Secret of longevity protein

Klotho proteins play an important role in the regulation of longevity and metabolism. In a recent Yale-led study, researchers revealed the three-dimensional structure of one of these proteins, beta-Klotho, illuminating its intricate mechanism and therapeutic potential. The study findings could have implications for therapies developed to treat a wide range of medical conditions, including diabetes, obesity, and certain cancers, the researchers said.

The Klotho family of two receptor proteins are located on the surface of cells of specific tissues. The proteins bind to a family of hormones, designated endocrine FGFs, that regulate critical metabolic processes in the liver, kidneys, and brain, among other organs. To understand how beta-Klotho works, the research team used X-ray crystallography, a technique that provides high-resolution, three-dimensional views of these proteins.

The researchers' analysis yielded several insights. First, beta-Klotho is the primary receptor that binds to FGF21, a key hormone produced upon starvation. When bound to beta-Klotho, FGF21 stimulates insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism, causing weight loss. This new understanding of beta-Klotho and FGF21 can guide the development of therapies for conditions such as type 2 diabetes in obese patients.

Like insulin, FGF21 stimulates metabolism including glucose uptake. In animals and in some clinical trials of FGF21, it shows that you can increase burning of calories without changing food intake, and we now understand how to improve the biological activity of FGF21.
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Anti-stress compound reduces obesity and diabetes

Stress protein found in muscle has a diabetes promoting effect. For some time, researchers have known that the protein FKBP51 is associated with depression and anxiety disorders. It is involved in the regulation of the stress system – when the system does not function properly; mental disorders may develop. Now, researchers have discovered a new, surprising role for this protein: It acts as a molecular link between the stress regulatory system and metabolic processes in the body.

FKBP51 influences a signaling cascade in muscle tissue, which with excessive calorie intake leads to the development of glucose intolerance- the key indicator of diabetes type 2. An unhealthy diet, rich in fat means stress for the body. If FKBP51 is increasingly produced in the muscle it leads to reduced absorption of glucose – as a result, diabetes and obesity may develop.

If FKBP51 is blocked, diabetes will not develop, even if too many calories are consumed or the body is still stressed. Less FKBP51 in the muscle tissue means reduced glucose intolerance and thus maintenance of normal metabolism. The protein FKBP51 can be pharmacologically blocked by antagonist compounds
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Fasting diets boost brain power

Intermittent fasting may provide brain with more energy, improves memory and learning capabilities. When mice were fed every other day, they grew more neurons and synaptic connections, improving their cognitive functions. During intermittent fasting, the body switches energy sources from glucose, made in the liver, to fat cells, which stimulate activity and cell growth in the brain.

The body runs off of the liver's energy stores for about 10 to 14 hours in humans, when those stores are out, human, as well as animal bodies switch to fat stores, which are converted into compounds called ketones in the blood. Ketones act directly on the nerve cells to stimulate production of BDNF'- a key protein to neuron growth-and may help optimize cognition, learning and memory building.

Simply eating less will not have the same effects, eating three meals a day and having an overall relatively low calorie intake - between 1,800 and 2,000 every time-replenish their liver energy stores. The mice in the study were more alert and showed more activity in the areas of their brains responsible for learning and memory during the fasting period. Every-other-day fasting his team used for the mice wouldn't work in human, two days of fasting each week can help in human.
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Low calorie diet can reverse type 2 diabetes

Diabetes goes into remission in many patients who undergo bariatric weight-loss surgery, which significantly restricts caloric intake prior to clinically significant weight loss.The research team investigated the effects of a very low calorie diet VLCD, consisting of one-quarter the normal intake, on a rodent model of type 2 diabetes.

Using a novel stable (naturally occurring) isotope approach, which they developed, the researchers tracked and calculated a number of metabolic processes that contribute to the increased glucose production by the liver. The method, known as PINTA, allowed the investigators to perform a comprehensive set of analyses of key metabolic fluxes within the liver that might contribute to insulin resistance and increased rates of glucose production by the liver-two key processes that cause increased blood-sugar concentrations in diabetes.

