Fasting can reduce risk of diabetes

Though it is said fasting isn't good for the body, but it seems there are certain hidden rewards of the same. Read to know more.

Do you know that 10 to 12 hours of fasting triggers body to begin scavenging for other sources of energy to sustain itself? The body pulls LDL (bad) cholesterol from the fat cells and uses it as energy. This natural biological process can help pre-diabetes combat risk for developing diabetes, a study says. Also read is LDL cholesterol really that bad.

'Fasting has the potential to become an important diabetes intervention,' said lead researcher Benjamin Horne from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Murray, Utah. Researchers analysed participants with pre-diabetics, including men and women, between ages 30 and 69. Also read how to keep diabetes in control with some indian foods.

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'During actual fasting days, cholesterol went up slightly among them. But over a six-week period, cholesterol levels decreased by about 12 percent in addition to weight loss,' researchers added. Cholesterol was used for energy during the fasting episodes and likely came from fat cells. The fat cells themselves are a major contributor to insulin resistance which can lead to diabetes.

'Because fasting may help eliminate and break down fat cells, insulin resistance may be frustrated by fasting,' Horne said. Prior research done by Horne and his team focused on healthy people during one day of fasting and showed that routine, water-only fasting was associated with lower glucose levels and weight loss. Also read 10 reasons of weight loss that needs attention.

What happens in diabetes?

You have too much sugar in your blood
Your body does not make enough insulin
Your body does not use the insulin properly.

Think of a lock-and-key. The cell has a lock that only insulin can open for glucose to enter. If there is no insulin key [as in Type-1 diabetes], the cell cannot be unlocked. If the insulin key is defective, [as in Type-2 diabetes] the cell cannot be unlocked. If the glucose cannot enter the cells, they starve. And the glucose stays in the bloodstream.

Dangers

Every organ in the body from head to toe can be affected by diabetes. Kidney, heart, eyes, nerves, foot, and blood vessels are most commonly affected in diabetics. The risk is increased in those who have high blood pressure [hypertension]. So, controlling diabetes is simply not just getting your blood sugar close to normal and sustaining it it is much more than that.

Type-1 diabetes may sometimes lead to a potentially dangerous condition called diabetic ketoacidosis [DKA]. The condition is characterised by nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, confusion, and a fruity breath. It can also lead to what is famously called diabetic coma. It may be mentioned here that it is not uncommon for symptoms of DKA to be confused with acute alcoholism, thanks to the patients fruity breath. The breath may smell like fruit brandy!

Types of diabetes

There are two main forms of diabetes.

Type-1 diabetes [previously called Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus {IDDM}], is a condition where patients do not produce their own insulin. Insulin is required for the uptake and processing of sugar by the body's cells. Type-1 diabetes is said to strike children and young adults. Occasionally, it may present for the first time in the middle aged, or the elderly. However, there is more to it than what meets the eye.

In Type-2 diabetes [Non-insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus {NIDDM}], the cells in the body become resistant to the action of insulin. Also, the pancreas produces too little insulin as it gets exhausted due to continuous demand. Type-2 diabetes generally develops in adults at age 40, or older. Called 'adult-onset' diabetes, researchers now suggest that more and more people are developing the Type-2 form of the disease at a much younger age [even teenagers!]. This type is known to be closely associated with obesity, increased stress, advancing age, inactivity, and genetic tendency. Type-2 diabetes accounts for almost 95 per cent of all cases of diabetes. Also read are you at a risk of diabetes.

Inputs from IANS

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