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Diabetes Study Ends Early With a Surprising Result
NY Times ^ | Oct 19, 2012 | Gina Kolata

Posted on 10/20/2012 10:35:47 AM PDT by Innovative

A large federal study of whether diet and weight loss can prevent heart attacks and strokes in overweight and obese people with Type 2 diabetes has ended two years ahead of schedule because the intensive program did not help.

About 25 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes. Many are overweight or obese. On average, the disease increases heart disease risk by 2 to 2 1/2 times, said Dr. Ronald Kahn, chief academic officer at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

Dr. Nathan, though, said the results meant that people with diabetes might have a choice. The group assigned to diet and exercise ended up with about the same levels of cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar as those in the control group, but the dieters used fewer medications.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: diabetes; diet; exercise; health
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To: TexasFreeper2009

My FRiend, I can guarantee you, that those 90+ year olds didn’t have to “do” any exercize, because their life WAS full of exercise! We need to to exercise today because our lifestyles are sedentary compared to those of yesterday.


41 posted on 10/20/2012 11:53:46 AM PDT by Paradox (I want Obama defeated. Period.)
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To: Gay State Conservative

OK. How’d you do it? I am STARVED all the time; with winter coming and stress out the wazoo. How? I need to lose 25 or 30 lbs.


42 posted on 10/20/2012 11:54:17 AM PDT by Twinkie (PEOPLE ARE HURTING IN OBAMA'S ECONOMY . . .)
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To: Sooth2222
300 lb. individuals lost an average of 15 pounds? And the now trim, fit 285 pound individuals saw no significant effect on the incidence of heart attacks and strokes? Somehow, I am not shocked to learn this.

Yep. Somehow I think that the area of nutrition, diet, weight loss and health is not the medical community's forté.

43 posted on 10/20/2012 12:00:52 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (To bid on this tagline space: www.jeffchandlerstaglinespace.com)
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To: Innovative

I think the problem is that the human body tries to resist gradual change, so adapts to such schemes and adjusts for them.

Compare this to the radical approach to diabetes, in which, hospitalized for their own protection, diabetics were put on 600 calorie a day diets for eight weeks.

http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20110624/very-low-calorie-diet-may-reverse-diabetes

It was too fast for the body to adapt, so they shed a lot of weight quickly, including the fat that had been inhibiting their insulin production.


44 posted on 10/20/2012 12:02:51 PM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy (DIY Bumper Sticker: "THREE TIMES,/ DEMOCRATS/ REJECTED GOD")
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To: Paradox

now THAT I will agree with.

All the seniors I have ever known were fairly active, doing things like gardening, crafts, carpentry, ect.

none of them sat around on their butts all day

But they weren’t running marathons, lifting weights, chewing on celery and carrots exclusively all day or had 1% body fat and a six pack.


45 posted on 10/20/2012 12:02:56 PM PDT by TexasFreeper2009 (Obama lied .. the economy died.)
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To: SoDak

Congratulations. Especially that young tot! Life changing aren’t they? Never thought you’d love something, someone that much huh? ;D!


46 posted on 10/20/2012 12:05:23 PM PDT by poobear (Socialism, in the minds of the elites, is a con-game for the serfs, nothing more.)
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To: Twinkie
FWIW, I dropped roughly 50 (fifty) pounds in less than 1 (one) year and really wasn't awfully hungry. I use the Weight Watchers system, exercise compulsively, and don't "cheat". (Well, I don't cheat too much.) My wife also did the Weight Watchers thing -- she's a poster child for this and now weighs the same as she did in High School. Having 2 people in the same household who are doing this (plus a kid who is a veggie health and fitness nut) is very helpful. But I'm almost never hungry. My BMI went from low in the obese-range, through overweight, and now I'm in the "normal" range.
47 posted on 10/20/2012 12:08:28 PM PDT by Sooth2222 ("Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But I repeat myself." M.Twain)
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To: Signalman
A really good book that explains why low-carb is not only the best way to maintain proper weight, but also the most heart healthy diet:

http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307474259/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350755755&sr=1-1&keywords=gary+taubes+why+we+get+fat+and+what+to+do+about+it

Read the book, followed the diet.

To kick start the diet, I ate 200 calories of no-carb food every two hours, except for dinner. For dinner I ate medium portions of what everyone else was eating (except no dessert), and half a medium portion of the starchy food. I did this for two weeks to wean myself off sweets and starches, and to shrink my stomach. Then I went no-carb/high fat.

I've lost 35 pounds since June and I'm never hungry. I also eat very small portions, frequently. I'm munching on pepperoni as I type.

48 posted on 10/20/2012 12:11:13 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (To bid on this tagline space: www.jeffchandlerstaglinespace.com)
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To: Twinkie
OK. How’d you do it? I am STARVED all the time; with winter coming and stress out the wazoo. How? I need to lose 25 or 30 lbs.

1) I was very motivated (long story)

2) I love to walk and live near a mall that's great for walking

3) I had a good amount of free time during that period.

OK...

1) Atkins.Strict Atkins.Much,much easier to stick with than I expected.There's a physiological reason for that which my doctor (who's on the staff of a major Boston hospital) explained to me.In short,it's because of all the protein you're eating.

2) Lots of walking,every day,"Power walking"...meaning almost running.At least 1 1/2 hours a day,usually 2.In good weather I walked outside,in bad weather I walked at the mall.

So,with all that it took me about 2 1/2 months to lose 20 pounds and another 1 1/2 months to lose the last 10.When finished I was just within the "normal" range for my BMI (27,IIRC).And I felt better than I had since graduating from Army basic training.

