people with Diabetes are twice as likely to be hospitalized with infections than the general population. They are also at HIGH RISK for re-admission.”
Rhian Hopkins – co-lead author at the University of Exeter Medical School
According to the research presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, Obesity is linked to a higher risk of severe infection.
Every 5-point increase in BMI incurred a 30% RISE in the risk of a serious bacterial infection and a 32% RISE for severe viral infection.
Medical News Today – 12 September 2024
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/night-owls-sleep-higher-diabetes-risk-lifestyle-factors
‘Night owls’ are at INCREASED risk of Type 2 Diabetes, as well as higher adiposity.
Researchers are finding associations between Type 2 Diabetes risk and sleeping patterns.
Type 2 Diabetes risk has been associated with late chronotype or a need to go to bed later than usual.
Previously it was assumed this was due to poorer habits of people with late chronotype but new data presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes has said this risk is independent of lifestyle factors.
Later chronotype is associated with HIGHER adiposity, which could be linked to a higher Type 2 Diabetes risk.
Previous research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that late chronotype was associated with poorer lifestyle factors, including being more likely to smoke and being less active.
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-0728
This latest study suggests that the link exists independent of lifestyle factors.
55% INCREASED risk of Type 2 Diabetes over a 6 year follow-up for those identified as having a late chronotype.
They also had a HIGHER average BMI, larger waist and HIGHER visceral and liver fat than people with an intermediate chronotype.
UPI News – 11 September 2024
https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2024/09/11/diabetes-increase-risk-gum-disease/9691726059708/
People with Diabetes are more prone to gum disease, due to the damage the chronic illness does to small blood vessels, according to a new study.
https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/periodontitis-and-diabetes-complications-a-danish-population-base
Researchers found that Diabetics who suffer from other diseases caused by small blood vessel damage – Diabetic Retinopathy and Neuropathy are also at HIGHER risk for gum disease.
21% more likely to have moderate or severe gum disease if they had Diabetic Retinopathy, a disease that causes damage to the retina and can lead to blindness.
36% more likely to have severe gum disease if they had Diabetic Neuropathy, a disease that affects the nerves.
51% HIGHER risk of moderate or severe gum disease for people with both Diabetic Retinopathy and Diabetic Neuropathy.
Left un-treated, gum disease can destroy the tissues that hold teeth in place, ultimately resulting in tooth loss.
Tooth loss can affect essential functions like speaking and chewing.
“As a result gum disease (periodontitis) can significantly reduce a person’s quality of life, leading to difficulties with nutrition, communication and social interactions.”
Dr. Fernando Valentim Bitencourt – Dentist with Aarhus University in Denmark
Diabetes UK – 18 September 2024
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2024/sep/new-study-identifies-healthy-foods-that-increase-diabetes-risk-in-children.html
A new study has found that consuming most fruits and numerous grains, which are typically considered healthy foods can INCREASE the risk of developing Diabetes.
The findings identified fruit, oats and rye as increasing the risk of developing Type 1 Diabetes in children.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159124004884
“Type 1 Diabetes is a serious condition that requires lifelong treatment and so places a considerable burden on the patient and their family.”
It can lead to complications including eye, heart, nerve and kidney problems and shorten life expectancy and has substantial health care costs.
€1 million euros per patient.”
Professor Suvi Virtanen – Lead Researcher at Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
The results of the study found that children who consumed higher amounts of fruit, oats and rye were more likely to develop Type 1 Diabetes and that risk of Islet autoimmunity increased in those who consumed more bananas, wheat and fermented dairy products.
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli reduced the risk of developing islet autoimmunity.