All About Diabetes

Many research studies have demonstrated that not getting enough sleep affects the body’s ability to manage blood sugar levels and appetite, increasing the risk of obesity and diabetes. (more…)

Carbohydrates present in bread and other bakery products, rice, root crops, cereals, fruits and vegetables contributes to 70 percent of the total dietary intake among Filipinos (2003 FNRI-DOST National Nutrition Survey). Carbohydrate foods may be classified as “available” or “unavailable”. Available carbohydrates are the easily digested food, e.g.white bread and rice, while the unavailable carbohydrates are the slowly digested food, e.g. high fiber foods like kamote and mongo. (more…)

How would you like your favorite entree if it is served without that perfectly boiled rice or a well-blended mashed potato? Anywhere in the world, whatever form they are in, there is an almost universal preference for carbohydrate-rich foods. A day would not seem complete without eating a serving, especially for Filipinos. (more…)

Recent Austrian studies concluded that gastric stimulation could yield significant improvement in glycemic control among morbidly obese type 2 diabetes patients (ODM).

Bohdjalian et al (2009) recruited 24 ODM for a multicenter open-label European feasibility trial. Each of them were treated with insulin and/ or oral hyperglycemic agents and had a body mass index between 33.3 to 49.7 kg/m2. These participants were implanted laparoscopica ly with a TANTALUS system.

The TANTALUS system provided gastric electrical stimulation which is synchronized to the refractory period of gastric electrical activity. It was applied during meals and was evaluated for safety and for improvement of body weight and glucose control in obese type two diabetics.

Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna noted 18 adverse events related to the implant procedure or the device reported in 12 subjects. Accordingly, all were short-lived and resolved with no sequelae.

It was also noted in the large majority of subjects the significant reduction of weight by 4.5 +/- 2.7 kg (p < 0.05) and HbA1c by 0.5 +/- 0.3% (p < 0.05). Moreover, a subgroup (n = 11) on stable or reduced oral medication, registered a weight reduction by 6.3 +/- 3.4 kg (p < 0.05) and HbA1c by 0.9 +/- 0.4% (p < 0.05). The group on insulin (n = 6) had no significant changes in weight and HbA1c.

In conclusion, such findings prove the effectivity of the TANTALUS system among obese type 2 diabetic subjects. “Gastric electrical stimulation can potentially improve glucose metabolism and induce weight loss in obese diabetic patients, who are not well-controlled on oral antidiabetic therapy,” the researchers explained. “Further evaluation is required to determine whether this effect is due to induced weight loss and/or to direct signal dependent mechanisms.”

Do you regularly have headaches? Does your heart race? Are you irritable before meals? Do you feel confused or unable to make a decision? Are you constantly hungry? Are you always tired? Like Hollywood celebrities Burt Reynolds and Merv Griffin, you may be suffering from hypoglycemia, popularly known as “low blood sugar.” (more…)

How can the elderly keep from having low blood sugars at night?

Hypoglycemia, defined variably as blood sugar <60 mg/dL, is one of the dreaded complications of diabetes management. It usually hinders the achievement of a satisfactory glucose control level because of the fear of developing symptoms of hypoglycemia – palpitations, excessive sweating, tremors, and disorientation. These “warning signs” are triggered by counter-regulatory hormones, like adrenalin, which are defense mechanisms of our body to increase sugar levels back to normal. (more…)