• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Diabetes drug could be the first to reverse the disease

svetoslav80

Senior Member
Messages
700
Location
Bulgaria
https://www.newscientist.com/articl...-to-reverse-the-disease/#.WNoylYH-mWk.twitter

By Andy Coghlan

No insulin injections, no avoiding sugar. A daily drug can reverse diabetes symptoms in mice, opening up the possibility of a much easier way for diabetics to keep their blood sugar level within safe limits.

In 2016, the number of people living with diabetes in the UK surpassed 4 million – an increase of 65 per cent over the course of a decade. Some 3.5 million have been diagnosed, but 550,000 are thought to have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, which is linked to being overweight, and can develop later in life.

Many people develop type 2 diabetes as they age, as their body’s response to insulin – a hormone that controls how much sugar circulates in our blood – gets weaker. Some people can manage their symptoms by sticking to a restrictive diet, or using drugs to remove sugar from their system, although many of these have side effects, such as weight gain or diarrhoea.

These drugs can only help manage the disease – they cannot reverse it. “We don’t have anything that can overcome insulin resistance,” says Emily Burns of the charity Diabetes UK. As a result, many people end up having to inject insulin to make sure excess sugar is removed from their blood. Left untreated, type 2 diabetes can lead to heart and kidney disease, nerve damage, foot ulcers and vision problems.

A daily pill
A daily pill that restores the body’s sensitivity to insulin may make it easier to control the diabetes boom in rich nations where obesity is on the rise. Stephanie Stanford of the University of California, San Diego, and her team have found that giving mice with diabetes a drug that affects insulin signalling restores their ability to control their blood sugar levels.

The drug was given daily, by mouth, and did not seem to have any side effects in the mice. The animals had developed the condition after a high-fat diet had made them obese.

“This could lead to a new therapeutic strategy for treating type 2 diabetes,” says Stanford, whose team believes that the drug could lead to fewer people with adult-onset diabetes becoming dependent on insulin injections. “If this new drug works as described, it could be used to reverse insulin resistance, but we need to know first if it does that safely in people,” says Burns.

The drug works by inhibiting an enzyme called low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMPTP), which seems to contribute to cells losing their sensitivity to insulin. By hindering LMPTP, the drug reawakens insulin receptors on the surface of cells – especially in the liver – which normally absorb excess sugar from the blood when they detect insulin.

Reversing diabetes
The gene that makes LMPTP has previously been linked with diabetes-like problems in people, prompting the team to investigate further. When the group stopped the gene working in mice, the animals no longer developed diabetes if fed a high-fat diet.

Just stopping this gene in the liver was enough to produce the same effect. “We found that LMPTP is a critical promoter of insulin resistance that develops during obesity,” says Stanford.

So the team developed a drug to block the LMPTP enzyme’s actions in the liver. “Our inhibitor increased activation of the insulin receptor in the liver, and reversed diabetes without any apparent negative side effects,” says Stanford.

“The elegant studies here provide proof of concept that targeting LMPTP in the liver improves glucose control and liver insulin signalling in animals,” says Daniel Drucker of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto, Canada, who says that targeting enzymes like LMPTP has long been a goal for researchers tackling diabetes.

Targeted treatment
So far, most of these efforts have focused on another tyrosine phosphatase enzyme, but it has proven difficult to block this without also causing side effects, says Drucker.

“Our compound is very specific for the target, and we do not see any side effects after treatment in mice for a month, but the next step is to rigorously establish if it’s safe for use in clinical trials,” says Stanford.

“Finding a way to make cells respond to insulin again is an important and exciting strategy,” says Burns. “So far, the drug has only been tested in mice, and while some research in human genetics suggests this approach could work in people too, we need more research before we know how relevant this could be for people with type 2 diabetes.”

Stanford’s team is now embarking on safety testing in animals. “The next step towards the clinic is to understand whether the treatment will be safe for people,” she says.
 

anciendaze

Senior Member
Messages
1,841
Reduced response to insulin appears in one form of diabetes. I know an individual with type 1 diabetes who is 30 times more sensitive to insulin. Unfortunately, tests for sensitivity to insulin are not run as often as they should be. You need to be certain you are treating the right problem before you make such an intervention.

