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What is the perfect treatment that can cure type 2 diabetes (!) and lead to effortless weight loss? Listen to the eloquent Dr. Jason Fung describe it in this 12-minute part of a longer interview. *** Observe: This treatment is extremely effective. If you have diabetes and take blood sugar lowering medication (especially insulin injections) you may need to reduce the doses a lot to avoid potentially dangerous hypoglycemia. You may instantly become too healthy for your medication. *** In the full 45 minute interview Dr. Fung goes into more detail about exactly how to add fasting to your low-carb...

As a young ER doctor, Peter Attia felt contempt for a patient with diabetes. She was overweight, he thought, and thus responsible for the fact that she needed a foot amputation. But years later, Attia received an unpleasant medical surprise that led him to wonder: is our understanding of diabetes right? Could the precursors to diabetes cause obesity, and not the other way around? A look at how assumptions may be leading us to wage the wrong medical war. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers...

Can a person be "cured" of Type 2 Diabetes? Dr. Sarah Hallberg provides compelling evidence that it can, and the solution is simpler than you might think. Dr. Sarah Hallberg is the Medical Director of the Medically Supervised Weight Loss Program at IU Health Arnett, a program she created. She is board certified in both obesity medicine and internal medicine and has a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology. She has recently created what is only the second non-surgical weight loss rotation in the country for medical students. Her program has consistently exceeded national benchmarks for weight loss, and has been...

Dr David Perlmutter: Grain Brain, Eating Fat Makes You Smart, and Why (Brain) Size Matters [VIDEO]

Gary Taubes, a nationally known science writer, gives a lecture about obesity. The event was held at New Brighton School and was sponsored by the Santa Cruz County Office of Education.

New research suggests that half of all U.S. adults have diabetes or pre-diabetes. Almost 40 percent have pre-diabetes, meaning elevated blood sugar levels that could lead to full-fledged disease. Studies have shown lifestyle changes can delay or prevent diabetes in these people. Let's cut the crap and define "lifestyle changes" because it's simple: Stop eating fast carbohydrates. You've been systematically lied to about what should be on your plate. The old "food pyramid" was not only wrong it was basically inverted from reality with one exception -- "sweets." Breads and cereals, as with starchy vegetables like potatoes, are virtually indistinguishable...

Half of all U.S. adults have diabetes or blood sugar so high they're almost diabetic, researchers reported Tuesday. *snip* It's almost all Type 2 diabetes, which is caused by poor diet, obesity and a lack of exercise.

"This is a plant that only grows in Israel, Jordan and the Sinai, and has been used traditionally by Bedouins for controlling diabetes. I've been screening different Israeli plants for diabetes and this is one of the best candidates." –Jonathan Gorelick (Israel)—[Israel21c.org] Ingesting an indigenous Israeli aromatic shrub called Chiliadenus iphionoides (more commonly, "sharp varthemia" or "Goldilocks") could improve insulin secretion and glucose absorption in people with diabetes, according to plant biologist Jonathan Gorelick, scientific director of the Judea Regional Research and Development Center in Israel. (Photo via Israel21c.org) The center's efforts to isolate the plant's active compounds—and to assure...

Characteristics passed between generations are not decided solely by DNA, but can be brought about by other material in cells, new research shows. Scientists studied proteins found in cells, known as histones, which are not part of the genetic code, but act as spools around which DNA is wound. Histones are known to control whether or not genes are switched on. Researchers found that naturally occurring changes to these proteins, which affect how they control genes, can be sustained from one generation to the next and so influence which traits are passed on. The finding demonstrates for the first time...

Scientists now know that our DNA is being altered all the time by environment, lifestyle and traumatic events. Genetic faults caused by trauma, poor lifestyle or environmental stress can be passed down to future generations, scientists at the University of Cambridge have discovered. Previously large studies have shown that devastating events such as famine can scar future generations, making them more prone to obesity and diabetes. However it is the first time that the biological mechanism for the effect has been seen. Although the same genes are passed down through generations, scientists now know that our DNA is being altered...

A wildly disproportionate amount of what is proposed for healthcare reform involves technical matters. Ten years ago, the pundits assured us that the forced adoption of electronic health records would save billions and revolutionize health care. Unfortunately, EHRs have cost billions, are almost universally despised by providers, and are responsible for thousands of errors—some of which have proved to be fatal. The situation is bad enough that even the clueless Feds have decided to back off on some of their more onerous EHR requirements, at least temporarily. Other voices have suggested that the answer lies in drug discovery, massively expanded;...