Using this approach, the researchers pinpointed three major mechanisms responsible for the VLCD's dramatic effect of rapidly lowering blood glucose concentrations in the diabetic animals. In the liver, the VLCD lowers glucose production by: decreasing the conversion of lactate and amino acids into glucose; decreasing the rate of liver glycogen conversion to glucose; and decreasing fat content, which in turn improves the liver's response to insulin.

These positive effects of the VLCD were observed in three days. Using this approach to comprehensively interrogate liver carbohydrate and fat metabolism, we showed that it is a combination of three mechanisms that is responsible for the rapid reversal of hyperglycemia following a very low calorie diet.
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Menopause linked to changes in brain energy use

Researchers have found that women's brains use less energy during the menopause. The reduction in energy use by the brain was found to be similar to what is seen in people with Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's is characterised by changes in the brain beyond those associated with normal ageing and current research shows that women are more likely to develop Alzheimer's than men.
Menopause can have widespread effects on women, including changes in behaviour, mood and sleep patterns.

Researchers studied changes in energy use in the brains of women before and during menopause. They examined healthy women between the ages of 40 to 60 and used an imaging technique known as PET scanning to assess levels of glucose, one of the major energy sources for the brain.

The team saw reductions in the use of energy in women during menopause. Menopausal women also scored lower on memory tests compared to those who had not gone through menopause, even after accounting for their slightly older age.

The researchers made the observation that those areas of the brain where energy use had dropped in menopause were similar to those seen in people with Alzheimer's disease. Menopause has impacts on a woman's life, it can lead to changes in the brain.

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Effects of different sugar on the liver

Concentrated sugars such as high-fructose corn syrup, a sugar found in sweetened beverages and many other processed foods have negative effects on liver. According to the latest research, mice on a fatty diet who were given high levels of fructose in their diet suffered worse metabolic effects than those given similar calories of glucose.

Researchers experimented in a mouse model used to study obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver and other metabolic illnesses. These animals were given either regular or high-fat diets, and drank either plain water or water sweetened with fructose or glucose.
Comparing these diets, gave more precise role of fructose against glucose in the diet, and how bad is it when it is added to a normal diet against a diet high in fat. After two months, none of the animals on a regular diet developed insulin resistance.

Among animals on a high-fat diet, there is significant differences between those drinking fructose and glucose. Fatty liver disease does not progress to dangerous levels of liver inflammation,
Mice on the high-fat diet become much more obese and more insulin-resistant compared to their peers on the glucose diet. And while both groups of animals added fat to their livers, the fat composition was different.

The researchers also discovered that production of an enzyme called ketohexokinase KHk, required for the first step of fructose metabolism, was increased in the livers of mice who drank fructose. When the scientists examined liver samples from obese human with fatty liver disease, they also found higher levels of Khk. The Khk enzyme is important in fructose, but not glucose, metabolism. Fructose and glucose are sugars, cells handle them differently.
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Fatty liver can damage other organs

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease  NAFL increases the risk of chronic liver diseases such as liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Altered secretion of the fatty liver increases production of glucose, fats, and proteins like hepatokine fetuin-A, which are releases into the bloodstream.

The secreted substances of the fatty liver enter other organs and trigger further reactions. People who had experienced an increased pancreatic fatty degeneration have reduced insulin secretion.

Fatty liver and fatty degeneration of the pancreas triggers increased local immune cell infiltration and inflammation that increase the disease.
However, adipose tissue is not harmful, it can even have protective effects: adipose tissue located around the blood vessels of the kidney has regenerative properties.

The factor that leads to pathological changes is fetuin-A, which is produced by the fatty liver, instead of protecting tissue as before, the adipose tissue brings out inflammatory processes that leads to a restriction of renal function.
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How to break sugar addiction

Insomnia, regular breakouts, craving for sweet and exhausted taste buds may be an indicator that you are suffering from a sugar addiction.

 Sugar addiction can leads to overweight and obesity. Excessive sugar consumption in different forms destroys body systems generally.

Acne is an indication that there is too much sugar in the diet, damage to the skin proteins, collagen and elastin, leading to premature wrinkles and aging.

Change in taste bud; taste buds are addicted to sweet foods and may not want any food that is not sweet.

