Metabolism

New Insights Into the Gut-Brain Connection

We have known for some time about the critical gut-brain connection that relays messages in both directions; in fact, the gut has even been referred to by some researchers as the “second brain.” New insights into this connection suggest that gut health may influence mood and overall well-being, underscoring the importance of maintaining a healthy and diverse gut microbiome.

How are the Gut and the Brain Connected?

For some time, we have known that there’s a gut-brain connection that relays messages in both directions. For instance, when your brain tells you it’s time to eat, it sends signals to your gut that trigger the sensation of a growling stomach. Conversely, gastrointestinal problems can prompt signals to the brain that cause anxiety or depressive episodes. This relationship has led to the discovery that many metabolic health conditions may originate in the gut and eventually affect the other organs in the body.

One way that the gut can influence metabolism is by allowing specific types of microbes called endotoxins to leak into the blood supply. Once the endotoxins get past the stomach lining and enter the bloodstream, they can trigger an immune system response. In response to these endotoxins, the immune system initiates inflammation, creating a barrier that prevents the spread of these foreign microbes. However, on the downside, this natural process also creates greater resistance to insulin and leptins, which are hormones responsible for controlling hunger. Through this chain of events, these harmful endotoxins may lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease.

The gut also has its own separate nervous system, called the enteric nervous system (ENS), which sends messages directly to the brain. Since it consists of more than 500 million neurons and operates independently, many scientists refer to it as a second brain. This system of neurons regulates digestion by prompting the release of stomach acids that break down food in the gut. It also controls the contracting and expanding of certain muscles which are also integral to the digestive process.

The ENS uses the vagus nerve, which extends from the brain down to the abdomen, to send messages back and forth between the brain and the gut. This is how information about gastrointestinal issues is carried to the brain. This connection also carries serotonin, a feel-good neurotransmitter, from the gut to the brain. More recent research has found that neurons in the gut also use this pathway to send messages to neurons in the vagus nerve itself.

How Does the Gut-Brain Connection Affect Mental Health?

A study conducted at Australia’s Flinders University found significant activity between the neurons in the gut lining and those in the vagus nerve. The researchers looked more closely at the ENS and how it interacts with the gut to see how the communication between the gut and the brain can affect the development of disease. Their hope was that their findings could lead to new treatments for metabolic diseases. They focused their research on the viscerofugal neurons in the wall of the gut, specifically examining how those neurons interacted with the neurons in the spinal cord.

Using mice, the researchers focused on the colon because it rotates in a circular motion as it contracts. This process is known as the colonic motor complex and, although the reason is unknown, previous research has found that viscerofugal neurons are very active as the colon contracts. During the study, researchers monitored colon activity and the firing of electrical impulses, which designated viscerofugal neuron activity.

They found that changes in the colon caused the neurons to fire at an accelerated pace. They also noticed that the firing of those neurons was synchronized to match the activity of the neurons that are located within the spinal cord. Researchers believe this is how the ENS neurons in the gut send information to the sympathetic nervous system in the spinal cord. From there, the information is carried to the brain. It’s believed that this system of relaying messages is responsible for linking emotional well-being to physical conditions, especially gastrointestinal changes.

These findings are especially significant because we now understand that many physical and emotional health conditions originate in the gut. Parkinson’s disease is just one example of a health condition that starts in the gut and whose effects are transmitted along the vagus nerve to the brain. Research into Parkinson’s disease has found that adult men who suffer from constipation are four times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. This corroborates the idea that the earliest symptoms of the disease start in the gut. Other medical conditions that may begin with gut problems include autism, dementia, multiple sclerosis and stroke. As more research focuses on this crucial gut-brain connection, the importance of keeping your gut healthy is even more evident.

Improving Gut Health Naturally

Aside from eating a healthy and varied diet, the following suggestions are great ways to ensure optimal gut health as you age.

Consume More Probiotics

Probiotics are microbes in your gut that benefit overall health. Your body relies on a steady influx of probiotics to maintain diversity in the gut microbiome. You can get probiotics from eating a broad range of fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, kombucha, kimchi and fermented vegetables. If you’re concerned you’re not getting enough probiotics in your diet, you can also take a high-quality probiotic supplement.

