January 31st, 2012
People with PCOS depression have a higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes than non-depressed individuals, according to a new study.
The findings, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, indicated that the relationship between Type 2 Diabetes, which is closely linked to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, may be somewhat like a two-way highway. Not only can Diabetes lead to depression, but the latter can also lead to Diabetes.
U.S. researchers led by Dr. Sherita Hill Golden of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore tracked an ethnically diverse group of about 5,000 men and women between ages 45-84 for three years.
They found that people with symptoms of depression were 42% more likely to develop Diabetes by the end of the study than those without such symptoms. They also found that the more serious the symptoms, the higher the risk of Diabetes.
The researchers statistically accounted for factors including obesity, smoking and lack of physical activity, finding that the risk for Diabetes was still 34% higher in patients with depression.
“When we looked at the people in our study who had elevated symptoms of depression, they were more likely to eat more calories, they exercised less and they were more likely to be current smokers. And as a consequence, they were also more obese,” said Dr. Golden, who added that depression also pushes up the levels of stress hormones such as cortisol.
This latter hormone can impair insulin sensitivity and encourage belly fat – risk factors, in their own right, for the onset of Diabetes.
The study also measured the risk for developing depression among people who already had Type 2 Diabetes. Researchers discovered that people who had been treated for this condition were 54% more likely to develop depression symptoms than non-Diabetics.
Regular exercise combined with a balanced, nutritious PCOS diet can help reverse an underlying cause of depression-linked excess weight and obesity, namely the imbalance of blood glucose and insulin called Insulin Resistance, which decreases insulin sensitivity. By reversing Insulin Resistance, it is possible to facilitate PCOS weight loss and improve mood.
January 27th, 2012
The excess weight that some people with PCOS carry around their middles could be making them fatter than ever, researchers have discovered.
A Canadian team found abdominal fat tissue produces a hormone called NPY, which also prompts the development of cells that turn into fat. High levels of NPY in the brain produce constant feelings of hunger.
Abdominal fat is known to be the most dangerous form of excess weight because it increases the risk of Pre- and Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.
The researchers, from Lawson Health Research Institute linked to the University of Western Ontario, carried out tests on rats which showed that abdominal fat, as well as the brain, produces NPY – also called Neuropeptide Y. It is thought that excessive production of NPY in the brain is one of the main reasons why overweight people eat more food than they should.
But the scientists found NPY in abdominal tissues increases fat cell numbers by stimulating the replication of fat cell precursor cells, which then change into fat cells.
Lead researcher Dr Kaiping Yang said: “This may lead to a vicious cycle where NPY produced in the brain causes you to eat more and therefore gain more fat around your middle – and then that fat produces more NPY hormone which leads to even more fat cells.”
The team will now look at whether NPY produced in the abdomen is released into the body’s circulatory system and therefore affects hunger messages in the brain.
January 26th, 2012
A cup of enriched cocoa may help improve the working of blood vessels in people with Pre- and Type 2 Diabetes, new research suggests.
Doctors prescribed three mugs of specially formulated cocoa a day for a month to a group of Diabetics and found “severely impaired” arteries regained normal function. The German study, featured in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, suggests chemicals called “flavanols” may be responsible.
People with Pre- and Type 2 Diabetes are at greater risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart disease and strokes, partly due to the effects of high blood sugar on the linings of blood vessels, which stops them being able to expand as much when needed by the body. This can result in higher blood pressure, which can then cause cardiovascular disease.
Cocoa naturally contains flavanols – antioxidant chemicals which also exist in some fruit and vegetables, green tea and red wine.The type of cocoa used in the study cannot presently be found in the shops and is a version enriched with far higher concentrations of the chemicals. Other studies are looking at whether flavanol-enriched chocolate could benefit patients.
Ten Diabetic patients were asked to drink the cocoa three times daily for 30 days, and a special test was used to measure the function of their blood vessels.
The ability of the vessels to expand in response to a demand for extra blood from the body appeared to increase almost immediately.
On average, a healthy person’s arteries could expand by just over 5%, while the average of the 10 Diabetic patients was just 3.3% prior to drinking their first mug of cocoa. Two hours after drinking the cocoa, however, their response averaged 4.8%. Over the 30 days, this improved, to 4.1% even before cocoa, and 5.7% two hours after a mugful.
Excess weight and obesity often uderlie Diabetes. Regular exercise combined with a balanced nutritious diet can help reverse an underlying cause of excess weight and obesity, namely the imbalance of blood glucose and insulin called Insulin Resistance. By reversing this latter condition, you can facilitate PCOS weight loss.
January 3rd, 2012
Obesity is spreading like wildfire among young people, with kids often wanting junk food before they are old enough to read.
But this fascination with unhealthy food that can make them fat isn’t inborn. Instead, the desire is implanted via a continuous barrage of advertising aimed specifically at children, according to a new report.
A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 75% of all ads aimed at young children and teenagers were peddling candy, snacks, sugary cereal or fast food. Children aged between 2 and 7 see, on average 12 food ads a day from various sources, which grows to about 4,000 a year, said the report.
Advertisers attract their attention by using popular characters like SpongeBob SquarePants and Shrek to sell everything from Burger King hamburgers and french fries to Pop-Tarts and Skittles. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other groups are calling for a ban on this kind of advertising.
In an effort to head off such a ban, 11 major food and beverage manufacturers have formed a coalition to regulate their own advertising pitches. Although activists are skeptical, the coalition claims that, henceforth, members will commit at least half of their children’s advertising to healthier products.
Overweight children and adolescents have a much greater risk of becoming obese as adults than kids of normal weight. Regular exercise when combined with a balanced, nutritious diet at any age can help reverse an underlying cause of excess weight and obesity, namely the imbalance of blood glucose and insulin called Insulin Resistance. By reversing Insulin Resistance, you can facilitate weight loss.
If left unchecked, obesity can also lead to the cluster of increased risks for heart disease called Metabolic Syndrome (Syndrome X) as well as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) – a leading cause of menstrual irregularity, acne and other skin conditions, excess facial hair and female hair loss. Overweight adolescents do not have a monopoly on PCOS, however. Up to 50% of PCOS sufferers may be females who are of normal weight or even lean.
Insulin Resistance-linked weight problems are also associated with Type 2 Diabetes, which is being seen at an increasingly younger age. Before the onset of this latter condition, however, most people develop reversible Pre-Diabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels are elevated beyond normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes.
Left unchecked, Pre-Diabetes may lead to the Type 2 variety, which can only be managed for the rest of a person’s life. Many Diabetics require daily injections of insulin.
Over the long term, Type 2 Diabetes severely increases the risk of blindness, amputation and kidney disease, as well as a heart attack or stroke. Some 90% of people with Type 2 also suffer from excess weight or obesity.
