The role of your pancreas is to digest food and to manage the use of sugar and energy after digestion. One of the hormones that the pancreas produces is called insulin. This hormone helps to regulate the amount of sugar in your blood. If the pancreas can’t produce enough or the body’s tissues become resistant to the hormone, then an individual may start to develop diabetes.
New research, published in the journal Diabetologia, now shows that fat stored in the pancreas may help control insulin secretion into the blood.
As a result of this process, the onset of diabetes is slowed.
It is thought that this might provide an explanation as to why exercise and intermittent fasting are effective strategies to treat type 2 diabetes.
The study, conducted by the University of Geneva Medical Centre, goes on to say that this indicates that a cycle of fat storage may help to maintain the creation of insulin in the pancreas.
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According to statistics by the charity Diabetes UK “One in ten people over 40 in the UK are now living with a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes”.
On average, 90 percent of people living with diabetes have type 2.
The charity says that the reason for the rise in diabetes cases is down to an “increase in obesity rates… it is the single biggest factor”.
“Three in five adults in England are overweight or obese,” the charity added.
There are different methods of treatment for type 2 diabetes.
The first of these is medicine, with some patients requiring medication to keep their diabetes under control
The second is through lifestyle changes such as eating a balanced diet and regular exercise.
It is recommended that you should see your GP if you have the symptoms of type 2 diabetes or if you’re worried you’re at an increased risk of developing the condition.
