Doesn’t it make you angry sometimes that you have diabetes and your best friends don’t? You have to check you sugar levels five or more times every day and watch what you eat, for the rest of your life, and they can eat whatever they want.
I know it must get bothersome just to find a new spot on your body to inject insulin. Or to remember to take your pill box with you so you can pop meds while in the restaurant.
If you’ve developed type 2 diabetes, it’s not the end of the world. There are things you can do to control your sugar levels naturally. This is not a new disease but has been growing at an alarming rate over the last forty to fifty years.
Diabetes has been around for hundreds of years and there was no insulin injection available back then to stabilize glucose level. Although many people suffered its consequences many were able to live long lives with it. They did this by consuming natural foods and keeping active throughout the day.
Today we sit for longer periods because of our jobs or long commute or the new entertainment center in our house and we eat foods that’s mass-produced for increase profits. Sitting is now compared to smoking as a cause for many diseases.
If you want to get the upper hand on diabetes and not have to shoot up three times a day then a lifestyle change is your answer. Control what goes into your mouth. Don’t be tempted by slick food commercials and avoid products with additives such as sugars and salt or chemicals whose names I can’t even pronounce.
The following article by Jenna Birch discusses new genetic findings about why some people have diabetes and others don’t.
Some People Are Protected From Type 2 Diabetes — What We Can Learn From Them
New research is looking at those who are genetically prone not to get diabetes. (Photo: Getty Images)
Diabetes is one of the top public health concerns in the United States, with no cure — 29.1 million Americans, or 9.3 percent of the population, have diabetes. Only 1.25 million of those cases are type 1 diabetes, the type you’re born with. The rest suffer from type 2 — the seventh-leading cause of death in the country.
Researchers are beginning to dive into genetics to determine better treatment and prevention tactics. The latest finding? According to a new study, a specific gene mutation appears to protect people from developing type 2 diabetes — a finding that may help experts develop new interventions.
Type 2 diabetes affects the production of insulin, the vital glucose-regulating hormone, and its ability to control metabolism. The body’s failure to manage blood sugar can lead to heart attacks and other serious health problems, including kidney disease, blindness, and infections that can result in the amputation of limbs.
Along with researchers from Asia and Europe, Mark O. Goodarzi, MD, director of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, analyzed the genes of 81,000 people without type 2 diabetes. They then took those genes and stacked them up against the genetic information of men and women with the diabetes.
Related: 5 Natural Ways to Prevent Diabetes
After comparing the data, the researchers found a mutation in the gene for the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP1R), which appears to be protective against type 2 diabetes, reducing risk by 14 percent. Computer models show that carrying the mutation dramatically changes the shape of the receptor, which probably affects functionality, thereby reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
According to Goodarzi, the mutation is also associated with lower fasting glucose levels, which should lower a person’s risk of diabetes. “We hypothesize that the mutation may activate the receptor during the fasting state, leading to increased insulin production and consequently lower fasting sugar levels,” he told Yahoo Health.
In the general population, Goodarzi says, only one in 35 carry this mutation — so it’s not superabundant. Why does it matter? This study is one of the few to discover a gene mutation that researchers are already targeting as they develop treatments and drugs for diabetes, but knowing that carrying a GLP1R mutation may affect the body can help scientists hone more effective methods of management.
Related: The Disease Many Americans Don’t Know They Have
“Almost 100 genetic variations that influence diabetes risk have been discovered in recent years,” Goodarzi said. “These represent a rich source of targets that can be used to develop future medications to prevent or treat diabetes.”
So watch for even more scientific work on genetics as researchers better understand how to curb a growing epidemic.
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P.S. Today is a good day to start your new exercise program. It’s the end of the week for most people and there is a gym nearby or a soccer field or high school track that’s not being used. Start by going for a walk and progress from there. Who knows. . . . you might meet someone who is on a similar journey as yourself.
P.P.S. A good place to learn more about exercising if you are diabetic is exercises for diabetics today. Check them out now.
