Category: Diabetes

Baby Boomer Natural Eye Care in the 21st Century

As the “Baby Boomer” generation in the United States approaches their 60’s and beyond, the incidence of eye disease in this aging population will rise. Eye problems become more prevalent as an individual ages. What are the most common eye diseases in older people? How can eye geriatric eye disease be prevented and addressed naturally? And what does Baby Boomer natural eye care look like?

Macular Degeneration

A major reason for visual impairment and blindness in adults aged 50+ is Macular Degeneration, also known as ARMD (Aged-Related Macular Degeneration). Vision in the center of the visual field is impaired, but peripheral vision remains. People with macular degeneration have difficulty writing, driving, recognizing faces and reading. Symptoms include:

  • Colors look dim
  • Words appear blurred or difficult to read
  • Straight lines look wavy
  • Dark or blank areas block the center of your vision
  • Distinct shapes are blurry
  • Fog in the center of your vision

Anyone with any of these symptoms should Continue reading “Baby Boomer Natural Eye Care in the 21st Century”

Depression Can Increase Likelihood of Developing Diabetic Retinopathy

Depression & Diabetic Retinopathy
Image via nimh.nih.gov

The brain and the body are in constant relationship.  This truth is further supported by the recent study published in General Hospital Psychiatry that describes how people who suffer from both depression and diabetes are more likely to end up with diabetic retinopathy.

In a study that controlled such factors as obesity, smoking, and activity, diabetic retinopathy was linked to occurrences of depression.  Over the five year trial, almost one quarter of patients with depression developed the eye disease compared to less than 20% of those who did not have depression.  Researchers extrapolate that depression increases one’s risk of developing retinopathy by 15%.

According to study co-author Wayne Katon, M.D., “Our findings suggested that psychobiologic changes associated with depression such as increased cortisol levels and activity of blood-clotting factors may be linked to the development of retinopathy.”

Learn about self-help ideas for those concerned about diabetic retinopathy and diabetes.

Source:www.medicalnewstoday.com, July 29, 2011

Glaucoma Associated with Metabolic Syndrome

image via www.nih.gov

Don’t just take it from us that glaucoma risk increases in those who have diabetes, high blood pressure, and who are overweight.  Researchers publishing in the journal Ophthalmology have found that these conditions, which together are labeled “metabolic syndrome” are all linked to the development of open-angle glaucoma.

A staggering 20% of people in America are said to have metabolic syndrome.  Both metabolic syndrome and glaucoma are associated with aging, so, as the US population gets older, scientists believe that both conditions with become more prevalent.

This study included over two million adults over age 40.  The study authors analyzed the results from the subjects’ eye care records to discover the correlations between metabolic syndrome and glaucoma.  According to this story’s source, PCON Supersite, “Raw data showed that 1,576,993 subjects had at least one metabolic disease; 55,090 subjects had OAG.”

PCON Supersite goes on: “Adjusted data showed that subjects with diabetes alone had a 35% increased risk of developing OAG, and those with hypertension alone had a 17% increased risk. Those with diabetes and hypertension combined had a 48% risk. Those with hyperlipidemia alone had a 5% decreased risk. Obese subjects had a 14% increased risk.”

Learn more about your glaucoma risk factors.

 

Diabetes: Insufficient Water Intake Linked to Blood Sugar Problems

Here’s another reason to stay well-hydrated this summer: drinking at least 34 ounces of water each day can cut your risk of developing high blood sugar (hyperglycemia).

A French study shows that people who drink at least four eight ounce glasses of water per day were 21% less likely to develop hyperglycemia over a nine year period compared to those who had less than 16 ounces each day.

The report was presented at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association.  Prediabetes, which is marked by elevated blood sugar levels, affects nearly 80 million American and greatly increases one’s risk of developing full blown diabetes and its accompanying eye condition, diabetic retinopathy.  Source: WebMD

When you’re drinking that extra glass of water today, remember that increasing your water intake to a recommended eight glasses per day can also help you deal with dry eyes.

 

Diabetics Know Lifestyle Changes Improve Health, But Behaviors Are Hard to Change

Diabetes & Lifestyle changes
Image via cancer.gov

Changes in lifestyle are usually the most important way that individuals with diabetes can control their conditions.  Most people seem to know this, but a new survey shows that many diabetics do not follow that advice.

A study called SHIELD (The Study to Help Improve Early Evaluation and Management of Risk Factors Leading to Diabetes), which was presented at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association, surveyed nearly 4,000 people with type 2 diabetes.  In response to questions about the link between diabetes and obesity, 87% said they knew excessive weight contributed the disease, but only 70% of respondents reported trying to lose weight in the preceding year.  Only a third of those surveyed had managed to maintain their target weight for longer than six months.  Almost one-fifth of those studied (17%) said they preferred to take medication to control their conditions rather than try diet and exercise.

Source: WebMD

At Natural Eye Care, we recommend that those with diabetes and the related condition diabetic retinopathy manage their condition with proper lifestyle habits, dietary changes, nutritional supplementation, and exercise.  We also recommend this approach to people with a host of other eye conditions including macular degeneration and glaucoma.  When there is something wrong with your eyes, it is so rarely just about the eyes themselves – so often the eyes are indicating that there is an issue affecting the rest of the body as well. For example, glaucoma has been linked to cardiovascular deaths and Alzheimer’s disease.