Consume Prebiotic Fiber

Prebiotics are essential for helping healthy bacteria thrive in your gut, and they may also help strengthen and multiply the probiotics in your gut. Asparagus, bananas, garlic and onions are rich sources of this unique type of fiber.

Reduce Sugar Intake

If you eat foods that are high in refined sugar, you’re just feeding the harmful bacteria in your gut. This creates an imbalance that leads to many problems, including metabolic conditions. Even artificial sweeteners can increase your risk for developing heart disease and diabetes, so it’s advisable to reduce your intake of all sweeteners as much as possible.

In general, a healthy diet, coupled with plenty of exercise and quality sleep, will help you maintain a healthier gut. It will also reduce your risk for most diseases. Even making small dietary changes can have a big impact on your gut health, which, in turn, will boost your emotional health.

Do You Suffer From a Melatonin Deficiency?

Jun 26 by Ewcopywriting

It’s commonly known that healthy melatonin production is an essential to a restful sleep. As nighttime comes and we prepare for bed, our internal clock, or circadian rhythm, signals the brain that it’s time for sleep. In response, the brain releases melatonin, a hormone that’s used to regulate sleepiness and wakefulness. If you have trouble sleeping, a melatonin deficiency may be to blame. Learn how to recognize the signs and how to get more of this sleep hormone.

How Does Melatonin Benefit Human Health?

While setting the stage for slumber is one role of melatonin, it does much more than just help people fall asleep. Even after you fall asleep, melatonin acts as a powerful antioxidant, assisting the body in maintaining health and repairing damage throughout the night.

As melatonin helps regulate sleep, it also influences metabolism by telling the body when it should be active. During sleep, the body enters into a fasting period, so one of the roles melatonin plays is to slow the metabolism and make the body more insulin resistant. This helps store energy for the waking period, when that extra energy will be needed. As the individual awakens and starts their day, the brain stops releasing melatonin and, as a result, the metabolism speeds up and the body becomes hypersensitive to insulin.

As a powerful antioxidant, this sleep hormone also helps to fight free radicals in the body. In this way, sufficient melatonin levels also help protect against unhealthy cell growth throughout the body. It helps guard against heart disease by promoting better cardiovascular health and also strengthens the immune system.

Looking at the way melatonin helps to maintain a healthy immune system, researchers recently found that the hormone may also help protect people from contracting viruses like COVID-19. In addition to being a powerful antioxidant, melatonin possesses potent anti-inflammatory processes, and can help maintain healthy inflammatory processes throughout the body.

In recent studies, melatonin has been found effective in modulating the lung inflammation that results from coronavirus infection. It also has been found to limit the production of proinflammatory cytokines and to keep immune cells in the lungs from becoming infected. Some research suggests the lung tissue damage that COVID-19 causes can also be prevented by the presence of melatonin. While researchers continue to investigate the possibility of using melatonin as a possible COVID-19 treatment, there’s already enough evidence to suggest a sufficient supply of melatonin is beneficial to our overall health.

What Causes a Melatonin Deficiency?

Unfortunately, many people experience a melatonin deficiency without realizing that’s the source of their health problems. While insomnia and similar sleep disorders are one sign that the brain isn’t producing sufficient quantities of melatonin, there are other indications that you may lack a sufficient supply of this hormone.

In addition to having difficulty falling asleep, it may also be difficult to stay asleep. Even if someone with an insufficient supply of melatonin stays asleep throughout the night, they will likely experience a restless sleep. A melatonin deficiency may also cause an individual to awaken too early and find that they can’t get back to sleep.

People with insufficient melatonin levels will often experience symptoms in their waking hours as well. They may awaken feeling fatigued or they won’t feel as refreshed and energetic as they should. They may experience depressive episodes and suffer cognitive impairments, such as forgetfulness and confusion. Hypertension and increased sensitivity to stress can also be signs of insufficient melatonin levels, which can also expose them to a higher risk for heart disease.

Boosting Melatonin Production Naturally

A doctor can help confirm whether you’re suffering from a melatonin deficiency. Once you know your brain isn’t producing enough of this hormone, there are some steps you can take to resolve the problem. Here are a few suggestions.

