After quitting smoking we don’t just gain a few more pounds in our wallet/purse, it’s common to gain a few pounds in weight aswell. However this weight gain may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Researchers say that people who quit smoking indulge in snacks rather than smoking tobacco. These quitters are 20% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who smoke. However the risk declines after seven years.
For the study, a team from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health looked at data from more than 170,000 men and women who took part in three cohorts run by Harvard, the Nurses’ Health Study, the Nurses’ Health Study ll, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
Every two years, the participants had filled questionnaires about their health and lifestyle.
The researchers looked at those who said they had stopped smoking, how much weight they had gained and their type 2 diabetes risk.
The results showed that those who had quit smoking had a 22% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who currently smoke.
If you are overweight (BMI 28 or over), tried dieting and exercise
but still haven’t had success in losing weight– please go to www.ukmeds4u.com for a free private online consultation for other weight loss options.
Eating out might make your wallet feel lighter, but the same thing might not be said when you step on the scales..
Dining out could be making you gain weight and increasing your risk of diabetes.
According to research, people who usually have their dinner at home are slimmer and are 15% less likely to have diabetes compared to those who eat out.
For 26 years, researcher Geng Zong followed the health of 100,000 middle-aged men and women.
The participants were asked questions about their lifestyle, diet and where they ate their meals.
The results showed that those who ate their evening meal at home five to seven times a week are 15% less likely to develop diabetes than those who ate at home only twice a week.
People who ate at home ate more fruit, veg and whole grains, consumed less fizzy drinks and excerised more, which resulted in them gaining less weight over the years.
All the volunteers were free of diabetes at the start of the study.
However, by the end of the 26 years, more than 9,000 had developed diabetes.
If you are overweight (BMI 28 or over), tried dieting and excerise
but still haven’t had success in losing weight– please go towww.ukmeds4u.comfor a free private online consultation for other weightloss options.
Children who are at risk of developing type 1 diabetes will trail metformin to see if the cheap drug can prevent the disease.
The study will take part in Scotland which will involve children, aged 5 to 16, taking a simple blood test to determine whether they are at risk of developing the condition.
Scotland has the third highest rate of type 1 diabetes in the world.
If they are found to be at risk then they will be given the chance to take part in a clincal trail.
Metformin is the worlds most common prescribed medicine for diabetes.
The study will test whether metformin can stop the immune response from destroying beta cells.
Professor Wilkin, of the University of Exeter Medcial School, said: ‘We still have no means of preventing type 1 diabetes which, at all ages, results from insufficient insulin.
‘We all lose beta cells over the course of our lives, but most of us have enough for normal function.
‘However, if the rate of beta cell loss is accelerated, type 1 diabetes develops, and the faster the loss, the younger the onset of the condition.’
It has been estimated that 80,000 children worldwide develop type 1 diabetes each year.
Diabetes can lead to other health problems such as heart disease, kidney failure and erectile dysfunction in men.
People who drink whole fat milk are less likely to develop diabetes and become obese than those who drink skimmed milk, scientists have revealed.
For years we have been advised to switch to lower-fat dairy products to lower the risk of obesity and diseases such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.
However, according to a team of Tufts University scientists, neither low-fat nor full-fat dairy products were found to have major effects on heart disease risk factors.
For over 15 years, the scientists analyzed the blood of 3,333 adults who took part in the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
They found that people who had higher levels of dairy fat in their system had 46% less risk of developing diabetes than those who had low levels of dairy fat.
The scientists came to the conculsion that three dairy biomarkers – plasma 15:0 and 17:0, and trans-16:1 n-7 – along with fatty acids are accountable for the lower occurrence of diabetes.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard University and Karolinska Institute looked at the effects that full-fat and low-fat dairy products have on obesity.
They studied 18,438 women from the Women’s Healthy Study and found that 8,238 of those women became obese after 11 years.
The women who consumed the most high-fat dairy products were less likely to become obese, the scientists found.
