Weight Loss & Diabetes News
Fibre Could Help Weight Loss And Prevent Diabetes
Diabetes UK is funding new research to determine if fermentable carbohydrates found in foods like asparagus, garlic, chicory and Jerusalem artichokes could be used to help weight loss and prevent Type 2 diabetes.
The charity is funding dietitian Nicola Guess at Imperial College, London, to investigate the role fermentable carbohydrates could play in Type 2 diabetes prevention. The carbohydrate will be given to participants as a daily supplement during three periods of investigation, each examining different mechanisms involved in the prevention of Type 2 diabetes.
Sustained weight loss can delay and even prevent Type 2 diabetes and recent research has suggested that certain foods are good at stabilising blood glucose levels. Fermentable carbohydrates are an example as they release gut hormones that could reduce appetite and enhance insulin sensitivity, which could lead to improved blood glucose control and weight loss.
An easy way to reduce people’s risk
Nicola Guess said: “By investigating how appetite and blood glucose levels are regulated in people at high risk of Type 2 diabetes, it is hoped that we can find a way to prevent its onset. If successful, this study will be able to determine whether fermentable carbohydrates could provide the public with an effective and affordable health intervention to reduce an individual’s risk of developing diabetes.”
Dr Iain Frame, Director of Research at Diabetes UK, said: “Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 per cent of all those diagnosed with diabetes and, if left untreated, can lead to serious health complications including heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and amputation.
“It is vital that more is done in the area of diabetes prevention to ensure people are less likely to face a future of ill health. It is unlikely that any single measure used on its own will bring about improved prevention of Type 2 diabetes, but we are constantly increasing our knowledge through research to provide people at high risk with an armoury of approaches that will help them choose what is most suitable for them. It’s hoped that the research being funded at Imperial College will help by aiming to develop an easy and affordable way to help people to reduce their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and managing their blood glucose levels.”
Source: Diabetes UK
Drink Water to Curb Weight Gain? Clinical Trial Confirms Effectiveness of Simple Appetite Control Method
ScienceDaily (Aug. 23, 2010) — Has the long-sought magic potion in society’s “battle with the bulge” finally arrived? An appetite-control agent that requires no prescription, has no common side effects, and costs almost nothing? Scientists report results of a new clinical trial confirming that just two 8-ounce glasses of the stuff, taken before meals, enables people to shed pounds. The weight-loss elixir, they told the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), is ordinary water.
“We are presenting results of the first randomized controlled intervention trial demonstrating that increased water consumption is an effective weight loss strategy,” said Brenda Davy, Ph.D., senior author on the study. “We found in earlier studies that middle aged and older people who drank two cups of water right before eating a meal ate between 75 and 90 fewer calories during that meal. In this recent study, we found that over the course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals, three times per day, lost about 5 pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake.”
“People should drink more water and less sugary, high-calorie drinks. It’s a simple way to facilitate weight management.”
Davy pointed out that folklore and everyday experience long have suggested that water can help promote weight loss. But there has been surprisingly little scientific information on the topic. Previous studies hinted that drinking water before meals reduces intake of calories. Lacking until now, however, has been the “gold-standard” evidence from a randomized, controlled clinical trial that compares weight loss among dieters who drink water before meals with those who do not.
The study included 48 adults aged 55-75 years, divided into two groups. One group drank 2 cups of water prior to their meals and the other did not. All of the subjects ate a low-calorie diet during the study. Over the course of 12 weeks, water drinkers lost about 15.5 pounds, while the non-water drinkers lost about 11 pounds.
Davy said water may be so effective simply because it fills up the stomach with a substance that has zero calories. People feel fuller as a result, and eat less calorie-containing food during the meal. Increased water consumption may also help people lose weight if they drink it in place of sweetened calorie-containing beverages, said Davy, who is with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.
Diet soda pop and other beverages with artificial sweeteners may also help people reduce their calorie intake and lose weight, Davy said. However, she advised against using beverages sweetened with sugar and high-fructose corn syrup because they are high in calories. A 12-ounce can of regular soda pop, for instance, contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar.
Davy noted that that nobody knows exactly how much water people should drink daily. The Institute of Medicine, an agency of The National Academies, which advises the Federal Government on science, says that most healthy people can simply let thirst be their guide. It does not specify exact requirements for water, but set general recommendations for women at about 9 cups of fluids — from all beverages including water — each day, and men at about 13 cups of fluids.
And it is possible to drink too much water, a situation that can lead to a rare, but serious, condition known as water intoxication, Davy pointed out.
Drink, Drink and be slimmer
Drinking two glasses of water before each meal may help you lose weight, according to a new study presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston.
Obese dieters who drank two 80z glasses of water
DrInk two 8-ounce glasses of water before meals
before breakfast, lunch and dinner lost five pounds more than dieters who didn’t increase their water intake. Those who drank more water also kept more of the weight off after a year, said Brenda Davy, an associate professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
The study included only middle aged and older adults between the ages of 55 and 75 who were on diet – 1,200 calories per day for women and 1,500 calories per day for men. Half of the people were told to drink 16 ounces of water before every meal. After three months, the dieters who drank water had lost an average of about 15.5 pounds, while those who didn’t lost just 11 pounds.
It’s a popular anecdote that drinking more water will help you lose weight. Davy’s study is the first randomized controlled trial to test
Dr Davy, from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, said water may be so effective simply because it fills the stomach up with a liquid that has no calories.
EAT YOUR GREENS TO FIGHT THE DIABETES
Research published today in the British Medical Journal claims eating more green leafy vegetables can significantly reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
The authors, led by Patrice Carter at the University of Leicester, reviewed six studies, involving over 220,000 people, that focused on the links between fruit and vegetable consumption and Type 2 diabetes.
They found that eating one and a half extra servings of green leafy vegetables a day reduces the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 14 per cent.
Link between green leafy vegetables and diabetes
“We already know that the health benefits of eating vegetables are far-reaching, but this is the first time that there has been a suggested link specifically between green, leafy vegetables and a reduced risk of developing Type 2 diabetes,” said Dr Iain Frame, Director of Research at Diabetes UK. “However, because of the relatively limited number of studies collated in this analysis it is too early to isolate green leafy vegetables and present them alone as a method to reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.”
The researchers say there is a need for further investigation into the potential benefits of green leafy vegetables