Posts Tagged ‘body’

Type 1 Diabetes In Children – Hope From Hot Peppers?

January 23rd, 2012

What is type 1 diabetes?

It is “diabetes mellitus type 1″, resulting from the body’s failure to produce insulin. We’ll just call it T1D in this article.

In one of our local schools, there are no fewer than ten children with T1D. Two in the same family! Astonishingly, that is one in fifty students!

Many of them have insulin pumps that register how many portions of food they can eat. And determined by their reading, each brings out, on a daily basis, some junk food to eat – perhaps a packet of chips, a fruit strap, a muesli bar, or some rice crackers. Each has a portion count on it, clearly labeled by a caring, well-intentioned parent.

Another friend’s grandson is also has the disease. According to her, he comes home from school and may eat a whole packet of sweet biscuits, or make a cake from a packet mixture and devour all of it before dinner. His insulin injections, I am told, take care of the highly-processed, high-GI food!

There is much work to be done in educating people to stop eating junk, and so reduce the incidence of this appalling disease.

However, there is some other work being done that offers some hope, and it is instructive to be aware of it.

T1D has always been considered to be a life-long disease, caused by the immune system destroying beta cells in the pancreas and thus not allowing the body to produce insulin.

Scientists have generally been united in their belief that there was no cure for this disease.

As the number of children diagnosed with T1D worryingly grows, it is somewhat encouraging to read about a relatively new study conducted by scientists at the University of Toronto, in Canada.

Thanks to the Internet, this has found its way to almost all parts of the globe with amazing ease!

Enter – hot peppers!

It would seem that diabetic mice that were injected with capsaicin (the hotness chemical found in hot peppers) became healthy, and were cured no less than twenty-four hours later!

The scientists injected a substance that served to counteract the effect of faulty pain neurons in the pancreas.

Traditionally experts have held the belief that T1D was caused by the failure of the immune system to protect, but Doctor H. M. Dosch and his colleague Doctor M. Salter, at the forefront of the experiment, now believe that the cause may well be the blame of malfunctioning pancreatic nerve neurons.

People suffer from T1D when their pancreas stops delivering enough insulin. This causes the inflammation and death of the islet cells found in the pancreas and makes it difficult for the body to process food.

Excessive pain nerves in your islet cells

» Read more: Type 1 Diabetes In Children – Hope From Hot Peppers?

Symptoms of Diabetes in Children

December 5th, 2011

This is a condition wherein the body immune system attacks one own cells and tissues of the organ. The insulin generating cells of pancreas are destroyed in diabetes type-1.

Usually, childhood diabetes is not that common, but in recent years the rate of children affected with diabetes has increased all over the world. Every year hundreds of kids are found affected with diabetes type 1. The increased ratio of obesity in American society has welcomed diabetes in children. Obesity is the rising concern of many nutritionists. Children are highly fascinated with junk food, which contain ample amount of fats in the body. Obesity causes several life-threatening disorders such as, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, blood pressure, and strokes.

Numerous factors are responsible for developing the symptoms of diabetes in children. The main causes of diabetes in children are still not cleared. But the most possible reason for provoking the symptoms of diabetes is mutation of genes and various environmental factors. According to health survey, most of the children suffering from type 1 diabetes do not have family background of diabetes. The classic symptoms of diabetes are very much similar to diabetes symptoms in children such as:

Excessive thirst

Extreme tiredness and weakness

Sudden loss of weight

Frequent urination

Sudden increase in appetite

Irritation

Sudden weight gain

Some children even face symptoms such as severe headaches, cramps/ pain in stomach, and disturbed behavioral patterns. Sometimes diabetic acidosis appears prior diagnosing diabetes. Even though it very rarely occurs, it is better to have spread awareness among parents. The awareness associated with diabetes should be initiated by high schools. Consult your doctors if your child is found with even slightest abnormalities. Children are unable to communicate about the modification occurring in their body. Thus, parents should have a proper eye on their health.

» Read more: Symptoms of Diabetes in Children

Type 1 Diabetes In Children – Hope From Hot Peppers?

November 27th, 2011

What is type 1 diabetes?

It is “diabetes mellitus type 1″, resulting from the body’s failure to produce insulin. We’ll just call it T1D in this article.

In one of our local schools, there are no fewer than ten children with T1D. Two in the same family! Astonishingly, that is one in fifty students!

Many of them have insulin pumps that register how many portions of food they can eat. And determined by their reading, each brings out, on a daily basis, some junk food to eat – perhaps a packet of chips, a fruit strap, a muesli bar, or some rice crackers. Each has a portion count on it, clearly labeled by a caring, well-intentioned parent.

Another friend’s grandson is also has the disease. According to her, he comes home from school and may eat a whole packet of sweet biscuits, or make a cake from a packet mixture and devour all of it before dinner. His insulin injections, I am told, take care of the highly-processed, high-GI food!

There is much work to be done in educating people to stop eating junk, and so reduce the incidence of this appalling disease.

However, there is some other work being done that offers some hope, and it is instructive to be aware of it.

T1D has always been considered to be a life-long disease, caused by the immune system destroying beta cells in the pancreas and thus not allowing the body to produce insulin.

Scientists have generally been united in their belief that there was no cure for this disease.

As the number of children diagnosed with T1D worryingly grows, it is somewhat encouraging to read about a relatively new study conducted by scientists at the University of Toronto, in Canada.

Thanks to the Internet, this has found its way to almost all parts of the globe with amazing ease!

Enter – hot peppers!

It would seem that diabetic mice that were injected with capsaicin (the hotness chemical found in hot peppers) became healthy, and were cured no less than twenty-four hours later!

The scientists injected a substance that served to counteract the effect of faulty pain neurons in the pancreas.

Traditionally experts have held the belief that T1D was caused by the failure of the immune system to protect, but Doctor H. M. Dosch and his colleague Doctor M. Salter, at the forefront of the experiment, now believe that the cause may well be the blame of malfunctioning pancreatic nerve neurons.

People suffer from T1D when their pancreas stops delivering enough insulin. This causes the inflammation and death of the islet cells found in the pancreas and makes it difficult for the body to process food.

Excessive pain nerves in your islet cells

Doctor Dosch had noted in his research that things called “islet cells” in diabetics, were enclosed by a huge number of “pain nerves” that sent signals to the brain that there was damage.

In order to put his theory to test, he injected into his T1D mice, the capsaicin, only to find out that the islet cells were immediately coursed into action, and stress on the pancreas was eliminated.

» Read more: Type 1 Diabetes In Children – Hope From Hot Peppers?