Type 2 Diabetes - Adiponectin And Your Arteries

Adiponectin is a protein that helps sensitize cells to insulin, helping to allow sugar to enter your cells and be used for energy. The blood levels of adiponectin tend to be low in people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is caused by insulin resistance.

Atherosclerosis is one of the most dreaded complications of Type 2 diabetes. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart and throughout the body. In order for blood to flow freely, it is important for the arteries to stay open. In atherosclerosis the arteries become narrowed inside and are unable to conduct blood adequately. When the blood vessels in the heart are unable to conduct blood adequately, the heart muscle is unable to get enough oxygen and nutrients, and a heart attack can result. Strokes can result when the arteries are unable to conduct enough blood to the brain.

Investigators at the Karolinska Instituet in Sweden, and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and the University of Miami in the United States, looked into whether adiponectin could be associated with keeping blood vessels open and able to conduct blood.

Their study, published in the medical journal Stroke in November 2011, included 1522 participants. Those individuals with the highest adiponectin levels showed the most open arteries, while those whose adiponectin levels were low had the smallest inside arterial diameters. The investigator therefore concluded adiponectin could protect against atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, is caused when the arteries lose their ability to widen to accommodate blood flow and then plaque forms plugging the vessels with cholesterol, cellular debris, calcium, and other substances. Two of the reasons for atherosclerosis in people with Type 2 diabetes have to do with high blood sugar levels...

• First, abnormally high levels of sugar in the blood cause the production of free radicals, molecules that can harm the DNA and other cell components, causing cell death.
• Second, nitric oxide which helps the blood vessels to relax, is reduced.

Low adiponectin is likely a third reason, helping to explain why many studies have shown a high prevalence of atherosclerosis in diabetics.

The Mayo Clinic in Cleveland, United States, recommends five basic strategies for preventing atherosclerosis:

• not smoking,
• eating healthy foods,
• exercising regularly,
• maintaining a healthy weight, and
• drinking alcohol in moderation at most.

Smoking can lower good cholesterol and increase bad cholesterol, the kind that contributes to plaque. Eating fruits and vegetables instead of meat and dairy products helps to lower cholesterol because plant-based foods have no cholesterol. Regular exercise also helps to lower your total cholesterol and raise your levels of good cholesterol. Excess weight also contributes to high cholesterol levels. Drinking to excess can lower good cholesterol levels.

All five recommendations are good for preventing and treating Type 2 diabetes also.

To discover answers to questions you may be asking yourself about Type 2 Diabetes, click on this link... Natural Diabetes Treatments

Clicking on this link will help you to learn more about Type 2 Diabetes Solutions... Beverleigh Piepers RN... the Diabetes Detective.

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