Adding just a little more fiber to your diet could help you drop pounds and shrink your waistline, according to weight research from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.

“In the past decade, the decline in carbohydrate quality has been identified as a likely culprit leading to increased adiposity and metabolic disorders among children and adults,” authors write.

Eighty-five overweight Latino children from the Los Angeles area were asked to participate in the study. Selection criteria included having a family history of type 2 diabetes, likelihood of insulin resistance and pre-diabetes. The children were between the ages of 11 and 17, a stage when most begin developing eating habits. Researchers measured weight and body composition. The children then underwent two trial periods to monitor the effects of sugar and fiber intake.

The first trial lasted 16 weeks. Roughly one in three children who reduced their added sugar intake had improved insulin secretion. In this group, participants who consumed more fiber had a 10 percent reduction in visceral adipose tissue (body fat).

The second trial was based on 24-hour self-reported dietary recalls—two each year for two years. Although sugar intake didn’t have a significant effect, fiber continued to produce positive results.

“Although the healthy reputation of dietary fiber continues to grow, national data consistently show that children consume less than one-half of the recommended amount of dietary fiber,” authors write.

In addition to increasing insulin sensitivity, consuming more fiber appeared to lower body mass. An decrease in dietary and insoluble fiber intake increased fat tissue by 21 percent, compared with a 4 percent fat decrease in children who consumed more.

Those consuming more fiber ate more non-fried vegetables, fruit and legumes—all excellent sources of both dietary and insoluble fibers. Other sources include nuts and seeds, whole grains, and wheat bran.

The study provides great encouragement for individuals wishing to lose weight and improve metabolism. According to authors, even a small change could make a big difference:

"These findings suggest that fairly modest increases in fruit and vegetable intake of 1 or 2 servings and bean intake of 0.5 servings (equivalent to 1/4 cup) daily could have profound effects on lowering visceral adiposity and subsequent related metabolic disorders."

A certain type of unsaturated fatty acid, CLA, and safflower oil may be key ingredients in helping postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes drop pounds and improve blood sugar, or blood glucose, levels, according to research from Ohio State University (OSU).

After menopause, many women experience weight gain, which increases the risk of developing metabolic conditions. For women with type 2 diabetes, weight loss and glucose management can become extremely difficult to manage. Researchers found that both CLA and safflower oil proved particularly beneficial to postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes.

CLA, conjugated linoleic acid, is an unsaturated fatty acid found primarily in meat and dairy products of cows, goats and sheep. CLA has been known to help people wishing to build muscle, lose weight and prevent heart disease.

Safflower oil is a plant-based oil similar to sunflower oil that is used in cooking oils, salad dressings and some margarines. Safflower oil, SAF, is a colorless and flavorless source of omega-6 fatty acids, and has been known to promote healthier skin and hair, reduce cholesterol and boost the immune system.

Thirty-five women completed a 36-week study comparing the effects of CLA and safflower oil on weight and body mass. Each supplement was consumed for sixteen weeks. Participants took roughly two teaspoons of either oil daily.

CLA began to cut body fat and reduce BMI after just eight weeks. “This magnitude of reduction has not been reported in an intervention that used a linoleic acid-rich oil,” wrote lead authors Martha Belury and Leigh Norris, both from the Department of Human Nutrition at OSU.

Safflower oil, originally meant for baseline comparison, yielded exciting changes of its own. Safflower oil reduced trunk mass and increased lean muscle mass, resulting in an average loss of 6.3 percent of body fat. It also reduced insulin resistance and fasting blood glucose levels.

“I never would have imagined such a finding,” Belury says. “This study is the first to show that such a modest amount of linoleic acid-rich oil may have a profound effect on body composition in women."

Belury and associates are pleased with the results of their study, and hope to explore the effects further. They believe that CLA and safflower oil show great promise in weight and glucose management for women with type 2 diabetes.

“It is possible that further reductions in BMI are achievable with a longer length of supplementation,” the authors wrote. “The use of lower doses of CLA over longer durations of intervention may prove to be an effective weight-loss aid."

The study appears online in The Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Legislators are considering the option of food taxes on sweetened beverages, including soda pop, and snack foods in an effort to battle obesity. Forty states are in support of a small tax on soda, while New York and Maine believe a higher tax may be necessary.

 
According to a report in The New England Journal of Medicine, sugar consumption has risen 30 percent over the last decade. For teens and children, soda accounts for 10-15 percent of total calories consumed. By removing just ¼ of the sugar in sweetened beverages, consumers can reduce annual caloric intake by 8,000 calories. This figure equates to roughly two pounds of weight in a year.

