Foods Low in Fat Can Prevent Diabetes Type II
We have always assumed that fatty foods are bad for us because of the calories in them. An excess of calories leads to too much fat around our organs which in turn can lead to insulin resistance, a trigger for diabetes type 2.
But now there is one more reason to avoid ingesting too much fat. A team of researchers at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in the U.S. led by Dr Jamey Marth has found that high levels of fat can disrupt certain vital mechanisms in the body. The working of these mechanisms is vital to prevent diabetes type 2 from developing.
An analysis of the study was made public by the Daily Mail Reporter
How fatty food triggers diabetes
Scientists believe discovery paves way for Type 2 ‘cure’
By Daily Mail Reporter
15th August 2011
Fatty food trips a genetic switch in the body that can trigger diabetes, a study has found. Understanding the biological pathway could lead to a potential cure for the disease, say scientists.
The discovery helps explain why Type 2 diabetes is so often linked to obesity.
Prime suspect: The new research has finally established why diabetes is often linked to obesity. In studies of mice and humans, researchers found that high levels of fat disrupted two key proteins that turn genes on and off.
The ‘transcription factors’ FOXA2 and HNF1A activate a pancreatic enzyme that in healthy people prevents diabetes developing.
When the proteins stop working, the enzyme is shut down, which in turn upsets the ability of insulin-secreting beta cells in the pancreas to monitor blood sugar levels. Without this glucose sugar-sensing mechanism, blood sugar cannot be regulated properly.
Study leader Dr Jamey Marth, from the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in the U.S., said: ‘Now that we know more fully how states of over-nutrition can lead to Type 2 diabetes, we can see more clearly how to intervene.
‘The identification of the molecular players in this pathway to diabetes suggests new therapeutic targets and approaches towards developing an effective preventative or perhaps curative treatment.
‘This may be accomplished by beta cell gene therapy or by drugs that interfere with this pathway in order to maintain normal beta cell function.’ The research is published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Experiments in mice showed that preserving the function of the enzyme affected by FOXA2 and HNF1A blocked the onset of diabetes, even in obese animals.
Diminished glucose sensing by beta cells was an important factor in both the development and severity of the disease. Dr Marth and his team are now looking at ways to augment the enzyme’s activity in humans. More than two million people in the UK have Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.
Insulin-dependent, or Type 1 diabetes is a quite different condition caused by an autoimmune disorder.
Final word
One way to avoid too much fat in your diet is to include more fish in your menus. While 4 ounces of fish still has some fat, the amount is much, much lower than the amount of fat you get in 4 ounces of chicken or red meat. Not eating donuts or ice-cream is another way to cut fat in your diet, of course.
To your good health!
Emilia Klapp, R.D., B.S.
www.TheDiabetesClub.com
www.Discussion.TheDiabetesClub.com
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