Many people with high blood sugar tend to focus only on blood sugar levels, but ignore the damage to other tissues in the body caused by high blood sugar. According to statistics, nearly 70% of diabetic patients have obesity or fatty liver, the risk of stroke is twice that of the general population, and 50% will die of cardiovascular disease. Nearly half of the kidney dialysis population is diabetic. Physicians urge hyperglycemia patients to be careful of the dreaded complications and to have a concept of “comorbidity prevention”.
The world’s largest diabetes academic event, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) annual meeting just ended last month. The treatment guidelines issued by the ADA have always been guidelines for clinicians to follow. At this year’s ADA annual meeting, experts at the meeting strongly recommended the use of GLP-1 receptor boosters for type 2 diabetes patients. Because it can effectively lower blood sugar, reduce fat, and have low side effects, the results of protective research on the heart and kidneys have also written a new page for blood sugar lowering drugs.
GLP-1 is an incretin in the human body, and the U.S. FDA has approved it to be marketed as a weight loss drug
what is GLP-1 . However, the duration of action of GLP-1 is very short, and the secretion of GLP-1 in patients with type 2 diabetes is particularly insufficient, resulting in poor blood sugar control.
The GLP-1 drug was approved by the US FDA to be marketed as a weight loss drug.
Interestingly, the GLP-1 drug, which was originally used to treat type 2 diabetes, has actually benefited non-diabetic patients. The reason is that in addition to the use of GLP-1 to lower blood sugar, the patient unexpectedly found that it also has an auxiliary fat-reducing effect. Its principle is to delay the emptying of food in the stomach, suppress appetite, increase satiety and so on. But the cost is not cheap, about 1,300 US dollars (about 37,000 Taiwan dollars) per month for treatment.
Dr. Chen Bosheng, who specializes in improving the course of chronic diseases, mentioned: GLP-1 has such benefits, but is there a similar alternative? If a way with the same mechanism of action and a higher CP value can be found, more hyperglycemic and obese people will benefit.
Osteocalcin secreted by bones can activate organs and has endocrine regulation function
Dr. Bosheng Chen said that about 20 years ago, a research team led by Professor Gerard Karsenty of Columbia University Medical Center first discovered a protein secreted by bone osteoblasts called Osteocalcin. The research team observed that the mice whose osteocalcin gene was deleted have one thing in common, that is, they all have diabetes and their memory deteriorates. This discovery led to many subsequent heavyweight studies, including Eric R. Kandel, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, which confirmed that osteocalcin can connect and activate organs and affect metabolism. Bone subverts the traditional concept. It is not just a scaffold for the body, but an “endocrine organ” that regulates the endocrine of the human body. In the 2021 issue of “Scientific People”, Dr. Zeng Zhilang, the former Minister of Education, even described osteocalcin as the strongest anti-aging substance.
Study: Osteocalcin levels and risk of diabetic nephropathy are significantly negatively correlated
How does osteocalcin affect other organs? In the pancreas, osteocalcin can improve the production and tolerance of insulin and the proliferation of islet beta cells, affecting the balance of blood sugar (Note 1, 2). In recent years, studies have unexpectedly found that osteocalcin can also induce GLP-1 secretion to regulate blood sugar, and at the same time help reduce fat and fatty liver. Clinical statistics also pointed out that the human osteocalcin level and the risk of stroke (CIMT) and diabetic nephropathy (DKD) showed a significant negative correlation (Notes 3, 4, 5, 6). These results are consistent with the efficacy of GLP-1 hypoglycemic drugs. This is also the first time to discover a natural substance that can regulate incretin GLP-1 outside of drugs.
Oral osteocalcin offers new hope for people with blood sugar and obesity problems
Although osteocalcin is secreted by the bones and originally stored in the human body, with age, whether or not there is osteoporosis, osteocalcin will gradually decrease. However, in recent years, through a unique patented technology, the osteocalcin component was extracted from the bones of cattle, and the elevated concentrations of osteocalcin and GLP-1 can be measured from the blood after oral intake. At present, the patented osteocalcin that can be taken orally has been introduced into Taiwan on the market, which will bring new choices for people with blood sugar and obesity problems.
Auntie Wang, who is 78 years old with prediabetes, regularly checks her blood sugar level every three months. On 2021/4/12, the pre-meal blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin values were 113 and 7. After supplementation with osteocalcin, the index dropped to 111 and 6.8 on 2021/6/9, and then dropped to 100 and 6.6 on 2021/9/30. And remained stable, the blood sugar level dropped to 99 and 6.5 again on 5/18 this year. Auntie Wang is very happy that she can maintain a stable and healthy blood sugar level.
Another 51-year-old nutritionist surnamed Cai, no matter how he adjusts his diet and exercise in the past year, his body fat has always stagnated between 25% and 26%. In June 2022, the use of osteocalcin will only take about 30 days, and the body fat rate will be reduced from 25.1% to 22.9%, of which 1 kg of abdominal fat, 0.4 kg of hips and legs, and 0.2 kg of upper body will be reduced. A total of 1.6 kg of fat loss, while the middle-aged group The most important muscles, not only did not decrease, but increased slightly.
Osteocalcin has important effects on systemic health including blood sugar and cardiovascular
Osteocalcin, a treasure stored in human bones, is not only closely related to maintaining bone health, but also has an important impact on the health of the whole body, including blood sugar, fat, and cardiovascular. It is recommended to develop regular exercise habits to maintain the secretion of osteocalcin to help bone health, or you may wish to obtain the required osteocalcin from nutritional supplements. Osteocalcin with numerous scientific evidences is a good choice.
(註1) Endocrine role of bone in the regulation of energy metabolism
(註2) An extract from pork bones containing osteocalcin improves glucose metabolism in mice by oral administration (Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry 2016)
(註3) GLP-1 signaling is required for improvement of glucose tolerance by osteocalcin (J Endocrinol 2020)
(註4) Osteocalcin Protects Against Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in a Mouse Model of Metabolic Syndrome (Endocrinology 2014)
(註5) Osteocalcin and Risks of Incident Diabetes and Diabetic Kidney Disease: A 4.6-Year Prospective Cohort Study (Diebetes Care 2022)
(註6) Does Serum Osteocalcin Level Affect Carotid Atherosclerosis in Post-Menopausal Diabetic Females? A Case-Control Study (International Journal of General Medicine 2022)