| High Blood Sugar Levels Increase Pancreatic Cancer Risk CHICAGO, IL -- May 16, 2000 --- Diabetes and related health factors such as abnormal blood sugar levels, obesity and elevated serum uric acid concentrations have long been associated with higher cardiovascular disease risk. A new study by Northwestern University Medical School researchers has also linked these health conditions to increased risk for pancreatic cancer. Results of the study, which appear in the May 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that risk for pancreatic cancer rose incrementally with an individual's blood glucose level. The association between pancreatic cancer and blood glucose levels also was independent of known pancreatic cancer risk factors, such as cigarette smoking and age, said Susan M. Gapstur, assistant professor of preventive medicine at the Medical School and lead author of the article. Supplements and Diabetes The most important of all of the supplements for the diabetic is chromium. Many studies of the diabetic have shown that supplementation of the diet with chromium will decrease fasting blood sugar levels, improve glucose tolerance, lower insulin levels, and decrease total cholesterol and fat levels, while increasing HDL cholesterol. JAMA 1995; 73:1849-1854 .. Experts estimate that six out of every 100 women suffer from diabetes. And at least one-third of these women dont know they have the disease. All too often women arent diagnosed until they develop serious complications, such as heart disease or vision problems, says Dr. Robin Goland, co-director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. But even if you are overweight, exercise can help, according to a study published this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association. That study, which followed more than 70,000 female nurses for 12 years, found that exercise - even if it was just walking - could protect a woman against diabetes. The women who worked out the most were half as likely to develop diabetes as those who eschewed exercise. Even when the researchers factored out the weight-lowering effects of exercise, it still reduced the risk of diabetes. Thats because muscles at work are able to take up sugar directly from the bloodstream without any signals from insulin, explains Dr. David A. Simmons, an associate professor of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. When muscles cells are inactive, they need insulin to turn on the pump. So, if you exercise, your insulin goes a lot further, Simmons says. |
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