A compound, found exclusively in garlic, may control blood sugar levels just as well as insulin but without the need for daily injections according to a new study published in the January 2009 issue of Metallomics, a new journal published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The compound, known as Bis(allixinato)oxidovanadium(IV), is a complex consisting of a central vanadium atom connected to two allixin molecules.

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According to a study published in the journal Diabetes Care in 2003, cinnamon may be quite effective at reducing blood sugar levels in diabetic patients, reducing the need for diabetes medication.

The study, conducted by Pakistani researchers, involved 30 diabetic men and 30 diabetic women who were divided into six groups. The first three groups consumed 1, 3 or 6 grams of cinnamon per day in the form of a cinnamon supplement while the final three groups received placebos.

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Salsalate, an NSAID closely related to Aspirin, has been found to reduce fasting glucose levels and improve glucose tolerance in obese individuals according to a small pilot study published in the journal Diabetes Care in February this year. The study raises the possibility of using salsalate as an alternative treatment for type-2 diabetes and for the prevention of diabetes in high risk individuals.

The study involved 20 individuals aged under 30 who were classified as obese (BMI greater than 30).

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An emerging trend in the past fifteen years has been the increasing use of gastric bypass surgery as a treatment for morbid obesity. Recent scientific studies have found that not only does gastric bypass surgery lead to a dramatic amount of weight loss, it also results in the remission of diabetes in as many as 90% of cases, often within just a few weeks of the surgery.

Gastric bypass surgery belongs to a class of operations known as bariatric surgeries which are designed to help morbidly obese individuals lose weight. The gastric bypass procedure is carried out by closing off a small stomach pouch from the rest of the stomach.

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Vitamin E and a carotenoid known as cryptoxanthin may both be effective in reducing type-2 diabetes risk according to a study published in the journal Diabetes Care in 2004.

The study, conducted by Finnish researchers at the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki, Finland, involved the analysis of 2,285 men and 2,019 women aged between 40 and 69 who were initially free of diabetes.

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Regular physical exercise can lead to massive reductions in type-2 diabetes risk according to a number of scientific studies.

One of the largest studies on the impact of exercise on type-2 diabetes risk was conducted in 1992 by researchers from the Department of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA. The researchers used data from the Physicians’ Health Study which involved 21,2171 male physicians from the United States aged between 40 and 84 who were followed for five years.

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A Mediterranean style diet that is high in fruit, nuts, legumes, and grains may reduce an individuals risk of developing type-2 diabetes by more than 80% according to new research published in May this year.

The study, conducted by Spanish researchers and published in the British Medical Journal, followed 13,380 Spanish university graduates for an average of 4.4 years. The graduates adherence to a Mediterranean diet was calculated by giving each participant a score of zero or one for their consumption of nine components of a Mediterranean diet.

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Evidence from several large studies suggests that vegetarians may be more than 50% less likely to develop type-2 diabetes compared to those who consume meat on a regular basis.

One of the largest studies on the link between a vegetarian diet and diabetes came from a study of 25,698 seventh day adventists in 1960 over a 21 year study period. The study was published in the American Journal of Public Health in 1985.

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People who consume nuts on a regular basis may be much less likely to develop type-2 diabetes according to a recent study.

The study was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association in November 2002 by researchers at the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. The authors analyzed data on 83,818 women which was collected from the Nurses Health Study (NHS) over a 16 year period from 1980 to 1996.

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A recent study has found that eating dairy products such as cheese, milk, butter, and yogurt can reduce an individuals risk of developing type-2 diabetes.

The study, published in the journal Diabetes Care in 2006, involved following 37,183 healthy middle-aged women for an average of 10 years. The women were asked to complete questionnaires on their consumption of 130 common food products.

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Consumption of coffee may be associated with a reduction in type-2 diabetes risk according to a study published in the June 2006 edition of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

The researchers used data from the Iowa Women’s Health Study which was conducted between 1986 and 1997 and involved 28,812 post menopausal women.

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Fresh fruit and green leafy vegetables such as spinach, silver-beet, and lettuce reduce the risk of developing type-2 diabetes according to a new study published in the journal Diabetes Care. The same study also found that consumption of fruit juice may increase the risk of diabetes.

The researchers analyzed data from 71,346 healthy female nurses between the ages of 38 and 63 over an 18 year period between 1984 and 2002. Over the study period, 4,529 new cases of type-2 diabetes were diagnosed.

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A 12-year study on the effects of alcohol on diabetes has found that consumption of alcohol may reduce the risk of developing type-2 diabetes. The reduction in diabetes risk was apparent even at relatively high levels of alcohol consumption (more than 28 standard drinks a week).

The researchers used data from 46,892 male health professionals who were sent questionnaires every two years for the 12 year study period.

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Infants who do not receive enough Vitamin D are more likely to develop type-1 diabetes in later life according to researchers who analyzed the findings of five previous studies.

The study, which appears in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, found that across the five studies, vitamin D supplementation resulted in a 30 percent reduction in the probability of developing type-1 diabetes later in life.

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Breastfed babies are less likely to develop diabetes later in life compared to babies who are formula fed according to recent evidence.

In one study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and led by Christopher G. Owen of St George’s University in London, data was analyzed from seven studies that had previously examined the impact of breast feeding on diabetes risk.

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