Type 3 Diabetes: What Type is it Anyway?

Two Sides of the Story

Diabetics are at An Increased Risk of Dementia

​Alzheimer’s
Type 3 diabetes is another name given to Alzheimer’s disease which results from insulin resistance in the brain. Although it has not been embraced with welcoming hands by the medical fraternity, certain studies and research have pinpointed the occurrence of a new diabetes form after finding that insulin resistance can happen in the brain.

Type 3 diabetes is more common though many are still unaware of its existence and many cases have been misdiagnosed as Type 2 diabetes. The researchers convey the fact that resistance to insulin and insulin-like growth factors are involved in the progression of the Alzheimer’s disease. While type 1 and type 2 diabetes are characterized by hyperglycemia (elevated blood sugar levels), research tells that Alzheimer’s disease can develop without any hyperglycemia in the brain.

Who is at an Increased Risk of Alzheimer’s?
People who have insulin resistance, especially those with type 2 diabetes, are at an increased risk of Alzheimer’s (almost at a 50% to 65% greater risk). Researchers tell that a protein called amyloid beta is common in people having type 2 diabetes (protein in pancreas) and in those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (protein in the brain).

Pancreatogenic Diabetes
This diabetes form involving the exocrine and the digestive functions of the pancreas is still under research. It seems that, of all the diabetes forms, 5-10% might actually be type 3 diabetes. This diabetes form affects the pancreas’ ability to produce insulin and also the body’s ability to properly digest food. There might be no initial symptoms and the diabetes form might manifest itself 10 years after damage to the pancreas is done.

While pancreatic disease, pancreatic resection and chronic pancreatitis might be the cause of type 3 diabetes, it is said to be chronic pancreatitis in 80% of people who suffer from this condition.
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Quitting smoking, restricting alcohol consumption, eating a fiber-rich diet and limiting fat intake can help manage the disease. Maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels can also help manage the disease. Vitamin D is rarely found in foods and to get the complete list of foods that contain this rare nutrient, please visit the website www.firsteatright.com.