If you are overweight (BMI 28 and over) and tried dieting and excerise but still haven’t had success – please go to www.ukmeds4u.com for a free consultation for other weightloss options.
Eating your five-a-day can help prevent heart attack or stroke, experts have revealed.
For seven years, scientists at the University of Oxford studied half a million people from across 10 urban and rural localities in China by tracking their health through electronic hospital records and death records.
The 500,000 participants did not have a history of taking medication to lower high blood pressure (hypertension) or cardiovascular disease when they joined the study.
Study author, Dr Huaidong Du, said: ‘The association between fruit consumption and cardiovascular risk seems to be stronger in China, where many still eat little fruit, than in high-income countries where daily consumption of fruit is more common.’
The results revealed that 100g of fruit each day lowered the risk of premature death from stroke or heart attack by a third, for both men and women.
They found that fruits, such as apples and oranges, were strongly linked with other factors such as lower blood glucose, education, lower blood pressure and not smoking.
The senior author, Professor Zhengming Chen, from Oxford University, said: ‘It’s difficult to know whether the lower risk in people who eat more fresh fruit is because of a real protective effect.
If it is, then widespread consumption of fresh fruit in China could prevent about half a million cardiovascular deaths a year, including 200,000 before age 70, and even larger numbers of non-fatal strokes and heart attacks.’
Fruit and vegetables are one of the 5 food groups which contribute towards a healthy balanced diet.
However fruit and vegetables aren’t on the top of everyone’s shopping list as they are more expensive compared to processed ready meals.
According to a study by the Overseas Development Institute this has caused a huge rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Obesity can cause many health problems such as high blood pressure, stroke and coronary heart disease.
If you are overweight (BMI 28 and over) and tried dieting and excerise but still haven’t had success – please go to www.ukmeds4u.com for a free consultation for other weightloss options.
World Health Day is on 7th April 2016 and is organised by WHO (World Health Organization).
This year’s focus is to raise awareness about the rise in diabetes and the consequences the noncommunicable disease has.
Diabetes is a condition when a person’s blood sugar levels become too high.
The lifelong condition is incurable but can be treated and controlled.
It is estimated that 1 in 11 people have the disease and is more common in men than women.
From 1980 to 2014, the number of adults worldwide with diabetes had quadrupled from 108 million to 422 million.
Experts believe the huge rise is due to growing obesity rates.
It is estimated that 5 million people will have diabetes in the UK by 2025.
There are a number of medical conditions associated with diabetes such as heart disease, kidney disease and erectile dysfunction.
Dr Etienne Krug, of WHO, to the BBC: ‘Diabetes is a silent disease, but it is on an unrelenting march that we need to stop.
‘We can stop it, we know what needs to be done, but we cannot let it evolve like it does because it has a huge impact on people’s health, on families and on society.’
For information about erectile dysfunction, please go to www.ukmeds4u.com
If you are overweight (BMI 28 and over) and tried dieting and excerise but still haven’t had success – please go to www.ukmeds4u.com for a free consultation for other weightloss options.
Diabetes Association of Thailand have created a campaign, Sweet Kills, which aims to warn the public of the effects of eating too much sugar can have on your body.
Nattakong Jaengsem, a Thai designer based in Bangkok, has created these powerful images using some of our favourite treats to remind us that too much sugar can lead to type 2 diabetes, which can cause wounds to heal slower and cause infection.
According to the NHS, there are 3.9 million people living with diabetes in the UK.
There are a number of medical conditions associated with diabetes such as thyroid disease, coeliac disease and erectile dysfunction.
There’s been a common belief for many years that if you eat a Mediterranean diet then you’re likely to live longer, but now, there’s research that claims that by eating a Mediterranean diet you may actually be able to reverse the effects of metabolic syndrome, by reducing obesity and blood glucose levels that lead to the condition.
Metabolic syndrome is combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity which puts people at a higher risk of things like heart disease and strokes.
