This Common Spice Helps Regulate Blood Sugar

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Cinnamon has been in the spotlight for some time now for its potential abilities as a natural diabetes cure. But should this tasty spice, used in cakes, cookies and pies, be considered a food for diabetics? Certainly cinnamon has been shown to have some effect on glucose levels, but how significant is this anti-diabetic action?

Researchers at the University of Melbourne recently tried to answer this question by reviewing a wide range of clinical trials pertaining to cinnamon and glucose control. They noted that alternative cures for diabetes are needed. Obesity levels have been rising steadily over the past five decades and are predicted to continue rising. This trend has resulted in skyrocketing diabetes rates.

The researchers investigated results for clinical trials involving cinnamon and its effects on insulin resistance. Evidence showed that cinnamon has a potentially significant role to play in diabetes prevention. It seems that cinnamon improves insulin resistance by preventing and actually reversing insulin signaling in skeletal muscle.

The researchers also found that cinnamon increases the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, which play an essential role in regulating your metabolism. Cinnamon’s most impressive and consistent action against diabetes was its ability to improve fasting glucose levels.

Along with offering benefits in the control and prevention of diabetes, cinnamon was found to be anti-inflammatory and may help to improve cholesterol levels and blood pressure. The researchers concluded by saying that it might be jumping the gun to suggest that cinnamon be used as a supplement to treat diabetes. However, its positive effects on glucose control are undeniable.

Other natural remedies for diabetes prevention include maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, and eating foods low on the glycemic index (GI). Certain foods that you may not be aware of will actually spike your insulin levels. Macaroni and cheese, white rice, and even a simple baked potato are all high on the GI list. See the Doctors Health Press article, Understanding Your Glycemic Index, for more information on the GI and improved blood sugar control.

Tags: blood pressure, blood sugar, blood sugar monitor, cure diabetes, foods for diabetics, natual diabetes cure, nutrition advice, prevent diabetes

FOODS YOU SHOULD NEVER MIX WITH THESE
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There's something that you should know about the vitamins you're taking.

Something that is so controversial and upsetting, that it could very well change the entire landscape of the vitamin industry.

More importantly, it may also be affecting you personally if you're currently taking supplements.

What you could be mixing with your vitamins might actually be making you sick.

Dr. David Juan is regarded by many to be an authority on nutrition and supplements.

He's been a practicing medical doctor for over 30 years. And when it comes to the dangerous interactions of foods, drugs and vitamins, he's got the qualifications to back up what he's talking about.

And that's why he urgently needs to warn you about a new danger resulting from vitamin, food and drug interactions that have already harmed others...

Click Here to See The Foods You Should Never
Mix With These Popular Supplements

This Common Food Additive Could up Your Risk for Diabetes

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There are many additives used in the foods you eat. All are supposed to be harmless and safe for human consumption. Today’s health news is about one so called “harmless” food additive: “carrageenan.” Carrageenan is used as a thickening agent. It is processed from seaweed or algae. Food manufacturers often laud the fact that carrageenan is vegetarian unlike another popular thickening agent — gelatin — that is extracted from animal bones.

Carrageenan is often added to milk products. It also crops up in wines and beers, sliced meats, and even toothpaste. But this additive has been shown in a recent clinical trial to cause problems with insulin levels and may up your risk for getting diabetes.

Researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago studied the impact of carrageenan on glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity and insulin signaling in mice. They noted at the outset of the study that carrageenan is known to cause inflammation, which is associated with diabetes.

The mice were given carrageenan in their drinking water, and underwent a glucose tolerance test and an insulin tolerance test. The researchers found that glucose tolerance was significantly impaired in carrageenan-treated mice compared with untreated controls. Baseline insulin levels were also significantly higher following carrageenan treatment. Interestingly, during the insulin tolerance test, glucose levels declined by more than 80% in controls, but not in carrageenan-treated mice.

The researchers say this is the first report of the impact of carrageenan on glucose tolerance and shows that carrageenan impairs glucose tolerance, increases insulin resistance, and inhibits insulin signaling. They suggest that these effects may result from carrageenan-induced inflammation. They concluded by stating directly that carrageenan in the human diet may contribute to the development of diabetes.

If you are struggling with your blood sugar, or just want to make sure that diabetes is never a health concern for you, you may want to watch your intake of carrageenan.

For more information on food additives and how they could be affecting your health, read Migraine Sufferers Should Avoid Eating These.

Tags: inflammation, migraines, prevent diabetes

FOODS YOU SHOULD NEVER MIX WITH THESE
POPULAR SUPPLEMENTS...

