Click to access z_full_nutrition_brochure-1.pdf

by European Association for the Study of Obesity

Vegetarians appear to have a healthier biomarker profile than meat-eaters, and this applies to adults of any age and weight, and is also unaffected by smoking and alcohol consumption, according to a new study in over 166,000 UK adults, being presented at this week’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO), held online this year.

Biomarkers can have bad and good health effects, promoting or preventing cancer, cardiovascular and age-related diseases, and other chronic conditions, and have been widely used to assess the effect of diets on health. However, evidence of the metabolic benefits associated with being vegetarian is unclear.

To understand whether dietary choice can make a difference to the levels of disease markers in blood and urine, researchers from the University of Glasgow did a cross-sectional study analysing data from 177,723 healthy participants (aged 37-73 years) in the UK Biobank study, who reported no major changes in diet over the last five years.

Participants were categorised as either vegetarian (do not eat red meat, poultry or fish; 4,111 participants) or meat-eaters (166,516 participants) according to their self-reported diet. The researchers examined the association with 19 blood and urine biomarkers related to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, liver, bone and joint health, and kidney function.

Even after accounting for potentially influential factors including age, sex, education, ethnicity, obesity, smoking, and alcohol intake, the analysis found that compared to meat-eaters, vegetarians had significantly lower “ unhealthy biomarkers“

lower levels of 13 biomarkers, including: total cholesterol; low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol—the so-called ‘bad cholesterol; apolipoprotein A (linked to cardiovascular disease), apolipoprotein B (linked to cardiovascular disease); gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and alanine aminotransferase (AST)—liver function markers indicating inflammation or damage to cells; insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1; a hormone that encourages the growth and proliferation of cancer cells); urate; total protein; and creatinine (marker of worsening kidney function).

However, vegetarians also had lower levels of beneficial biomarkers including high-density lipoprotein ‘good’ (HDL) cholesterol, and vitamin D and calcium (linked to bone and joint health). In addition, they had significantly higher level of fats (triglycerides) in the blood and cystatin-C (suggesting a poorer kidney condition).

No link was found for blood sugar levels (HbA1c), systolic blood pressure, aspartate aminotransferase (AST; a marker of damage to liver cells) or C-reactive protein (CRP; inflammatory marker).

“Our findings offer real food for thought”, says Dr. Carlos Celis-Morales from the University of Glasgow, UK, who led the research. “As well as not eating red and processed meat which have been linked to heart diseases and some cancers, people who follow a vegetarian diet tend to consume more vegetables, fruits, and nuts which contain more nutrients, fibre, and other potentially beneficial compounds. These nutritional differences may help explain why vegetarians appear to have lower levels of disease biomarkers that can lead to cell damage and chronic disease.”

The authors point out that although their study was large, it was observational, so no conclusions can be drawn about direct cause and effect. They also note several limitations including that they only tested biomarker samples once for each participant, and it is possible that biomarkers might fluctuate depending on factors unrelated to diet, such as existing diseases and unmeasured lifestyle factors. They also note that were reliant on participants to report their dietary intake using food frequency questionnaires, which is not always reliable.

---

Explore furtherStudy strengthens links between red meat and heart disease

---

More information: This story is based on poster presentation EP3-33 at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO).

Provided by European Association for the Study of Obesity

Learning About the Microbiome

The community of microorganisms that lives on us and in us is called the “microbiome,” and it’s a hot topic for research. The Human Microbiome Project, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 2007 to 2016, played a key role in this research by mapping the normal bacteria that live in and on the healthy human body. With this understanding of a normal microbiome as the basis, researchers around the world, including many supported by NIH, are now exploring the links between changes in the microbiome and various diseases. They’re also developing new therapeutic approaches designed to modify the microbiome to treat disease and support health.

What has science shown about the effectiveness of probiotics for health conditions?

A great deal of research has been done on probiotics, but much remains to be learned about whether they’re helpful and safe for various health conditions. 

Probiotics have shown promise for a variety of health purposes, including prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (including diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile), prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis and sepsis in premature infants, treatment of infant colic, treatment of periodontal disease, and induction or maintenance of remission in ulcerative colitis. 

However, in most instances, we still don’t know which probiotics are helpful and which are not. We also don’t know how much of the probiotic people would have to take or who would be most likely to benefit. Even for the conditions that have been studied the most, researchers are still working toward finding the answers to these questions.

Can probiotics be harmful?

