Diabetes
Diabetes and The Risk of Severe Complications from Coronavirus
General thinking on coronavirus has shifted from prevention to mitigation of disease spread. Virtually every country in the world and every state in the US will be affected to some degree. This is no surprise as the world has become smaller and global travel and commerce is easier than ever before.
While we have all heard and should follow CDC recommendations about washing hands, not touching our face and selectively self-quarantining and calling appropriate medical professionals if we believe we may have been infected, there are some additional tips that we, as metabolic surgical experts can offer to further reduce risk, both in bariatric and non-bariatric patient populations.
Are Artificial Sweeteners the Answer to Your Sugar Problem?
Nobody would blame you if you said that sugary foods are your weakness. Whether it’s soda, cake, alcohol or the multitude of other foods and drinks that contain lots of sugar, it has become a staple in our lives. And, unfortunately, it is a vicious cycle. The more sugar we consume, the more tolerance we have and the more we crave. Processed and restaurant foods and drinks contain ever more sugar to satisfy our cravings and the result is weight gain.
Is There Evidence for a Set Point That Regulates Human Body Weight?
Weight loss is hard. Even harder is keeping the weight off. There is a theory, known as the Set Point Theory, that some believe explain why our bodies fight weight loss and so easily regain weight after we have worked hard to lose it. While traditional thinking about how our bodies regulate weight have long said calories in versus calories out equals the balance of weight gain or loss, this very simplistic view does not account for many factors that contribute to how our body works. These factors include intricate systems and feedback mechanisms that allow for our body and brain to communicate.
Are You at Risk of Diabetes?
Tapping into a great deal of research involving excess blood sugar, we now know more than ever before about diabetes – also known as the silent killer. It is so named because many of the significant follow-on effects of the disease are not readily apparent until they have caused serious and often permanent damage (nerve damage, kidney disease, blood circulation issues and more). Sadly, the CDC expects that over a third of the US population will have diabetes by 2050, representing the single greatest threat to our collective health. Unfortunately, many people simply do not know that they have diabetes, or pre-diabetes — a precursor to the full-blown disease. Further, diabetes is a chronic disease. Meaning, once you have it, it cannot be cured – only managed.