“Americans consume about 250 to 300 more calories daily today than they did several decades ago,” according to authors Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D., and Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Though no single intervention will solve the obesity problem, that is hardly a reason to take no action.”

Such a high rate of sugar intake can do more than expand the waistline. It can also increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other problems as a result of poor nutrition and weight gain. The objectives of those in support of a tax are twofold—to lower consumption, and to encourage soft drink producers to decrease the amount of caloric sweeteners in their products.

There are strong arguments on both sides. People arguing against the tax point out that food is necessary to survive. They believe raising prices will make it more difficult for low-income families to eat. Others argue that the poor would benefit the most. As the price of fresh produce and other healthier options goes up, soda and junk food prices are going down. People with tighter budgets consume more of the cheap but less nutritious foods and beverages.

“As Coca-Cola prices increased by 12 percent, sales dropped by 14.6 percent,” Frieden and Brownell wrote. Analysts believe that a 1 cent-per-ounce price increase could reduce consumption by as much as 10 percent. Justin Wilson, senior research analyst for the Center for Consumer Freedom, argues that such a tax is manipulation against the consumer. “The tax code should not be used as a method for social engineering, and that’s what this is,” he said.  Legislators see the issue a little differently.

Higher prices have been used effectively in the past to reduce tobacco sales, and any revenue from a tax on soda could raise up to $14.9 billion per year. This money could be used to support health reforms or other programs. New Yorkers’ support rose by 20 percent when lawmakers suggested using these funds for obesity prevention programs.

Glucose intolerance during pregnancy may put women at greater risk for heart disease. According to Baiju Shah, MD, PhD, FRCP, of the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences in Toronto, co-author of a recent study on women with gestational diabetes, even mild glucose intolerance—below the threshold for gestational diabetes—increases the chances of later cardiovascular disease. 
Gestational diabetes had been connected to cardiovascular disease prior to this study, but little was known of the links between minor glucose intolerance and heart disease. Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease share several characteristics including obesity, insulin resistance and cholesterol problems. Oftentimes, individuals with one condition will develop the other. Women with gestational diabetes may experience similar metabolic complications as soon as 3 months after giving birth.

Researchers analyzed the medical records of all Ontario women between the ages of 20 and 49 who had given birth between April 1994 and March 1998.  Participants were divided into three groups: those who were diagnosed with gestational diabetes, those who received an oral glucose tolerance test, and those who were not screened using oral glucose testing. One birth was selected at random for women with multiple deliveries; the median ages were between 29.2 and 31.1.

Women are tested for gestational diabetes (a type of diabetes that develops when women experience unusually high glucose levels during pregnancy) during the second trimester of pregnancy (13-27 weeks). The first step is a glucose challenge test, taken by measuring glucose levels one hour after ingesting a sugary substance such as glucola. If results are abnormal (≥7.8 mmol/L), a second oral glucose tolerance test (OGGT) is taken.

Participants in the study were followed up until March 31, 2008, providing information reflecting cardiovascular disease development for a median of 12.3 years after childbirth. “If you followed 10,000 people for one year, 4.2 of them would have an event,” Dr. Shah explains. “If you followed those 10,000 people for 10 years, 42 of them would have an event…In other words, these are extremely rare events.”

Although the differences were minor—absolute risk was 0.16% and 0.05% for women with gestational diabetes and women who received an OGGT, respectively—the results indicate a need for further research. "We shouldn't be ignoring these mild abnormalities during pregnancy,” Dr. Shah says. “(They) may benefit from extra surveillance and/or cardiovascular disease screening.”

More information is needed to establish the exact relationship between glucose intolerance and cardiovascular disease. In the meantime, proper nutrition and exercise may reduce your risk for both gestational diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Read more about gestational diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

A recent Harvard Medical School study found that mothers with diabetes are more than 50% more likely to experience postpartum depression than mothers who do not have the disease. The study, which examined more than 11,000 low-income mothers in New Jersey, revealed that one in ten mothers with diabetes experienced postpartum depression within one year of childbirth. Less than 6% of the women without diabetes experienced the same symptoms.

The women who developed postpartum depression following birth had no previous indication of depression during pregnancy. They were identified as having postpartum depression if their medical records indicated a diagnosis of depression or if they filled prescriptions for antidepressant medications. The study found that women with diabetes were about as likely to develop postpartum depression after their pregnancies as women who had experienced postpartum depression following a previous birth.

Postpartum depression is characterized by a long-lasting, extreme emotional downshift following birth. Symptoms include appetite loss, insomnia, tearfulness, and lack of connection with the newborn. Some women may fear they will harm themselves or the child. These symptoms should not be confused with the “baby blues” that many women feel after giving birth and last days or a few weeks.  