Diet high in sugar can increase cancer growth; tumors used sugar as energy to mutate and spread across the body.

Bacteria in the mouth feeds on sugars which creates harmful acids causing tooth decay, destroy tooth enamel and form hole in the tooth.

The pancreas releases insulin to transfer glucose to the cell's after consuming sugar, the higher the sugar peak, the more extreme the sugar dip that will follow.

Sugar interrupts the supply of important neurotransmitter precursors through the blood-brain barrier - and particularly ones that help produce serotonin and dopamine, which influence mood.

Excess sugar consumption decrease the amount of good cholesterol in the bloodstream and increase the amount of bad cholesterol in the body, leading to heart disease.

The liver struggles to process excessive amounts of sugar. The unprocessed sugars are converted to fat calls, which are distributed throughout the body. It can leads to obesity.

Too much sugar in the body can cause bacteria to move from the colon to the small intestine, proliferate on the foods digesting in the small intestine and cause bloating, acid reflux, gas and abdominal cramping.

Sugar can be remove from the body by replacing process foods with whole foods and by replacing all processed drinks with water.
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Causes of type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a disorder of metabolism, the condition occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or the insulin produced does not work properly.

Insulin resistance means that the cells of the body do not fully respond to insulin that is released. This makes glucose to remains in the blood instead of being moved into the cells.

Common symptoms of Type 2 diabetes are: extreme thirst, frequent urination fatigue, blurred vision, sudden weight loss and increased appetite.

It can reduce life expectancy if it is not managed properly and cause different health complications. These factors increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Age increases the risk of diabetes, diabetes is common among adults, aging and insulin resistance are closely connected because old people gain weight and become inactive.

Another risk factor is being overweight
especially if you are large around the middle because it increases pressure on body’s ability to use insulin properly to control blood sugar levels.

The pressure of blood flowing through the arteries varies at different times in the heartbeat cycle and the systolic pressure measures the pressure when heart contracts and blood is forced through the arteries. High blood pressure can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Genetics can contribute to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Parents can transfer it to their children. Mutations in any gene involved in controlling glucose levels can increase risk of type 2 diabetes. These include genes that control: production of glucose, production and regulation of insulin and how glucose levels are measured in the body

High blood glucose levels during pregnancy may leads to the development of type 2 diabetes in future.

Healthy eating, an active lifestyle and regular medical examination can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
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Drinking of coffee may increase lifespan

Coffee contains a lot of compounds like caffeine, diterpenes and antioxidants that interact with the body systems and prevent so many diseases.

 It has a lot of antioxidants and phenolic compounds that play an important role in cancer and disease prevention.

Coffee reduces inflammation, controls glucose and strengthens the immune system. Drinking of coffee is associated with a reduced risk of death from circulatory and digestive tract diseases.

 It prevents womb and liver cancer and reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s. Moderate drinking of coffee every day is essential for sound health.

Dinking more than 0.4g of caffeine a day can cause anxiety, sleeplessness and disturbed heart rhythm.
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Broccoli can cure type 2 diabetes

Eating or drinking broccoli can reverse type 2 diabetes. Sulforaphane is an anti-cancer compound in cruciferous vegetables.

Sulforaphane is highly concentrated in cruciferous vegetables and could be used in a concentrated broccoli extract.
It can be used for treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Researchers examined  97 obese patients, those given concentrated broccoli sprout found their fasting blood glucose levels fell dramatically compared to controls who received a placebo.

Sulforaphane induces an antioxidant response. It reduced glucose production by liver cells growing in culture, and shifted liver gene expression in diabetic rats.


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Dangers of eating late

Eating late increases the risk of weight gain, diabetes and heart disease.  Researchers discovered that eating late raises glucose and insulin levels.
Late-night meals also raise cholesterol and triglycerides, increase risk of heart disease.

Researchers instructed nine adults of healthy weights to spend eight weeks to eat during the daytime, which involved consuming three meals and two snacks between 8am and 7pm.

Then the group followed a delayed eating routine, having three meals and two snacks eating from noon to 11 pm for eight weeks.

 The researchers measured changes in weight, metabolism and energy used, they discovered that when participants ate later, compared to when they ate during the daytime, their weight increased.

