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Typically, doctors advise people with type 2 diabetes to eat about six times a day. But this approach can lead to a vicious cycle in which individuals require more intensive treatments. Could a different approach to diet be more suitable? Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common metabolic conditions. Across the globe, over 400 millionTrusted Source people live with it. Usually, doctors prescribe drugs that will help individuals with diabetes keep their blood sugar levels under control, as well as advise them on how to change their dietary habits to aid treatment. Many healthcare providers believe that the best approach for people with type 2 diabetes is to eat more, smaller meals at regular intervals throughout the day. Typically experts recommend eating six times a day. However, this approach can lead to problems. Some people who follow this type of diet plan require more intensive treatments. This is particularly true of those with severe forms of diabetes who need to inject themselves with high doses of insulin to counterbalance insulin resistance. However, high-dosage insulin injections can introduce glucose (blood sugar) level imbalances. They can also cause weight gain and lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular problems. Prof. Jakubowicz and team observed that the participants with diabetes who followed the typical six meal diet did not lose any weight and did not see better blood sugar control. However, those who ate three meals a day saw the opposite effect: they lost weight and had much improved blood sugar levels.

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Doctors commonly prescribe metformin to help people with type 2 diabetes lower their blood sugar levels. The drug increases insulin sensitivity through its effects on glucose metabolism. However, although there is clear evidence of metformin's effectiveness, scientists do not fully understand how it interacts with cells and tissues at the molecular level. Now, a new Cell Reports study has mapped metformin activity in the liver and yielded some surprising results. Using cell cultures and mice, the researchers identified numerous biochemical switches for turning various cell and molecular processes on and off. The findings shed light not only on metformin's mechanism of glucose control, but also on a surprising number of other reactions and pathways. The researchers suggest, for instance, that the new findings could help explain recent revelations about metformin's apparent ability to promote healthy aging. Doctors commonly prescribe metformin to help people with type 2 diabetes lower their blood sugar levels. The drug increases insulin sensitivity through its effects on glucose metabolism. Metformin may hold surprising benefits in the fight against age-related illness. However, although there is clear evidence of metformin's effectiveness, scientists do not fully understand how it interacts with cells and tissues at the molecular level. Now, a new Cell Reports study has mapped metformin activity in the liver and yielded some surprising results. Using cell cultures and mice, the researchers identified numerous biochemical switches for turning various cell and molecular processes on and off. The findings shed light not only on metformin's mechanism of glucose control, but also on a surprising number of other reactions and pathways. Large-scale clinical trials of metformin are already under way to test the drug's effectiveness in extending life span and health span — that is, the proportion of a person's life span that they spend in good health. However, the underlying biochemistry has been unclear. Teams from three research centers worked on the study: the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, the Scripps Research Institute — both in La Jolla, CA — and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. "These results," says Reuben J. Shaw, one of the study's corresponding authors, "provide us with new avenues to explore in order to understand how metformin works as a diabetes drug, along with its health-span-extending effects." "These are pathways that neither we, nor anyone else, would have imagined," he adds. Shaw is a professor of molecular and cell biology at the Salk Institute and director of the Salk Cancer Center. The researchers also identified new targets and cell mechanisms that the AMPK pathway controls that may also be crucial to metformin's success. The teams plan to continue studying the new signaling pathways to deepen their understanding of the many effects of metformin. They are keen to find out how all individuals, not just those with type 2 diabetes, might benefit from metformin and which targets might be involved.

(Credits: www.medicalnewstoday.com)