I suspect many people here have dysautonomia with increased insulin sensitivity. More often than not the dysautonomia is ascribed to psychological causes. The disease is ignored until it burns out cells in the pancreas, causing diabetes. I believe this type of diabetes is preventable.
 
Messages
15,786
For some, low calorie diet for a short period seems to help.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28250676

Diet and lifestyle
They're rather over-stating things. Type 2 diabetes is an incurable disease, and the figures they show merely reflect good management of an ongoing disease, not "reversal" or "remission".

Additionally, HbA1c values are still in the diabetic range, albeit in the desired range for diabetics. If the diabetes were "reversed" they should be able to get into the normal range.

Diet and exercise can help a lot. But there's no indication that those treatments, or any other treatment, allow a diabetic to stop treatments and eat like a healthy person without going back to elevated glucose levels. They have a lifelong medical condition which requires ongoing management, even if for some that management may be as simple as restricting carbs and exercising regularly.
 
Last edited:

RogerBlack

Senior Member
Messages
902
They're rather over-stating things. Type 2 diabetes is an incurable disease, and the figures they show merely reflect good management of an ongoing disease, not "reversal" or "remission".

This was not the study I was initially thinking of, which showed reversion of type 2 diabetes with very low calorie diets.
I believe I was thinking of the research of this group:
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal/#scientificinformation
A clinical study designed to test the hypothesis was funded by Diabetes UK. The results were very clear. Weight loss averaging 15kg (2 stone 5lb) achieved over 8 weeks caused two distinct sets of changes. Within seven days, liver fat had fallen by 30%, liver insulin sensitivity had returned to normal and fasting blood glucose had become normal. By eight weeks, pancreas fat content had returned to normal and insulin secretion by the pancreas had returned to normal.

Clearly, there will be variations in response, and some may not 'reset'.
I have not properly read the above linked papers.
 
Messages
15,786
That one is even worse. It was only 11 patients after 4 left, and 3 of the 4 were kicked out because the researchers assumed their failure to have the right lab values was due to dietary non-compliance.

To put it bluntly, anyone claiming that any diet can cure diabetes is talking out of their rectum. Masses of diabetics have already tried every diet under the sun, including the extreme ones, and they still have diabetes afterward.
 

brenda

Senior Member
Messages
2,266
Location
UK
A much safer way to improve insulin resistance is by eating plant based and cutting out all oils salt and sugar. People who do this reduce their A1c to normal and can eat as much complex carbohydrates again and as much fruit as they want so long as they do not go back to meat based and refined carbs. I am doing it. Who knows what damage is done long term inhibiting enzymes.
 

HowToEscape?

Senior Member
Messages
626
A much safer way to improve insulin resistance is by eating plant based and cutting out all oils salt and sugar. People who do this reduce their A1c to normal and can eat as much complex carbohydrates again and as much fruit as they want so long as they do not go back to meat based and refined carbs. I am doing it. Who knows what damage is done long term inhibiting enzymes.

Not all diabetes is the same, and within the several different categories of diabetes, individuals themselves differ. There’s no blanket fix for diabetes. Adult onset diabetes, (type two), can often be managed with diet, exercise, and staying height weight proportional. But not always.

You can’t fix all diabetes with diet any more than you can fix me/CFS with a CBT, GET and a positive attitude.
 

brenda

Senior Member
Messages
2,266
Location
UK
Yes I know that those doing the diet with T1D are staying on insulin though they can reduce it right down. But that is beta cells whereas I was talking about insulin resistance and I do not know of a failure who has that, amongst the thousands of people doing the diet in various groups in the plant food world. Some manage it within a few weeks whereas others take months. In my own case it took the giving up of caffeine to get BG readings down to normal.

If you are not plant based yourself and are not mixing in those circles, and living in the world of the SAD and medications then of course you will be sceptical, but all anyone has to do is conduct their own research and read the medical doctors like Dr Greger and Dr Furhmann who are supporting it and who say that all insulin resistance can be cured to find out the truth.
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
Yes I know that those doing the diet with T1D are staying on insulin though they can reduce it right down. But that is beta cells whereas I was talking about insulin resistance and I do not know of a failure who has that, amongst the thousands of people doing the diet in various groups in the plant food world. Some manage it within a few weeks whereas others take months. In my own case it took the giving up of caffeine to get BG readings down to normal.