• Probiotics are live organisms. We know some can improve our health. But there are bacteria who can cause serious complications as well
• Probiotics have an extensive history of apparently safe use, particularly in healthy people.
•  However, few studies have looked at the safety of probiotics in detail, so there’s a lack of solid information on the frequency and severity of side effects.
•  
• The risk of harmful effects from probiotics is greater in people with severe illnesses or compromised immune systems. When probiotics are being considered for high-risk individuals, such as premature infants or seriously ill hospital patients, the potential risks of probiotics should be carefully weighed against their benefits. 
• Possible harmful effects of probiotics include infections,
•  production of harmful substances by the probiotic microorganisms, and t
• transfer of antibiotic resistance genes from probiotic microorganisms to other microorganisms in the digestive tract. 
• Some probiotic products have been reported to contain microorganisms other than those listed on the label. In some instances, these contaminants may pose serious health risks. 

• Don’t use probiotics as a reason to postpone seeing your health care provider about any health problem.
• If you’re considering a probiotic dietary supplement, consult your health care provider first. 
• This is especially important if you have health problems. Anyone with a serious underlying health condition should be monitored closely while taking probiotics.
• Take charge of your health—talk with your health care providers about any complementary health approaches you use. Together, you can make shared, well-informed decisions.

From the NIH Center of Complementary and Integrative Health

OTHER NAMES COMMONLY USED FOR THE METABOLIC SYNDROME

• Dysmetabolic syndrome
• Hypertriglyceridemic waist
• Insulin resistance syndrome
• Obesity syndrome
• Syndrome X

This is a nice and simple explanation of the basics and prevention of diabetes

There are multiple causes of insulin resistance and simple steps we can take.

There is lot of different opinions in the internet !

Fructose and hepatic insulin resistance

There is an epidemic fatty liver and non alcoholic liver disease worldwide. This is the commonest cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer which was. previously mainly related to chronic alcoholism

Excessive caloric intake in a form of high-fat diet (HFD) was long thought to be the major risk factor for development of obesity and its complications, such as fatty liver disease and insulin resistance. Recently, there has been a paradigm shift and more attention is attributed to the effects of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) as one of the culprits of the obesity epidemic and fatty liver and cirrhosis

There is evidence fructose intake with development of hepatic insulin resistance the pathways by which fructose that the the metabolism of fructose is in the liver and high intake of fructose may be the cause of the epidemic fatty liver and its consequence

Dietary fructose intake strongly promotes hepatic insulin resistance via complex interplay of several metabolic pathways, at least some of which are independent of increased weight gain and caloric intake.

The current evidence shows that the fructose, but not glucose, component of dietary sugar drives metabolic complications and contradicts the notion that fructose is merely a source of palatable calories that leads to increased weight gain and insulin resistance.

Where does HFCS come from?

HFCS is derived from corn starch. Starch itself is a chain of glucose (a simple sugar) molecules joined together.When corn starch is broken down into individual glucose molecules, the end product is corn syrup, which is essentially 100% glucose.

To make HFCS, enzymes are added to corn syrup in order to convert some of the glucose to another simple sugar called fructose, also called “fruit sugar” because it occurs naturally in fruits and berries. HFCS is common in many many processed foods because it is very sweet and may be one factor for the increased insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, cirrhosis and liver cancer in the world

Fruits has very much less fructose, and extremely unlikely to lead to these complications unless eaten in excess.

Eating before 8:30 a.m. could reduce risk factors for type 2 diabetes

by  The Endocrine Society

People who start eating before 8:30 a.m. had lower blood sugar levels and less insulin resistance, which could reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting.

“We found people who started eating earlier in the day had lower blood sugar levelsand less insulin resistance, regardless of whether they restricted their food intake to less than 10 hours a day or their food intake was spread over more than 13 hours daily,” said lead researcher Marriam Ali, M.D., of Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill.

Insulin resistance occurs when the body doesn’t respond as well to the insulin that the pancreas is producing and glucose is less able to enter the cells. People with insulin resistance may be at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Both insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels affect a person’s metabolism, the breaking down of food to its simpler components: proteins, carbohydrates (or sugars), and fats. Metabolic disorders such as diabetes occur when these normal processes become disrupted.

“With a rise in metabolic disorders such as diabetes, we wanted to expand our understanding of nutritional strategies to aid in addressing this growing concern,” Ali said. Previous studies have found that time-restricted eating, which consolidates eating to a shortened timeframe each day, has consistently demonstrated improvement in metabolic health, she noted. Her group wanted to see whether eating earlier in the day affected metabolic measures.

