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Study Suggests Insufficient Sleep Raises Risk Of Diabetes

The most common factors believed to contribute to diabetes are a decreased amount of physical activity and access to highly palatable processed foods. However, there is growing evidence that another aspect of our modern lifestyle, short sleep duration, is also contributing toward the “diabetes epidemic”, according to a new study.

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“If short sleep duration functions to increase insulin resistance and decrease glucose tolerance, then interventions that increase the amount and improve the quality of sleep could potentially serve as treatments and as primary preventative measures for diabetes,” said Dr. Gangwisch.

via ScienceDaily

Wine in a Pill?

NEW compounds that act like the red wine ingredient resveratrol may offer a new formula for type 2 diabetes drugs and other age-related diseases, researchers at United States drug maker Sirtris Pharmaceuticals said on Wednesday.

‘The excitement here is that we’re not talking about red wine anymore. We’re talking about real drugs,’ said associate professor of pathology David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School and a co-founder of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Sirtris.

‘One of the drawbacks of resveratrol is the doses need to be large. Now this paper says you can reduce it into a little pill taken once a day,’ he said in a telephone interview.

Prof Sinclair and researchers at Sirtris have been looking for drug compounds that mimic the effects of resveratrol, the chemical in red wine that has been shown in several studies to prolong the life of mice and reduce the advance of age-related disease.

via The Straits Times

Type 2? Walk

People with type 2 diabetes may lower their risk of heart disease by committing to a daily walk, new research suggests.

In a study of 102 adults with type 2 diabetes, Japanese researchers found that those who stuck with a daily walking regimen for 17 months had a lower risk of developing heart disease or suffering a stroke than those who stopped exercising.

The study participants, who ranged in age from 35 to 75, were instructed to take a 20- to 30-minute walk every day. Among the 64 who managed to achieve this, just 1 - or 2 percent — suffered a stroke and none developed heart disease during the 17-month study.

In contrast, of the 38 participants who failed to stick with their exercise prescription, 7 — or 18 percent — developed heart disease or had a stroke.

via: MedlinePlus

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