Shut Down One Hour Before Bed

Melatonin production relies on the circadian rhythm to tell the brain when it’s night, but the blue light that the screens of electronic devices emits disrupts that process. The light tricks the brain into thinking it’s still daylight, so it won’t produce melatonin when it should. Research suggests that shutting down devices one hour before going to bed will solve this problem.

Boost Daylight Exposure

If you spend the majority of your day indoors, you may be inhibiting the way your circadian rhythm functions. By spending some time outside, where you can benefit from direct sunlight exposure, you’ll be helping your brain adjust to the 24 -hour cycle. Getting that sunlight earlier in the day will help kick start the production of melatonin earlier in the evening.

Take a Melatonin Supplement

You can also add an evening supplement to your routine. For example, Melachron is a supplement that’s engineered to help you fall asleep sooner and stay asleep throughout the night. This supplement uses chronobiology to provide a steady supply of melatonin, so you’ll be able to sleep throughout the night. The seven-hour supply of melatonin will help you sleep at night without leaving you feeling groggy or fatigued in the morning.

Darken Your Bedroom

Just as getting sunlight in the day will help you fine-tune your biological clock, keeping your bedroom dark will also help. Eliminating light as much as possible will make the melatonin response in your brain that much more powerful, so you’ll feel sleepier in your bedroom at night. A darker bedroom will help you relax better, so you’ll also have a more restful sleep throughout the night.

New Research Suggests Exercise Protects Against Prostate Cancer

Jun 10 by Ewcopywriting

The prostate, located between the penis and the bladder, is an essential part of the male reproductive system as it creates a fluid that’s used to carry sperm and keep it in a liquid state. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for men to develop prostate cancer, and while men of any age can develop this condition, it’s more likely to affect older men. A new study finds that exercise protects against prostate cancer, adding to the natural ways that men can reduce their risks for this type of cancer.

What is Prostate Cancer?

Overall, prostate cancer is a widespread problem: As the American Cancer Society reports, there were 174,650 new cases in 2019. A total of 31,620 deaths were also attributed to prostate cancer last year. While advanced prostate cancer can be fatal, getting an early diagnosis will improve the effectiveness of treatment. When diagnosed early enough, standard treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are effective in eradicating this type of cancer.

Causes and Risk Factors

About half of men develop prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) cells as they age. These are precancerous cells that increase the likelihood of developing prostate cancer. PIN cells are usually not cancerous as they start out, but may become cancerous over time. Even if they do become cancerous, they may be low-grade cancer cells, which means they will not spread and grow. However, in some cases, the PIN cells do become high-grade cancer cells, which means they will multiply and spread cancer to other cells. This condition does require treatment.

While we don’t know what causes PIN cells to develop as men age, there are certain risk factors for prostate cancer. The following risk factors can affect whether or not someone will develop prostate cancer:

Age: Men over 50 are more likely to be affected.
Race: Black males are most likely to develop prostate cancer, followed by white males. Asian and Hispanic males are least likely to develop the condition.
Heredity: A family history of prostate cancer also raises the risks.
Genetics: Defective BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes may also increase your risk of contracting this type of cancer.

Symptoms of prostate cancer include:

difficulty initiating and maintaining a urine stream
unusually frequent need to urinate
bloody semen or urine
pain during urination, or during ejaculation
erectile dysfunction
experiencing pain when in a sitting position, which is the result of an enlarged prostate

Research Suggests Exercise Protects Against Prostate Cancer

While some risk factors for developing prostate cancer are known, research has focused on finding additional factors that influence who is more likely to get the disease. Some of this research has found that a deficiency of certain nutrients, such as folic acid, vitamin E and calcium, does increase the risk of prostate cancer. While ensuring you get enough of these nutrients can help, a newer study suggests physical activity also plays an important role.

A joint study conducted by researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Bristol found evidence that exercise protects against prostate cancer. The researchers examined the medical records for 79,148 men who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, alongside the records for 61,106 men who were cancer-free. They compared these records to the known risk factors for developing prostate cancer.

Examining the records, researchers found that those who had a genetic predisposition for being physically active had a 51 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer.