The researchers analyzed data from 10,575 adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They divided participants into three groups depending on total duration of food intake: less than 10 hours, 10-13 hours, and more than 13 hours per day. They then created six subgroups based on eating duration start time (before or after 8:30 a.m.).

They analyzed this data to determine if eating duration and timing were associated with fasting blood sugar levels and estimated insulin resistance. Fasting blood sugarlevels did not differ significantly among eating interval groups. Insulin resistance was higher with shorter eating interval duration, but lower across all groups with an eating start time before 8:30 a.m.

People who start eating before 8:30 a.m. had lower blood sugar levels and less insulin resistance, which could reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting.

“We found people who started eating earlier in the day had lower blood sugar levelsand less insulin resistance, regardless of whether they restricted their food intake to less than 10 hours a day or their food intake was spread over more than 13 hours daily,” said lead researcher Marriam Ali, M.D., of Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill.

Insulin resistance occurs when the body doesn’t respond as well to the insulin that the pancreas is producing and glucose is less able to enter the cells. People with insulin resistance may be at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Both insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels affect a person’s metabolism, the breaking down of food to its simpler components: proteins, carbohydrates (or sugars), and fats. Metabolic disorders such as diabetes occur when these normal processes become disrupted.

The researchers analyzed data from 10,575 adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They divided participants into three groups depending on total duration of food intake: less than 10 hours, 10-13 hours, and more than 13 hours per day. They then created six subgroups based on eating duration start time (before or after 8:30 a.m.).

They analyzed this data to determine if eating duration and timing were associated with fasting blood sugar levels and estimated insulin resistance. Fasting blood sugarlevels did not differ significantly among eating interval groups. Insulin resistance was higher with shorter eating interval duration, but lower across all groups with an eating start time before 8:30 a.m.

“These findings suggest that timing is more strongly associated with metabolic measures than duration, and support early eating strategies,” Ali said.

---

Protein

Meat: Beef, pork, lamb, game and poultry. The fat is useful as well as the skin on the chicken. Choose organic and grass-fed if you can.

Fish and seafood: All kinds. Preferably fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel or herring.

Eggs: All kinds. Preferably organic. 

Non meat proteins

lentils, adamame, pintobeans and other beans ,chia seeds and green leafy vegetable have proteins though some do have some carbs

Natural fat

Using butter and cream for cooking can make your food taste better and make you feel more satisfied. Try a Béarnaise or Hollandaise sauce, check the ingredients or make it yourself. Coconut. olive oil

cheese and butter are good fats. coconut fat is controversial

all types of nuts have healthy natural fat

60 % of the calories in nuts come from fats. Macadamias and pecan are the richest with more than 70 g of fats per 100 g. Cashews and pistachios are the least caloric.

Being rich in fats does not mean that nuts are bad for our health. On the contrary, their fats are mostly unsaturated and are benefical in the prevention of coronary heart disease and in lowering LDL cholesterol. However, Brazil nuts, macadamias, cashews and pine nuts also contain large amounts of saturated fats.

Vegetables

All kinds of cabbage. Asparagus, zucchini, eggplant, olives, spinach, mushrooms, cucum- ber, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes etc.

Dairy products

Always select full-fat options like real butter, cream (40% fat), sour cream and cheeses. Be careful with regular milk, reduced fat and skim milk as they contain a lot of milk sugar. Avoid flavored, sugary and low-fat products.

Nuts and berries

Enjoy low-carb nuts like brazil nuts, macada- mia and almonds. Berries like raspberries, strawberries and blueberries are OK in mode- ration for most people. Great with whipped cream. Reduce or exclude for weight loss.

Everyday drinks
Water: Still or sparkling. Add a slice of lemon

or lime.

Coffee and tea: Feel free to add a little milk or cream. Hungry between meals? Try adding a dollop of unsalted butter or coconut fat.

CARBS

Sugar

Soft drinks, candy, juice, sports drinks, cho- colate, cakes, buns, pastries, ice cream and breakfast cereals. Also avoid artificial sweete- ners: they often maintain sugar cravings.

Starch

Limited Bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, French fries, potato chips, porridge etc. Moderate amounts of root vegetables are okay if you are not too strict with carbohydrate restriction.

Beer

Liquid bread. Full of rapidly absorbed carbs.

