Type II Diabetes Research Report

1. Type 1 vs. Type 2 Diabetes:

a. Type 1 diabetes is known as insulin-dependent diabetes. Often, this diabetes
begins in childhood and is an autoimmune condition where the body attacks its
own pancreas with antibodies, rendering them unable to produce insulin. It can be
the result of a genetic predisposition or faulty beta cells in the pancreas that fail to
produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes has many medical risks associated with it:
diabetic retinopathy (damage to blood vessels in the eyes), diabetic nephropathy
(damage to kidneys), and increased risk of heart disease and strokes. The
treatment involves frequent insulin injections into the fatty tissue below the skin.
b. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 95% of the diabetes cases in adults. Although it is a
milder form of diabetes than diabetes 1, but can still damage small blood vessels
in the kidneys, nerves, and eyes while increasing the risk of heart disease and
stroke. The pancreas are able to produce some insulin, unlike in type 1 diabetes,
but they either don’t produce enough or the cells in the body are resistant to that
insulin. Type 2 diabetes is particularly likely to occur for obese people. Although
there is no cure, it can be controlled with weight management, nutrition, and
medication.
c. Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are both very similar in that they are caused by a
malfunction of the pancreas and a lack of insulin available in the body. However,
type 1 diabetes primarily develops in children and requires more intensive
treatment than type 2 diabetes.
2. Type II Diabetes Statistics:
a. 10-40% of patients with type II diabetes face kidney failure in their future and
half of the people with a chronic kidney disease also have diabetes.
b. In one year, adults suffering from type II diabetes suffered 73,000 lower-limb
amputations while for those under 65, .39% of those with diabetes had an
amputation in one year, and .79% for above 75; overall, .26% of type II diabetics
amputated their toe, .008% amputated a foot with the same percentage amputating
a knee, and .016% amputated below their knee.
c. Up to 21% of patients of type II diabetes suffer from retinopathy upon diagnosis
and vision loss due to diabetes has risen 66% in the past 20 years.
d. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is closely related to Type 2 diabetes, and accounts
for roughly 25% of infertility cases among women in UK; furthermore, higher
glucose levels increase the chance of miscarriage by 30-60%.
e. Diabetics suffering from type II diabetes have twice the chance of suffering from
depression.
f. 50% of type II diabetics die of cardiovascular disease and 71% suffer from
hypertension.
3. Insulin Function:
a. Insulin is a hormone manufactured by pancreas, which regulates blood sugar
levels in by enabling your body to process glucose from carbohydrates that are
from the food you eat. It assists in storing sugar in the liver, and extracts it when
blood sugar runs low. When blood sugar levels increase, the pancreas set to
producing more insulin.
 b. Unfortunately, carbohydrates that come in the form of enriched white grains or
bleached flour are incredibly harmful. Vitamin E, calcium, phosphorous, iron,
magnesium, and B vitamins are destroyed the processes used to create these
ingredients. Furthermore, alloxan is formed in the flour when it is bleached. It
plays a large role in damaging and destroying pancreatic beta cells which produce
insulin. Their destruction is a large factor in developing diabetes. Dr. Hari
Sharma, in ​Freedom from Disease​, unequivocally states that radical damage to
DNA caused by alloxan to the beta cells of the pancreas causes their malfunction
and a lack of capacity for the pancreas to produce enough insulin.
4. Resistin Function:
a. US scientists discovers that fat cells release many substances that affect the
body’s resistance to insulin. The newly identified protein, resistin, results in a
resistance to insulin. Since it is released by fatty cells, people suffering from
obesity are more likely to secrete more of this substance and therefore experience
a greater resistance to insulin. This is relevant to diabetes because the central issue
of diabetes is a lack of insulin to regulate blood glucose levels, and therefore the
secretion of resistin could be a large factor in why overweight and obese people
are more likely to be affected by diabetes. Exercising and dieting are good ways
to minimize the effects of resistance to insulin, along with eating more fiber and
colorful fruits and vegetables.
5. Biochemistry:
a. Diabetes is proven to highly correlate with an increased risk of cardiovascular
disease. This is because diabetes causes hyperglycemia, which increases the
activation of protein kinase, glucose flux across the polyol pathway, and the
formation of glycation end products. These all lead to increased formation of
superoxides. Because, in cases of hyperglycemia, there is increased glucose flux
across the polyol pathway, glucose is catalyzed into sorbitol, which is then
metabolized into fructose. This causes an increase in atherosclerotic lesions which
narrows arteries, and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore,
diabetes correlates with high triglycerides, which is a key contributor to hardening
arteries or thickening artery walls, which directly relates to an increase in
likelihood of stroke, heart attack, and heart disease.
b.
Molecular Marker: Healthy Levels: Unhealthy Levels:

