Type 2 diabetes can result in a condition known as diabetic kidney
disease, where the organs are unable to clean the blood adequately
A group of rats were fed junk food, including cheese, chocolate bars, biscuits and marshmallows for eight weeks.
Meanwhile, another group were fed rodent chow high in fat - around 60 per cent fat - for five weeks.
The
researchers then tested the effect of these diets on blood sugar levels
and the different glucose transporters in the kidneys.
The
effect of the diets on these transporters was compared with the changes
also seen in rat models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
The
researchers found that certain types of glucose transporters - known as
GLUT and SGLT - as well as their regulatory proteins were present in a
higher number in type 2 diabetic rats.
But, a high fat diet and junk food diet caused a similar increase in those receptors.
Dr
Havovi Chichger, senior lecturer and lead author of the study, said:
'The Western diet contains more and more processed junk food and fat,
and there is a well-established link between excessive consumption of
this type of food and recent increases in the prevalence of obesity and
type 2 diabetes.
'In our study, type 1 and type 2 diabetes both induce changes in glucose transport in the kidney.
'But, junk food or a diet high in fat causes changes that are very similar to those found in type 2 diabetes.'
She
added: 'A new treatment for diabetic patients constitutes blocking the
glucose transporter on the kidney to reduce blood glucose levels.
'Understanding
how diet can affect sugar handling in the kidneys and whether the
inhibitors can reverse these changes could help to protect the kidneys
from further damage.'
The findings, published in the journal Experimental Physiology.
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