Fruit

Contains a lot of sugar, eat it as a natural
form of candy. Dried fruit contains even more carbohydrates as bananas and grapes and, even apples though apples has a lot of fiber and antioxidants

coconut

Coconut has both fat and carbohydrate

A KETO DIET IS CHANGING THE METABOLISM FROM CARBOHYDRATE TO FAT MAKES YOUR BLOOD AND URINE ACIDIC

This makes the body acidic ( For ketosis e one has to take 70-90 percent of fat and 10-30 gm of carbs since very low carbs are needed to cause ketosis. You have to test the urine for ketones to be positive to state at it is a keto diet

It suppresses the appetite and initial weight loss is due to water loss

Though short term results are good with the appetite suppressant effects, the effects of long term acidity is the body may need to osteoporosis and possible kidney damage

While low carb diets will reduce weight because of the high calorie contents of bread rice etc and lead and weight loss will need to the normalization of size and and reduce insulin resistance with the blood being not acidic and with perfectly normal physiology

I believe that there is too too high proportion of carb in our diet but and should be reduced but should and also be low glycemic carb should be used the long term keto diet is not safe should be discouraged

Long term keto diets is unphysiologic and its consequence may be deadly

What is true is that everyone with type 2 diabetes is carrying more weight than their body can cope with. In other words, the problem is not the number of very, very heavy people: it’s the vast majority of us who are heavier than is ideal.

The trouble is that many regard themselves as having a normal weight because they look similar to other people of the same age.

But the key is that they weigh more than they did in their 20s (as growth has stopped by the early 20s, this weight is a rough yardstick of an ‘ideal’ weight). And where that extra fat ends up. As my team at Newcastle University and I have discovered, it’s what this fat does in the pancreas that is particularly significant.

The pancreas, which is hidden deep behind your stomach, is the most important organ in diabetes, and thanks to our groundbreaking work, we know that losing weight can transform its health.

Losing weight helps (ironically, perhaps) by getting the pancreas to fill out

The trouble is that many regard themselves as having a normal weight because they look similar to other people of the same age, writes Roy Taylor, who is Professor of Medicine and Metabolism at Newcastle University

Then I came across research that showed losing weight rapidly after weight-loss surgery can reverse high blood sugar levels, and strip the liver of that fat. I decided to replicate this effect using a very low-calorie plan to trigger rapid weight loss in a short period.

The results of our study with type 2 patients were stunning — within seven days their blood sugar levels had dropped to normal. Among those who contacted me after our results were published in 2011 were people with type 2 diabetes who had a ‘normal’ BMI — they said that after losing weight using our plan, their blood sugar levels had returned to normal, too.

This is when I hit upon the personal fat threshold (PFT) concept — basically, this means that we all have our own tolerance for weight gain. And it’s your PFT that determines if you’ll get type 2.

Let me explain using the example of a patient I’ve advised but whose story is typical of many. Harry, who was in his 40s, looked slim and his BMI was 24, in the ‘normal’ weight range, and yet he developed type 2 — why?

The clue was that 20 years or so before he was diagnosed, Harry had been slimmer and since then he’d increased his BMI by about three units. He’d become too heavy for his own body — and through no fault of his own, he was more susceptible to just a moderate amount of fat.

And when he lost weight — just under 2st (12kg), getting his BMI down to 21 — he reversed his diabetes. Some heavy people, thanks to their genes, have apparently endless storage capacity — so while they acquire more and more fat, although it may look excessive, it is stored safely, rather than spilling over into the liver and then the pancreas.

Not everyone who steadily puts on weight during their adult life will develop type 2 diabetes. Some people are much more susceptible. What is certain, though, is that if you have type 2, you’ve become too heavy for your body.

Falling into the weight gain trap

Food is used to fuel the body. And a healthy body is highly efficient at getting the most out of the food it receives.

After you finish a meal, what you have eaten is stored away to provide a supply of sugar and fat.

Energy from these stores is needed throughout the day and night. And in normal health, both of these processes — the storage of food and its later use — are tightly controlled. The secret of how this happens lies in the amazing hormone insulin.

Insulin is made in the pancreas. Quietly going about its business, it puts the right amount of insulin into the blood minute by minute.

Normally, as soon as you take your first mouthful of any food, your body starts to break it down. All the starchy food is turned into sugar and that rapidly gets into the blood.

For instance, from an ordinary helping of pasta, about 30 teaspoonfuls of sugar are released — 30 spoonfuls!