They found late-night meals caused people to gain weight by reducing their body's fat metabolism. Test showed
that eating later led the participants to metabolize fewer fats and store carbohydrates which can raise blood sugar levels.

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How to prevent type 1 diabetes

White blood cells make antibodies against pathogens or other invaders in healthy people. Pancreatic beta cells produce insulin, the hormone that provides fuel to the body's cells by transporting glucose.

 B lymphocytes plays a major role in activating the autoreactive T cells (T lymphocytes) that then destroy the pancreatic beta cells leading to type 1 diabetes.

These damaged cells fail to take glucose into cells, the glucose build up in the blood can damage nerves, blood vessels and organs.

The researchers used a gene manipulation approach to identify a potential metabolic target that would eliminate the B cells that initiate diabetes.

They demonstrated that non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice treated with a specific (AID/RAD51) pathway inhibitor had more of B cells that were capable of suppressing diabetogenic T cell and reduced T1D development.

Antibody production of B cells turn on the gene known as activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), which acts as a molecular scissors that cut the chromosomes within the B-cell.

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How your brain eat itself

Your brain starts to eat itself if it hasn't had enough sleep, according to a new study. Researchers studied lab mice
and discovered that 'clean-up' cells were more active in their brains when they were sleep-deprived.

The cells act like mini Hoovers in the brain, sweeping up cells as the brain's connections become weak and break apart.

Sleeping for  less than six hours per night is associated with a higher risk of death in people with metabolic syndrome – a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure.

Researchers said the effect was particularly strong in those with elevated blood pressure or poor glucose metabolism.

People with a common cluster of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes were around twice as likely to die of heart disease or stroke as people without the same set of risk factors if they failed to get more than six hours of sleep, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The researchers randomly selected 1,344 adults with an average age of 49 who agreed to spend one night in a sleep laboratory.

Based on their test results, 39.2 per cent of the participants were found to have at least three of the risk factors, that when clustered together are known as the metabolic syndrome.

Diet rich in sugar multiply cancer in the body

A sugar rich diet may be fuelling various forms of cancer, tumours thrive off sugar, using it as energy to mutate and spread across the body.

Now scientists have shown one type of cancer - which can be found in the lungs, head and neck, oesophagus and cervix - has more of a sweet tooth than others.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) was more dependent on sugar to grow,
This form of the disease used higher levels of a protein that carries glucose to cells to enable them to multiply.

Excessive sugar consumption can leads to diabetes and cancer, because some cancers dependent on sugar to grow.
Without a sufficient supply of the sugar, cells in the body can not function properly.

Cancer Research UK make clear that cancerous cells aren't just dependent on sugar for their growth, as they rely on amino acids and fats also.

The new findings came after researchers looked into the differences between two major subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer - adenocarcinoma (ADC) and SqCC.

About one quarter of all lung cancers are SqCC, which has been difficult to treat with targeted therapies.
The study first tapped into The Cancer Genome Atlas, which maps information about 33 types of cancer gathered from more than 11,000 patients.

Based on that data, it found a protein responsible for transporting glucose into cells was present in significantly higher levels in lung SqCC than in lung ADC.

The protein, called glucose transporter 1, or GLUT1, takes up glucose into cells, where the sugar provides a fundamental energy source and fuels cell metabolism.
GLUT1 is also necessary for normal cell function.

Cure for type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is currently controlled by insulin injections, healthy diet, regular exercise and monitoring blood glucose levels.

Two studies by the University of Adelaide have demonstrated for the first time how potential new anti-diabetic drugs could target the body at the molecular level to treat the condition.

Currently the most commonly prescribed anti-diabetic drug is Metformin, which acts on the liver to reduce glucose production.

However, these new drugs work completely differently by targeting a protein receptor known as PPARgamma found in fat tissue throughout the body, and then either fully or partially activating it to lower blood sugar.

It does this by increasing insulin and changing the metabolism of fat and sugar. This make it efficient at reducing blood sugar.

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Effects of diabetes on vital organs

 The raised blood sugar levels that result from diabetes can cause a wide range of serious health issues. When people have diabetes, the body either does not make enough insulin or cannot use what it has effectively. As a result, the amount of sugar in the blood becomes higher than normal.

