The latest ‘magic bullet’ drug therapy for diabetes and heart disease doesn’t work – which suggests that a good diet is still one of the best ways to treat these diseases. Researchers have given the thumbs down to the anti-hypertensive (high blood pressure) drug Diovan (valsartan) and the anti-diabetes drug Starlix (nateglinide). The two drugs – which are often given in combination – could not reduce the risk of heart problems, and Diovan was only marginally successful in slowing the development of type II diabetes, the ‘lifestyle’ disease. Lead researcher Robert M Califf from Duke University School of Medicine, commented: “This is a sobering confirmation of the need to continue to focus on lifestyle improvements.” Type II diabetes affects around 150 million people around the world, and is often a precursor to heart problems. It is known as a ‘lifestyle disease’ because it is invariably brought on by eating processed and ‘fast’ foods. (Source: New England Journal of Medicine, 2010; 0: NEJMoa1001121).
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