Health article index >> The Diabetes Decade: Incidence increases 33% from 1990 to 1998 Research suggests: eat a meal of Brown Rice Pilaf (with an optional glass of wine) and take a 20-minute after-dinner walk. A study published in the September issue of Diabetes Care by researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the US increased dramatically between 1990 and 1998, in all regions and demographic groups and in nearly all states analyzed. Type 2 diabetes, commonly called adult onset diabetes, accounts for 90% to 95% of the cases of the disease and can be brought on by inactivity and weight gain. Type 1 diabetes, which accounts for most of the remaining 5% to 10% of cases, is caused by a malfunction of the immune system and is not linked to obesity. According to the report, diabetes increased during the study period by 70% among individuals aged 30 to 39, by 40% among those aged 40 to 49, and by 31% among those aged 50 to 59. Dramatic increases were noted among various ethnic groups: Hispanics had a 38% increase compared to whites with a 29% increase and blacks with a 26% increase. The cause of the increase was ascribed to the increase in obesity throughout the US. "We were not really surprised at what we found," said Dr. Ali H. Mokdad, visiting scientist with the CDC's Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity. "Given the spread of obesity across the country and knowing that diabetes is strongly associated with obesity, we expected this to be the case," he was quoted by Reuters Health news service. Over all, the prevalence of diabetes rose to 6.5% in 1998 from 4.9% of the population in 1990, an increase of 33%, according to the study. During the same period, the proportion of people who were overweight rose to 54% from 44%. The number of Americans with diabetes now stands at approximately 16 million. Experts attribute the rising weight to Americans' increasing tendency to park themselves in front of television and computer screens, exercising too little and eating too much, particularly large portions of high-calorie foods. The study showed that the risk of diabetes increased by 4% for every pound of excess weight. "Much of the impact of the upsurge in obesity may be felt some years from now," the researchers predict in the journal, "because there is a substantial delay between the onset of obesity and the subsequent development of diabetes." Severe complications make diabetes a substantial public health problem. It is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure and leg amputations, and it greatly increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, the leading causes of death in the United States. The cost of diabetes is estimated at $98 billion a year. "We need to take diabetes very seriously as individuals and as a nation," Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, director of the CDC, remarked in the agency statement. "This study sends a clear message that American lifestyles, including inactivity and poor nutrition, are having a dramatic influence on our health and will ultimately increase the need for diabetes care in the future." Whole foods help A study in the September issue of American Journal of Public Health underscored the importance of the quality of our everyday diet in preventing diabetes. Dr. Simin Liu, of Harvard Medical School, in Boston, Massachusetts, and associates analyzed prospectively collected data from 75,521 participants in the Nurses' Health Study from 1984 to 1994. During this time there were 1879 incident cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The study found that increasing consumption of whole-grain foods reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in women. This effect is not completely explained by dietary fiber, magnesium, and vitamin E content, suggesting that other characteristics of whole grains are important in protecting against diabetes. When the investigators compared subjects in the highest 20% and lowest 20% of whole-grain intake, the relative risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus was 0.62. For refined grain intake, the relative risk was 1.31. After adjusting for age and total energy intake, the 20% sample of women who ate the most refined grain were associated with a 57% greater risk of type 2 diabetes than the 20% sample of women who ate the most whole-grain. The associations remained significant after adjusting for "body mass index, cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, history of diabetes in first-degree relative, use of multivitamins, use of vitamin E supplements, physical activity, and total energy intake." Help for your heart One shouldn't be surprised at a study that shows yet another health benefit to be had by eating whole, unprocessed instead of refined products. But two other recent studies showed that diabetics might be able to protect themselves from a common and often lethal complication of their condition--heart disease by drinking a little wine. In two studies published in the August issue of Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association, researchers found that diabetics who consumed more than half a drink per day cut their heart disease risk in half compared with those who rarely drank or never consumed alcohol at all. Researchers of one study spent 12 years studying 983 diabetics. They concluded that those who had one or two drinks daily were up to 80% less likely to die of heart disease. Alcohol hinders the liver's ability to deliver sugar to the bloodstream, so doctors have been concerned that drinking might throw off diabetics' blood sugar-insulin balance. Despite these fears, in an editorial accompanying the studies, Dr. Timothy J. Regan of the New Jersey Medical School wrote: "The apparent lack of influence of light to moderate drinking on the regulation of blood glucose was noteworthy." The leader of one of the new studies, Umed A. Ajani of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, stressed that it would be unwise for diabetics who don't drink to suddenly start or for those who drink small amounts to begin consuming more heavily. The key word here, as it is with practically everything to do with health is: moderation. Many alternative physicians successfully control and reverse diabetes with diet, herbs, lifestyle modifications and other nontoxic protocols. For more information, click on the "Search Health Conditions" link and enter diabetes" as the keyword. Health article index >> News I Health I Wellness I Exercise I Profiles I Business I Links I Women ROCK! 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