Type 2 diabetes - diabetes medications and their effect on blood fat levels

Type 2 diabetes - diabetes medications and their effect on blood fat levels

Researchers at Shiga University of Medical Science in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, found that taking metformin before meals helped reduce post-meal increases in blood lipid levels in 11 participants diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Their study was published in January 2019 in theJournal of Diabetes Investigation.Metformin is the first drug of choice prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes.

The average body mass index (BMI) of participants was about 28 kg/m², or overweight but not obese. When they were given metformin before a meal, their blood triglycerides, a type of fat, rose less than when they took the medication after the meal. Participants also reported feeling more satisfied after eating without complaining of stomach upset or heartburn. Based on these results, researchers concluded that taking metformin before meals could help lower triglycerides and prevent high triglyceride levels after meals without causing stomach upset.

If food is not burned for energy,It is stored in the form of triglycerides, which tend to be high in the blood of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Insulin helps triglycerides get energy into cells, just as it helps transport sugar. Insulin resistance, the cause of type 2 diabetes, increases both sugar and triglyceride levels. Other health conditions linked to high triglycerides include...

• the metabolic syndrome,

• low thyroid hormone levels (hypothyroidism),

• genetic diseases (rare),

• a high-carbohydrate diet,

• Obesity,

• medication,

• diuretics,

• estrogen and gestagen (female hormones),

• retinoids (vitamin A),

• steroids (certain hormones),

• beta blockers,

• some immunosuppressants and

• some AIDS drugs.

A normal triglyceride level falls below 150 mg/dl or 1.7 mmol/l...

• between 150 and 199 mg / dl or 1.8 to 2.2 mmol / l is considered the limit.

• between 200 and 499 mg/dl or 2.3 to 5.6 mmol/l is high and

• 500 mg/dl or 5.7 mmol/l or more is very high.

High levels of triglycerides in the bloodincreases the risk of heart and blood vessel diseases, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Ways to combat high triglyceride levels include...

• Normalizing your weight to a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 kg / m²,

• Switching from solid to liquid fats – cutting red meat and using olive or other vegetable oil instead of butter,

• avoid alcohol,

• avoiding refined carbohydrate products,

• exercise at least 30 minutes a day,

• medication,

• Lipitor (atorvastatin),

• Lescol (fluvastatin),

• Mevacor (lovastatin),

• Livalo (pitavastatin),

• Pravachol (pravastatin),

• Zocor (simvastatin),

• Crestor (rosuvastatin),

• Lopid (Gemfibrozil) and

• Antara, Lofibra, Triglide (fenofibrate).

Inspired by Beverleigh H Piepers