OnFitness Magazine - May/June 2020 - 28

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W W W. O N F I T N E S S M A G . C O M | V O L 2 0 N O 6 | 2 0 2 0 2 8

Clean Nutrition Report

THE DIABETES
EPIDEMIC
Lorraine Page

In 1980, less than six million people
in the U.S. had type II diabetes. In
2010, that number rose to about
twenty-one million. If this trend
continues, according to the Centers
for Disease Control, a third of
American adults may ultimately
contract diabetes.
According to the CDC's 2012 Diabetes Report Card, nineteen
percent of adult Americans over the age of sixty-five now have
type II diabetes. Among forty-five to sixty-four-year-olds, the
number is almost twelve percent. In twenty to forty-four-year-olds,
the number is less than three percent. Over two-thirds of those
with diabetes also have high blood pressure, and having diabetes
increases the risk of a stroke up to four times.
Glucose and insulin resistance
One of the reasons diabetes and heart disease go hand in hand
relates to an oversupply of unused blood glucose. When the cells
do not utilize the available glucose in the blood, that unused
glucose can become oxidized, damaging blood vessel walls.
When this occurs, the arteries become hardened and clogged,
and blood pressure goes up along with the risk of stroke and heart
attack.
At issue are glucose and insulin sensitivity. The cells have
receptors on their membranes that escort glucose into the cell to
be utilized. This event occurs with the help of insulin.
However, the cell wall may become resistant to glucose and/or
insulin. This will discourage the reception of glucose, leaving
glucose in a free state to roam the blood.
Some of this free glucose will be converted to glycogen and
stored in muscles, and some will be converted to fat. The rest
often becomes oxidized and damages the blood vessels.
The reasons why cells become resistant - or insensitive - to
either insulin, glucose or both are complex. Some research has
linked this to changes in sirtuins. Sirtuins help DNA express the
enzymes related to the metabolic processing of glucose and
insulin.
Diet and exercise
The two major factors related to insulin and/or glucose resistance
are diet and exercise. Exercise directly improves glucose and insulin
utilization by the cell via increased receptor activity along with
improved access through circulation. It has been shown that insulin
resistance increases among seniors who don't exercise frequently.
When they begin to exercise, their insulin resistance decreases.
Even when there's increased insulin resistance, exercise is
beneficial because it stimulates an enzyme called AMP kinase.
AMP kinase helps to escort glucose through the cell walls without

the need for insulin.
Even those who exercise frequently can get diabetes, however.
This is because diabetes is significantly linked to the Western diet
- a diet with increased consumption of saturated fats, meats, fried
and processed foods, and a lack of fruits and vegetables.
The dietary culprits
In one study from the Netherlands' Utrecht University Medical
Center, twenty-thousand eight hundred and thirty-five Dutch
people were studied to compare their diets with the incidence of
type II diabetes.
The researchers were able to separate their diets into two
general patterns. The first pattern, rich in fruits, vegetables, and
lean protein foods, was accompanied by a lower risk of diabetes.
Those whose diets contained more soft drinks, fried and processed
foods had seventy percent more type II diabetes.
The researchers also found that exercise decreased type II
diabetes, even among those who consumed the most soft drinks,
fried and processed foods. For those who exercised, the rates of

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OnFitness Magazine - May/June 2020

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