Global Diabetes 2019

Beans are a diabetes superfood, meaning they are an excellent choice for people with diabetes and provide many health and nutritional benefits. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) created a list of beneficial foods for diabetes, or diabetic superfoods, that are "rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber" and may help prevent disease. Beans are at the top of this list.   Carbohydrates Although beans contain carbohydrates, they are low on the glycemic index (GI) scale and do not cause significant spikes in a person's blood sugar levels. Beans are a complex carbohydrate. The body digests this form more slowly than other carbohydrates, helping to keep blood sugar levels stable for longer. According to the University of California, a ½ cup serving of the following beans contains 125 calories, 15 grams (g) of carbohydrates, 7 g of protein, and 0–3 grams of fat when cooked Baked beans may contain more carbohydrate. Cans of baked beans can also...

Mother Nature could have the answer to treat several causes of blindness, according to a ground-breaking study involving scientists from the University of Surrey and the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute at Indiana University School of Medicine in the USA. The scientists have found and tested compounds from a group of plants that could possibly be used to treat the causes of degenerative eye diseases such as proliferative diabetic retinopathy. This abnormal growth of new blood vessel cells in the eye is linked to a number of types of blindness, including in premature babies (retinopathy of prematurity), diabetics (proliferative diabetic retinopathy) and older adults (wet age-related macular degeneration). In a paper published by the American Chemical Society, the University of Surrey, together with experts from Indiana University in America and Kingston University, detailed their testing of naturally occurring homoisoflavonoids found in the Hyacinthaceae plant fam...

A high-protein, low-fat snack before bed may help people with diabetes stabilize their blood sugar levels overnight. Everyone's blood sugar levels change throughout the night. In people with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes, these fluctuations can cause high blood sugar levels, or hyperglycemia, in the morning. A tactical late-night snack before bed may help balance these levels.     How do glucose levels change overnight? A person can identify how their glucose levels change during the night by taking various readings. A person's blood sugar levels change during the night, mainly, because of two processes: The dawn phenomenon:  Between roughly 3:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., blood sugar levels surge as part of the process of waking up. This causes high blood sugar levels in the morning. The Somogyi effect:  Glucose levels drop significantly between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. The body responds by releasing hormones that raise blood sugar levels a...

A red spot on the eye may look worrying, but it is rarely a medical emergency. Usually, a red spot on the eye occurs when blood collects under the conjunctiva due to a subconjunctival hemorrhage. A red spot on the eye, or subconjunctival hemorrhage, usually occurs as a result of increased blood pressure. In some cases, subconjunctival hemorrhages can appear without any identifiable cause. Rare causes of subconjunctival hemorrhages include: high blood pressure taking blood thinners medical disorders that cause bleeding and  diabetes Diabetic Retinopathy Diabetic Retinopathy can also lead to a red spot on the eye. This occurs when blood vessels in the eye break due to high blood sugar levels. Blood from broken or leaking vessels can cause "floaters" or dark spots in the vision. People may not realize they have diabetic retinopathy until it affects their vision. Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy include: floaters blurred vision re...

Today, millions of people in the United States are unaware that they have diabetes. A recent study finds that data from a readily available smartphone app could help detect diabetes in people without requiring a trip to the clinic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 30 million people in the U.S. have diabetes. Worryingly, almost one in four people in the U.S. are living with diabetes but do not know. Without treatment, diabetes can have serious health consequences, including kidney problems, eye conditions, heart disease, and stroke. Currently, a doctor needs to take a blood sample to diagnose diabetes, which generally requires a trip to the clinic. For a wide range of reasons, many people do not have easy access to healthcare, so it is important to find simpler ways of detecting diabetes. Using an app to diagnose diabetes Recently, researchers from the University of California in San Francisco decided to investigate an inno...

A major grant has been awarded to a US researcher who will further investigate stem cell therapies for type 1 diabetes treatments. Xiaojun "Lance" Lian, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Penn State University, is one of three recipients of the College of Engineering's ENGineering for Innovation &Entrepreneurship (ENGINE) grant. Now in its fifth year, ENGINE grants provide financial support to early-stage research results through a proof-of-concept phase. Professor Lian and his team have already exploring making functional beta cells from stem cells. But there are hurdles, and transplanting beta cells does not always work. One of the key issues is the lack of robust cell culture systems that enable stem cells to be differentiated into beta cells. Prof Lian has developed a method which he believes may address this problem. He said: "Our new method is an improvement on previous growth-factor dependent methods, which use protein...