While may be able to keep the diseases side effects at bay, doctors are looking for early warning signs of the conditions development in order to effectively treat it.
According to researchers from Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, the way a body anticipates a meal could be a diabetes risk factor. The way individuals respond to the taste or smell of food could be responsible for the development of the disease.
When individuals anticipate a meal, the parasympathetic nervous systems sets off salivation and increases the production of insulin in anticipation of glucose entering the bloodstream. This process could ultimately lead to type 2 diabetes.
“We think this parasympathetic response is potentially important in type 2 diabetes,” said Vann Bennett, one of the studys investigators. “Our study showed there is a novel mutation in the gene encoding ankyrin-B, which increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. This happens through an impairment of the insulin secretion that is added by the parasympathetic nervous system.”