Your body will get almost the same effect from eating the pasta or the sugar, except for slight differences in the speed at which it gets into the blood.

To deal with this sudden rush of sugar, your pancreas normally makes lots of insulin, which allows the body to use the sugar or store it away.

So why do things start going wrong?

Your remarkable body can cope with any mix of foods, but there is one thing that it may struggle with: a little too much food too often over many years.

It can be difficult to imagine what an extra tiny amount each day adds up to over time, but, to give you an idea, an extra small apple every day, for instance, will add around 4 lb to your weight in a year. Which means that ten years later you will be 40lb heavier! That is 2 st 12 lb (or 18kg).

If even an apple can make me put on weight, you may ask, why should I bother making ‘healthy’ choices?

That’s because all foods are not equal. Certain types of food are more satisfying, and will keep you feeling full for longer, whereas others with the same calorie content are more rapidly absorbed by the body, after which you will quickly feel hungry again.

So the type of food you eat affects the amount you eat overall. For instance, it’s easy to see that an additional two squares of milk chocolate (similar calorie count) are far more likely to slip down than an apple every day. Similarly, if you eat a ready meal (likely to have lots of added sugar), you will probably feel hungry an hour or so after, and might eat more.

But a meal of meat and plenty of fibrous vegetables which has the same calories as that ready meal will leave you feeling satisfied for much longer and stop you snacking.

Three steps to better health

Targets

For most people it’s the same, whether you weigh 12 st or 24 st: as a rule of thumb, losing 2½ st (about 15 kg) will be sufficient to take you below your personal fat threshold, strip the fat from your organs and return your blood sugar to normal.

If you weigh less than 12½ st and have type 2, it’s better to think about losing about 10 per cent of your body weight. The approach we developed at Newcastle University to reverse type 2 is simple:

PLAN

this perhaps good for persons who are not diabetic as well. ( slanka)

1. Rapid weight loss (eight weeks)

This is very different from the standard, steady-as-you-go approach and while the effect of removing fat from the liver and pancreas is the same whether weight loss is over two months or 12, losing the weight quickly is easier. You’ll have 700 to 800 calories a day — replacing a meal with a complete nutrition drink is the easiest option (find them in supermarkets and chemists). Do discuss your plans with your doctor in advance.

2. Return to normal eating (four weeks)

WE suggest starting by replacing your evening shake with a small meal; after two weeks, replace your lunch shake with another small meal, then two weeks later add in breakfast and stop all shakes (each meal is 400 to 500 calories).

3. Keep the weight down long term

As a rough guide, you’ll need only three-quarters of the calories you used to eat. For details for the three steps, see my new book.

When you eat more than your body needs, it has to find somewhere to store the extra fat. To begin with, fat will build up under the skin. It can be stored there safely — up to a point.

Then it will start spilling over into the organs of the body, particularly the liver and the pancreas. And this is where it causes type 2 diabetes — in those people susceptible to it.

Most people can tolerate too much fat in the pancreas, and never get type 2 diabetes. But if your pancreas happens to be less able to cope with fat, then you will run into trouble. It is the luck of the draw, depending on which genes you inherited.

PROFESSOR ROY TAYLOR explains the science behind type 2 diabetes

Barely a day goes by without type 2 diabetes hitting the headlines. Last week alone there were two major stories about the condition. 

A study from French researchers showed that if you develop type 2 in middle age, it doubles your risk of getting dementia by the age of 70.

Another study, which looked at data from 200,000 Britons, found that it takes more than two years on average for patients to be diagnosed with type 2.

We read a lot about the growing type 2 diabetes ‘epidemic’ and its devastating effect on health — it’s something I’ve witnessed with growing alarm over my 44-year medical career as a diabetes specialist and research scientist. 

Of these two women, how can the woman on the left be more at risk of type 2 diabetes? A size 12 woman is pictured left while a size 18 woman is pictured right. The answer is because the woman on the left is over her ‘personal fat threshold’ (no, that’s not your BMI)

Not only is this putting a huge strain on the NHS, but it is having a terrible impact on people’s lives.

Put simply, ‘diabetes’ just means the level of sugar in the blood is too high. This doesn’t sound too bad, does it? 

But actually it’s disastrous, as over time this damages the delicate blood vessels that supply food and oxygen to all parts of the body, leading to complications such as blindness and numbness.

The latter is particularly worrying in the feet and legs because the lack of feeling prevents the body’s normal warning sign of trouble, such as pain, so patients may not notice that a wound, infection and then ulcers have set in — in the UK today about 170 amputations are performed every week because of diabetes.