If you are not plant based yourself and are not mixing in those circles, and living in the world of the SAD and medications then of course you will be sceptical, but all anyone has to do is conduct their own research and read the medical doctors like Dr Greger and Dr Furhmann who are supporting it and who say that all insulin resistance can be cured to find out the truth.
I am not living in the world of the SAD and medications, and I still do not find the evidence of Greger and Fuhrmann to be compelling at all in reversing diabetes the way the evidence for a ketogenic diet is compelling.

Personally, I have managed to hold off full blown diabetes for over a decade following a ketogenic diet. My brief foray into (a well designed) vegetarian diet left me feeling weak and very depleted. There are vitamins that are simply more bioavailable from meat. We are omnivores for a reason.
 
Last edited:

brenda

Senior Member
Messages
2,266
Location
UK
Sorry I cannot switch Bold off, but I have been unable so far to find if Dr Greger has replied to Denise Minger but I have found the following from someone else she has critiqued:

http://proteinaholic.com/a-response-to-denise-minger-part-1/


A Response to Denise Minger – Part 1
by Garth Davis, MD on May 03, 2016

In other words, if I found that population studies show that people on a plant based diet tend to have lower blood pressure, I would then have to prove that there was some biologic mechanism at play that can explain such an effect. So in the hypertension section I showed several epidemiologic studies, then followed with evidence that fiber can reduce blood pressure, and that glutamic acid, abundant in plants, may lower blood pressure. I followed up by sharing the results of randomized control trials to test the theory that the delineated mechanism did in fact explain the epidemiologic results.

I also emphasized in the book that no single study can support or debunk a hypothesis. Denise, as she did in her critique of the China Study, concentrates on isolated studies, thereby missing the whole structure of the argument. She criticizes a few studies in Proteinaholic from a huge bibliography and then concludes that “avoiding animal protein in order to get healthier has virtually no supportive evidence.”

What?

I provided long term huge epidemiologic studies. I showed randomized control trials that demonstrated that avoiding animal protein reduces hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers. I show studies that demonstrate that avoiding animal protein can actually change your chromosomes and reverse heart disease.

My thesis was not built on the dozen or so studies that Denise highlights, but rather on thousands of scientific articles that address population studies, basic science, and randomized control trials. Did she miss all of that? Does her problems with a few select studies, which I will address, completely debunk years of study? While she writes a very long rebuttal, the subject matter she addresses is a very small part of the book.

@Emma you may have had problems with dairy. The high fat diet/keto has been very bad for me and for many others. Would you care to cite some LONG TERM studies that show it is safe? I know that Dr Greger is right as the groups I am in are having much success with the plant based diet, but of course it must be done correctly and anyone who is taking it seriously will be having tests done to see that there are no deficiencies. Thanks.

I have just read Dr Gregers book this week. I recommend it.





















 
Last edited:

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
Would you care to cite some LONG TERM studies that show it is safe?
There are plenty of long term studies showing the safety of a ketogenic diet, even a poorly formulated ketogenic diet out there.

There have now been more than 70 clinical trials on nearly 7,000 people, including a wide variety of sick and well populations, mainly in the U.S. These studies are compiled in a public database.

The same cannot be said for the vegetarian diet though.

Long term vegetarianism can lead to genetic mutations which raise the risk of heart disease and cancer, scientists have found.

Populations who have had a primarily vegetarian diet for generations were found to be far more likely to carry DNA which makes them susceptible to inflammation.

Scientists in the US believe that the mutation occured to make it easier for vegetarians to absorb essential fatty acids from plants.

But it has the knock-on effect of boosting the production of arachidonic acid, which is linked to inflammatory disease and cancer. When coupled with a diet high in vegetable oils - such as sunflower oil - the mutated gene quickly turns fatty acids into dangerous arachidonic acid.

The finding may help explain previous research which found vegetarian populations are nearly 40 per cent more likely to suffer colorectal cancer than meat eaters, a finding that has puzzled doctors because eating red meat is known to raise the risk.