There's something that you should know about the vitamins you're taking.

Something that is so controversial and upsetting, that it could very well change the entire landscape of the vitamin industry.

More importantly, it may also be affecting you personally if you're currently taking supplements.

What you could be mixing with your vitamins might actually be making you sick.

Dr. David Juan is regarded by many to be an authority on nutrition and supplements.

He's been a practicing medical doctor for over 30 years. And when it comes to the dangerous interactions of foods, drugs and vitamins, he's got the qualifications to back up what he's talking about.

And that's why he urgently needs to warn you about a new danger resulting from vitamin, food and drug interactions that have already harmed others...

Click Here to See The Foods You Should Never
Mix With These Popular Supplements

Knee Pain Common In Older Women

Featured Article
Academic Journal
Main Category: Arthritis / Rheumatology
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 21 Dec 2011 - 0:00 PST

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It appears that knee pain of some kind is a common complaint in middle-aged and mature women, with varying possible causes leading to varying types of pain. A new study on knee-pain patterns assessed periodically over 12 years in a representative UK population finds that nearly two-thirds (63%) of women aged 50 and over experience knee pain at least once, persistently, or intermittently over such a period.

The authors found these patterns were more likely in women with higher BMI, with a previous knee injury, or whose scans showed they had osteoarthritis (OA). They write about their findings in the 19 December online issue of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Senior author Dr Nigel Arden, a Professor of Rheumatology at the University of Oxford in the UK, told the media that this was the first study involving community-based participants that investigates patterns of knee pain using "multiple assessment points" over a period of 12 years:

"Understanding the prevalence and predictors of knee pain is the first step in developing comprehensive pain assessment plans that could lead to more targeted treatment options for those burdened by OA."

For their analysis, Arden and colleagues used data gathered in the Chingford Study, a prospective population-based study of OA and osteoporosis established in 1989. This started with more than 1,000 women aged from 44 to 57 (median 52) years.

The cohort is described as representative of women in the UK in general in terms of height, weight, and smoking status. At four times over the 12 years of the study, the participants completed questionnaires about their knee pain.

From their responses the researchers classed the 489 participants who were still in the study at the end into one of four groups, depending on their pain characteristics: asymptomatic, persistent, incident, and intermittent.

The results showed that: 44% of women reported experiencing "any days of pain".
23% reported experiencing "pain on most days of the previous month".
Of those experiencing "any pain", 9% had persistent pain, 24% had incident pain, and 29% had intermittent pain.
Of those experiencing "pain on most days", these figures were 2%, 16% and 18% respectively.
A higher BMI predicted persistent and incident patterns of pain, while radiographic OA predicted persistent pain.
Those who reported a previous knee injury were more likely to have persistent or intermittent patterns of pain.The researchers conclude the results show a "significant variability" in patterns of knee pain over time in this representative population, with few participants "consistently reporting knee pain at each time point".

They also suggest that a strength of the study is that it describes a natural history of knee pain over a long period of time, taking data from several points along that timescale.

Finding that separate factors appear to predict pain patterns differently (eg BMI predicted persistent and incident patterns while OA predicted only persistent pain patterns) may be why studies that measure pain at one time point seem to show inconsistent relationships between pain predictors and pain patterns, they add.

Arden said:

"Validation of our findings through reproduction in other patient groups is needed to advance knowledge of knee pain predictors that will ultimately enhance prevention and treatment strategies for those with OA."

OA is a leading cause of disability throughout the world. In the US, the American College of Rheumatology estimates that over 27 million Americans over the age of 25 are living with the disease, with pain being the most problematic symptom.

The damage to the economy that can be linked to OA is substantial. In the UK, reports suggest it accounts for £3.2 billion a year loss in productivity. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts the cost of job-related OA at between $3.4 and $13.2 billion a year.

Previous studies indicate that OA of the knee in particular is linked to reduced physical function and is a substantial burden to society. According to figures from the CDC, nearly half a million total knee replacements were carried out in the the US in 2004, with around $14 billion spent on the hospital costs of such an operation.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our arthritis / rheumatology section for the latest news on this subject. "Reported knee pain prevalence in a community-based cohort over 12 years"; A. Soni, A. Kiran, D. Hart, K. M. Leyland, L. Goulston, C. Cooper, M. K. Javaid, T. D. Spector, N. K. Arden; Arthritis & Rheumatism; Published Online: 19 December 2011; DOI: 10.1002/art.33434; Link to Abstract.
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