49 posted on 10/20/2012 12:13:08 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Ambassador Stevens Is Dead And The Chevy Volt Is Alive)
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To: Signalman

I totally agree about that book! It will scare you off carbs for life. I already had to give up gluten because I was diagnosed with celiac disease a year ago and I lost about 30 pounds from that alone. But I had stalled out and my diet was incredibly rich in starches.

I read Why We Get Fat and immediately stopped starches, greatly reduced my carbs, increased my fats and I lost 13 pounds in 5 weeks! That’s super fast for me. With the knowledge of that book, it’s no wonder this study didn’t work.


50 posted on 10/20/2012 12:17:10 PM PDT by retrokitten
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy
diabetics were put on 600 calorie a day diets for eight weeks.

Get back to me in a couple years. Those people will be even fatter than before. Starvation diets only work on a temporary basis. A successful diet entails a PERMANENT change in behavior.

51 posted on 10/20/2012 12:23:12 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (To bid on this tagline space: www.jeffchandlerstaglinespace.com)
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To: Gay State Conservative; Innovative

A friend of mine lost 60# and was freed of diabetes, too, and he had been on the pump.

Genetics is a powerful force in one’s health but we still have to exercise.


52 posted on 10/20/2012 12:27:42 PM PDT by Lady Jag (If you can't make them see the light, let them feel the heat. - Reagan)
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To: Signalman
A really good book that explains why low-carb is not only the best way to maintain proper weight, but also the most heart healthy diet:

http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307474259/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350755755&sr=1-1&keywords=gary+taubes+why+we+get+fat+and+what+to+do+about+it

I also read this book. It is excellent. The real issue is not how much we eat, but what we eat. The carbs/sugars are killing us. I began a high fat/low carb diet 6 months ago. Now I weigh what I did in college. My lipids are excellent and my allergies vanished. It works.

53 posted on 10/20/2012 12:34:29 PM PDT by Blennos
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To: Innovative

People who are overweight also live longer... I’m surprised the liberal meme was trumped by reality. Guess some scientists are still honorable.


54 posted on 10/20/2012 1:04:48 PM PDT by GOPJ
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To: bert

I think you are right. Just saw this article about type 3 diabetes(maybe) they are not sure yet.
The idea that Alzheimer’s might be Type 3 diabetes has been around since 2005, but the connection between poor diet and Alzheimer’s is becoming more convincing, as summarized in a cover story in New Scientist entitled “Food for Thought: What You Eat May Be Killing Your Brain.” (The graphic — a chocolate brain with a huge piece missing — is creepy. But for the record: chocolate is not the enemy.)

The studies [1] are increasingly persuasive, and unsurprising when you understand the role of insulin in the body. So, a brief lesson.

We all need insulin: in non-diabetics, it’s released to help cells take in the blood sugar (glucose) they need for energy. But the cells can hold only so much; excess sugar is first stored as glycogen, and — when there’s enough of that — as fat. (Blood sugar doesn’t come only from sugar, but from carbohydrates of all kinds; easily digested carbohydrates flood the bloodstream with sugar.) Insulin not only keeps the blood vessels that supply the brain healthy, it also encourages the brain’s neurons to absorb glucose, and allows those neurons to change and become stronger. Low insulin levels in the brain mean reduced brain function.


55 posted on 10/20/2012 1:16:38 PM PDT by cdpap
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To: Jeff Chandler

Importantly, this is not used as a diet, but was based on the idea that the islets of Langerhans that produced insulin were blocked by fat.

It had long been assumed that the islets were dead or had stopped producing insulin permanently. However, on this strict, acute starvation diet, once the fat was gone, the diabetes was reversed and they started producing insulin again.

And it is much harder to become morbidly obese if you have adequate supplies of insulin.

While I agree that a typical starvation diet won’t work and soon the people will regain the weight, this can now be said for two reasons: that the starvation diet wasn’t long enough, or strict enough.

That is, if they ate more than 600 calories a day, which they would typically do on a normal weight loss diet, and/or the diet just made them lose weight, not dissolve the fatty deposits blocking their Islets, their insulin levels would not increase, and so when they ate normally again, they would gain the weight back quickly.

So the scientists designed an eight week, 600 calorie a day diet as being fast enough and strict enough to do the trick.

That diabetic reversal weight loss is not just a function of eating less over an extended period of time, but that time itself is part of the equation.


56 posted on 10/20/2012 1:19:19 PM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy (DIY Bumper Sticker: "THREE TIMES,/ DEMOCRATS/ REJECTED GOD")
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To: TexasFreeper2009

Jack Lalanne died at 96. He did a lot of exercising.


57 posted on 10/20/2012 1:46:16 PM PDT by Drawsing (The fool shows his annoyance at once. The prudent man overlooks an insult. (Proverbs 12:16))
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To: Drawsing

oh I am sure that there are a few people who excercise and that are vegitarians who live long.

But the larger point is that. If those were the things that helped you live longer. The 90+ population would mostly consist of vegatarians and athletes, which just isn’t the case.


58 posted on 10/20/2012 1:52:43 PM PDT by TexasFreeper2009 (Obama lied .. the economy died.)
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To: Signalman
I have already read Why We Get Fat, and I am a great fan of Gary Taubes. I gave my copy of the book to my eldest daughter after a shopping trip that ended up in tears. She has always been a bit heavy, even as a child; but, when she read this book she felt like she understood things better and had a plan to turn things around.

She followed his advice, lost a lot of weight and now is a much happier girl.

59 posted on 10/20/2012 2:21:21 PM PDT by LibertarianLiz
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To: Mr Ramsbotham

yes, plenty of that kind of thing can occur. also the stats are real interesting about people who get the flu after getting the flu shot vs those who get the flu that didn’t.


60 posted on 10/20/2012 3:07:35 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I can neither confirm or deny that; even if I could, I couldn't - it's classified.)
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