Jo’s Cafe

Scientists amaze me with what they work on to try and make people’s lives better with whatever disease they may have. They came up with oral, inhaled insulin, but alas that went away. I really believe the delivery device was too combersum and if had been more the size of an asthma inhaler it might have done better.

But the search for better insulin delivery continues and moving forward with a pill is continuing.

Insulin News That’s Easy To Swallow

There’s good news on the horizon for the millions of Americans who suffer from diabetes. A new method for taking insulin orally has been developed that mimics the way the body naturally processes this crucial hormone.

“A capsule option would be a first choice for diabetics if it was available and a best-case solution,” says Nadav Kidron, CEO of Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc., an Israeli-based biotechnology company that has created and patented an oral insulin capsule primarily intended for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. “Oral insulin delivery is an idea with huge potential not only for patients who dislike needles but, with the insulin market generating $25 billion a year in worldwide revenues, it represents an enormous opportunity for drug developers as well.”

A Diet Rich in MUFA’s Can Reduce Belly Fat

Fat that accumulates around the abdomen increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Doctors recommend that people who are heavier in the midsection, reduce this area with diet and exercise.

According to a study that appeared in Diabetes Care, a journal published by the American Diabetes Association, a diet rich in monounsaturated fats (MUFA) may help reduce abdominal fat better than a carbohydrate rich diet.

When test subjects ate a carbohydrate enriched diet, they tended to accumulate fat in the abdomen. When they ate a diet that had more MUFA, abdominal fat concentration decreased, even without exercise.

The battle of the bulg, especially around the waist, is the worst about dieting. I can get the pounds off everywhere else BUT the stomach refuses to cooperate. The fact a high carbohydrate diet increased belly fat justifies claims that a low-carb diet is the best for diabetics.

Oh now this was a fun read: Readers Challenge Insulin Manufacturers: Help Us Avoid Near-Fatal Mistakes! from Diabetes Health.com. The article is about how it should be the manufacturer’s responsibility to mark different types of insulin so the end-user won’t make a mistake. The whole time I’m reading this, I hear chanting in the back of my mind, “Nanny State, Nanny State, Nanny State“. But when you get to the comments you find I wasn’t the only one with that chant going. The best comment was from Russ:

OH MY GOSH…….This has got to stop!!! The people of this world need to start taking responceability for there own actions. It is NOT the fault of the manufactures that these people cant read. I have and take both a slow acting and a fast acting insulin, and i would NEVER blame somebody else for me taking the wrong one or the wrong dose!! WAKE UP READ THE LABELS AND BE ACCOUNTABLE!!

Exactly Russ, exactly.

Herbal cure for Type II diabetes granted patent

JAIPUR: A medicinal composition for the cure of diabetes, prepared from the extracts of the commonly found Kadamb tree (Mitragyna parvifolia) leaves, has been granted patent by the Controller-General of Patents, India. The composition, containing cadambine and dihydroconchonine, two types of alkaloids found in the tree, has also received an international classification number from the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The inventor of the medicine, Suresh Sharma of Jaipur, says it took him over 20 years and bankruptcy to develop the medicine which has successfully been tried on 1,300 patients suffering from Type II diabetes.

When taken for a period ranging from 4-10 months, one of the quninoline alkaloids in the medicine, cadambine, removed insensitivity of insulin receptors situated in adipose tissues of the muscles while the other, dihydrocinchonine, regulated the production of endogenous insulin, he said.

Interesting … something to keep an eye on. Anything natural is better I believe.