 

 

Lupin Flour Cuts Heart Disease and Diabetes Risk

Lupins lining the roadsides are common sights for anyone who has visited Atlantic Canada or Maine during the summertime, but have you ever heard of eating lupine seeds?  Even better, have you ever heard about how good lupin flour can be for the heart?

 

A study out of the University of Western Australia describes how it is possible to lower your risk of heart disease “significantly” by replacing conventional wholemeal flour with a blend that contains 40% lupin beans.  A yearlong study of over 100 overweight men and women showed that increasing one’s intake of “lupin flour lowered blood pressure and reduced the risk of heart disease.”

Cooking with lupin flour – it is easily incorporated into the baking of bread, pasta, and cookies – is an Australian phenomenon (80% of the world’s commercial lupin crop is grown in Western Australia).  A quick Google search did not yield any information about US sources, though there is some concern that the consumption of lupin flour has been linked to anaphylaxis (particularly in those with a peanut allergy).

According to this post’s source, ScienceAlert,  “The study suggested that lupin flour might also be good for those suffering from Type 2 or adult onset diabetes, because even in non-diabetic individuals sensitivity to insulin improved during the trial.”

Diabetic Retinopathy: Declining Vision Tied to Lower Quality of Life

Diabetic retinopathy
Image via VA.gov

A new study confirms what might sound like common sense: the more severe one’s case of diabetic retinopathy, the more likely one’s quality of life is to deteriorate.

Published in the journal Ophthalmology (Issue 118, 2011), research suggests that individuals’ quality of life declines more rapidly when their sight loss due to diabetic retinopathy becomes more severe.  The study involved over 1,000 type 2 diabetes patients taking part in the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study.

Authors indicate that quality of life markers related to dependency, mental health, and  tasks that required visual skills, dependence were most significantly impacted by worsening cases of diabetic retinopathy.

Source: OSN Supersite

Link Between Erectile Dysfunction & Diabetic Retinopathy

Not surprisingly, another study finds new information about the link between erectile dysfunction and diabetic retinopathy in men with diabetes.

Published in the journal Urology, this research included men with type 2 diabetes of an average age of 64 years, some of whom exhibited proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and some of whom were diagnosed severe nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR).

Researchers found that there is an association between erectile dysfunction and diabetic retinopathy, regardless of age, time since diabetes diagnosis, and cardiovascular risk factors.

Source: Urology, 4 January 2011

Cataracts Surgery Can Involve Increased Risk for Patient With Diabetes

People who have diabetes often suffer from cataracts as well; in fact, they are more likely than the general population to develop cataracts.  Diabetics considering cataracts surgery need to consider their increased risk factors before they chose to undergo the procedure.

It is very important that patients’ blood sugar is well-controlled before surgery to increase their post-surgical healing ability.  It is especially important that patients’ inflammation levels are monitored and kept as low as possible during and after surgery.

According to Rupert Menapace, MD, of OSN Supersite, “We need atraumatic surgery to minimize the inflammatory response and avoid induction or exacerbation of diabetic retinopathy and macular edema. Even in uneventful cataract surgery, the risk of developing macular edema is high in diabetic patients, up to 10%.”  Macular edema is swelling of the macula, the small area of the retina responsible for central vision, of which the central 5% of the retina is most critical to vision.

Source: “Cataract surgery with comorbidities requires careful surgical management” at www.osnsupersite.com.

Research on Pancreatic Cells May Yield New Diabetes Therapies

Diabetes develops when the pancreas, which produces insulin to regulate blood sugar levels, does not function properly and insulin levels drop.  Type I diabetes results in juveniles and generally requires insulin injections and type II diabetes, known as adult onset, is generally less severe and often may be controlled with oral medication and careful diet.  In the world of vision, the control of diabetes is very important because one side effect of uncontrolled diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, in which vision may be lost entirely.

Scientists at UCLA are working to make other cells in the body act like pancreatic beta cells in a quest to find exciting new therapies for diabetes.  A study published in Developmental Cell describes how researchers may have determined the process that would allow them to convert cells into becoming those essential pancreatic beta cells.

According to study co-author Dr. Anil Bhushan, “Our work shows that beta cells and related endocrine cells can easily be converted into each other.”

Prior to this research scientists had believed that cells retain their own “identity” – and that pancreatic cells would only function as pancreatic cells; that endocrine cells would only function as endocrine cells.  Recent work however, has demonstrated that some cell types can change into other cell types – a determination that is stimulating researchers’ interest in exploring the mechanism of how this is possible.

 

 

Immune System May Play A Role In Onset of Type 2 Diabetes

Should researchers start to think about the role that the immune system plays in type 2 diabetes?

Scientists publishing in the journal Nature Medicine looked at why some obese people develop diabetes while others who are markedly overweight are not affected by the disease.

Researchers have linked the onset of diabetes to inflammation, which involves the immune system.  “The researchers have identified immune system antibodies in people who are obese and insulin-resistant that aren’t present in people who are obese without insulin resistance,” says the source of this post, HealthFinder.gov.

According to Dr. David Kendall, chief scientific and medical officer for the American Diabetes Association. “People with type 2 diabetes are often blamed for bringing the disease on, but it’s a combination of genetic and physiological factors exposed to a certain environment. And, this study points out what may be another important biologic factor.”

Learn more about how to prevent diabetes at our website.