Diabetes, Obesity and Weight Loss
Obesity is the most important nutritional disorder in the western world, with the estimates of its prevalence ranging from 30-50% within the middle aged population. It is usually defined as a body weight more than 20% in excess of the ideal body weight.
Obesity is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, stroke, muscular dystruphy and infertility. In particular, obesity can evolve to type II diabetes in successvie phases.
There are two major forms of diabetes mellitus: insulin-dependent (type I) and noninsulin-dependent diabes mellitus (type II). Type I diabestes, also called juvenile-onset diabetes mellitus, most often strikes suddently in childhoold. In contrast, type II daibetes, also called maturity-onset diabetes mellitus, usually develops rather gradually after the age of 40.
Promising New FDA Approved Products for Weight Loss
Products/Drugs Used for Loosing Weight:
Appetite suppressants: Appetite suppressant medications promote weight loss be decreasing appetite or increasing the feeling of being full. These medications decrease appetite by increasing serotonin or catecholamin- two brain chemical that affect mood and appetite.
Calorie Restriction: Laboratory rats fed a limited diet live about 40% longer than normal and are resistant to many chronic illnesses typical of aging. These observations have been replicated in yeast, fruit flies, nematodes, fish, spiders and mice.
GAGA-A receptor-active compounds: These are compounds such as a sedative hypnotic which induces sleep by acting at various moieties of the gamma-aminobuyric acidA[GAGAA]-benzodiazepine receptor complex. The receptor complex is part of a group of ligand-gated ion channel complexes comprised of several glycoprotein subunits, each of which appears in multipe isolforms. Examples include indiplon. Companies working on these types of compounds for obesity include Neurocrine
Glycine: is a common amino acid which when added to the diet of laboratory animals reportedly has the effect of causing a dose-dependent loss in weight. See US Patent Publication No 2006/0093650A1
Inhibiting Cathepsin: agents which reduce the level of cathepsins in the body have been proposed as a way to reduce fat storage in a vetebrate (see US Patent Publication No. 2007/0123483).
Rimonabant: is an endocannabinoid blocker under development by the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Aventis. Clinical trails report that the drug can aid in controlling obesity. In addition, it appears to control high blood pressure and elevated blood lipids which often accompany obesity and predispose individuals to cardiovaxcular disease.
Deactivation of ghrelin: Researching at Scripps Research are working on a vacine which when given to humans produces atibodies that bind to and deactivate ghrelin, a recently discovered hormone that decreases energy expenditure and fat breakdown. Mice given shots of the vaccine eat just as much as unreated mice but have about a 20-30 fold % reduction in weight gain.
Fiber: is a good way to fill you up so that you eat less. Use high fiber cereals, whole weat bread, brown and wild rice and particularly fresh fruits and vegetables. Below are a good list of fruits and vegetables to help fill you up.
Romaine lettuce, spinach leaves, artichoke hearts, onions, carrots, mushrooms, corn, pepers, beets, broccoli, black beans, navy beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, green peas, chopped walnuts, slivered almonds, sunflower seeds.
Products/Drugs Not Good for loosing Weight:
Marijuana: stimulates the appetitide. Indeed, people suffering from AIDS sometimes use it as an appetite aid. THC and endocannabinoids have also been shown to stimulate food intake by mice. THC exerts its effects by binding to receptors, proteins located on the surface of neurons and other cells that are the targets of naturally occurring regulatory molecules (in this case named endocannabinoids after the marijuana producing plan Cannabis sativa). Deta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol or delta-9-THC, is an active constituent in extracts of the plant Cannabis sativa (marihuana, Hashish).
Products with Possible Benefits of Treating Diabetes::
Periwinkle:Periwinkle originally was used in its natural formin Madagascar to treat diabetes.
