Is Okra Good for Diabetes?

According to a handful of recent studies, okra may reduce symptoms of diabetes - a group of diseases that includes type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes.

 

Diabetes claimed the lives of 75,578 Americans in 2013, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2014,8.5 percent of adults worldwide had the condition, the World Health Organization (WHO) report. By 2030, diabetes may be the seventh leading cause of death.

A number of factors increase a person's risk of developing diabetes, including a family history of the disease. Lifestyle factors also play a role, so doctors routinely recommend diet changes and increased exercise to reduce blood sugar levels.

Okra may help reduce blood sugar levels in some people with diabetes. Research into the effects of this seedy vegetable is still in the early stages, but the results are promising.

Okra thrives in temperate climates, producing large hibiscus-like flowers that eventually give rise to green seed pods. It is a member of the mallow family, which includes a number of other popular plants, including hibiscus, cocoa, and cotton.

Scientifically known as Abelmoschus esculentus, okra may have been grown as long ago as 2000 BCE in Egypt.

Okra's flavor is mild, and the entire seed pod can be eaten. This vegetable-like fruit also has a long history in traditional medicine.

Kew Royal Botanic Gardens report that in Eastern traditional medicine, okra leaves and fruit were used as pain relievers, moisturizers, and to treat urinary disorders. In Congolese medicine, okra is used to encourage a safe delivery during childbirth.

Can okra help with symptoms of diabetes?

Diabetes can often be well-managed with increasing a hormone called insulin and other medical therapies. However, some people with diabetes wish to avoid regular insulin injections. Others experience blood sugar dips and other unpleasant side effects, and diabetes medications do not work for everyone.

The possibility that a readily available seed pod could help control diabetes is an exciting one. But there is no evidence yet that okra can cure diabetes. So far, the research on okra has only looked at its effects on animals. Human bodies are similar to animals, but not all research on animals has worked out in humans.

Increased absorption of sugar by muscles

A 2005 study published in Planta Medica investigated the effects of okra on rats with diabetes. A substance called myricetin is present in okra and some other foods, including red wine and tea.

Researchers isolated myricetin from okra, then administered it to the rat. The treatment increased absorption of sugar in the rats' muscles, lowering their blood sugar.

A 2012 Food Science and Human Wellness review points to a number of other laboratory and animal studies that have linked myricetin to lower blood sugar. The study argues that myricetin may also reduce other risk factors for diabetes.

Reduction in blood sugar spikes after eating

A 2011 study published in ISRN Pharmaceutics found a link between okra and decreased blood sugar spikes after eating.

Researchers fed rats liquid sugar as well as purified okra through a feeding tube. Rats who consumed the okra experienced a reduction in blood sugar spikes after feeding. The study's authors think this is because the okra blocked the absorption of sugar in the intestines.

The study also explored possible interactions between okra and metformin, a drug that can reduce blood sugar in type 2 diabetes. Okra appeared to also block absorption of metformin. This suggests that okra could reduce the effectiveness of metformin, and should therefore not be eaten at the same time as the drug.

Lower blood sugar levels

A 2011 study published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences points to a link between eating okra and lower blood sugar. The researchers allowed the blood sugar of rats with diabetes to stay level for 14 days. They then gave the rats powdered okra peel extracts and seeds dosages of up to 2,000 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.

There were no poisonous effects linked with these relatively high doses of okra. The rats that ate okra had reduced blood sugar levels after up to 28 days of eating okra. The study ended on day 28, so it is unclear if the effects on blood sugar levels would have lasted longer.

