Thursday, May 25, 2017

Microbe/Host Genetic Interactions

Nuclear Receptor

Here's a brand new paper out of Duke University that shows for the first time how gut microbes directly can effect host cells which could lead to human disease. This strengthens my notion that we must maintain a healthy gut flora and avoid upsets that can lead to colonization by pathogenic microbes.

Microbiota regulate intestinal epithelial gene expression by suppressing  the transcription 1 factor  Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha (Davison et al., 2017).

Sure to get a collective *yawn* from most readers, and even researchers, this paper explores a phenomenon that many seem to ignore:
...the roles of nuclear receptors  in host responses remain poorly understood, and no previous study has defined the impact of microbiota on nuclear receptor DNA binding. Nuclear receptors are a metazoan innovation.

Monday, May 1, 2017

Potatoes Cure T2D!

Here's a fairly recent paper that I missed last year (hattip DuckDodger).  Glycemic Control for Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (Sept 2016).  A release article was presented that seemed to imply that blood glucose control is not important at all. It seemed to say that drugs such as Metformin for blood sugar control did absolutely nothing. The article demands we get new drugs to treat diabetes!

There is a risk that all of the attention on blood sugar levels is distracting researchers from pursuing new leads. If doctors check the shelf for other medications that do something beyond glucose control, they will find that medical cupboard is bare. 


Big Pharma to the Rescue! 
Here's what the paper says, a little different than the fake news. They conclude:
The evidence summarized here  requires us to explore factors other than tight glycemic control  to  explain  this  improvement  and  better  address  the  diabetes  mellitus  epidemic.  Exciting  new  questions  and  new  answers  may surface as we look beyond glycemic control. 

The paper showed that if you have diabetes and you take blood sugar controlling drugs, you will have a slightly longer life than those who do not take drugs. 

The researchers are asking: Could we spend our research dollars more wisely than developing more glucose lowering drugs?

The answer is YES!
Potatoes for the Win!
If you have Type 2 Diabetes, you need to make some MAJOR changes in your life. I assume that people who take drugs to control their BG may also decide to make some big lifestyle changes...like eating whole, unprocessed foods. Exercising. And more crazy ideas: Low Carb Diets, Ketogenic diets, high RS diets, Diabetes Warrior Diets, heck...[gratuitous Amazon Link warning]: The Potato Hack: Weight Loss Simplified which details the use of all-potato diets to cure diabetes. 

Yes, yes. We need to look beyond treating T2D with drugs! The drugs work, though. Don't get me wrong. But why the drugs work may be bigger than tight blood sugar control. Maybe the changes are related to a change in gut flora after taking some drugs (ie. Metformin). In fact, Metformin in particular, is a really good drug for diabetics after it's too late to reverse normally. 


Metformin has a number of actions within the gut. It increases intestinal glucose uptake and lactate production, increases GLP-1 concentrations and the bile acid pool within the intestine, and alters the microbiome.
It's obvious that diabetes can be treated differently. Drugs are not the only option. T2D's need to completely give up sweets and breads, fried foods and fast-food. T2D's need to routinely check their blood glucose with a home test kit and strive to keep their fasting blood glucose under 130 and reduce post-prandial spikes. If diagnosed with pre-Diabetes or T2D, you HAVE to make changes. Most people's only change is to take drugs, and make no lifestyle modifications:

Here you have an obese, middle-aged person. Probably has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and a host of auto-immune conditions. They take Glucerna, Metformin or Cycloset and their doctor is encouraged about their good blood sugar numbers. Chides to lose weight and eat whole-grain wheat and lean meat. This person only sees a slight advantage in life when compared to people whose blood sugar in not controlled in any way. 

Conclusion

Type 2 Diabetes is common. Very common. It's easy to find diabetic test subjects. It's hard to find people with diabetes who are controlling their own disease progression with dietary interventions and lifestyle changes.

My contention is that everyone is at risk of developing T2D. All you have to do is eat the foods presented before you on TV and billboards. Eat all you want. Whenever you want. You'll soon be a candidate for diabetic drugs. Want it faster?  Don't move around so much. Take antibiotics.

Once T2D sets in, it's pretty late to be starting to get healthy. Prevention is key. Pay attention to blood glucose levels. Take action at the first signs of Pre-diabetes. Persons with T2D can benefit greatly from different diet plans that control blood glucose without medicine. Low carb diets, high carb diets, and everything in between.  It's not just the carbs, it's the quality and quantity.

The preferable option is to eat right, exercise, and get a good night's sleep. You'll never have to worry about diabetes.

Anybody here fighting diabetes or concerned about their blood glucose numbers?  Tell me about it.

I am collecting data from 10 people who are tracking their blood glucose levels immediately after ingesting 2 spoonfuls of RS, as soon as they all get me their data, I'll write up a blog post that I think you will find very interesting.

Oh, and forgive me for the sensationalist post title. It seems to be the thing to do lately.
Later!
Tim

Reference:
Rodríguez-Gutiérrez, R., & Montori, V. M. (2016). Glycemic Control for Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, CIRCOUTCOMES-116.