Type 2 diabetes can be a 'devastating diagnosis' says expert
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If you keep on top of it, type 2 diabetes scarcely impacts your daily life. The key to minimising its impact is to stabilise blood sugar levels. This is normally the role of insulin – a hormone produced by the pancreas. However, insulin production is severely restricted if you have type 2 diabetes. As a result, you have to find alternative ways of controlling blood sugar levels.
This is where diet steps in. Specific dietary items have been shown to cause a marked reduction in high blood sugar levels.
According to a study published in the Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, barberry juice falls into this category.
Barberry juice is made from the tart, red berries that grow on the Berberis vulgaris, commonly known as barberry, a shrub native to parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of barberry juice on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes.
For the study, 46 diabetic Patients were randomly allocated to either the barberry juice group who consumed 200 ml of BJ daily for eight weeks, or the control group with no intervention.
At the beginning and the end of eight-week intervention, a number of heart disease markers were measured, such as blood sugar concentrations.
After the intervention, blood sugar “significantly” decreased in the barberry juice group and had a significant difference compared with the control group.
What’s more, barberry juice reduced other precursors of heart disease, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol.
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“This study revealed that BJ [barberry juice] might decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases in patients with diabetes,” the researchers concluded.
General tips
If you have type 2 diabetes and you are overweight, finding a way to lose weight is important as it really improves diabetes management.
“This is because it can help to lower your blood glucose and reduce your risk of other complications,” explains Diabetes UK.
According to the health body, there are different ways of doing this like the low-carb, Mediterranean or very low-calorie diets.
“Losing weight can help you lower your blood glucose levels, and we now know that substantial weight loss can even put some people’s type 2 diabetes into remission.”
Regular exercise is also integral to blood sugar control.
According to UK health guidelines, you should aim for 2.5 hours of activity a week.
“You can be active anywhere as long as what you’re doing gets you out of breath,” says the NHS.
Type 2 diabetes – do you have it?
Many people have type 2 diabetes without realising. This is because symptoms do not necessarily make you feel unwell.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes include:
- Peeing more than usual, particularly at night
- Feeling thirsty all the time
- Feeling very tired
- Losing weight without trying to
- Itching around your penis or vagina, or repeatedly getting thrush
- Cuts or wounds taking longer to heal
- Blurred vision.
“See a GP if you have any of the symptoms of type 2 diabetes or you’re worried you may have a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes,” advises the NHS.
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