Although the study looked at a total of 22 risk factors, the researchers noted that exercise and physical activity had the biggest impact on the likelihood of developing prostate cancer. Dr. Sarah Lewis, who co-authored the study, suggested that men can reduce their risks for prostate cancer by living more physically active lifestyles.

Natural Ways to Reduce Your Risks for Prostate Cancer

In addition to getting more exercise, there are more natural ways to reduce prostate cancer risks. Here are a few suggestions.

Eat Red Foods

Tomatoes, watermelon and other fruits with a red pulp contain a compound called lycopene. This is a powerful antioxidant that may reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer for men. While research is ongoing, it’s believed that redder tomatoes contain more potent concentrations of lycopene.

Add More Plant-Based Foods

While eating more red foods may boost your resistance to prostate cancer, all plant-based foods can help. By eating a broad range of fruits and vegetables, you’ll be giving your body an ample supply of nutrients to boost your immune system and fight off all types of cancer.

Take a Dietary Supplement

Adding a supplement to your daily routine can also help you maintain the nutrients your body needs to guard against prostate cancer. Prostachron is specifically formulated with vitamins and other nutrients that help support a healthy immune system and guard against the development of prostate cancer.

Lose Weight

Limiting your calorie intake and getting more physical activity will help you get your weight under control. Obesity weakens your immune system and promotes the conditions that encourage the growth of cancer cells, so getting your weight under control can have a significant impact on prostate health.

Increase Your Coffee Consumption

Some research indicates that drinking three to four cups of coffee each day can decrease your risk of developing prostate cancer. The 2014 study indicated that every three cups of coffee consumed decreased prostate cancer risk by 11 percent. The researchers also noted that boiling coffee, instead of brewing it, also had an impact on the study’s results.

Melatonin and Metabolism: How the Sleep Hormone Supports Healthy Weight

May 29 by Ewcopywriting

Melatonin is most often thought of as the “sleep hormone,” as it is produced by the body in response to lower levels of light at the end of the day in order to promote sleep. New research finds a link between melatonin and metabolism, suggesting the sleep hormone is also essential in maintaining a healthy weight.

Research Links Melatonin and Metabolism

There is a confirmed link between melatonin and metabolism; but how does a hormone that promotes sleep also help the body burn fat? In a recent study, it was discovered that melatonin helps the body to make a special kind of fat cell that actually works to burn calories.

In the study, 16 rats were divided into two groups and each group was fed exactly the same diet. The only difference was that the first group was given water mixed with a melatonin supplement, while the rats in the second group drank regular water.

Once the trial period was over, the researchers conducted tests on all of the rats to get an accurate count of brown and white fat (adipose) cells. These two types of cells are of particular interest, because brown fat cells burn fat and encourage weight loss, while white fat cells store calories and promote weight gain. The rats who drank the mixture of melatonin and water were found to have significantly more brown fat cells than the rats who weren’t given the supplement.

These findings are especially interesting in that all of the rats were fed the same diet and engaged in similar levels of physical activity. Dr. Russel Reiter, who co-authored the study, explained that the melatonin had a positive effect on the brown fat cells in the rats’ blood. He suggested that the hormone encouraged the production of more brown fat cells, while also causing white fat cells to turn brown.

These are the same brown fat cells that are produced as the result of physical activity, so there’s hope that this research may lead to new treatments for weight loss and obesity. Even though melatonin is used by the brain to promote sleep, melatonin supplements do not make people overly drowsy like sleeping pills do. This means the side effects of taking a melatonin supplement for reasons other than sleep are minimal and that it is safer than most over-the-counter medications.

Why Does Sleep Play a Role in Weight Management?

Even before researchers found a link between melatonin and metabolism, it was known that sleeping habits played a significant role in obesity and weight loss. In a previous study, it was discovered that the resting metabolic rate was lowered in men who didn’t get enough quality sleep. A group of 15 men were deprived of sleep for a 24hour period, and afterwards, had their resting metabolic rates (RMR) examined. Researchers found that their RMR were 5 percent lower than normal. Additionally, their metabolic rates after eating were 20 percent lower, causing more fat to be stored in the body.

