why excess fat is so bad for type 2's

[Guest guest]

type 2

diabetes. In fact, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) says that more

than 90 percent of people who are newly diagnosed with type 2 are

overweight.

But why does excess fat increase the risk of diabetes? Isn't the disease,

after all, one that involves the body's inability to metabolize glucose?

Well, researchers at Emory University in Atlanta think they may know why fat

can be a culprit in acquisition of the disease. In a study published in

February

in the Journal of

Endocrinology

and Metabolism, a team led by Guillermo E. Umpierrez, MD, a professor of

medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, concluded that free fatty

acids

" are leading candidates in the development of

complications-and-care/insulin-resistance

insulin

resistance and hypertension in obese patients. "

At sustained levels, fatty acids, which are cells that move freely through

the bloodstream, are implicated in increased blood pressure and

cardiovascular

inflammation, interference with endothelial function,* and negative effects

on the hormonal system that affect body's fluid balance.

The Emory researchers also found that fatty acids inhibit insulin's ability

to dispose of glucose in peripheral tissues, increasing the body's

intolerance

of

carbohydrates

-a precondition of type 2 diabetes.

To reach their conclusions about fatty acids, the team studied the effects

of lipid injections on a group of 24 African-American patients with type 2

diabetes.

The patients had normal blood pressure and an average body mass index of 37.

Random members of the group received Intralipid/heparin (Intralipid is the

brand name for a fat emulsion) over a 48-hour period, while the others

received a placebo saline/heparin solution.

Within four hours, blood pressure in the lipid infusion group had increased

significantly. The increase was sustained, and there was also an increase in

their markers for cardiovascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction.

An interesting sidebar to Dr. Umpierrez's study is his current investigation

of olive oil as a nutrient for critically ill hospital patients who must

receive

nutrition by injection. Because olive oil is a mono-unsaturated fatty acid,

he thinks it may cause less inflammation and endothelial dysfunction than

the

fatty acids hospitals currently administer to such patients.

* The endothelium is a thin layer of cells that lines the entire circulatory

system and acts in several significant ways, including controlling blood

pressure;

controlling the exit from and entrance into the bloodstream of white blood

cells; and the formation of new blood vessels.