Researchers from Cornell University in the US compared hundreds of genomes from a primarily vegetarian population in Pune, India to traditional meat-eating people in Kansas and found there was a significant genetic difference.

“Those whose ancestry derives from vegetarians are more likely to carry genetics that more rapidly metabolise plant fatty acids,” said Tom Brenna, Professor of Human Nutrition at Cornell.

“In such individuals, vegetable oils will be converted to the more pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid, increasing the risk for chronic inflammation that is implicated in the development of heart disease, and exacerbates cancer.

“The mutation appeared in the human genome long ago, and has been passed down through the human family.”

To make the problem worse, the mutation also hinders the production of beneficial Omega 3 fatty acid which is protective against heart disease. Although it may not have mattered when the mutation first developed, since the industrial revolution there has been a major shift in diets away from Omega 3 – found in fish and nuts - to less healthy Omega 6 fats - found in vegetable oils.

"Changes in the dietary Omega 6 to Omega 3 balance may contribute to the increase in chronic disease seen in some developing countries,” added Dr Brenna.

“The message for vegetarians is simple. Use vegetable oils that are low in omega-6 linoleic acid such as olive oil.”

The mutation is called rs66698963 and is found in the FADS2 gene which controls the production of fatty acids in the body.

Previous studies have shown that vegetarianism and veganism can lead to problems with fertility by lowering sperm counts.

Separate research from Harvard University also found that a diet high in fruit and vegetables may impact fertility because men are consuming high quantities of pesticides.

Many vegetarians also struggle to get enough iron, vitamin D, vitamin B12 and calcium which are essential for health. One study found that vegetarians had approximately five percent lower bone-mineral density (BMD) than non-vegetarians.

However other research suggests vegetarianism lowers the risk of diabetes, stroke and obesity.

The new research was published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.

If the choice is between the SAD and a well-formulated vegetarian diet, then of course, people are going to have better outcomes with a vegetarian diet.

But just because we can make do with a vegetarian diet, doesn't mean that we should. We study the diets of all sorts of animals in zoos, and we make efforts to feed them the most appropriate diet for their species. We have this kind of information for humans as well. We are clearly omnivores. We don't feed animals based on dogma, why would we feed ourselves that way?
 

Runner5

Senior Member
Messages
323
Location
PNW
@brenda -- I love Dr. Greger. Even if I wasn't Vegan I would listen to his videos just to hear his cool Paul Harvey voice.

I'm having good luck with the Daily Dozen.
 

brenda

Senior Member
Messages
2,266
Location
UK
@Emma

I asked for long term but the link you provided only showed short term. I am talking about studies lasting at least 5 years, and there are plenty for plant based diets of this length. Any diet will have beneficial effects where there is weight loss and reduction of r6 fatty acids as well as reduction of refined carbs. I repeat, there are no long term studies showing that high fat diets are safe.

The whole food plant based, which is not vegetarian which includes animal products is endorsed by many authorities:

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/what-diet-should-physicians-recommend/

"In 2013, a “Nutritional Update for Physicians” was published in the official journal of Kaiser Permanente, the largest managed-care organization in the United States, which covers about nine million people with about 15,000 physicians, who were told that “[h]ealthy eating may be best achieved with a plant-based diet,…define[d] as a regimen that encourages whole, plant-based foods and discourages meat, dairy…,eggs as well as all refined and processed [junk].”

“Too often, physicians ignore the potential benefits of good nutrition and quickly prescribe medications instead of giving patients a chance to correct their disease through healthy eating and active living. Physicians should therefore consider recommending a plant-based diet to all their patients, especially those with high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity.”

The major downside is that it may work a little too well. If people are on medications, their blood pressure or blood sugar could actually drop too low, so “physician may need to adjust medications,” or eliminate…[them] altogether.”

