New Stanford study could help doctors address diabetes, prediabetes

On a latest summer afternoon Randy and Vera Tom prepared a stir-fried lunch in their Redwood City home with their sous chef a -year-old Bichon Frise named Munchies afoot Randy just now overhauled his lifestyle after the couple participated in a Stanford Medicine investigation tracking their metabolic responses to carbohydrates in real time with a continuous glucose monitoring device Randy Tom center and his wife Vera Tom eat lunch bowls of stir-fried pork bok choy and bean sprouts at their Redwood City home on June Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group The lately published research tracked the glucose levels in the blood of analysis subjects as they consumed precooked meals starring different carbohydrates such as grapes jasmine rice potatoes pasta and bread It was led by genetic deep records specialist Mike Snyder metabolic expert Tracey McLaughin and research dietician Dalia Perelman at Stanford The results could lead to better prevention diagnoses and cure of prediabetes diabetes and other metabolic diseases that lower quality of life and raise fitness care costs According to the Centers for Illness Control and Prevention million people or of the U S population had diabetes in Most of common is Type diabetes which occurs when the body develops resistance to insulin because of diet lifestyle weight and family history Type diabetes is an autoimmune infection attacking cells of the pancreas disabling the body s production of insulin the hormone that orchestrates the body s food-processing functions Both types of diabetes are life-threatening without intervention More than a third of the nearly million people in the U S over and nearly half of all people or older are prediabetic the vast majority unknowingly How would you know if you can only know with a test that you get only if there seems to be a complication petitioned Randy cleaver in hand chopping neatly organized piles of lean pork and technicolor-green bok choy Randy Tom cuts bok choy as he prepares lunch at his Redwood City home on June Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group The opportunity to access more personalized robustness information while contributing to science attracted the Toms to Stanford s genomics studies about a decade ago They ve been in more than five long-term studies since the latest was the first involving food When the research unit appealed Randy what he ate over Christmas after seeing spikes in his blood sugar content the culprit was tamales Now he enjoys just one of the corn-based treats per sitting For Snyder the advancement of physiologically specific care has been personal From to he and Stanford profiled his own descent from prediabetes into type diabetes the first time the phenomenon was documented at the molecular level Snyder who is svelte and advancing noted When I first became diabetic everybody looked at me and mentioned No way it s gonna go away ' But the proof was in his integrative Personal Omics Profile or iPOP an unprecedented analysis of billions of individual bits of molecular genetic material collected by powerful cutting-edge instrument This level of analysis allows researchers to understand people by metabolic subtype and tailor restoration to match Right now doctors begin to classify metabolic shifts or prediabetes when glucose levels in the blood exceed with no information as to why the abnormality exists But there are four different pathways to metabolic affection two where the body doesn t produce enough insulin and two where the body doesn t respond properly to insulin In the examination McLaughlin and Snyder looked for soft slopes in blood sugar Jagged peaks are generally normal responses to food or sugar Everyone s blood sugar spikes in response to grapes and rice But the scientists uncovered that people with metabolic problems spiked higher and for longer to potato starch than people who lacked problems The potato-to-grape reaction ratio correlated with different underlying metabolic dysfunctions These differences call for precision medicine and targeted preventative measures Particular people might need weight loss Others might need exercise Yet others may need sleep something that lowers blood glucose levels across the board If we understand where the matter lies we can treat it more effectively Perelman revealed The researchers are looking for markers in cells that can identify these problems more easily through simple blood tests In the meantime continuous glucose monitoring offers actionable information for people who want to be proactive about their metabolic strength You see what spikes you you see what doesn t spike you so you eat what doesn t spike you Snyder commented After the examination wrapped the Toms obtained their own monitoring devices Vera reacted moderately to her details Randy took things further Pictured is a bowl of stir-fried pork bok choy and bean sprouts Randy Tom made for lunch at his Redwood City home on June Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group He avoided foods that caused sustained spikes in his blood sugar and joined a master s swimming club The retiree and part-time model dropped extra pounds shed numbers from his high cholesterol count and reversed his prediabetic condition I don t think people know that you can reverse it he declared It s just hard to do You don t just take a pill Last fall continuous glucose monitors became available over the counter A drawback is the monthly cost because insurance only covers the devices for diabetics Snyder who wears multiple devices tracking his body s functions and removes them only before getting weighed thinks everyone should try one Perelman explained the monitors are not a replacement for clinical consultation McLaughlin added that the devices can yield false metrics in certain situations Related Articles RFK Jr and other Trump representatives embrace psychedelics after FDA setback Insurers fight state laws restricting surprise ambulance bills World s premier cancer institute faces crippling cuts and chaos More elderly Americans are choking to death Are these devices the answer As Children s Hospital LA closes its gender-affirming care center advocates worry kids lives are on the line The next phase of the research will test different foods and mitigators proteins or fats that can lower blood sugar fluctuations when consumed with carbohydrates Toasted bread for example is easier on the system for several people when eaten with meat or a fat source like heavy cream Mitigators don t work as well for people with metabolic disorders another crumb for research Cornflakes and milk Bad for nearly everyone This time survey participants will receive interventions from medicine to personalized instructions for diet and lifestyle modifications Perelman reported I want people to know that there s delicious food that s incredibly healthy