In light of the diabetes epidemic, patients are realizing the critical importance of finding ways to help better manage this life-threatening disease. Those who’ve been diagnosed with diabetes must live with not only physical side-effects, but emotional and mental impacts, as well. 

So, what can be done to lessen the burden diabetes puts on those who have it? 

Kratom may be the answer.

In this article, we will cover the benefits of kratom in those who’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, including how this natural botanical has been scientifically proven to reduce episodes of high blood sugar in diabetics.

Can Kratom Help Diabetics?

Although this is up for debate, there are many diabetics who say that taking kratom has helped them manage some of the factors that affect blood sugar levels, such as chronic pain or heightened anxiety. All of which can cause an increase in the stress levels of our body. In turn, the liver will release sugar into the bloodstream, as it does whenever the human body is “stressed”, or has feelings of stress. For a diabetic, this can be a major problem. Running high blood sugar levels often leads to very serious, sometimes fatal, consequences. 

Alleviating stress for a diabetic makes a positive impact on their health, but that is not the only benefit kratom has for people with this disease. 

Kratom is known to help minimize pain in a natural and non-addictive way. By easing the pain we feel, our stress levels lessen as a result. On that same note, many people say kratom helps with their anxiety by lowering stress levels. Of course, both of these are signs of the health benefits kratom can offer to those suffering from diabetes. But that’s not all – kratom is reported to help subside food cravings and prevent overeating, another hazard to the body of a diabetic. 

Diabetic Neuropathy is a type of nerve damage that can occur if you have diabetes. There are four types of Peripheral neuropathy, often referred to by diabetics as “pins-and-needles”, is a type of nerve damage that can occur in people with diabetes. Damage is most often prominent in the hands and feet, and in many cases will result in chronic pain, numbness and weakness within and surrounding the affected areas.   

As you can see, there are many benefits to using kratom as a way to help treat several of the negative effects diabetes has on the body. Another perk is the fact that most everyone in the U.S. can purchase kratom online from a reputable vendor, and experience the benefits of this botanical for themselves!

Scientific Evidence of Kratom’s Impact in Diabetics

Long ago, even prior to recorded history, the native people of Southeast Asia were reaping the benefits of kratom plants. Some of which include its analgesic and stimulant properties, ability to boost one’s mood, ease stress and induce feelings of relaxation, as well as (you guessed it) alleviate chronic pain – offering pain relief for diabetic neuropathy, without the laundry-list of negative side effects associated with synthetic painkillers (opioids). 

In today’s world, there is a major emphasis on finding a natural, non-addictive medicine or supplement that can provide pain relief to people suffering from chronic illness. Urgency in finding that solution is at an all time high, as the rise of addiction and overdose-related deaths in America has surpassed epidemic proportions. 

So, what’s the answer to America’s opioid epidemic? Kratom may just be a perfect solution.

Media and news outlets have picked up on the fact that kratom usage is increasing in popularity, as patients scramble to find an all-natural alternative to traditional, lab-made pain pills. Due to this recent influx in press coverage, kratom has truly hit the spotlight for study and research groups around the world. 

Amazingly, the most significant breakthrough researchers discovered about the impacts of this natural botanical in connection with type 2 diabetics, is that it has been shown to help restore insulin function – the answer to significant relief for type-2’s, the most common type of diabetes. This information was discovered by a group of researchers who conducted a study titled, “Study on Glucose Transport in Muscle Cells by Extract from Mitragyna Speciosa and Mitragynine”. 

Now, that’s not to say kratom would cure type 2 diabetes, by any means. But it has been scientifically shown to regenerate pancreas functions. Both diabetics and those struggling with other diseases (particularly those that cause chronic pain), are hopeful for the future of kratom research.  

More information on kratom and it’s effects can be found at www.kratomplants.com.

The post Kratom and Diabetes: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Diabetes Insider.

One reason insurers might not cover this drug, explains Dr. Steve Miller, has to do with the fact that the anti-obesity drugs tend to yield more long term results like lowering blood pressure and lowering overall risk for heart disease. “For things that are preventive in the long term,” he says, “it makes plan sponsors think about their strategy.” Miller is the chief medical officer with Express Scripts, a company that manages prescription drug benefits for thousands of companies.

He explains, for example, that companies with high employment turnover are less likely to cover drugs like this. He explains, “Most health plans will cover things that have an immediate impact in that plan year.”
By his estimates, about one third of companies will not cover anti-obesity drugs at all; another one third will cover all of the FDA-approved weight loss drugs; and the final third will cover some approved drugs, but with various restrictions.

Medicare specifically excludes coverage of any anti-obesity drug.

Unfortunately this creates a bit of a conundrum. Boston University’s director of Nutrition and Weight Management Research Center, Dr. Caroline Apovian, shares that many of her patients can’t afford $200 per month out of pocket for these types of drugs.

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“She knows the long-term effects of having chemo, what it does to your organs, what it does to your body. She may not be able to have children after this because it affects everything in your body. It not only kills cancer, it kills everything in your body,” says Cassandra’s mother, Jackie Fortin.

