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Diabetes and cancer's interrelation, along with strategies to combat both conditions.

Maintaining control or even aiming for remission of type 2 diabetes is crucial, not just for diabetes itself, but also for a surprising reason - reducing the risk of cancer. Interestingly, a single strategy could potentially tackle both life-threatening issues.

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Managing type 2 diabetes effectively, or even achieving remission, is crucial for you or your loved...
Managing type 2 diabetes effectively, or even achieving remission, is crucial for you or your loved ones. However, there's an added incentive: reducing the risk of cancer. Interestingly, a single approach can simultaneously combat these two potentially life-threatening conditions.

Diabetes and cancer's interrelation, along with strategies to combat both conditions.

Managing Type 2 Diabetes Could Help Reduce Cancer Risk

In addition to the importance of controlling type 2 diabetes, there is another significant reason to do so: cancer prevention. Men with diabetes are 19% more likely to develop cancer, while women face a 27% higher risk. Moreover, research indicates a link between diabetes and metastatic cancer, as high blood sugar levels encourage cancer cells to propagate.

Researchers investigating the connection between diabetes and cancer have discovered a way to combat both conditions.

Weight Loss: The Double-Edged Sword for Diabetes and Cancer

A structured weight management program for individuals with diabetes, known as the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT), revealed promising results. Participants, under the supervision of a dietitian, replaced their usual diets with a prescribed diet. Gradually, foods not on the prescribed diet were reintroduced.

After two years, 68 men and 53 women with diabetes saw their disease go into remission. In contrast, only six men and five women in the control group experienced the same result.

Emma Hazelwood, from Bristol Medical School in England, took note of these findings. People with diabetes also have an increased risk of certain cancers, including pancreatic cancer. Could the participants who lost weight and managed their diabetes have also lower cancer risk?

Previous studies have shown that having increased body weight can alter the level of certain proteins known to be linked with cancer. To explore this connection further, Hazelwood and her team of researchers from Bristol Medical School analyzed blood samples from 261 individuals with diabetes who participated in the DiRECT trial.

The team found that nine cancer-related proteins were reduced in the blood samples taken after weight loss, compared to none in the control group, which received standard diabetes care but not the prescribed diet.

"These findings offer encouraging evidence that the increased cancer risk seen in people with diabetes might be reduced with weight loss interventions," said Hazelwood.

Empowering Your Weight Loss Journey

While not everyone can enroll in a supervised weight loss trial, there are proven ways to lose weight on your own. The Mediterranean diet, for instance, is favored by those trying to lose weight and adopt healthier eating habits. One study showed that people lost more weight and found it easier to stick to this diet compared to the Paleo or intermittent fasting diets.

Mindful eating, often dismissed as a New-age fad, is actually a powerful tool for controlling blood sugar levels. For guidance on your weight loss journey, consider Weight Watchers, a leader in the weight loss industry for over 50 years. Recognizing the relationship between weight loss and preventing type 2 diabetes, Weight Watchers have become pioneers in helping people halt disease progression. They also have a reputation for helping individuals maintain their weight loss long-term.

Editor's Note:

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Sources:

  • "Weight loss intervention in people with type 2 diabetes influences cancer-associated proteins" - Eureka Alert
  • "Impact of weight loss on cancer-related proteins in serum: results from a cluster randomised controlled trial of individuals with type 2 diabetes" - eBioMedicine
  • "Direct Clinical Outcomes at 24 Months" - Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial
  1. The Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT) revealed a link between weight loss and disease remission in individuals with Type 2 diabetes, suggesting a potential connection to cancer prevention.
  2. Emma Hazelwood, a researcher from Bristol Medical School, hypothesized that participants who lost weight and managed their diabetes might also experience a lower cancer risk, particularly pancreatic cancer.
  3. In a study, researchers found that after weight loss, nine cancer-related proteins were reduced in the blood samples of participants with Type 2 diabetes, compared to none in the control group, offering evidence that weight loss interventions could potentially reduce cancer risk in people with diabetes.

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