Other complications include kidney problems — diabetes accounts for around half of patients needing kidney dialysis — and a higher risk of heart attack and stroke.

Younger people worse affected by type 2

Unlike some illnesses where your youth may be on your side, type 2 diabetes puts people in their 20s or 30s at far greater risk of serious trouble (probably because younger tissues are more sensitive to high sugar levels). The younger you are, the worse the effects of type 2.

As if diabetes wasn’t bad enough already, if you have type 2, you’re almost seven times more likely to die from Covid-19 if you catch the virus. While the exact causes are not known, high sugar levels make blood clots more likely and that’s a problem with Covid.

The good news, as I outline in my new book, is that you can avoid such bleak outcomes. The key is to strip fat from the liver and pancreas.

If you asked most people what’s behind the type 2 epidemic, they’d probably answer ‘obesity’. In fact, whatever you may have read, type 2 diabetes has little to do with obesity, as defined in medical terms — which is a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30. Using this definition, only one in two developing type 2 diabetes is actually ‘obese’. Even among overweight people, three out of four do not have the disease.

What is true is that everyone with type 2 diabetes is carrying more weight than their body can cope with. In other words, the problem is not the number of very, very heavy people: it’s the vast majority of us who are heavier than is ideal.

The trouble is that many regard themselves as having a normal weight because they look similar to other people of the same age.

But the key is that they weigh more than they did in their 20s (as growth has stopped by the early 20s, this weight is a rough yardstick of an ‘ideal’ weight). And where that extra fat ends up. As my team at Newcastle University and I have discovered, it’s what this fat does in the pancreas that is particularly significant.

The pancreas, which is hidden deep behind your stomach, is the most important organ in diabetes, and thanks to our groundbreaking work, we know that losing weight can transform its health.

Losing weight helps (ironically, perhaps) by getting the pancreas to fill out, as the incredible pictures on this page show.

The trouble is that many regard themselves as having a normal weight because they look similar to other people of the same age, writes Roy Taylor, who is Professor of Medicine and Metabolism at Newcastle University

In people with diabetes, the pancreas is small and ragged-looking. We spent years looking at the pancreas using special MRI scans. But we didn’t realise that the small, ragged-looking thing on our scans was abnormal until we started to look at people without type 2.

We then discovered that a healthy pancreas is nice and plump. So did type 2 happen in people born with poorly developed pancreases, or did the diabetes cause the pancreas to shrink?

It’s the latter, and the amazing thing is that by losing weight and getting rid of diabetes, you can ‘plump up’ the pancreas. We’ve shown that the pancreas can grow back to normal size once a person loses weight and returns to normal blood sugar control — it takes about two years. And these pictures are the proof, confirmation that the damage can be undone.

This discovery about the pancreas is the latest in a number we’ve made about type 2 diabetes over the past decade or so. One of the most exciting came in 2011, when we were able to show that contrary to established opinion, you weren’t stuck with life-limiting type 2 diabetes, but it was possible to reverse it.

Using sophisticated MRI scans we were able to identify the cause of type 2 diabetes — we’d found that people with type 2 had excess fat in both the liver and the pancreas, far more than in people without diabetes, even if they were overweight.

We also showed excess sugar in the blood is converted to fat, which is stored around the body, including in and around the organs.

Proof you can reverse type 2 diabetes

The pancreas is the most important organ in diabetes, and these two extraordinary scans of the same patient highlight the damage that type 2 causes — but also prove that this damage, and type 2 diabetes — can be reversed by losing weight.

The patient, who is in his early 50s, weighed just under 100kg (over 15½ st) and had type 2 diabetes — for which he was taking medication — when the ‘before’ scan was done. 

It looks as if there are holes in the pancreas: these are areas where the pancreas has shrunk as a result of his diabetes.

The ‘after’ image was done two years later. The patient weighed about 10kg lighter, his blood sugar levels were normal, so he was no longer on medication because he didn’t have diabetes. This is how a healthy pancreas should look.

Then I came across research that showed losing weight rapidly after weight-loss surgery can reverse high blood sugar levels, and strip the liver of that fat. I decided to replicate this effect using a very low-calorie plan to trigger rapid weight loss in a short period.

The results of our study with type 2 patients were stunning — within seven days their blood sugar levels had dropped to normal. Among those who contacted me after our results were published in 2011 were people with type 2 diabetes who had a ‘normal’ BMI — they said that after losing weight using our plan, their blood sugar levels had returned to normal, too.