So….we thought that we would take a look into the facts and see what it all means to us…and see if there’s anything we can do to help ourselves, and you, get a bit healthier.
What’s involved?
Well….Its seems that the most important part of the diet is Olive Oil or nuts.
So, along with a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, fish and whole-grains, by adding nuts or Olive Oil you can help your weight reduce and lower your blood glucose levels.
That sounds too good to be true doesn’t it?
The research..
This information has come from a Spanish study done at Universitat Rovira i Virgili and Hospital Universitari de Sant Joan de Reus on a group of nearly 5800 men and women (aged 55-80) and were all at risk of heart disease. They were split into three groups, One group ate a Mediterranean diet with extra olive oil, another had the Mediterranean diet, with added nuts and the final ate a traditional low-fat diet. (you know…they one we’re all trying to follow).
Research showed the both the ‘Mediterranean diet’ groups lost weight and reduced their blood sugar levels…Pretty significant, bearing in mind the current advice is to follow a low-fat diet to achieve these results!
The Mediterranean diet also seems to stop people from collecting fat around their middles (the classic apple shape), which is commonly identified as being a precursor to diabetes…
It is estimated that if we increased the amount of fruit and vegetables we eat by just one portion per day, and the amount of nuts eaten by two portions per week, then this could prevent up to 5.2 million deaths from cardiovascular disease in just one year!
So, will you change?
It seems like our Mediterranean cousins have been getting it right all this time….Maybe think of every meal as a mini holiday…. but we’re not sure all the wine counts!
To find out more, check out the NHS Mediterranean diet information here and make your choice.
Comment below and let us know what you think or if you will be changing your diet – We think we will!
For more information on obesity and treatments to help with weight loss, please go to: www.ukmeds4u.com
Two UK inventors think so, and have been very busy developing a new device specially for men.
The Aim-Straight is being marketed as the little device that could save millions of lives… so we thought it would be good to look and see what all the fuss is about!
The Aim-Straight device seems to do everything!
In addition to potentially detecting prostate cancer and diabetes, Aim-Straight inventors Michael Shelton and Peter Maxwell also believe that the device helps to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STI’s) and reduce the amount of cases of drink driving.
What is it?
The Aim-Straight device is a disposable paper cone that pops over the penis, and not only helps you pee straight (which in itself will save millions of arguments), it can also detect prostate cancer and diabetes. And it’s biodegradable and flushable after use.
It seems that this little cone does has everything!
How it Works
There are a number of tiny particles known as reagents contained on the surface of the cone. These react when they come into contact with other agents that could be present in your urine stream such as blood or glucose. These would would then cause the paper on the inside of the device to change colour.
If the device does change colour during use, the wearer should contact their GP or local healthcare professional for further advice. The colour it changes to helps the healthcare professional decide how to proceed.
So – Would you wear it?
Studies done in Japan found that 71% of the men studied agreed that the Aim-Straight device was a good invention and that they would be happy to use it! And if it does everything mentioned we can see why….Hey, no-one needs to know do they? And what price for peace of mind?
So it seems it does have everything!
The company also say that the device has hypo-allergenic antibodies incorporated into it, which can clean,dryand medicate the penis, which helps to promote good sexual health for men of all ages due to decreased chances of STI’s being transmitted.
The initial purpose of the device was to reduce any unhygienic splash back of urine as men were going to the toilet, but has grown to be so much more since the device was first created back in 2007.
The company has taken huge steps in trying to promote the device as a combatant to STI’s and as an assistant for GP’s and other healthcare professionals in the early discovery of prostate cancer and diabetes.
All in all this device will be a great help to many men that have problems when urinating, and could also be the difference between life or death if you have an underlying condition that may not have been diagnosed as yet by your GP.
Don’t forget that if you have any problems or have any questions that you want to ask, our community are always here to help, and will be happy to assist you and offer advice to anything that you might otherwise feel uncomfortable discussing face to face with your GP.
