A chronic condition known as diabetes is brought on by excessively high blood sugar levels.  Additionally, it can harm your heart, kidneys, eyes, nerves, and blood vessels if left unchecked.
 
Although there are numerous strategies to manage elevated blood sugar, a recent study has revealed that fish oil may be the secret ingredient. According to a Brazilian study that was published in the journal Nutrients, fish oil influences the body's inflammatory response, which enhances glucose tolerance. Although not fat, the rats used in this animal study had a condition similar to type 2 diabetes that was characterized by elevated blood sugar levels because of decreased insulin efficiency, scientists say.

How does fish oil help reduce blood sugar levels?
Because omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish oil, improve insulin sensitivity and lower inflammation, researchers claim they can help lower blood sugar levels.  The researchers found that giving non-obese rats 2 grams of fish oil per kilogram of body weight (540 mg/g of eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, and 100 mg/g of docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA) three times a week for eight weeks decreased insulin resistance and improved blood sugar, inflammatory markers, and lipid features, such as triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL, or bad cholesterol, and triglycerides.
 
What can be the implications for diabetes treatment?
Scientists said the study gives hope to those with type 2 diabetes who are not obese, which accounts for 10–20% of all cases worldwide. Goto-Kakizaki rats, an animal model for type 2 diabetes that is not fat, were used in our studies.  By altering the inflammatory response to shift the defense cell profile from a pro-inflammatory to an anti-inflammatory state, we discovered that insulin resistance can be decreased in these animals.
 
This process is similar to how obese people with insulin resistance react to taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements, according to Dr. Rui Curi, the study's coordinator and director of the Butantan Institute's education Center. Curi is also a professor of interdisciplinary graduate studies in health sciences at Cruzeiro do Sul University.  According to Dr. Curi, changes in lymphocytes—white blood cells that aid in defending the body against illness and infection—have a significant effect on other immune system cells, setting off a chain reaction.
 
In earlier research, we found that non-obese rats with insulin resistance had changes in both macrophages and lymphocytes.  These cells generate more pro-inflammatory cytokines in these situations, which is crucial for diabetics who are obese, Dr. Curi said.
 
Obesity and inflammation are major risk factors for diabetes
Dr. Curi claims that two of the main risk factors for diabetes are obesity and systemic inflammation.  The main theory for non-obese diabetic patients is that the condition is genetic. "The majority of obese individuals have low-level chronic inflammation, which is known to impact the insulin signaling pathways."  Pro-inflammatory cytokines released by adipose tissue, which is increased in obesity, alter the insulin signaling pathways and increase insulin resistance.
 
This important feature of adipose tissue is not present in the non-obese model, but systemic inflammation is," Curi stated.  Thus, fish oil supplementation has a strong anti-inflammatory effect and decreases the polarization of key white blood cells, helping to reverse the pro-inflammatory profile.  Scientists believe that the decrease in insulin resistance in these animals may have been caused by omega-3 fatty acids' ability to modify lymphocytes from a proinflammatory to an anti-inflammatory state.
 
 
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Diabetes

SIBY JEYYA

04/03/2025 10:24 AM