Diet

Posted on Diabetes, Diet

People with type 2 diabetes who eat low-carb may be able to discontinue medication

Study finds low-carbohydrate diet may improve beta-cell function in people with type 2 diabetes
The study finds that a low-carbohydrate diet may improve beta-cell function in people with type 2 diabetes.

Adults with type 2 diabetes on a low-carbohydrate diet may see benefits to their beta-cell function, allowing them to manage their disease better and possibly discontinue medication, according to new research published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.


Beta-cells are endocrine cells in the pancreas that produce and release insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels.

More than 38 million Americans have diabetes, and over 90% of them have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes most often develops in people 45 or older, but more and more children, teens and young adults are also developing the disease.

People with type 2 diabetes have a compromised beta-cell response to blood sugar, possibly due in part to eating too many carbohydrates. Beta-cell failure or insufficiency on top of insulin resistance is responsible for the development and progression of type 2 diabetes.


“This study shows people with type 2 diabetes on a low-carbohydrate diet can recover their beta-cells, an outcome that cannot be achieved with medication,” said lead study author Barbara Gower, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, Ala. “People with mild type 2 diabetes who reduce their carbohydrate intake may be able to discontinue medication and enjoy eating meals and snacks that are higher in protein and meet their energy needs.”

The researchers gathered data from 57 white and Black adults with type 2 diabetes, half on a low-carbohydrate diet and the other half on a high-carbohydrate diet. They examined their beta-cell function and insulin secretion at baseline and after 12 weeks.

All of the participants’ meals were provided. People on the carbohydrate-restricted diet ate 9% carbohydrates and 65% fat, and participants on the high-carbohydrate diet ate 55% carbohydrates and 20% fat.

The researchers found that those on a low-carbohydrate versus a high-carbohydrate diet saw improvements in the acute and maximal beta-cell responses, which were 2-fold and 22% greater, respectively. Within each race group, Black adults on a low-carbohydrate diet saw 110% greater improvements in the acute beta-cell response and White adults had improvements in the maximal beta-cell response that was 48% greater than their respective counterparts on the high-carbohydrate diet.

“Further research is needed to determine if a low-carbohydrate diet can restore beta-cell function and lead to remission in people with type 2 diabetes,” Gower said.
Posted on Diabetes, Diet

Ultra-processed foods pose huge dangers for people with diabetes

Researchers found ultra-processed foods, even diet ones, bring distinct risks for people with diabetes.
Researchers found that ultra-processed foods, even diet ones, bring distinct risks for people with diabetes.

A team of researchers in nutritional sciences, kinesiology, and health education at the University of Texas at Austin has found that eating more ultra-processed foods—from diet sodas to packaged crackers to certain cereals and yoghurts—is closely linked with higher blood sugar levels in people with Type 2 diabetes.

In a recent paper published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the team describes how, more than just the presence of sugar and salt in the diet, consuming more ultra-processed foods loaded with additives can lead to higher average blood glucose levels over several months, as measured by HbA1C.

“We wanted to understand the impact of different types of foods on blood sugar control in people with Type 2 diabetes,” said Marissa Burgermaster, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at UT and the senior author of the study. “Our findings showed that individuals who consumed more ultra-processed foods had poorer blood sugar control, while those who included more minimally processed or unprocessed foods in their diet had better control.”

The researchers examined the diet recalls and scored them against three widely used indexes that look at the overall quality or nutrition in a person’s diet. Still, those tools were not associated with blood glucose control. Instead, how many grams of ultra-processed food the participants ate or drank was linked to worse control, and a correspondingly better control occurred in participants who ate more whole foods or foods and drinks with minimal processing.

Recent studies have indicated that eating more ultra-processed foods is linked to higher rates of cardiovascular disease, obesity, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression and early death. Ultra-processed foods are typically higher in added sugars and sodium. Still, the researchers concluded that the A1C increases were not about merely added sugar and sodium, or they would have correlated with the tools that measure overall nutritional quality in the diet. Synthetic flavours, added colours, emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners and other artificial ingredients may be in part to blame, hypothesized Erin Hudson, a graduate student author of the paper, and this would suggest that dietary guidelines may need to begin to place more emphasis on ultra-processed foods.

Posted on Cardiovascular disease, Diet, Vitamins

Caffeine is a heart-healthy habit

Coffee doesn't raise your risk for heart rhythm problems

A new paper “In Rheumatology, published by Oxford University Press,” finds that consuming more caffeine may improve heart health.

