Cancer Risk: Sugar and Insulin

January 1, 2015

Cancer Risk: Sugar and Insulin

Diabetes is a sugar disease. It is a disease in which the body does not produce insulin or make proper use of it. Insulin is useful in the body in utilization of blood glucose. It allows glucose to be absorbed in the cells to enhance the production of energy. In the condition of diabetes, insulin is not effective which results in the blood being saturated with glucose. This leads to high glucose levels in the blood.

Obesity is the major cause of diabetes. It induces the resistance of the body to insulin. When this happens, the body is not able to break down glucose into energy. This causes glucose to accumulate in the blood.

To make do with this insulin resistance, the pancreas ends up producing more insulin. This leads to a rise in insulin in the blood. This insulin production can go on for years but it is not indefinite. Eventually insulin production will wear out and this will result in blood sugar increase. When this happens, it is then that an individual is diagnosed with diabetes.

There are different kinds of diabetes in the world today. There is type 1 diabetes which results from the inability of the blood to produce the insulin hormone. Type 2 diabetes on the other hand comes about when the body is unable to properly utilize the hormone. Another type of diabetes is pre-diabetes. This results when the blood glucose levels in the blood are higher than normal although not high enough to become type 2 diabetes. The fact is that over 79 million Americans today are pre-diabetic.

Insulin and cancer

Diabetes and cancer

As is a link between sugar and cancer, there’s the same between diabetes and cancer. Diabetes has been linked to pancreatic cancer. It is in most cases a symptom of pancreatic cancer or a risk factor. Studies have shown pancreatic cancer can occur to patients who have heard diabetes for over five years. The research done on pancreatic patients who have had diabetes for less than five years was unclear if diabetes was in itself the cause of the cancer.

As a symptom for pancreatic cancer, studies have shown that onset diabetes in people who are over 50 years of age may be in itself a symptom. Abrupt changes in the levels of sugar in the blood in diabetics who had controlled sugar level is also a symptom of pancreatic cancer.

Insulin Resistance Link to Cancer

This link may be related to the high level of insulin compensation. Obesity causes the body to resists insulin and this causes the pancreas to produce more insulin. This leads to increase in insulin levels in the blood. Insulin contributes greatly to the growth of body tissues. It increases with increase in essential nutrients and reduces when the body is derived of these nutrients.

Insulin may cause cells to rapidly increase. This occurs when insulin causes an increase in insulin-like growth factors (IGF). It could also cause cells to become more sensitive to other factors of growth. One characteristic of cancer cells is their ability to uncontrollably grow and become resistance to agents of cell death.

Growth factors play a major part in the growth of cancer cells as well as their progression. Past studies have shown that people with high levels of insulin-like growth are in more risk of developing, breast, colon or prostate cancer.

Resistance to insulin is characterized by the cells losing their sensitivity to the effects of insulin to aid in the absorption of glucose into the cells. Although this is so, it continues to promote the growth of cells in the body. Only the ability of insulin to transport glucose is affected.

The resistant state of insulin promoted by diabetes may in this case promote the development of cancerous cells. As the amount of insulin increases in the blood, so does its ability to induce cell growth. When this happens it leads to a cancer characteristic of uncontrollable growth of cells. As the pancreas continues producing insulin an individual may not get diabetes but he/she increases the rate of getting cancer.

sugar and cancer

Sugar and Cancer

When most of us hear about sugar we instantly think about the white substance we take in our beverages. Sugar has been linked to causing cancer. So what do most of us do? We cut out the sugar in our body including those that are essential. We cut out eating fruits such as oranges that have natural sugars.

You end up depriving your body of essential nutrients such as fibers found in fruits. However, sugar does not necessarily mean what you take in your tea or in fruits or soft drinks. It is widely used to describe those sugars in our body. Sugar also called glucose is very necessary for a healthy you. It is broken down into energy hence you are able to do those daily task.

High blood levels in the blood cause diabetes. This results in the insulin not being produced or appropriately used. When this happens a person is said to be diabetic. Sugar goes back to the case of diabetes and as seen it can increase a person’s risk of cancer.

Dr. Dr. Dalal Akoury has had years of experience with patients with cancer as well as diabetes. She has vast knowledge about sugar and insulin and their link to cancer. Just visit www.awaremednetwork.com for more expert opinion on this topic and more health tips.

