How YOU can beat diabetes: Shedding just ONE GRAM of fat could cure Type 2 diabetes

SHEDDING just one gram of fat could “cure” Type 2 diabetes, scientists say.

 

Experts believe the lifestyle-driven condition is caused by a build-up of dangerous deposits in the pancreas.

But British experiments have shown that people whose diabetes is linked to being overweight were able to reverse the condition simply by losing just 13 per cent of their bodyweight.

Professor Roy Taylor, of Newcastle University’s Diabetes Research Group which carried out the research, said: “This new research demonstrates that the change in level of fat in the pancreas is related to the presence of Type 2 diabetes in a patient.

“The decrease in pancreas fat is not simply related to the weight loss itself. It is not something that might happen to anyone whether or not they had diabetes. It is specific to Type 2 diabetes.

 

This new research demonstrates that the change in level of fat in the pancreas is related to the presence of Type 2 diabetes in a patient

Professor Roy Taylor

“What is interesting is that regardless of your present body weight and how you lose weight, the critical factor in reversing your Type 2 diabetes is losing that one gram of fat from the pancreas.”

The lives of 4million people are blighted by diabetes and treating it costs the NHS £10billion a year or £1million an hour. But experts have warned that chronically unhealthy lifestyles have put almost 12million of us at risk of developing the Type 2 version.

Once known as adult-onset diabetes it is now so prevalent it affects children.

The long-term condition, which can have serious consequences for patients like blindness, heart and kidney disease and stroke, occurs when there is too much glucose in the blood.

Professor Taylor’s team tested 18 obese people with the condition and nine without for weight, fat in the pancreas and insulin response before they had gastric band surgery.

They were re-tested again eight weeks after the weight-loss operation.

 

It is believed the condition is caused by a build-up of dangerous deposits in the pancreas

The diabetics were found to have originally had increased levels of fat in the pancreas. Both groups lost about 13 per cent of their initial body weight.

Critically, the pool of fat in the pancreas did not change in the non-diabetics but decreased to a normal level in those with Type 2 diabetes.

Researchers said this showed the excess fat in the diabetic pancreas is specific to Type 2 diabetes and is important in preventing insulin being made as normal.

When that excess fat is removed, insulin secretion increases to normal levels. In other words, they were diabetes-free.

Professor Taylor said: “For people with Type 2 diabetes, losing weight allows them to drain excess fat out of the pancreas and allows function to return to normal.

“So if you ask how much weight you need to lose to make your diabetes go away, the answer is one gram. But that gram needs to be fat from the pancreas.

 

Four million people in Britain have diabetes, while treating it costs the NHS £10billion a year

“At present the only way we have to achieve this is by calorie restriction by any means - whether by diet or an operation.”

Fat levels in the pancreas of patients with Type 2 diabetes decreased by 1.2 per cent over the eight weeks.

Dr Alasdair Rankin, of Diabetes UK, said: “This study suggests an important link between the amount of fat in the pancreas and Type 2 diabetes.

It highlights once again the importance of being a healthy weight to reduce your risk, as well as the potential for weight loss – ideally through diet but also, where that fails, through surgery – to reverse Type 2 diabetes.

“But while a gram of fat doesn’t sound like much, you would need to lose a lot of body weight just to lose this small amount of fat in your pancreas.”

On average each Briton consumes between 18-20 teaspoons of sugar a day. 

 

Sixty per cent of British adults are overweight, while Brits consume 20 teaspoons of sugar a day

Experts say sugars put into food by manufacturers, added to tea and coffee and found in treats like cakes are largely responsible for our expanding waistlines. 

It is thought 60 per cent of British adults are now overweight, leading some health campaigners to call for the implementation of a sugar tax. 

Professor Simon Capewell, Vice President for Policy at the UK Faculty of Public Health (FPH), said: “This preliminary research fits with the wider body of scientific evidence.

“We know obesity or excess body fat powerfully increases your chances of developing Type 2 Diabetes. And that obesity mainly reflects the intake of junk food and sugary drinks.

“Christmas is a particularly tough time to resist the aggressive marketing and cheap offers which is why the FPH is recommending making our environment healthier by a duty on sugary drinks and a ban on marketing junk food and sugary drinks to children and young people.”

The research will be presented this week at the World Diabetes Conference in Vancouver, Canada.