Dr. Rizza
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Can type 2 diabetes be cured just by losing weight? ANSWER: Losing weight can have a big impact on diabetes. Although it might not cure type 2 diabetes in every case, getting to a healthy body weight does have that potential for many people. Even if it doesn’t completely cure the disease, losing weight may make it possible for people with diabetes to take less medication. It often helps manage or prevent some of the health problems that can come with diabetes, too. People who have diabetes have too much sugar in their blood. This happens because of a problem with the hormone called insulin. Insulin is made in the pancreas — a gland located just behind the stomach. When you eat, the pancreas releases insulin into your bloodstream. The insulin allows sugar to enter your cells, lowering the amount of sugar in your blood.
The Centers for Disease Control is calling for all baby boomers to be checked out for hepatitis C. For reasons not entirely clear, Americans born between 1945 and 1965 are five times more likely to be infected. Hepatitis can linger in the body and cause damage to the liver as we age. Click here for news release
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Can type 2 diabetes be cured just by losing weight? ANSWER: Losing weight can have a big impact on diabetes. Although it might not cure type 2 diabetes in every case, getting to a healthy body weight does have that potential for many people. Even if it doesn’t completely cure the disease, losing weight may make it possible for people with diabetes to take less medication. It often helps manage or prevent some of the health problems that can come with diabetes, too. People who have diabetes have too much sugar in their blood. This happens because of a problem with the hormone called insulin. Insulin is made in the pancreas — a gland located just behind the stomach. When you eat, the pancreas releases insulin into your bloodstream. The insulin allows sugar to enter your cells, lowering the amount of sugar in your blood. If you have type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does not make enough insulin or your body cannot use insulin as well as it should. So sugar cannot move into your cells. Instead, it builds up in your blood.
