Crystals And Catalysts

14.11.2017 World Diabetes Day 2017 November (2017) is World Diabetes Month and the theme is Women & Diabetes . I was invited to join this great campaign by Krishana Sankar, who has been doing awesome work all over her social media ( IG  and  Twitter ) throughout this month. Over social media you will be seeing a blue circle which is a symbol of the IDF WDD campaign - so look out for it and don't forget to share!  Also be sure to check out my Instagram where I will be sharing diabetes facts from the IDF and Twitter where I will be sharing everyone's updates on WDD. On top of a healthy diet, it's recommended that on average, an adult should fit in 150 minutes of exercise a week.  The reason behind #150mins is based on studies that have shown to maintain healthy lifestyles, adults should be physically active for at least 150 mins per week. This is related to diabetes since people with pre-diabetes and early-onset type 2 diabetes can possibly r...

Its not easy living with type 2 diabetes and regulating your own blood sugar levels, through diet and exercise. Around 9% of the worlds population live with type 2 diabetes, with 80% coming from poor background and developing countries and it is now being found in young adults and children, after it was renowned for being as an "adult-onset" disease. Type 2 diabetes c auses too much glucose in the blood due to the pancreas not producing enough insulin -- a hormone which breaks down glucose into energy in the cells -- together with insulin resistance, a condition in which the body responds poorly to insulin. The scientific team at  Newcastle  university  found  that by reducing the fat accumulating in the pancreas, even only one gram of fat, via  weight  loss can reverse diabetes.  Via bariatric surgery   In the clinical trials, 18 people with Type 2 diabetes and 9 people who did not have diabetes were measured for weight...

A new study conducted by the Weitzmann Institute of Science has shown that personal reactions to food in individuals blood sugar levels are highly individual. The researchers monitored 800 people for a week (that's over 46,000 meals!).  "We chose to focus on blood sugar because elevated levels are a major risk factor for diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. The huge differences that we found in the rise of blood sugar levels among different people who consumed identical meals highlights why personalised eating choices are more likely to help people stay healthy than universal dietary advice."   Prof Eran Segal and Prof. Eran Elinav commented on their research in Cell journal. Blood sugar, if abnormally high, is a risk for diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome. Personalised  eating choices are more likely to help people stay healthy and on track with their blood sugar and medication; compared to universal dietary advice. The scientists created/designed an alg...

Individuals with diabetes mellitus are more susceptible to wounding and often suffer from botched wound healing. Today, scientists in Egypt have produced antibacterial nanofibres of cellulose acetate laden with silver that could be used in a new type of bandage to promote tissue repair. Published in the journal of International Journal of Nanoparticles, the scientists reveal details of the new materials and their properties.

I recently came across a Facebook post, from a doctor on the social media website, allegedly stating that if you soak okra in water and drink it, it will presumably be able to make your diabetes “go away”. Obviously claims like this are difficult to believe straight away, because anyone can write and claim anything on social media and gullible people may believe it; since diabetes affects almost at least one person in all our families and we all wish there was a cure for diabetes to help our loved ones from the dilemma called diabetes. Sadly diabetes cannot be cured, it’s a condition that you have to live with and combat it with regular exercise and controlling your diet and eating habits. I then went on to research and look for any journals to see if there is any evidence for these claims, however the results I got back were very little. I found only three journals. I also found many other posts on websites including diabetes.co.uk ; who do not falsify these claims but...

Diabetes is a very difficult condition to live with, it constricts your lifestyle, eating choices and almost every thought you have is about your blood sugar levels. An additional problem is if you’re diabetic and overweight. It’s recommended to keep your weight in the healthy weight range as recommended by the NHS, however this is not the case with certain diabetes patients.  Bariatric surgery (weight-loss surgery) is an operation that is recommended for diabetic patients who have severely overweight (i.e. having a BMI over 30-35) to help them lose weight quickly. Not only is this operation cholesterol and blood pressure reducing but it can also lower insulin resistance. By losing weight via gastric bypass surgery, the patient’s insulin resistance decreases resulting in a good improvement on the patient’s blood sugar.  Gastric bypass surgery rapidly has a positive effect on the body’s hormones; stimulating the pancreas to produce insulin which improves blo...

Millions of people over the world start their day with an aromatic cup of coffee generally to wake them up.  Coffee contains caffeine which is the stimulant that interacts with the body to make you feel more alert. How Coffee works and its benefits Caffeine works as an antagonist (block receptors) of adenosine receptors in the brain. Caffeine mimics the natural neurotransmitter; adenosine, and blocks the receptor, preventing adenosine from binding to the receptor and slowing the nervous impulses. In turn this makes the nervous impulses quicker and the brain works faster. Also caffeine can relieve headaches and migraines since it binds to adrenergic receptors on vascular muscle cells which cause them to constrict instead of dilating.