The researchers that conducted this study caution that there is no proof that diabetes causes postpartum depression, but only that the two are somehow linked.

If you think you have postpartum depression, seek medical attention.

Share your experiences with pregnancy or postpartum depression on the Healia Pregnancy Online Health Community and Support Group. To learn more about pregnancy, visit the Healia Pregnancy Health Guide. Test your pregnancy knowledge on the Healia Pregnancy Quiz.


_{Photo: KellyWoolen, Flickr, Creative Commons}

A new animal study suggests that eating blueberries may help reduce belly fat and lower the risk for heart disease and diabetes. Researchers the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center compared the effects of adding powered freeze dried blueberries in low- or high-fat diets fed to lab rats. After 3 months, the rats that ate the diets with blueberry powder had less belly fat, lower triglycerides and cholesterol levels, and improved fasting glucose and insulin sensitivity, compared to the rats that did not eat blueberry powder. The study results were presented yesterday at the Experimental Biology meeting in New Orleans.

The study investigators rats believe that their rat model is similar to people who are obese and have multiple risk factors for heart disease and diabetes such as increased belly fat, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar and triglyceride levels.

The study was funded by the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, but they apparently were not involved in the conduct or interpretation of the study results.

One of the researchers, Dr. Steven Bolling, was quoted in a press release: “The benefits of eating fruits and vegetables has been well-researched, but our findings in regard to blueberries shows the naturally occurring chemicals they contain, such as anthocyanins, show promise in mitigating these health conditions.”

Anthocyanins, a type of phytochemical, are natural pigments that are responsible for the color of red and purple fruits and vegetables, including blueberries, cherries, raspberries, beets, and purple grapes. Anthocyanins have received recent attention for their possible health effects because they are strong antioxidants.

Although previous animal studies have documented some health benefits of blueberries against cancer and the effects of aging, more research is needed to confirm their possible benefits in people. Find out more about healthy eating in our diet and nutrition guide or get valuable tips from the Healia diet and nutrition community.  
 

_{Photo: D. Sharon Pruitt, Flickr, Creative Commons}

Many studies have suggested that people with Type 2 diabetes may be at higher risk for developing dementia. But a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that extreme drops in blood sugar, known as hypoglycemia, might be the factor that increases the incidence of dementia in aging patients.

The study, which surveyed more than 15,000 patients with Type 2 diabetes over a 27 year period, reported that even one severe episode of hypoglycemia puts patients at an increased risk for developing dementia. The risk of dementia continued to increase with each subsequent hypoglycemic episode.

The results showed that patients who required hospitalization for a single episode of hypoglycemia had a 26 percent higher risk for dementia than patients who never had hypoglycemia. Patients who required hospitalization for two hypoglycemic episodes had an increased risk of 80 percent, while those who required hospitalization three or more times had a 94 percent increased risk, roughly twice that of patients with no history of hypoglycemia.

No research was conducted on the relationship between minor hypoglycemic episodes and dementia.

Read more about dementia on Healia’s Dementia Health Guide. Discuss your experiences with the neurological disorder on the Healia Dementia Community and Support Group, or share your diabetes stories on the Diabetes Type 2 Community and Support Group.


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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning not to share insulin pens due to the risk of blood borne infections. Insulin pens are pen-shaped injector devices that contain a disposable needle and a source of insulin that are approved only for single-patient use.

FDA officials want to remind both doctors and patients that insulin pens and the cartridges they contain should not be used to administer medication to more than one patient. While the devices typically contain enough insulin for a patient to self-administer several doses before the reservoir or cartridge is empty, the pens should only be reused by the same patient. Sharing the pens raises the risk of transmitting blood borne diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.

The FDA said they had received reports of two unnamed hospitals using the same insulin pen to administer medication to more than 2,000 patients. While the hospitals reportedly replaced the needles, they continued to reuse the same insulin cartridge. The FDA wants to stress that this is an unsafe practice, the pens are designed for safe use by only one patient. Even if the needles are changed between each patient the risk of disease transmission may still exists.

Want to learn more about insulin administration for diabetes? Join the Healia Support Community for Diabetes Type I or the Healia Support Community for Diabetes Type 2.

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People with diabetes have difficulty converting the food they eat into usable energy. So, while everyone should be concerned with proper nutrition, it is especially important for diabetics to eat healthy. In fact, 80% to 90% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight, so eating healthy to lose weight can help reduce the impact of the disease and may even cause it to go into remission completely.