Insulin: <25 mIU/L, <174 >30 mIU/L, >180

pmol/L pmol/L

Resistin: 6 pmol/L - 20 pmol/L >20 pmol/L

LDL Cholesterol: 100 mg/dL - 129 mg/dL 130 mg/dL - 189 mg/DL

HDL Cholesterol: > 60 mg/dL <40 mg/dL

Blood Serum <150 mg/dL 200 mg/dL - 500+

 Triglycerides: mg/dL

C-Reactive Proteins: <3 mg/L > 3 mg/L

c. A doctor can tell if you have actually been exercising by looking at whether your
levels of these substances fall in the unhealthy range.
6. Cure:
a. For women, calculating the BMR (basal metabolic rate) is 655 + (4.35 * weight in
pounds) + (4.7 * height in inches) - (4.7 * age in years).
b. For men, calculating the BMR (basal metabolic rate) is ​66 + ( 6.23 * weight in
pounds ) + ( 12.7 * height in inches ) - ( 6.8 * age in years ).
c. A pound of body fat is worth around 3436 to 3752 calories.
d. Each day, you would have to decrease your net calorie intake by 500 calories in
order to lose one pound of weight over the course of a week.
e. Around an hour of cycling, 20 minutes of sprinting, and an hour of swimming
laps is enough to burn 500-700 calories per day for the average man or woman.
f. In order to be successful in gaining and maintaining a healthy weight, a patient
ought to make milk, rice, nuts, red meat, avocados, dark chocolate, cheese, eggs,
and yogurt diet staples. However, a patient also ought to eliminate foods with
unhealthy fats and nutrients in them, such as fast food or processed snacks, in
order to avoid gaining weight in an ‘unhealthful’ way.
g. Whole grains are particularly beneficial to those looking to gain weight. They are
calorie rich and full of nutrients such as B vitamins. However, whole grains also
contain a lot of phytic acid. Phytic acid is controversial because it reduces the
absorption rate of iron, zinc, and calcium and is known as an ‘anti-nutrient.’
Whole grains contain a lot more phytic acid than enriched grains because the
processing strips away phytic acid. Consuming gluten can cause weight gain,
especially among gluten-sensitive patients, and a gluten-free diet can lead to
weight loss. Whole grain flours tend to be lower in gluten content than refined
white flour. Lectins are another nutrient found in grains that cause weight gain,
and are also dangerous because they are considered anti-nutrients since they are
able to bind to sugar and carbohydrates. Lectins are also found in higher
concentrations in whole grains, since processing removes a large proportion of
them from enriched grains. Gliadin is one of the two molecules in gluten, and is
the part of gluten that most people have harmful reactions to. Enriched grains, due
to processing, have lower proportions of gluten and therefore lower proportions of
gliadin than whole grains.
h. Green, leafy vegetables are very healthy and beneficial to consume because they
contain a lot of Vitamin K, which can protect bones from osteoporosis, and also
have a lot of antioxidants that can play roles in blocking the early stages of
cancer. The other nutrients they contain include fiber, iron, magnesium,
potassium, calcium, and folate. Fruits are beneficial because they have a lot of
folic acid, which helps the body form red blood cells, have potassium that can
decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke, which is particularly beneficial to
diabetics, and have phytochemicals.
 i. Healthy Male BMI: 18.5 - 24.9; Healthy Female BMI: 18.5-24.9
i. BMI is not a very good indicator of short or long term health, as many
people with ‘healthy’ BMIs lead unhealthy lifestyles and many people
with ‘unhealthy’ BMIs lead healthy lifestyles.
j. Healthy Body Fat % Male: 8-17%; Healthy Body Fat % Female: 15-24%
i. Many feel that body fat percentage is more of an indicator of short and
long term health status than BMI.
k. WHR Male: .85 - .95; WHR Female: .75-.86
i. This is a good indicator for levels of visceral fat, which correlates with
chronic diseases impacting the circulatory system. Therefore, WHR is a
good indicator of long-term health.
l. ‘Sitting/Standing Test for Longevity’: “The volunteers could score five points if
they could sit down without touching their knees, legs, hands, or arms on the floor
and another five points if they could get back up unaided. They lost a point for
each body part that was leaned on while getting down or up.” [Carroll]
i. Studies have shown that difficulties with getting up and sitting down
unaided strongly correlated with risk of death within the next six years,
making it a good indicator of short-term health issues.
m. These tests only require a tape measure, scale, and online calculator easily found
through a Google search.
7. Psychological and Emotional Issues:
a. Emotional factors are proven to cause overeating as people indulge in food to
avoid their emotions, which leads to weight gain and obesity. Family dynamics
can also very easily lead to overeating and obesity, as children follow in the
footsteps of their parents. Families who are unable to afford healthy foods from
the supermarket and cannot make time for cooking food at home often pass on
these unhealthy habits to children and have children who become obese and
overweight early in their lifetime as a result. The pressure of conforming to the
dietary habits of your family, rather than beginning a diet that would be healthier
to you, is also a difficult factor in reversing obesity that stops many people from
beginning a healthier lifestyle.Those with obesity are at least six times more likely
to suffer from obesity, and four times more likely to have suffered from sexual,
psychological, or physical abuse. Sexual abuse of children leads to many negative
mental side effects, such as low self-confidence, dissatisfaction with body image,
impulsiveness, and even substance abuse. Those who suffer from abuse may to
turn to binge eating as a solvency for their deep-seated issues. There are diet,
exercise, environmental, surgical, therapeutic, and medication options for those
seeking treatment for obesity. However, especially with surgical treatments, the
cost can be high to develop personalized plans, and employer insurances generally
either do not cover the treatment or do not offer significant coverage.
b. Often, those suffering from obesity feel that they are being judged by the world
because of the stigma around ‘fat’, and feel at a loss to improve or change their
circumstances. The suggestions of healthy lifestyles often feel like attacks rather
than constructive feedback, and defensiveness is also a key factor in the difficulty
of making lifestyle changes. Self-defeating behaviors, such as eating food to cope
with emotions or reneging on a diet after a few days, are common and often
sabotage attempts to begin healthy lifestyles. Obesity affected 93.3 million US
adults in 2015-2016, and continues to grow more and more prevalent as the years
wear on. Increased obesity rates also correlate with lower socioeconomic status or
belonging to a minority race. However, some obesity treatments for Type II
diabetic patients have met with success in avoiding self-defeating behaviors and
other obstacles. A lifestyle treatment lasting 1-4 years successfully reduced
patients’ body fat percentages by 2-5 points. Orlistat, a medication, was also
shown to cause a greater rate of weight loss over 1-2 years. However, Orlistat is
not covered by most employer insurance and is expensive to procure, as our most
other administered treatments.
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