This is when I hit upon the personal fat threshold (PFT) concept — basically, this means that we all have our own tolerance for weight gain. And it’s your PFT that determines if you’ll get type 2.

Let me explain using the example of a patient I’ve advised but whose story is typical of many. Harry, who was in his 40s, looked slim and his BMI was 24, in the ‘normal’ weight range, and yet he developed type 2 — why?

The clue was that 20 years or so before he was diagnosed, Harry had been slimmer and since then he’d increased his BMI by about three units. He’d become too heavy for his own body — and through no fault of his own, he was more susceptible to just a moderate amount of fat.

And when he lost weight — just under 2st (12kg), getting his BMI down to 21 — he reversed his diabetes. Some heavy people, thanks to their genes, have apparently endless storage capacity — so while they acquire more and more fat, although it may look excessive, it is stored safely, rather than spilling over into the liver and then the pancreas.

Not everyone who steadily puts on weight during their adult life will develop type 2 diabetes. Some people are much more susceptible. What is certain, though, is that if you have type 2, you’ve become too heavy for your body.

Falling into the weight gain trap

Food is used to fuel the body. And a healthy body is highly efficient at getting the most out of the food it receives.

After you finish a meal, what you have eaten is stored away to provide a supply of sugar and fat.

Energy from these stores is needed throughout the day and night. And in normal health, both of these processes — the storage of food and its later use — are tightly controlled. The secret of how this happens lies in the amazing hormone insulin.

Insulin is made in the pancreas. Quietly going about its business, it puts the right amount of insulin into the blood minute by minute.

Normally, as soon as you take your first mouthful of any food, your body starts to break it down. All the starchy food is turned into sugar and that rapidly gets into the blood.

For instance, from an ordinary helping of pasta, about 30 teaspoonfuls of sugar are released — 30 spoonfuls!

Your body will get almost the same effect from eating the pasta or the sugar, except for slight differences in the speed at which it gets into the blood.

To deal with this sudden rush of sugar, your pancreas normally makes lots of insulin, which allows the body to use the sugar or store it away.

So why do things start going wrong?

Your remarkable body can cope with any mix of foods, but there is one thing that it may struggle with: a little too much food too often over many years.

It can be difficult to imagine what an extra tiny amount each day adds up to over time, but, to give you an idea, an extra small apple every day, for instance, will add around 4 lb to your weight in a year. Which means that ten years later you will be 40lb heavier! That is 2 st 12 lb (or 18kg).

If even an apple can make me put on weight, you may ask, why should I bother making ‘healthy’ choices?

That’s because all foods are not equal. Certain types of food are more satisfying, and will keep you feeling full for longer, whereas others with the same calorie content are more rapidly absorbed by the body, after which you will quickly feel hungry again.

So the type of food you eat affects the amount you eat overall. For instance, it’s easy to see that an additional two squares of milk chocolate (similar calorie count) are far more likely to slip down than an apple every day. Similarly, if you eat a ready meal (likely to have lots of added sugar), you will probably feel hungry an hour or so after, and might eat more.

But a meal of meat and plenty of fibrous vegetables which has the same calories as that ready meal will leave you feeling satisfied for much longer and stop you snacking.

Three steps to better health

For most people it’s the same, whether you weigh 12 st or 24 st: as a rule of thumb, losing 2½ st (about 15 kg) will be sufficient to take you below your personal fat threshold, strip the fat from your organs and return your blood sugar to normal.

If you weigh less than 12½ st and have type 2, it’s better to think about losing about 10 per cent of your body weight. The approach we developed at Newcastle University to reverse type 2 is simple:

1. Rapid weight loss (eight weeks)

This is very different from the standard, steady-as-you-go approach and while the effect of removing fat from the liver and pancreas is the same whether weight loss is over two months or 12, losing the weight quickly is easier. You’ll have 700 to 800 calories a day — replacing a meal with a complete nutrition drink is the easiest option (find them in supermarkets and chemists). Do discuss your plans with your doctor in advance.

2. Return to normal eating (four weeks)

WE suggest starting by replacing your evening shake with a small meal; after two weeks, replace your lunch shake with another small meal, then two weeks later add in breakfast and stop all shakes (each meal is 400 to 500 calories).

3. Keep the weight down long term

As a rough guide, you’ll need only three-quarters of the calories you used to eat. For details for the three steps, see my new book.

