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Promise Held In Treatment Of Diabetes
posted 02/05/04
A compound of antioxidant rich foods may help prevent Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Studies increasingly indicate that a compound of antioxidant rich foods may help prevent insulin-dependent diabetes or extend the period of remissions that are common in the early stages of the disease, according to scientists from Oregon State University.

Although the exact nutrient mix that is needed has not yet been determined, there is evidence that nutritional therapies may ultimately play an important role in the fight against diabetes, said Tammy Bray, dean of the OSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.

Bray spoke recently on the latest findings in her research at a conference called "Diet and Optimum Health," sponsored by the Linus Pauling Institute at OSU. She has extensively studied "type one" diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes, or IDDM, which occurs in children and is a lifelong disease. Children with this disease, whose exact cause is unknown, must take daily insulin shots and monitor their food carefully.

"We know that something triggers the diabetes to emerge," Bray said. "The emergence is marked by an inflammation within the pancreas, which causes it to stop producing insulin. IDDM is a serious disease and in worst cases, when untreated, children can go into a coma and die."

Bray’s research program is studying a signal, marked by oxidative stress, that she believes is triggered by environmental factors and causes an attack on the immune system. The manipulation of this signal may help prevent the disease, she said, and may be accomplished by nutritional compounds that can control this "switch." "Our research suggests that a compound called NFkB is the cellular switch that may be involved in the advancement of IDDM," Bray said. "We want to find out what it is that turns the switch on and off and then the moment that it comes on - before it is out of control - we want to be able to shut it off."

Researchers testing a variety of different compounds and foods in search of the perfect combination have so far determined that food with high levels of antioxidants may help with IDDM.

"We want to eat a colorful diet, as well as foods that are rich in antioxidants," Bray said. "This could include spinach, carrots, soy, tomatoes and others."

When children first develop IDDM, they often go through a "honeymoon period," Bray said, when the diabetes is in remission. It is possible that a combination of certain foods will increase the length of this honeymoon period and ensure that children with IDDM remain in remission for the greatest amount of time possible.

The right compounds may even allow the children’s bodies to "self-repair" through the use of the antioxidants, Bray said.

Although Bray’s research is focused on IDDM, she says her work is also applicable to those with type two, or adult onset diabetes.

Bray’s research is coordinated with OSU’s Linus Pauling Institute, which is a national leader in studying the prevention and treatment of human disease by vitamins, micronutrients and phytochemicals, and the role of oxidative and nitrative stress and antioxidants in human health and disease.

Source: Diabetes In Control.com.

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