Michael S. Taylor, her attorney (the mother’s) argues, “It’s a question of fundamental constitutional rights—the right to have a say over what happens to your body—and the right to say to the government ‘you can’t control what happens to my body.’”

Of course, at 17, she is technically still a “minor,” so that complicates things a little. Still, as an American it would seem that, in terms of medical emergency, she should have the right to refuse treatment.

He continues, “The Supreme Court of the state has never ruled on this issue, the Supreme Court of the United States has not ruled on this issue. So it’s very significant not just for our client, and for the minor child, but for the law in general.”

Speaking about her daughter’s rights, Fortin said “This is her decision, and she’s very intelligent enough to make this decision on her own. She does not want poisons in her body, and she does not want to be forced through the state or the government to force her to do such a thing. And right now, at this moment, she is being forced chemo upon her against her wish.”

The post Connecticut Teen Force To Take Chemotherapy appeared first on Diabetes Insider.

Previous studies have actually shown that there is a definite link between body symmetry and mental performance in the elder years; and that men with more symmetrical faces seem to experience slower brain degradation in old age.
This is the first study, however, to connect symmetry with children.

Professor Ian Deary is the Director of the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh. He led the research project and confides, “The connection between physical symmetry and reaction times could be an important clue to health and well-being over a person’s life course. This finding can shed light on how the mind and the body develop together from childhood to older age.”
He goes on to say, “We did not think there would be a large association between hand symmetry and speediness of response, but we did find a slight and significant one. It is an interesting small contribution to our trying to understand how early development might link with later health.”

Professor Deary also adds that bodily symmetry could actually sign of biological fitness.

He continues, “There was a slight association such that faster responses went, on average, with greater hand symmetry. We now have evidence that these two predictors of later health are related in early life.”

In conclusion, Dr David Hope, with the centre for medical education—also at the University of Edinburgh—said: “This finding links cognitive ability and health very early in the life course – even before school-age physical actions are connected with a person’s body then reflected in mental function.”

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Anyone who might use the domestic herbicide “Roundup” have been advised to reconsider since the compound contains something called glyphosate.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the herbicide has been detected in air, water, and in food but also “in the blood and urine of agricultural workers, indicating absorption.”

Andreas Kortenkamp is a professor of human toxicology at Brunel University, in London. He says that anyone who applies the weed-killer to their plants is vulnerable to it.

“Professional gardeners would industrial strength glyphosate to totally wipe their garden of all plants. Amateur gardeners can also buy it as Roundup in a formulation which is not as strong,” he explains, adding, “Anyone who sprays it could get a whiff of it. People should be very careful with this stuff and consider whether they need it. Home gardeners should hand weed to be on the safe side.”

He urges that national agricultural regulatory bodies should take this advisory warning very seriously.

Explaining that glyphosate is designed to inhibit an enzyme crucial to photosynthesis, professor Kortenkamp said continues, “It is one of the most widely used herbicides worldwide. The important thing is 2A categorization in the IARC is equivalent to 1B in the European Union, which means it will not receive authorization,” adding, “It gets into the plant, then shrivels it up so it turns brown and then dies. It is marvelous for plants with horrible invasive roots like dandelions or bind weed.”

Indeed, this study is important because glyphosate is actually used in more than 750 different products in the agriculture and forestry industries as well as in both urban and home applications.

The post Study Concludes Popular Weed Killer Is Probably Cancerous appeared first on Diabetes Insider.

“The current information, consolidated with past reports, propose that it might be prudent to observe fetal development in women who have experienced bariatric surgery, especially in those who have had gastric bypass surgery,” writes Aaron Caughey, MD, PhD, of Oregon Health & Science University in Portland,
Caughey also mentions that he would not necessarily suggest antepartum fetal surveillance because there is no current proof that it would improve the results.

The study authors go on to say, however, “For every pregnancy after bariatric surgery, up to five control pregnancies were matched for the mother’s presurgery body-mass index (we utilized early-pregnancy BMI in the controls), age, parity, smoking history, educational level, and delivery year.”
Karolinska Institute postdoctoral researcher and nutritionist, Kari Johansson, of Stockholm, comments, “The number of women who are obese in early pregnancy has increased dramatically over the last decades.” The study author continues, “Consequently, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of women becoming pregnant after bariatric surgery.”

She also points out that “The positive effects of bariatric surgery on health outcomes — such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease — are reasonably well-studied, but less is known about the effects on pregnancy and [post-delivery] outcomes.”

Indeed, this new potential risk is something that has only recently been theorized and partially observed so more research is necessary. Still, it is certainly worth investigating and forewarning those women who satisfy these conditions so as to determine an appropriate course of action in the future.

The post New Study Investigates Potential Link Bariatric Surgery and Pregnancy Complications appeared first on Diabetes Insider.