Cancer Risk: Sugar and Insulin

Vinegar the Blood Glucose Controller

November 28, 2014

Vinegar the Blood Glucose Controller: A Secrecy Weapon in the Kitchen Pharmacy

vinegar Most of the dishes in our fast foods restaurants are often accompanied with containers of vinegar. For a long time I never considered putting it into my plate of fries. After all, why would I, if I had all the spicy Hot and Sweet tomato-chili sauce right there with me? Why would I spoil my otherwise tasty meal with what I consider a predominantly female preference-the acidic stuff: Vinegar? This attitude has since changed!

I have come to appreciate the taste of vinegar. Truly some of our sensual responses depend on the attitudes we have previously formed about them. And if you are among the folks who still share my initial attitude toward vinegar then you need to understand what it brings with regard to diabetic conditions.

What studies have found

Recent studies carried out to assess the effects of vinegar have established that taking a given amount of vinegar dosage before meals have great positive results pertaining to the levels of blood sugar. 2 tablespoon portions which amount to about 30 ml dose of vinegar before taking two meals in a day over a period of four weeks was found to help Type 2 diabetic patients to lose weight while at the same time have their blood sugar levels dropped.

The vinegar portions do this by slowing down the dumping of sugar into the bloodstream after a meal. If you have either diabetes type 1 or type 2 therefore, and you take insulin, a shot of vinegar will thus slow down the absorption of sugar from the carbohydrates long enough to give your insulin time to work. Vinegar generally delays the need of body for insulin. It does not however eliminate that need. It only helps to change the glycemic index of the foods you take. This is to say that the vinegar is not a cute for diabetes, it is just a way of dealing with the sugar levels as a control mechanism. This should help clear the air for the rumors that vinegar is a cure for diabetics.

The substance contains a rich amount of organic acids, soluble fiber which is also referred to as pectin, and acetic acid. All these components aid the slow-down of the emptying of the stomach. They delay the digestion of the carbohydrates. With this delayed process of absorbing food from the large intestines, you are assured of a delayed sugar intake by the bloodstream.

Actual vinegar has not been deprived of any of the above compounds. Though vinegar supplements usually have been pasteurized and contain less compounds in them. The substance is known to stop the digestion of carbohydrates in the stomach to a given percentage.

This makes vinegar very useful to people with type 2 diabetes, whose pancreases apparently cannot release insulin fast enough, though they do release the hormone, to take care of all the carbohydrates digested from the food after you have eaten. This involves a case of higher amounts of sugar than the insulin can handle. Vinegar therefore works side by side with the ‘weak’ insulin to ensure the hormone can take its time in dealing with the blood sugars. The message here is: your body still needs insulin whether or not you are using vinegar.

The previous studies have aided the researchers in hypothesizing that the carbohydrates might eventually ferment in the individual’s small intestines. This in effect will create by-products that send a signal to the liver to initiate a negative response by not making as much cholesterol.

It is based on this ground that a number of practitioners have always thought of vinegar as being able to reduce cholesterol from the body. These researches confirm otherwise though. The vinegar only initiates a process that in turn produces a negative response toward the secretion of cholesterol. As such, the vinegar indirectly discourages the production of cholesterol but does not affect the amounts already in circulation in the body of the individual.

Vinegar-Is-One-Of-The-Most-Powerful-Health-Tonics

Using two groups of volunteers in a study have indicated no effect of vinegar on the levels of cholesterol in the body. The volunteers subjected to a dosage of vinegar however record no increase in their weight with significant weight losses without additional exercises or dieting though. This helps shade empirical light to the above discussion.

from a vinaigrette on a salad. The Arizona State researchers are considering creating a vinegar supplement, but caution that the vinegar supplements currently on the market do not contain acetic acid, which makes the treatment work to help with weight loss and lower blood sugar levels.

The way to describe how acidic foods affect or alter the glycemic index… is to say it is unexpected. The way vinegar lowers blood sugars is by slowing the absorption of digested sugars from the large intestine. The acid in vinegar is neutralized by bicarbonate in the intestines, and without the bicarbonate, glucose does not pass into the bloodstream quickly. Eating a vinegary pickle, or even taking a little shot glass of vinegar before a meal will reduce post-prandial blood sugar increases.

All that said, this is the summary of how acidic foods work: what happens is acidic foods significantly lower the glycemic index of a carbohydrate food, or a meal, by one-third. The reason lies in how your stomach and digestive system work (see above). Acidic foods slow down the emptying of your stomach. The food slows down your digestion, which slows down how quickly your blood sugar levels rise.