With rising obesity, America faces an increased number of type 2 diabetes cases. With an aging Baby Boom generation, the country is bracing for an increase in Alzheimer's disease. Could the two be related? Previous studies have hinted at such a link. But researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis say they have nailed down the connection. Their study, using mice, found that elevated glucose in the blood – a primary consequence of diabetes -- can rapidly increase levels of amyloid beta, which shows up in brain plaques in Alzheimer’s patients. The buildup of these plaques is...

Patients with type-2 diabetes who are overweight but not obese outlive diabetics of normal weight, scientists reported on Monday, in another example of the "obesity paradox." Although public health officials issue dire warnings about the consequences of overweight, and employers are pressuring workers to slim down via "wellness programs," the relationship between weight and longevity is paradoxical: Studies show that although obesity increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), overweight patients with CVD live longer than patients of normal weight.

I can’t wait to get my next A1C test done (who says that?! but it’s true). I am now two-plus months into my use of new inhaled insulin Afrezza, and frankly I’m blown away by how well it performs (ooh, pun!) I’ve been hesitant to be too much of a cheerleader for Afrezza, because I thought maybe I was experiencing beginner’s luck – the thrill of any shiny new diabetes treatment can wear off pretty quickly – and given how controversial this drug is, I didn’t want to stir the pot unnecessarily. But sorry Naysayers, Afrezza is the bomb. At...

April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day was inaugurated by a UN Resolution (62/139), adopted by the General Assembly on December 18, 2007. This soon transformed into Autism Awareness Month, which spawned Autism Acceptance Month in 2011 (more on that later). No doubt, a condition affecting approximately 1 in 68 children in the US (according to the CDC) is worthy of a month’s recognition. Compare that figure to the 1 in 150 rate, reported in 2000. In keeping with the proclamation, let us become aware, and try not to get smothered by the semantics… The term “autism” was first used...

Imprisoned journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal is in intensive care for treatment of diabetes and is “not doing well,” his family said Tuesday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Abu-Jamal, 60, was taken from the Pennsylvania state Correctional Institution in Mahanoy to Schuylkill Medical Center in Pottsville Monday after passing out, his wife Wadiya Jamal said outside the hospital. She says prison officials told her he is in diabetic shock. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer: His blood sugar level was very high – 779 – when he arrived at the hospital and remains at more than 300, she said....

In recent years, a deficiency of vitamin D has been linked to type 2 diabetes and heart disease, two illnesses that commonly occur together and are the most common cause of illness and death in Western countries. Both disorders are rooted in chronic inflammation, which leads to insulin resistance and the buildup of artery-clogging plaque. Now, new research in mice at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests vitamin D plays a major role in preventing the inflammation that leads to type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis. Further, the way key immune cells behave without adequate vitamin D may...

In a wood-paneled study lined with books and framed family photos, the prospective presidential candidate looks into the camera. “I’m Mike Huckabee,” he says with all the folksy charm that propelled a career as a preacher, politician and broadcaster. But this is no campaign ad. It is an Internet infomercial for a dubious diabetes treatment, in which Mr. Huckabee, who is contemplating a run for the Republican nomination in 2016, tells viewers to ignore “Big Pharma” and instead points them to a “weird spice, kitchen-cabinet cure,” consisting of dietary supplements. “Let me tell you, diabetes can be reversed,” Mr. Huckabee...

Radio, TV and voiceover performer Gary Owens died on Feb. 12 at his home in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. Owens, who was 80, had been a diabetic since the age of 8. Owens was probably best known as the announcer on NBC’s “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” (1968-73), with his trademark hand-over-the-ear announcing style. On the show, John Wayne once imitated Owens announcing. The phrase Gary created on his KMPC radio show, “Beautiful downtown Burbank,” later became a nightly catchphrase on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show.” Owens also lent his voice to more than 3,000 cartoons, providing the voice of...

Consumer doggie DNA testing is old hat at this point, having been around since 2007. But cat-lovers who wish to decipher their pet's breed are out of luck -- no such tests exist for felines. That fact reflects the state of the underlying science. Since the first full dog genome was sequenced ten years ago, geneticists have identified hundreds of genes behind canine diseases and physical traits. By comparison, just a handful of such genes have been identified in cats. But a group of geneticists is working to close this gap by sequencing 99 domestic cats. This week the researchers...