More research has found that poor sleep results in a greater risk of weight gain and obesity. While children with insufficient sleep cycles are 89 percent more likely to become obese, adults also face a 55 percent increased risk of obesity as the result of poor sleep. This may be the result of a combination of poor melatonin production and the development of poor nutritional habits that often accompanies sleep deprivation.

One study followed the sleeping habits of 60,000 non-obese nurses over a 16-year period. Researchers found that the nurses who got fewer than seven hours of sleep per night, averaging at 5.5 hours nightly, were 15 percent more likely to become obese within the 16-year period.

The problem is compounded by the fact that spending more time awake leads to frequent snacking and overeating. This is especially true of people who work unusual hours, such as graveyard shifts, because they tend to eat irregularly and exercise less. This adds to the problem of weight gain, which is further aggravated by a lack of sufficient sleep.

How You Can Maintain a Healthy Circadian Rhythm

Your body produces melatonin naturally, but the release of a sufficient amount of the hormone relies on maintaining a healthy circadian rhythm, or biological clock. The circadian rhythm regulates sleep and wakefulness by releasing hormones, such as melatonin, and the circadian rhythm itself is regulated by exposure to daylight and the darkness of night. These tips can help you use the changing of day into night to better regulate your own circadian rhythm.

Turn Off Electronic Devices

Your circadian rhythm uses the rising and setting of the sun to determine the best time for releasing melatonin, but it can be tricked by artificial light. This is why it’s a good idea to turn off electronic devices and dim lights at least one hour before bed. This gives your brain time to adjust and wind down for the night.

Get More Light During the Day

It’s just as important to expose yourself to natural sunlight as much as possible during the morning and early afternoon hours. If you’re not getting this sunlight exposure, your circadian rhythm can be thrown off balance and may not produce adequate amounts of melatonin at bedtime. At the very least, try to work next to an open window that’s facing the sun in the morning or afternoon.

Exercise Every Day

Getting at least 30 minutes of moderate-to-high intensity exercise each day will also help your body maintain a reliable circadian rhythm. If possible, you should exercise outdoors, or in a fitness center with plenty of windows. This will allow you to maximize your sunlight exposure, while also helping you promote better weight loss and muscle growth. This will all help your brain produce more sufficient levels of melatonin in the evening.

Eat Melatonin-Rich Foods

There are also a number of natural foods that contain melatonin, so eating a more varied diet that includes some of theses foods can help. Some examples include walnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, tomatoes, cherries and fennel. A couple of spices that are also excellent sources of the hormone are coriander and cardamom. Since melatonin promotes a healthier metabolism, adding these foods to your diet can help you lose weight and sleep better. If you are finding it hard to eat enough melatonin-rich foods, you can take a high-quality melatonin supplement to help you fall asleep more quickly and enjoy a more restful sleep.

The Amazing Health Benefits of Bitter Melon

May 13 by Ewcopywriting

Bitter melon is a little-known fruit that looks very similar to the cucumber and zucchini, which is because it comes from the same family of plants. While each type of food offers some health benefits, bitter melon may surpass its relatives in what it can do for the human body. Among the vast health benefits of bitter melon, recent research finds that this plant food may promote healthy cell growth, helping to protect against the spread of cancer.

What is Bitter Melon?

Originating in South India, bitter melon was first imported by China in the 1300s and, as it gained popularity, was highly exported to Africa and parts of the Caribbean. The food is particularly bitter, which is how it gets its name, and for that reason has become a staple food in Asian cuisine.

It’s long been known that bitter melon is good for human health, particularly because it’s low in calories. At just 20 calories per cup, you can satisfy hunger cravings without filling up on large amounts of calories. Additionally, bitter melon is packed with vitamins and nutrients. Some of the nutritional benefits it provides includes significant servings of vitamins A, B6, C and D. Additionally, it’s packed with calcium, iron and magnesium.

Beyond these essential nutrients, research has found that bitter melon may be responsible for helping us guard against common health conditions that can affect longevity and overall quality of life. For instance, some recent research has found that bitter melon may encourage healthy cell growth, helping to protect against the spread of certain types of cancer.

How Does Bitter Melon Promote Healthy Cell Growth?