Diabetes causes blood sugar levels to be higher than normal, so the short-term goal of a healthy diabetes diet is to keep blood sugar levels under control. A healthy diet for a type 2 diabetic also involves reducing your intake of fats and overall calories, which can help blood sugar levels in the long-term by reducing your weight.

For a type 2 diabetic, following a meal plan with reduced calories and an even distribution of carbohydrates as well as replacing some carbohydrates with healthier monounsaturated fats can improve blood glucose levels. In many cases, moderate amounts of weight loss and increased physical activity can control type 2 diabetes. Here are some general guidelines on how to balance your diet with fat, carbohydrates and protein.

1. Reduce your intake of dietary fat, especially saturated fat. Reducing fat intake may help contribute to modest weight loss, although to really lose weight, you need to consume fewer overall calories as well. The current American Diabetes Association guidelines advise that less than 7% of calories should come from saturated fat, the fats that raise levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol should be less than 200mg per day. Avoid foods that contain trans-fats entirely. This means any product that contains partially hydrogenated oils.
   
   
2. Keep your protein intake in the range of 15% - 20% of your total calories. Many sources of protein are also high in fat, but there are also low-fat protein options, such as low-fat dairy products, legumes (beans, lentils, peas, and peanuts), skinless poultry, fish, and lean meats.
   
   
3. The carbohydrates you eat should be ones that have the lowest impact on your blood sugar level. Examples include whole-grain breads or cereals, pasta, brown rice, beans, fruits, and vegetables. These foods are also good sources of dietary fiber, which can help lower blood glucose levels as well as cholesterol levels. Learn to read labels for total carbohydrate content, rather than just sugar content.
   
   
4. While it is very difficult to avoid sugar entirely, you should limit your intake of foods that are high in sugar and calories but low in overall nutritional value. These include common junk foods such as candy bars, sports drinks, soda pop, potato chips and cookies, as well as food made from refined grains such as white bread, white rice, muffins, and waffles. When you do consume sugar-containing foods, remember to substitute them in place of other carbohydrate sources (such as potatoes) instead of just adding them on to a meal.

For more specific information that is tailored to your individual needs, see a nutritionist or dietitian. To find out more about nutrition, join the Healia Health Community for Diet and Nutrition. For more information about Type 2 diabetes, including more on how to lose weight by eating a healthy diet, read the Healia Health Guide on Diabetes Type 2 or join the Healia Health Community for Type 2 Diabetes.

_{Source: National Library of Medicine MedlinePlus, Medical Encyclopedia: Diabetes Diet, updated 06/08. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002440.htm}

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A large study of the long-term effects of kidney donation finds that kidney donors can expect to live full, healthy lives in most cases. The retrospective analysis reported in today’s New England Journal of Medicine concludes that people who donate one of their two kidneys have a long term survival rate similar to non-donors and do not face increased risk of kidney failure.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota examined data from nearly 3,700 people who had donated a kidney at the university since 1963. They tracked down as many surviving donors as they could and used government records in an attempt to determine who had died. They randomly selected 255 donors to undergo tests of kidney function.

The results showed that the survival of kidney donors was similar to that of the general population when matched for age, sex, and race or ethnic group. Kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplant developed in 11 donors, which translates to a rate of 180 cases per million people per year. This is actually lower than the rate in the general population of 268 per million per year. The researchers noted that most donors who were studied enjoyed an excellent quality of life.

One of the main reasons for the good outcome for donors may have been the strict criteria in place for kidney donation. Donors had to be in good health and free of high blood pressure and diabetes, two of the main contributing factors for kidney disease. There are no official regulations regarding living kidney donation but most transplant centers adhere to similar criteria.

A scientist not involved in the study notes the donors were mostly young and mainly white. It remains to be seen whether the safety of living kidney donation holds for older, non-white donors. The University of Minnesota is part of an ongoing study that will examine a larger and more diverse donor group.

Most people are born with two kidneys, which function to eliminate waste from the body in form of urine. If someone’s kidneys fail the only options for survival are dialysis or a transplant. More than 78,000 people are currently on the national waiting list to receive a kidney from a deceased donor. Due in part to new surgical techniques that have shortened recovery times, living kidney donation has become more common in recent years. Lving donors must be tissue matched to recipients in order to be able to donate a kidney.

To find out more about living kidney donation, visit the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Web site or the National Kidney Foundation Web site.

If you want to learn more about kidney failure, join the Healia Health Community and Support Group for Kidney Failure. For information about type 2 diabetes, see the Healia Health Community for Diabetes Type 2 or read the Healia Health Guide on Diabetes Type 2.

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