When you eat more than your body needs, it has to find somewhere to store the extra fat. To begin with, fat will build up under the skin. It can be stored there safely — up to a point.

Then it will start spilling over into the organs of the body, particularly the liver and the pancreas. And this is where it causes type 2 diabetes — in those people susceptible to it.

Most people can tolerate too much fat in the pancreas, and never get type 2 diabetes. But if your pancreas happens to be less able to cope with fat, then you will run into trouble. It is the luck of the draw, depending on which genes you inherited.

This is the major problem of diabetes. It is the failure to make enough insulin at the right time. To make matters worse, in type 2 even the insulin your pancreas does make does not work so well. This is called ‘insulin resistance’. 

The secret life of your pancreas 

And so we come back to the pancreas, where it all starts. Until recently, all we knew about this hand-sized organ came from looking at it after death or surgery to remove it. 

But then, one day in 2014, one of my team, Dr Mavin Macauley, made the amazing discovery I referred to earlier, when he scanned people without diabetes and discovered their lovely plump, smooth pancreases. Eureka!

Even now, very few specialists in diabetes know that a person who has type 2 diabetes has a shrunken pancreas. It is only just beginning to be talked about, and comes as a surprise to many doctors.

Adapted from Your Simple Guide To Reversing Type 2 Diabetes by Professor Roy Taylor, published on May 6 by Short Books at £8.99. © Professor Roy Taylor 2021. 

To order a copy for £7.91 (offer valid to May 11, 2021, with free UK P&P on orders over £20), visit mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3308 9193.

Olive oil consumption can prevent non-communicable diseases and POSSIBLY COVID-19 : Review

Abstract:
The Mediterranean diet is appraised as the premier dietary regimen and its espousal is correlated with the prevention of degenerative diseases and extended longevity.

The consumption of olive oil stands out as the most peculiar feature of the Mediterranean diet. Olive oil rich in various bioactive compounds like oleanolic acid, oleuropein, oleocanthal, and hydroxytyrosol is known for its anti-inflammatory as well as cardioprotective property.

Recently in silico studies have indicated that phytochemicals present in olive oil are a potential candidate to act against SARS-CoV-2. Although extensive studies on olive oil and its phytochemical composition; still, some lacunas persist in understanding how the phytochemical composition of olive oil is dependent on upstream processing.

The signaling pathways regulated by olive oil in the restriction of various diseases is also not clear. To answer these queries, a detailed search of research and review articles published between 1990 to 2019 were reviewed in this effect. Olive oil consumption was found to be advantageous for various chronic non-communicable diseases.

Olive oil’s constituents are having potent anti-inflammatory activities and thus restrict the progression of various inflammation-linked diseases ranging from arthritis to cancer. But it is also notable that the amount and nature of phytochemical composition of household olive oil are regulated by its upstream processing and the physicochemical properties of this oil can give a hint regarding the manufacturing method as well as its therapeutic.

Moreover, daily uptake of olive oil should be monitored as excessive intake can cause body weight gain and change in the basal metabolic index. So, it can be concluded that olive oil consumption is beneficial for human health, and particularly for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, breast cancer, and inflammation. The simple way of processing olive oil maintains the polyphenol constituents and provides more protection against non-communicable diseases and SARS-CoV-2. 

Journal Title: Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology 2021

OLIVE OIL IS NOT A MEDICINE AND NOT APPROVED FOR COVID-19 ANY DISEASE. PLEASE DISCUSS WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE TAKING IT

Overweight and obesity are increasingly common conditions in the United States. They are caused by the increase in the size and the amount of fat cells in the body.

Doctors measure body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference to screen and diagnose overweight and obesity.

Obesity is a serious medical condition that can cause complications such as metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, heart disease, diabetes, high blood cholesterol, cancers and sleep disorders

. Treatment depends on the cause and severity of your condition and whether you have complications. Treatments include lifestyle changes, such as heart-healthy eating and increased physical activity, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved weight-loss medicines. For some people, surgery may be a treatment option.

The prevalence of obesity continues to increase in the United States. Obesity is common, serious, and costly. This epidemic is putting a strain on American families, affecting overall health, health care costs, productivity, and military readiness.

Obesity can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. A healthy diet and regular physical activity help people achieve and maintain a healthy weight starting at an early age and continuing throughout life. For more information on why healthy living matters, what CDC is doing to make healthy living easier for all people, and how we are making a difference, explore the options below. Please press link for more information