Considerations for using okra

Few studies have linked okra to negative side effects, but some negative side effects are possible:

• Okra may make the drug metformin less effective.
• Okra is high in substances known as oxalates. Oxalates may increase the risk of kidney stones in people vulnerable to kidney stones.
• Okra can contain bacteria, pesticides, and other dangerous substances if it is not thoroughly washed. People should never consume rotten okra, frozen okra that is past its expiration date, or okra that has not been thoroughly washed.
• People with an okra allergy should not consume okra. Those with an allergy to other plants in the mallow family, such as hibiscus or cotton, may also be allergic to okra.
• Even if okra proves to be ineffective in fighting diabetes, it remains a safe snack for people with diabetes. A single serving of 100 grams contains just 30 calories, but offers a number of nutritional benefits:
  • Okra contains no saturated fats or cholesterol
  • Okra is rich in fiber, containing 9 percent of the recommended daily value (RDV)
  • Okra contains 8 percent of the RDV of calcium, 43 percent of the RDV of manganese, 10 percent of the RDV of iron and copper, and 44 percent of the RDV of vitamin K
  Okra is rich in protective substances known as antioxidants, including myricetin. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, antioxidants may reduce oxidative stress, a process that damages cells in the body. Oxidative stress plays a role in the development of diabetes, as well as diseases such as:
  • Parkinson's disease
  • Alzheimer's disease
  • Cataracts
  • Macular degeneration
  • Heart and blood vessel disease
  • Cancer
  In addition to its antioxidant benefits, okra may also reduce tiredness. A 2015 study published in Nutrients found that substances found in okra seeds known as polyphenols and flavonoids could reduce fatigue.

Salsalate lowers blood glucose in type 2 diabetes, study suggests

In continuation of my update on Salsate

Joslin scientists report that salsalate, a drug used to treat arthritis, lowers blood glucose and improves glycemic control in type 2 diabetes. These findings, which were published today by the Annals of Internal Medicine, provide additional evidence that salsalate may be an effective drug to treat type 2 diabetes.

Ref : http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1700640

Salsalate lowers blood glucose in type 2 diabetes, study suggests

Beta carotene may protect people with common genetic risk factor for type-2 diabetes

Stanford University School of Medicine investigators have found that for people harboring a genetic predisposition that is prevalent among Americans, beta carotene, which the body converts to a close cousin of vitamin A, may lower the risk for the most common form of diabetes, while gamma tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in the American diet, may increase risk for the disease. 

Beta carotene may protect people with common genetic risk factor for type-2 diabetes

Dulaglutide Fares Well in New Trials

Eli Lilly and Co.'s potential once-weekly treatment for type 2 diabetes fared better than three other drugs in lowering blood sugar levels, according to initial results from some late-stage research.

The Indianapolis drugmaker said that two doses of its injectable drug dulaglutide (see structure) delivered statistically superior reductions in blood sugar levels when compared to twice-daily injections of exenatide and the oral treatments metformin and sitagliptin. Lilly will present more details from the studies at scientific meetings next year and in 2014.

Lilly said it will submit the drug to regulators for approval next year. It said timing in the United States will depend on the completion of Food and Drug Administration requirements for an assessment of the drug's cardiovascular risk.

Dulaglutide Fares Well in New Trials 

Caffeine can prevent memory loss in diabetes

Caffeine can prevent memory loss in diabetes: Badly controlled diabetes are known to affect the brain causing memory and learning problems and even increased incidence of dementia, although how this occurs is not clear. But now a study in mice with type 2 diabetes has discovered how diabetes affects a brain area called hippocampus causing memory loss, and also how caffeine can prevent this. 

2 Drugs Better Than 1 to Treat Youth With Type 2 Diabetes

2 Drugs Better Than 1 to Treat Youth With Type 2 Diabetes: A combination of two diabetes drugs, metformin and rosiglitazone, was more effective in treating youth with recent-onset type 2 diabetes than metformin alone, a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found. Adding an intensive lifestyle intervention to metformin provided no more benefit than metformin therapy alone.

The study also found that metformin therapy alone was not an effective treatment for many of these youth. In fact, metformin had a much higher failure rate in study participants than has been reported in studies of adults treated with metformin alone.

The study found that treatment with metformin alone was inadequate for maintaining acceptable, long-term, blood glucose control in 51.7 percent of youth over an average follow-up of 46 months. The failure rate was 38.6 percent in the metformin and rosiglitazone group, a 25.3 percent reduction from metformin alone. In the metformin plus lifestyle group the failure rate was 46.6 percent.

