diabetes

High Altitude and Diabetes Risk (in mice)

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In findings published in Cell Metabolism, the team demonstrated that red blood cells can alter their metabolism when oxygen levels drop. This shift allows the cells to deliver oxygen to tissues more efficiently at high altitude. At the same time, it lowers circulating blood sugar, offering a potential explanation for reduced diabetes risk. Gladstone Institutes. “Scientists discover why high altitude protects against diabetes.” ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260221060952.htm (accessed February 21, 2026).

Journal Reference:

  1. Yolanda Martí-Mateos, Zohreh Safari, Shaun Bevers, Ayush D. Midha, Will R. Flanigan, Tej Joshi, Helen Huynh, Brandon R. Desousa, Skyler Y. Blume, Alan H. Baik, Stephen Rogers, Aaron V. Issaian, Allan Doctor, Angelo D’Alessandro, Isha H. Jain. Red blood cells serve as a primary glucose sink to improve glucose tolerance at altitude. Cell Metabolism, 2026; DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2026.01.019

How To Reduce Your Risk of Developing Diabetes

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The researchers, from 23 universities in Spain and Harvard Chan School, split 4,746 PREDIMED-Plus participants into an intervention group and a control group and followed their health outcomes for six years. The intervention group adhered to a Mediterranean diet; reduced their caloric intake by about 600 calories per day; engaged in moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking and strength and balance exercises; and received professional support for weight loss control. The control group adhered to a Mediterranean diet without calorie restriction, exercise guidance, or professional support. Participants ranged from age 55 to 75, were overweight or obese, and had metabolic syndrome, but were free of T2D at baseline.

The study found that those in the intervention group had a 31% lower risk of developing T2D compared to those in the control group. Additionally, the intervention group lost an average of 3.3 kilograms and reduced their waist circumference by 3.6 centimeters, compared to 0.6 kilograms and 0.3 centimeters in the control group. Scientists found 3 simple tweaks that cut diabetes risk by 31% – https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250829022835.htm Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250829022835.htm (accessed August 29, 2025).

Guess I’ll cut out beer.

The T2D-GENE Trial

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The prevalence of type 2 diabetes was significantly lower in the lifestyle intervention group than in the control group.

University of Eastern Finland. “Type 2 diabetes can be prevented by diet and exercise even in individuals with a high genetic risk.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/08/240807122749.htm (accessed August 10, 2024).

Effects of Genetic Risk on Incident Type 2 Diabetes and Glycemia: The T2D-GENE Lifestyle Intervention Trial – The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, dgae422, https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgae422

Remember, Stay as Thin as You Can as Long as You Can.

Statins Raise Diabetes Risk (but CV Benefit Outweighs the Risk)

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Statins raise the risks for increased glucose levels and the development of type 2 diabetes among people who don’t have it at baseline, but those risks are outweighed by the cardiovascular benefit, new data suggested.

The meta-analysis of trials in the CTT Collaboration included individual participant data from 19 double-blind randomized, controlled trials with a median follow-up of 4.3 years comparing statins with placebo in a total of 123,940 participants, including 18% who had known type 2 diabetes at randomization. Also analyzed were another four double-blind trials of lower- vs higher-intensity statins involving a total of 30,724 participants followed for a median of 4.9 years, with 15% having diabetes at baseline.

In the 19 trials of low- or moderate-intensity statins vs placebo, statins resulted in a significant 10% increase in new-onset diabetes compared with placebo (rate ratio, 1.10), while high-intensity statins raised the risk by an also significant 36% (1.36). This translated to a mean absolute excess of 0.12% per year of treatment.

Compared with less intensive statin therapy, more intensive statin therapy resulted in a significant 10% proportional increase in new-onset diabetes (1.10), giving an absolute annual excess of 0.22%

In an accompanying editorial, Hertzel C. Gerstein, MD, and Marie Pigeyre, MD, PhD, both of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, noted that the decreased absolute annual incidence of life-threatening cardiovascular outcomes with statins in people at high risk for type 2 diabetes “clearly exceeds the 0.1%-1.3% per year increased absolute incidence of type 2 diabetes.”

Statins Raise Diabetes Risk, but CV Benefit Outweighs It – Medscape – April 09, 2024. — https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/statins-raise-diabetes-risk-cv-benefit-outweighs-it

Reversing Diabetes in Alabama

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Reversing type 2 diabetes through a low-carbohydrate diet is clearly an evidence-based approach. Yet, thus far, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which runs the scientific reviews for the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the nation’s top nutrition policy, has neglected to acknowledge any of the more than 100 clinical trials on this diet. In the scientific reviews currently underway for the next iteration of the guidelines, due out in 2025, the USDA has declined even to examine this scientific literature. 

Reversing Diabetes in Alabama — https://www.nutritioncoalition.us/news/reversing-diabetes-in-alabama

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”

Hippocrates, the father of medicine

LADA All-Cause Mortality

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CONCLUSIONS

Despite having fewer metabolic risk factors than type 2 diabetes, LADA has equal to higher risks of death, CVD, and retinopathy. Poorer glycemic control, particularly in LADAhigh, highlights the need for improved LADA management.

All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular and Microvascular Diseases in Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults — Diabetes Care 2023;46(10):1857–1865 — https://doi.org/10.2337/dc23-0739

Nature Wants Us to be Fat

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Evidence that Obesity and Diabetes are Driven by a Diet-Induced Biological Switch: How it Works and How it Might be Prevented — https://www.vumedi.com/video/evidence-that-obesity-and-diabetes-are-driven-by-a-diet-induced-biological-switch-how-it-works-and-h/

Blog post title is the same as the title of Dr. Richard J. Johnson’s book. The link takes you to a video that is approximately 37 minutes long. Enjoy!