Actually, the study is based on the understanding that some people seem to exhibit the behavior of substance dependence—or maybe even substance abuse—in regards to the foods that they eat. While it has not been “proven” that these processed foods can illicit the same chemical reaction in addiction patients, the belief is that there is certainly a correlation.

“If properties of some foods are associated with addictive eating for some people, this may impact nutrition guidelines, as well as public policy initiatives such as marketing these foods to children,” explains University of Michigan psychology doctoral student and lead study author Erica Schulte.
She goes on to say, “This is a first step towards identifying specific foods, and properties of foods, which can trigger this addictive response. This could help change the way we approach obesity treatment. It may not be a simple matter of ‘cutting back’ on certain foods, but rather, adopting methods used to curtail smoking, drinking and drug use.”

Similarly, Dr. Nicole Avena of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai agrees, citing that she has also found that behaviors and attitudes surrounding certain kinds of food seem to resemble addiction patterns.

Dr. Avena also notes, “Several studies really do suggest that highly-palatable, highly-processed foods can produce behaviors and changes in the brain that one would use to diagnose an addiction, like drugs and alcohol.”

She goes on to explain that this discovery could help us to understand and adjust the way we think about treatment for things like obesity.

The post Study Investigates the Potentially Addictive Nature of Our Favorite foods appeared first on Diabetes Insider.

Duke University researcher Brian Hare comments, “This new work continues to build the case for just how sensitive dogs are to our subtle behaviors. This is the strongest evidence yet that dogs may even read our facial expressions.”

Study author Ludwig Huber explains “It seems that dogs dislike approaching angry faces.”

Hare, who was not involved with the study, continues, “This means when being trained to categorize the original set of faces as either happy or unhappy the dogs did not rely on features specific to the photos they were being trained on. They must have used a higher-level rule like ‘happy face’ or ‘unhappy face’ that also allowed them to succeed with the new faces. That is a surprising finding.”
Huber adds, “It had been unknown that dogs could recognize human emotions in this way. To better understand the development of these skills, we want to perform similar tests also with wolves at the Wolf Science Center.”
Corsin Muller, of the Messerli Research Institute at the University of Veterinary Medicine, in Vienna, adds, “We’re mostly interested in what’s going on in the heads of animals.” The lead study author adds that these ideas could help us understand how to better care for the animals in our lives. “Most of this is about how we keep them and how we treat them. What sort of conditions do the animals need to live happy lives?”

Finally Corsin concludes, “We believe that dogs draw on their memory during this exercise. They recognize a facial expression which they have already stored. We suspect that dogs that have no experience with people would perform worse or could not solve the task at all.”

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He says, “Although lifestyle modifications may result in lasting weight loss in overweight individuals, in those with chronic obesity bodyweight seems to become biologically defended.”

Ochner continues, “Therefore, the current advice to eat less and exercise more may be no more effective for most obese individuals than a recommendation to avoid sharp objects for someone bleeding profusely.”

He goes on to add, “Few individuals ever truly recover from obesity; rather they suffer from ‘obesity in remission’. They are biologically very different from individuals of the same age, sex, and bodyweight who never had obesity.”
According to Dr Ochner, “Many clinicians are not aware of the reasons individuals with obesity struggle to achieve and maintain weight loss. Obesity should be recognised as a chronic and often treatment-resistant disease with both biological and behavioural causes that require a range of medical interventions including biologically based interventions such as pharmacotherapy or surgery as well as lifestyle modification.”

He adds, “Ignoring these biological factors and continuing to rely on behavioural modification will surely result in the continued inability to treat obesity effectively and the premature death of millions of individuals each year.”

However Dr Ochner says: “Obesity should be recognised as a chronic and often treatment-resistant disease with both biological and behavioural causes.”

The post Treating Obesity is Tricky And Diet And Exercise Not Always Help appeared first on Diabetes Insider.

A team of researchers from the Imperial College of London, under leader Melissa Merritt, investigated cancer data about more than 450,000 women from two ongoing research studies. From this pool, they discovered that about 2,800 women had endometrial cancer; then the team began observing their diets and their consistency at maintaining the diets over a period of time.

Those women who consumed a minimum of 37 ounces or about 4 cups of coffee every day developed a lower risk of uterine cancer – up to 18%; additionally, about 83 different types of food and drinks examined were not found to lower risks of endometrial cancer in women, at least not up to this rate.
Coffee regulates the production of the hormone estrogen in women. According to the American Cancer Society, women suffer the risks of developing endometrial cancer when they produce more estrogen than progesterone, which causes hormonal imbalance. Coffee is also rich in antioxidants, and helps prevent cellular damage within the body, thereby reducing the possibility of developing cancers.

Endometrial cancer is a type of cancer that affects cells on the lining of the wall of the uterus or the endometrium. The cancer causes symptoms like pelvic pain, pain during sexual intercourse, watery or bloody discharges from the vagina, and also bleeding in-between monthly period.

The National Cancer Institute reports that more than 50,000 uterine cancer cases are diagnosed every year. Out of these, about 8,000 die because of complications arising from the disease.

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