A study conducted at Missouri’s Saint Louis University used mice to determine how bitter melon affected the development and spread of cancerous tumors. In the first stage of the study, bitter melon extract was injected into various types of cancer cells, including those from breast and prostate cancer subjects. In this initial part of the research, it was found that the extract seemed to prevent the spread of cancer cells, but Professor Ratna Ray, who headed the project, wanted to confirm those findings.

Using laboratory mice with tongue cancer, the research team looked to see how and why bitter melon appeared to discourage the spread of cancerous cells. In uninterrupted conditions, the body allows fat and glucose to feed cancer cells, which helps them grow and multiply. However, once the bitter melon extract was introduced into the cancer cells, those cells were no longer able to draw nourishment from that process. As a result, cancer cells were unable to continue to spread.

The results were similar in other types of animal testing, showing that the bitter melon extract limited cancer growth by nearly 50 percent in all studies. Additionally, the extract was able to kill the cancer cells to which it was exposed in some of the tests.

While these results are promising, Professor Ray says results in human subjects may differ. She hopes to duplicate the findings in human cancer patients to prove that bitter melon can be effective in promoting healthy cell growth and discouraging the spread of various types of cancer. In the meantime, bitter melon is still a healthy food and can benefit anyone who adds it to their diet. In fact, there are many more health benefits of bitter melon; some of them are listed below.

Additional Health Benefits of Bitter Melon

Helps Manage Blood Sugar Levels

In a 90-day study, researchers monitored the blood sugar levels for 24 adults, who were administered daily doses of bitter melon extract. They found that the 2,000 mg daily dose of bitter melon was sufficient to lower blood sugar levels and keep hemoglobin A1c regulated. Hemoglobin A1c is used to test the glucose levels in diabetics.

In a similar study, but with 40 participants, the same amount of bitter melon was helpful in moderating blood sugar levels. More importantly, the researchers in this study found that the bitter melon extract decreased the amount of fructosamine. Lower fructosamine meant subjects exhibited better regulated blood sugar over a longer period of time.

Boosts Heart Health

An individual with high cholesterol will develop the buildup of plaque in their blood vessels, which can interfere with the functioning of the heart. Since slower blood flow forces the heart to work harder, the risk of heart failure is increased.

In a study on bitter melon extract, researchers found that the fruit helped reduce cholesterol levels in mice. As a result, heart health was improved, and the risk of heart failure was reduced. In a related study, researchers noted that the amount of bitter melon administered correlated to the amount of cholesterol in the blood, meaning greater amounts of bitter melon reduced cholesterol levels by that much more.

Helps Weight Loss

Finally, bitter melon can help you maintain a healthy weight in two ways. As previously mentioned, it’s a low-calorie food, so you can eat more of it without ingesting a high amount of calories. Additionally, each one-cup serving contains two grams of fiber. Since the digestive system takes longer to process fiber, foods that are high in fiber help us to manager hunger and appetite. This ensures you’ll eat less, so your body will burn more stored fat throughout the day.

There’s also research that suggests bitter melon is effective in helping the body burn more belly fat. Subjects in one study were given a daily dose of 4.8 grams of bitter melon extract. They lost about 0.5 inches, or 1.3 cm, of their stomach circumference over a seven week trial period.

Even as research continues to discover the benefits that bitter melon provides, it’s already clear that this fruit is beneficial to human health. Taking a supplement that contains bitter melon can help you stay healthier, and may protect cellular health and heart health, help you to maintain a healthy weight, and help maintain healthy blood sugar levels. While it shouldn’t be viewed as a cure in itself, it can help you better control your health by possibly reducing risks to your overall health.

Researchers Determine What Causes Diabetes

Jan 11 by Ewcopywriting

Your body’s cells use sugar, or glucose, for energy. When you consume foods or beverages that contain sugar, a hormone called insulin pushes the sugar, or blood glucose, from the bloodstream to the various cells in your body. Once this occurs, the cells use the sugar as fuel, allowing them to function as they should. However in someone with type 2 diabetes, the cells don’t respond to insulin as well as they used to. As a result, glucose levels continue to build up in the blood and the cells are deprived of the fuel they need to function. New research focused on exactly what causes diabetes and, in doing so, may have found a method for reversing the condition.