Two-Drug Therapy Helped Kids With Type 2 Diabetes

Two-Drug Therapy Helped Kids With Type 2 Diabetes:  Children with type 2 diabetes may achieve better blood sugar control with a combination of two drugs, metformin and Avandia, than with metformin alone, a new study suggests. However, Avandia (rosiglitazone) was recently linked...

Two drugs better than one to treat youth with type 2 diabetes, study suggests

Two drugs better than one to treat youth with type 2 diabetes, study suggests: A combination of two diabetes drugs, metformin and rosiglitazone, was more effective in treating youth with recent-onset type 2 diabetes than metformin alone, a new study has found. Adding an intensive lifestyle intervention to metformin provided no more benefit than metformin therapy alone.

Clues to aspirin's anti-cancer effects revealed.....................

In continuation of my update on aspirin....

One of the world's oldest medicines may hold the secret to a very contemporary problem: preventing cancer. Exactly why salicylate shows such potential as an anti-cancer treatment remains unclear, but a new study in mice offers clues.

Salicylate, found in willow bark, has been a key ingredient in medicine cabinets for thousands of years – ancient Egyptian manuscripts describe it as a treatment for inflammation. In a modified form – aspirin – it remains a successful anti-inflammatory and analgesic. Recently, though, research has revealed a puzzling side-effect of taking aspirin: the drug seems to lower a person's chances of developing some forms of cancer.

Aspirin is rapidly broken down inside the body into salicylate, so to investigate aspirin's unexpected side-effects Grahame Hardie at the University of Dundee, UK, applied salicylate to cultured human cells derived from the kidney. He found that the drug activated AMPK, an enzyme involved in cell growth and metabolism that has been found to play a role in cancer and diabetes.

"This is an ancient herbal remedy which has probably always been part of the human diet," says Hardie. "But despite that we're still finding out how it works."

Co-author Greg Steinberg of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, then tested high doses of salicylate on various types of mice. He found that those engineered to lack AMPK did not experience the same metabolic effects from salicylate as seen in mice with AMPK.

Salicylate, in a form called salsalate, has also shown promise as a treatment for insulin-resistance and type 2 diabetes. Those effects, however, appear not to be governed by AMPK. When insulin-resistant mice lacking AMPK were given salicylate, they showed the same improvement in blood glucose levels as normal mice.

"That's what makes aspirin so scientifically and clinically interesting," says Chris Paraskeva at the University of Bristol, UK, who was not involved in the work. "It potentially works through a number of different pathways."

Ref : http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2012/04/18/science.1215327

New drug improves glycaemic control with minimum risk of hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetics..

TAK-875, a new treatment for type 2 diabetes, improves blood sugar control and is equally effective as glimepiride, but has a significantly lower risk of creating a dangerous drop in blood sugar, called hypoglycemia, according to a new study. TAK-875 is a novel oral medication designed to enhance insulin secretion in a glucose-dependant manner, which means that it has no effect on insulin secretion when glucose levels are normal, and as such has the potential to improve the control of blood sugar levels without the risk of hypoglycemia.

In the study, Charles Burant, M.D., Ph.D., professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Health System, and colleagues randomly assigned 426 patients with type 2 diabetes who were not achieving adequate glucose control through diet, exercise or metformin treatment to one of five doses of TAK-875, a placebo, or glimepiride, a conventional diabetes treatment. The primary outcome was change in hemogloblin A1c from the start of the study.

At 12 weeks, all doses of TAK-875 resulted in significant drops in HbA1c compared with placebo, a similar reduction occurred in patients given glimepiride.

At a TAK-875 dose of 25 mg or higher, about twice as many patients (33 to 48 percent) reached the American Diabetics Association target of HbA1c less than 7 percent within 12 weeks, compared with placebo (19 percent) and was similar to glimepiride (40 percent).

Ref : http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)61879-5/fulltext