Diabetes is a chronic disease whose causes are not clearly understood and for which no cure has been discovered. Many sufferers get gradually worse, even after years trying to keep the disease under control with a meal plan, exercise program, and medication. Medical science is therefore working hard on finding a cure. A milk powder developed recently in Taiwan-Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF) milk powder-does not cure diabetes, but it does give diabetics and those in high-risk groups an alternative to conventional drugs.
There is no miracle drug to treat diabetes. People with diabetes must adhere to a meal plan and take physical exercise. If this is not enough to get the disease under control, they also have to take diabetes medication.
Five different types of diabetes drugs are currently available: The first reduce glucose levels in the liver. The second stimulate insulin secretion. The third reduce the body's resistance to insulin. The fourth counteract the body's rapid loss of insulin during a diabetic episode. And the fifth type inhibit the digestion of carbohydrates in the small intestine, thus reducing the absorption of sugar.
In recent years more and more diabetes drugs have been developed, but most alleviate the symptoms rather than treat the disease. Some people with type 2 diabetes find that their symptoms gradually worsen even after taking medication, and have to take regular insulin injections to manage the disease.
GTF intracellular pathway
A breakthrough
People with the most common type of diabetes-type 2 diabetes-are not insulin deficient, but their insulin receptors fail to respond as they should, preventing cells from metabolizing glucose effectively. Even when insulin levels increase, the hormone's functioning is impaired.
Frank Chiahung Mao, a lactose specialist and professor at the department of Veterinary Medicine at National Chung Hsing University (NCHU), notes that a high blood sugar level is merely a symptom of diabetes. The crux of the problem is that glucose cannot be absorbed by the cells. Mao thinks that to get at the root of the problem and ultimately cure diabetes, we have to improve glucose absorption.
The latest trend in the treatment of diabetes is focused on improving insulin bioactivity and receptor capacity. GTF is one line of research.
GTF is present in tissue cells. Its main function is to help the body metabolize carbohydrates and, in conjunction with insulin, convey blood sugar to the cells.
In 1957, American biologists Kenneth Schwarz and Walter Mertz discovered GTF in pig kidneys. They later showed that this complex of vitamins, amino acids, and trivalent chromium plays a key role in activating insulin receptors and also reduces blood sugar levels. Trivalent chromium is the most important element in GTF.
Mao notes that the human body, particularly bone marrow, contains trace amounts of chromium, which are gradually depleted during the aging process. Overweight people, pregnant women, heavy drinkers, and people who are overworked and overstressed can suffer serious chromium deficiency.
Unfortunately, although chromium is found in a mother's colostrum, animal livers and kidneys, cauliflower, potatoes, grapes, and oranges, it is not easily replenished. The trouble is that it is not readily absorbed by the body, because once it enters the intestines, it intermixes with food fiber and is then excreted in feces.
After many years of research on dairy products, Mao and his team were able to replicate the GTF structure of colostrum-lactoferrin (a protein found in milk) which contains trivalent chromium and vitamins. Mao conducted experiments to incorporate chromium into lactoferrin to reduce the rate of chromium loss in excreted food fiber.
In cooperation with Maxluck Biotechnology Corporation, Mao's team at NCHU's Innovation Incubator has successfully produced and marketed a GTF milk powder that can be used by people with diabetes in combination with medication.
Clinical trials of the effect of GTF milk powder conducted on more than 150 patients with mild and severe diabetes at National Taiwan University Hospital, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tri-Service General Hospital, and Taichung Veterans General Hospital have shown that after ingesting GTF milk power, the fasting blood sugar level is reduced by 15 to 20 milligrams for every 100 milliliters of blood. GTF milk powder proved reasonably effective in women and elderly people and very effective in people with high blood sugar levels caused by temporary stress. The product won the National Biotechnology and Medical Care Quality Award in 2001 and the First International Biotechnology and Medical Care Innovation Award
Combining prevention and treatment
Maxluck GTF milk powder has been recognized as a health food that helps balance physiological functions and the metabolism, and is targeted not only at people with diabetes.
Mao points out, "It's not only people with diabetes who have to take good care of themselves. So do people who are overweight or have a family history of diabetes, or belong to a high-risk group for another reason." According to Mao, it is difficult to tell from someone's physical condition whether they will cross the line and become diabetic. Before that happens, it's best to take good care of one's health.
It's said that a good doctor practices preventive medicine. This precept applies especially to diabetes-the epidemic disease of the 21st century.
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