Diabetes Risk Factors

There are many factors that can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. While childhood diabetes is a little more rare, it is occurring more frequently among children who are overweight or obese. Inactivity also increases the risk of developing the condition in children and adults. Research has also found that hypertension and high cholesterol levels increase the risks of developing diabetes as you age.

In a new study, it was also found that consuming ultra-processed foods — packaged foods that contain high amounts of additives and preservatives — also compounds the risk of type 2 diabetes. In this study, conducted at the University of Paris Epidemiology and Statistics Research Center, researchers looked at how consuming ultra-processed foods affected the risk of developing diabetes. The study included 21,800 male participants and 82,907 women, and examined their dietary habits and health conditions over the course of a decade.

Measuring the amount of ultra-processed foods consumed by each subject on a daily basis, the team did confirm a link to a heightened risk for type 2 diabetes. While they couldn’t say exactly which additives caused the increased risk, the researchers noted that certain additives, such as carrageenan, have been previously found to inhibit the processing of blood glucose. Other ingredients may contribute to the diabetes risk by increasing the body’s insulin tolerance, or by inhibiting the production of insulin. The study’s authors recommended limiting the consumption of ultra-processed foods to a minimum as a means of reducing the risk of developing diabetes.

Symptoms of Diabetes

If you suspect you have type 2 diabetes, or if you possess one or more of the risk factors previously discussed, you should consult your doctor immediately. This is especially true if you have observed any of the most common symptoms of the condition, which are listed below:

increased thirst, accompanied by frequent urination
increased appetite
unexplained weight loss
fatigue
blurred vision
sores or injuries that take longer to heal

New Research Uncovers What Causes Diabetes

Today, there are 422 million people living with diabetes throughout the world and 90 percent of those people suffer from type 2 diabetes. These numbers continue to grow year after year and, since there is no cure at this time, much research is focused on discovering what causes diabetes. While previous research has emphasized that it’s possible to manage diabetes by living a healthier lifestyle, a recent clinical study discovered that one lifestyle change may actually reverse the condition. Specifically, the study found that losing a significant amount of weight could reverse the development of type 2 diabetes.

In the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT), led by Professor Roy Taylor, researchers theorized that type 2 diabetes was instigated by too much fat production in the liver. The higher amounts of fat promote insulin resistance and blood glucose production, creating an ongoing cycle in which there’s too much glucose in the blood for the body to use. Once the fat begins affecting the pancreas, the beta-cells contained within it, which are responsible for producing insulin, are harmed.

Professor Taylor suggests that losing a significant amount of weight will reduce the fat content in the liver and pancreas. As a result, the body will be better able to produce insulin and process sugar in the blood. Maintaining a healthy weight can help the body reverse type 2 diabetes in this way.

Natural Ways to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

While there is still not a cure for type 2 diabetes, there are many actions you can take to help keep the condition from developing. The methods of prevention listed here can also be used to manage the condition if you have already been diagnosed with diabetes.

Increase Physical Activity

While losing weight may help you reverse type 2 diabetes, continuing your exercise plan once you have achieved a healthy weight is equally important. While you should get a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate- to high-intensity physical activity each day, doing more will be beneficial. If you engage in different activities that help you burn calories and build muscle, you’ll see better results in a faster amount of time.

Adopt a Healthier Diet

Eliminating sugar as much as possible from your diet and reducing your intake of carbs will also help you prevent the development of the disease. Since sugar and carbohydrates contribute to high blood glucose levels, this is an important step in both preventing and managing type 2 diabetes. Additionally, eating more plant-based foods will help you feel satisfied without building more fat.

Take a Supplement

Now that we know more about what vitamins and nutrients positively impact the processing of blood glucose, it’s easier to obtain those beneficial compounds. Dietary supplements like Diabetichron, are engineered to provide the nutrients our bodies need to process sugar more efficiently. Improved insulin production and glucose processing will help your cells thrive and your organs function more efficiently.

Drink More Water

There are a couple of ways that drinking more water will help prevent or manage type 2 diabetes. First, water will help you maintain a fuller feeling, so you’ll be less tempted to snack on ultra-processed foods and drink fewer sugary beverages. Second, the water will dilute your blood supply, making it easier to process glucose. This means your body will need to produce less insulin and the insulin it does produce will be used more efficiently.