Vascular disease, which involves damage to blood vessels and can lead to serious consequences like heart attacks and strokes, is one of the main causes of death in the general population. For individuals with inflammatory rheumatic diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, the risks are even greater. This is partly because of the diseases themselves and also due to certain treatments, especially cortisone derivatives.

Until now, doctors’ recommendations to reduce these vascular risks focused on avoiding risk factors, such as addressing inflammation, discontinuing cortisone medications, quitting smoking, lowering cholesterol, and managing high blood pressure.

The researchers from Sapienza University of Rome in Italy believe that patients may be able to improve their vascular health by doing something enjoyable. According to their study, caffeine, which is found in coffee, tea, and cocoa, may actively help endothelial progenitor cells. These cells play a role in regenerating the lining of blood vessels and are involved in vascular growth.

It is widely known that a diet rich in vitamin D (found in oily fish and eggs) and vitamin A (found in many fruits), as well as polyunsaturated fatty acids and low in sodium, seems to play a role in decreasing the inflammatory burden. Scientists have also been interested in the potential impact of caffeine. In addition to its well-known stimulant effect, caffeine also has an anti-inflammatory effect because it binds to receptors expressed on the surface of immune cells. The impact of caffeine consumption on cardiovascular health has been extensively studied, but the results have been conflicting.

Researchers conducted a study on 31 lupus patients who did not have traditional cardiovascular risk factors. They used a seven-day food questionnaire to assess the patient’s diet. After a week, the investigators took the patients’ blood to measure the health of their blood vessels. The study found that patients who consumed caffeine had better vascular health, as measured by the health of their endothelial cells, which are an important component of the inner layer of blood vessels.

“The present study aims to provide patients with information about the potential role of diet in managing the disease,” stated Fulvia Ceccarelli, the paper’s lead author. “It will be important to validate these findings through a longitudinal study to assess the actual impact of coffee consumption on the progression of the disease.”

Posted on Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, Diet

Having a sweet tooth is linked to higher risk of depression, diabetes, and stroke, study finds

People with a preference for sweets are at a higher risk of developing depression, diabetes, and suffering a stroke, according to new research from the University of Surrey.
People with a preference for sweets are at a higher risk of developing depression, diabetes, and suffering a stroke, according to new research from the University of Surrey.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, utilized anonymized data on the food preferences of 180,000 volunteers from the UK Biobank. Artificial intelligence was employed to categorize them into three general profiles:

  • Health-conscious: prefer fruits and vegetables over animal-based and sweet foods. 
  • Omnivore: Likes most foods, including meats, fish, and some vegetables, as well as sweets and desserts. 
  • Sweet tooth: Prefer sweet foods and sugary drinks and is less interested in healthier options like fruit and vegetables.  

The Surrey team analyzed UK Biobank data on blood samples, measuring 2,923 proteins and 168 metabolites to observe how these levels varied in each group.

Proteins are essential for various functions in the body, such as fighting infections, muscle contractions, and cognitive processes. Metabolites, on the other hand, are small molecules produced during digestion and other chemical processes in the body, providing valuable insights into our body’s functioning. By comparing these blood-based proteins and metabolites, researchers can gain a better understanding of the biological variances between different groups.

Professor Nophar Geifman, said: 

“The foods that you like or dislike appear to be directly linked to your health. If your favorite foods are cakes, sweets, and sugary drinks, our study’s results suggest that this may have negative effects on your health. We found that the group with a sweet tooth is 31% more likely to have depression. Additionally, this group had higher rates of diabetes and vascular heart conditions compared to the other two groups.”

“Importantly, by utilizing data-driven artificial intelligence methods, we managed to categorize individuals based on their food preferences. These categories have significant associations with health outcomes and biological markers.”

“Processed sugar is a significant part of many people’s diets. These results provide further evidence that, as a society, we should be mindful of what we eat. It’s important to stress that we’re not trying to tell people what to do; our job is simply to inform.”

The researchers also looked at differences between the three groups in standard blood biochemistry tests.  

Professor Geifman continues: 

“In the sweet tooth group, they had higher levels of C reactive protein, which is a marker for inflammation. Their blood results also show higher levels of glucose and poor lipid profiles, which is a strong warning sign for diabetes and heart disease.” 

Conversely, the health-conscious group, which also had higher dietary fibre intake, had lower risks for heart failure, chronic kidney diseases and stroke, while the omnivore group had moderate health risks. 

According to the British Nutrition Foundation, on average, in the UK, between 9% to 12.5% of an individual’s calories come from free sugar – this is defined as sugar that is added to food or drink.  Biscuits, buns, cakes, pastries and fruit pies are the biggest single contributors for adults, but together, sugary soft drinks and alcoholic drinks contribute the most to free sugar intake.