Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
When your glucose level is too high, your Vitamin B1 or Thiamine levels are depleted and a build up of AGEs occurs. Here’s what you can do to fend off excessive glycation in your system, including incorporating an important form of Vitamin B1 called Benfotiamine.
You have successfully lost a good amount of weight on the Keto diet. So, how do you keep the weight off? There is a supplement that’s been studied in a number of human clinical trials called Phase 2 and it has been proven to keep the lost pounds of fat from returning.
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In Episode 2 of Living A Healthy Life with Diabetes, I am going to break down the difference between being a prediabetic and having metabolic syndrome. The two generally go hand-in-hand, but it can oftentimes lead to confusion.
What does it mean to be prediabetic?
Prediabetes is when your insulin resistance is beginning to gain momentum. We’re talking about the pancreas, about beta cells that play such a critical role in releasing insulin in order to regulate elevations in blood glucose.
When someone has prediabetes, what they are seeing is those first stages of insulin resistance really starting to rev up. When it comes to testing, you are generally going to find things such as an elevated fasting glucose. This usually means that you’ve fasted for eight hours, ideally 10-12 hours.
Your doctor may also see elevations in hemoglobin A1C – the rate of glycation in the hemoglobin. This level is usually above a 5.7 and goes up to 6.4. Generally, doctors would like your level to be below a 5, but a realistic number is also 5.5 or 5.3. Once you get above the mid-level 5, that is when your doctor will be concerned.
Prediabetes, simply put, means your body is not doing as well to regulate your blood sugar.
For more information on Diabetes, be sure to check out Episode 9 and Part 1 of Amanda Williams Diabetes series by clicking here.
What is metabolic syndrome?
Metabolic syndrome is definable by a few different things. Not only is there a clear insulin resistance occurring, we are also dealing with visceral obesity or an increase in the waist circumference in the abdominal belly region. In conjunction, your cholesterol will also be impacted, specifically an elevation in triglycerides. You may also experience endothelial dysfunction – stiffing of the lining of your blood vessels – which leads to high blood pressure.
The World Health Organization first defined metabolic syndrome back in 1998. Metabolic syndrome does not make you a diabetic, but it’s borderline.
Essential Nutrients To Get Your Body (And Health) Back On Track
It is important to understand that you must be proactive and take steps to counteract both prediabetes and metabolic syndrome. Individuals who follow the Standard American Diet go way off track because you are not obtaining the proper nutrients that the body needs in order to manage or mitigate the negative implications of having elevated glucose and a delayed insulin response.
Fifty to seventy-five percent of Americans have a Magnesium deficiency. Research from the University of North Carolina sets that percentage closer to 75%, as only 12% of Americans are considered to be metabolically healthy. This is extremely sad and – no pun intended – is accredited to the Standard American Diet (SAD), which is incredibly low in magnesium. This has been shown to be directly correlated with Type 2 Diabetes, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, vascular disease and more.
Researchers from Tufts University Department of Endocrinology published a study in the journal Diabetes Care – which was highlighted by the American Diabetes Association – that drew a conclusion between Vitamin D supplementation and the impact it has on blood glucose and markers for inflammation in the body. Participants in the study with low levels of Vitamin D were given a Vitamin D supplement every day and found significant improvements in markers for inflammation, hemoglobin A1C levels, and fasting glucose.
Benfotiamine is a unique fat soluble B1 vitamin whose goal in your body is to activate an enzyme that helps to convert toxic glucose into harmless compounds so the body can easily get rid of it. One of the long term effects of being a prediabetic, having metabolic syndrome or actually having diabetes is Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs). These are created when a sugar molecule attaches to something in the body like your blood vessels or nerves. This is damaging, as AGEs change the structure and function of so many different things in the human body – deactivating enzymes, disrupting cell signaling, destroying cellular DNA and creating inflammation and more. If we can incorporate Benfotiamine into our routine, it has been shown to block that sugar-induced damage. This is why it is such a powerful B vitamin.
Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. Stay tuned for Part 3 of Amanda’s Diabetes series, which will be released tomorrow – Friday, January 31.You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.
In Episode 9, Amanda Williams, MPH delves into diabetes and breaks down what to do with your diet, as well as nutrients that can be very beneficial.
A new study suggests that eating added sugars can actually trigger metabolic, inflammatory and neurobiological processes tied to depressive illness. Here’s what that means for you during the holiday season, when so many foods are centered around sugar.
Scientists have linked sugar with a wide range of health risks, including weight gain, an increase in the risk of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes, acne, depression and even cellular aging. Now, researchers are examining the link between sugary drinks and the risk of developing cancer.
A French observational study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in July 2019, provides evidence of a link between the high intake of sugary drinks and cancer. Researchers examined 101,257 French adults aged 42 years, on average.
The drinks they examined included “sugar-sweetened beverages” like soft drinks, syrups, fruit drinks, 100% fruit juices without added sugar, milk-based sugary drinks, sports drinks and energy drinks. Using 24-hour online food questionnaires, the researchers assessed the participants’ consumption of 3,300 different kinds of foods and drinks. Clinical observation of the participants continued for up to 9 years, where researchers studied the risk of “overall, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer”.
Over the follow-up period, 2,193 people developed cancer for the first time; they were 59 years old at the time of diagnosis, on average. Among these cases, 693 developed breast cancer, 291 developed prostate cancer, and 166 developed colorectal cancer.
The analysis revealed that for a daily increase of 100 milliliters in the intake of sugary drinks, the risk of overall cancer rose by 18%, and the risk of breast cancer increased by 22%. When the researchers analyzed the risk of for 100% fruit juices separately, these also elevated the risk of overall cancer and breast cancer, but not colorectal or prostate cancer.
By contrast, diet drinks did not increase cancer risk. The scientists explain that people who consumed diet drinks did so in very small amounts, so they suggest interpreting this particular result with caution.
The data was limited and there were strengths and weaknesses of their research. The researchers conclude, “These data support the relevance of existing nutritional recommendations to limit sugary drink consumption, including 100% fruit juice, as well as policy actions, such as taxation and marketing restrictions targeting sugary drinks, which might potentially contribute to the reduction of cancer incidence.”