When the federal government released its snapshot of diabetes cases in the U.S. last October, the picture wasn’t pretty.
The incidence of new cases among adults had nearly doubled in just one decade. And the bulk of the newly diagnosed patients had type 2 diabetes, the form of the condition linked to obesity, genetic factors, and a sedentary lifestyle.
By all accounts, the statistics are alarming. Experts anticipate that 29 percent of American women and 25 percent of men will develop the disease in their lifetime. The new data suggests the diabetes epidemic is continuing, full speed ahead – and is nowhere near a peak.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Consider this: “Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed!”
No, it isn’t a pipe dream. Or even a misleading claim made on a television infomercial. That assertion comes straight from the National Institutes of Health, in its comparison of the state of diabetes knowledge 30 years ago versus today.
What a difference a few decades make.
During the 1970s, the NIH points out, there were no proven preventive measures people could take to reduce their risk of developing the disease. Therapeutic measures were limited and there were no proven strategies for preventing the serious complications of blindness, nerve damage and kidney disease.
In fact, while scientists suspected genes played a role in the development of the chronic condition, they had not identified a single risk marker linked to the disease.
Now, science has given us more effective and safer treatments, capable of managing the condition and reducing the risk of complications. But more importantly, researchers have shown that type 2 diabetes can be avoided, or at least delayed. Losing a few pounds – about 5 percent of your body weight if you are overweight or obese – and exercising just 30 minutes a day 5 days a week can reduce your risk of developing the disease by 58 percent, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Research has also unearthed many genetic clues about the onset of the condition. Studies have determined that at least 16 gene regions can play a role.
A Navigenics DNA test can tell you whether you are at increased genetic risk for type 2 diabetes. Knowing that your genes may have predisposed you to the disease can help you and your doctor takes steps to adjust your lifestyle and hopefully lessen your risk of developing diabetes.
Doing so can help you avoid becoming a national statistic.
Brown Fat Apr 17, 2009
In laboratory studies of brown fats, the research team identified that it is a huge help in burning calories and good for treating obesity. It is very useful, the kind that it’s good to have, and to utilize. To activate brown fat, you don’t need a payday loan for a bunch of miracle drugs. Instead, the best things to do are to exercise, eat right, and not go out of the way to keep yourself warm. Brown fat is an evolutionary development, in that it generates heat when an organism is cold, almost to the point of shivering. Then it begins to expend energy to create body heat. It could be possible to burn more white fat (the bad kind) and offset Type 2 diabetes by activating your brown reserves. However, not all the facts are in yet, so let’s get some cash advances out to fund brown fat research.