 Blood sugar is the main power source for the human body. It comes from the food people eat. The hormone insulin convert glucose into fuel. Diabetes may
cause complications in the circulatory system, which can lead to heart attack and stroke.

Diabetes can damage large blood vessels, causing macrovascular disease.
It can also damage small blood vessels, causing what is called microvascular disease. Microvascular disease can
cause eye, kidney, and nerve problems.

Excess blood sugar decreases the elasticity of blood vessels and causes them to narrow, impeding blood flow.
When people have diabetes, they can develop nerve damage because the blood vessels can not supply enough oxygen.

Nerve damage usually happens some 25 years or more after diagnosis. The most common form is peripheral neuropathy which causes pain and numbness in toes, feet, legs, and arms.

Over time, high blood sugar levels damage blood vessels in the kidneys. This damage prevents the kidneys from filtering waste out of the blood.
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, diabetes is one of the major
causes of kidney disease.

Diabetes is the most frequently identified cause of gastroparesis. This is a condition that causes the stomach to slow the movement of food into the small intestine.

A person with gastroparesis may experience symptoms such as nausea, abdominal pain, and acid reflux.
Gastroparesis may cause: nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, bloating, abdomen pain and weight loss

Diabetes can interfere with the body's ability to send and implement responses to sexual stimuli. It can cause erectile dysfunction in men. If you have
diabetes, you can manage it by monitoring your glucose level and working closely with your health providers.

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Ketogenic diets can cure diabetes

Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases of high blood glucose (blood sugar), either because insulin production is inadequate, or because the body's cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both.

Ketogenic diet involves eating five per cent carbohydrates, 20 per cent protein and 75 per cent fats per day. Foods high  in fat are nuts, cheese, fish, meat and avocado.

It was created in 1924 to reduce seizures in children with epilepsy, but has become a popular weight loss tool. Instead of using glucose from carbohydrate for fuel, the body is forced into ketosis, when the body metabolises fat as fuel.

Reducing carbohydrates in food reduce  blood sugar levels and insulin levels. It
can also lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels

Ketogenic diet can cause hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, mental fogginess,
fatigue and headaches, kidney stones and bone fractures.









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Gene controls birth defects common in diabetic patients

Neural tube defects (NTDs) occur when mutations accumulate in the neuroepithelial cells, neural stem cells that eventually transform themselves into the brain and the central nervous system.

This  occurs after the fetus is exposed to too much glucose, which can cause widespread cell death, eventually leading to the birth defects.

Researchers have identified a gene that plays a key role in the formation of neural tube defects, a problem commonly found in infants of pregnant women with diabetes.

Neural tube defects are birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. They occur in the first month of pregnancy. The two most common are spina bifida and anencephaly.

 In the first, the fetal spinal column doesn't close completely. This usually causes nerve damage, with some paralysis of the legs. In the latter, most of the brain and skull do not develop.

 Infants with this defect are usually stillborn or die soon after birth. Neural tube defects have several causes, including diabetes, folic acid deficiency, obesity in the mother, and consumption of certain medications.

About 10 percent of women with diabetes who are pregnant will have embryos with neural tube. More than
300,000 pregnancies are affected by NTDs every year. One out of ten babies with NTDs die before their first birthday.

Pregnant women who have diabetes have a significantly higher risk of having a child with NTDs, and even with the highest quality preconception care, diabetic women are five times more likely to have a child with birth defects than non-diabetic women.

Benefits of calories reduction

When the body does not have enough glucose for energy, it burns stored fats, resulting in a build-up of molecules called ketone bodies.

Investigators suspect that calorie reduction extends life span at least in part through increasing levels of ketone bodies.

Aging-induced change like incidence of malignancies in mice, the increases in blood glucose and insulin caused by insulin resistance, and muscular weakness.

Insulin resistance can be decreased by the metabolism of ketone bodies, a normal metabolite produced from fatty acids by liver during periods of prolonged fasting or caloric reduction.

The more calorie you reduce, the less fat your body will accumulate. Less accumulation of fat in the body makes you healthy, it prevents diabetes and other terminal diseases.