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Thursday, December 10, 2015

High Blood Sugar, Blood Vessel Damage, Eye Disease and the Mediterranean Diet

It is known tiny blood vessels or capillaries become damaged in people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, leading to complications such as blindness and kidney failure. Many eye problems spring from the damage done by excess sugar to the tiny vessels in the eyes. Investigators at Gazi Training and Research Hospital in Erzincan, Turkey undertook a study to learn whether changes in blood cells were responsible for the damage. The results of their work was reported on in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine in July 2015.

A total of...

307 diabetics and
187 non-diabetic participants
were included in the study.

Among the Type 2 diabetics...

platelets, the blood cells that cause clotting, were larger and more numerous than in the non-diabetic group.
white blood cells were also countless and there was a variation in the combination of types of white cells.
Type 2 diabetics with HbA1c levels of 7 percent or higher had larger platelets than those levels under 7...

diabetics with eye disease had massive sized platelets than those with healthy eyes.
those diabetics with kidney disease and nerve damage showed abnormal numbers of variable types of white cells.
These results led to the conclusion abnormal blood levels of platelets and dissimilar white blood cells were associated with blood sugar control. They theorize having huge and extravagant numbers of platelets could cause small clots to form in tiny blood vessels, damaging the vessels and making it difficult for them to serve the eyes and kidneys. The abnormal numbers of white blood cells could be accountable for the inflammation seen in Type 2 diabetes. Measuring blood cell sizes and quantity could be one way of predicting which diabetics are in danger of developing complications.

The Effect of the Mediterranean Diet on Small Blood Vessels. Investigators at the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid and various other research facilities in Spain looked at the Mediterranean diet for the prevention of capillary damage in diabetes. They thought if the foods were healthy for the small blood vessels, then it should help to protect against diabetic eye and kidney diseases.

A total of 3614 Type 2 diabetics without capillary damage enrolled in the study. Participants were given either...

the Mediterranean diet with extra virgin olive oil,
the Mediterranean diet with mixed nuts, or
another low-fat diet.
After six years, compared with those on the low-fat regular diet...

Type 2 diabetics eating the Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil had a 44 percent lower chance of developing eye disease.
those on the Mediterranean diet with nuts had a 37 percent lower risk.
The result indicates the Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil could be helpful in keeping Type 2 diabetic eyes healthy, preventing rather than having to treat eye complications.

Although managing your disease can be very challenging, Type 2 diabetes is not a condition you must just live with. You can make simple changes to your daily routine and lower both your weight and your blood sugar levels. Hang in there, the longer you do it, the easier it gets. Article Source

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