Vinegar the Blood Glucose Controller: A Secrecy Weapon in the Kitchen Pharmacy

Shared Medical Appointment: An Innovative Practice Model

November 22, 2014

Shared Medical Appointment: An Innovative Practice Model

A visit to a physician can always be such a tense moment. This is often characterized with a lot of anxiety and high expectations on the part of the patient. As a patient you want to get well. Yet you are also torn between the desire to get well and the fear of negative outcomes. It is usually worse with chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart conditions, asthma and ulcers.

It is based on such considerations and a hoard of others that it becomes necessary for the medical practitioner to adopt a method or initiate one that is more likely to make the medical appointment a less excruciating experience.

If the practitioner is able to turn the tension of the moment into a fun filled experience then it is a definite straight up success. It is not just the victim who enjoys the benefit of the experience with the medic, rather, the medical expert also stands to derive considerable gratification from handling a satisfied patient. No palm wetting, no forehead sweats; just a cool and non-tense exchange between a medic and his or her patient.

Impetus for the shared medical appointment approach

The shared medical appointment can be said to be resulting from the above line of considerations, to make the experience a natural process.

This shared medical appointment model, also referred to as group visits, cluster visits or problem solving drop-in group medical appointments (DIGMA) has been orchestrated with the core objective of inspiring the medical practitioner to come up with, implement and appraise shared medical appointments chiefly for patients with diabetes.

The model is basically an innovative approach that has a distinctly different methodology as opposed to the usual diabetes education classes. It involves a group of 12 to 16 patients meeting up with a doctor, medical assistant, behaviorist, nurse, and dedicated documenter for a time period of one and a half hours.

The traditional diabetic classes on the other hand usually address self-management techniques, the question of exercise and recommended nutrition for these patients. The group visits provide medical evaluation, the coordination and provision of precautionary services, mechanisms of adjusting medication, all which often miss in the ordinary diabetic classes.

The model succeeds in its conception as being innovative since it is found to improve the care offered to conventional patients of chronic disorders which primarily include diabetes as well as asthma, coronary disease, and urological conditions by aiding the use of available resources far more efficiently.

shared-Medical-appointments

The majority of successful shared medical appointment programs have included an element of case management and between-visit care coordination. The program is traditionally headed by a nurse, a physician or nurse practitioner.

If you set up a limited component of care management for group of patients who attend the programs of these cluster visits the program can be quite a useful step toward a wider use of care coordination within your field of practice.

A patient of diabetes may use these shared medical appointment programs in the place of a primary care or they can as well alternate the two sets of care arrangements: group visits and the one-on-one care units.

Other than the group education services typically offered in group visits, collective problem-solving, focused secluded or partially private health evaluations which allow for personalized medication adjustment; the programs may also involve ordering of referrals and preemptive services.

The sessions may always vary. They may go from one hour to even several hours depending with the physician-patient arrangements. Each session may have a varied number of attendees, with the typical maximum being 20 persons.

Benefits of the Group Visits Model

shared-medical-appointment Past medical records have indicated that patients generally enjoy interacting in a shared form of environment. There are less cases of tension associated with medical situations and this can always provide a lot of encouragement to those who attend the sessions while providing them with essential tips that may not be received in a short medical visit.

Physicians also benefit from the change of pace typical of these programs and have a chance to innovatively and much more thoroughly attend to the matters presented by chronic disorders which are common in most of the primary care circumstances.

Evaluations of the shared medical appointments have also reported a general increase in satisfaction levels of the patients and clinicians along with improved quality of care offered in the cluster situations. There have also been a reduction in the aggregate emergency section and specialist visits by these patients. This indicates a general possibility of increased perfection in following the directions provided during the sessions.

What makes the cluster visits even more beneficial is the communal environment created by the group approaches. Patients are able to share experiences freely and feel relieved by the existence of certain critical but shared experiences. It is human nature that you feel better when you know that you are not alone in your situation. Just the environment alone, the sight of many people supposedly in for the same course is enough to relax a patient’s nerves.

The patients attending the sessions are able to share their concerns collectively and get responses. This may help in two different ways. A patient who is either shy or simply unwilling to ask a pressing question may benefit from another patient asking the same. Secondly, a patient may get response to a question that he or she might have forgotten to ask the nurse or the physician in attendance. In general, the patients learn from the healthcare team in session, from one another as well as from the environment itself.

About the doctor

Dr. Dalal Akouri has years or experience attending to patients with various life threatening chronic illnesses and is proud to have improved the lives of such patients. You too can join this vast community of patients who have seen the fruits of her work by contacting het today.

Shared Medical Appointment: An Innovative Practice Model

Tag Archives: Diabetes mellitus