“Despite the strong body of evidence favoring plant-based diets,…many physicians are not stressing the importance of plant-based diets as a first-line treatment for chronic [diseases]. This could be because of a lack of [physician] awareness…or a lack of patient education resources.”

http://www.positivelyplantbased.com/vegan-vs-vegetarian.html


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5466941/
 
Last edited:

brenda

Senior Member
Messages
2,266
Location
UK
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5466941/

Abstract:


The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is rising worldwide, especially in older adults. Diet and lifestyle, particularly plant-based diets, are effective tools for type 2 diabetes prevention and management. Plant-based diets are eating patterns that emphasize legumes, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds and discourage most or all animal products. Cohort studies strongly support the role of plant-based diets, and food and nutrient components of plant-based diets, in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. Evidence from observational and interventional studies demonstrates the benefits of plant-based diets in treating type 2 diabetes and reducing key diabetes-related macrovascular and microvascular complications. Optimal macronutrient ratios for preventing and treating type 2 diabetes are controversial; the focus should instead be on eating patterns and actual foods. However, the evidence does suggest that the type and source of carbohydrate (unrefined versus refined), fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated versus saturated and trans), and protein (plant versus animal) play a major role in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes. Multiple potential mechanisms underlie the benefits of a plant-based diet in ameliorating insulin resistance, including promotion of a healthy body weight, increases in fiber and phytonutrients, food-microbiome interactions, and decreases in saturated fat, advanced glycation endproducts, nitrosamines, and heme iron.
 

brenda

Senior Member
Messages
2,266
Location
UK
@Emma

'The aim of this study is to determine the long-term effects of a KD on body composition and bone mineral status of patients with GLUT-1 DS, is currently unknown.'

It did not show, and I have not seen any other studies regarding the KD, showing the effects on the kidneys, gut biome as well as other systems.

The whole food plant based diet however has studies of up to 30 years showing it to be the best diet for longevity and reversal of illness.
 

brenda

Senior Member
Messages
2,266
Location
UK
Keto diet debunked:


The keto diet has a dark side that only few in the community have the courage to confront and it is all based on the scientific literature. - Links and Sources - https://www.patreon.com/micthevegan https://www.facebook.com/micthevegan https://www.instagram.com/micthevegan - @micthevegan My Vegan Diet Is More Paleo Than Your Paleo Diet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgc-6... Perlmutter Interview (High Intensity Health): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hR9s... Paleo Mom's Warning Page: https://www.thepaleomom.com/adverse-r... Paleo Mom's Scientific Sources: http://tinyurl.com/zqlcx28 Starved Brain on Ketones and Glucose: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10... Ketogenic Diet Contents: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1... 6.7% of keto children got kidney stones: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/1... Child dies on Keto Diet from Heart Attack and Pancreatitis: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1... 15% of keto children had enlarged hearts study: http://www.neurology.org/content/54/1... Sudden cardiac death is keto diet: https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/elsevier/... GI disturbances, low blood protein keto diet: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/... Study with large list of adverse effects, deficiency: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10... More adverse effects: https://www.researchgate.net/publicat... Keto blogger with ~300 LDL: http://livingvertical.org/2015/12/29/... IDEAL LDL, Loren Cordain http://www.onlinejacc.org/content/acc... Vegan cholesterol levels: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/abc/v88n1/en... Vegan Diet Reverses Heart Disease Study: http://dresselstyn.com/JFP_06307_Arti... Higher Cortisol on Keto Diet Study: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/... Keto equal to other low carb diet in weight loss, adverse effects: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/... Weight Loss in Obese Adults Keto, 450 cal deficit: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... Weight Loss in Obese Adults Vegan, 350 cal deficit: http://tinyurl.com/hd3qvb2 Keto Controlled Feeding Trial, Less Fat Loss, NIH: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2... Expained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiUyj... Water weight is regained when the diet ends: http://www.colorado.edu/intphys/Class... Reduced the desire to exercise on keto: http://www.andjrnl.org/article/S0002-... Perlmutter Ketosis Natural State Claim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hR9s... "Eskimo on his usual dietary shows no ketosis..." http://www.jbc.org/content/80/2/461.f... "It is known that the mutation decreases...ketogenesis" http://www.cell.com/ajhg/pdf/S0002-92... Basic info on Yanomami Indians: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanomami Low Carb Diets Increase All Cause Mortality: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... Seizures Lowered in Children on Keto Diet: http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/treatin... Ketone Supplements Raise Blood Ketones Levels: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... "In the general population, Blinten said a keto diet should only be considered in extreme cases....It can damage the heart” http://www.healthline.com/health-news...