Dining Out with Diabetes

My father has diabetes, which makes dining out challenging. You want to be able to dine out with friends and family, but you don’t want to do anything that will cause your blood sugar to rise or drop dramatically. Here are a few tips for dining out if you have diabetes: Timing If you live in a large city, you know that eating out often requires a wait time. But, it is important for diabetics to eat on schedule. If you go to a restaurant at your normal dinner time, but have to wait 45 minutes, your blood sugar can … Continue reading →

Foot Care for Diabetics

My father is a diabetic and if I don’t quit eating like I am and start exercising, I am headed in that direction. Since both my grandmothers were also diabetics, I probably know more about diabetes than the average person. One thing I learned from my grandmothers is that diabetics need to take good care of their feet. Why the focus on foot care? Well, if you don’t take good care of your feet, it can lead to amputation of toes, feet, or even your leg. Diabetics are more likely to have foot problems because of reduced blood flow to … Continue reading →

Diabetes Screening

Have your ever been screened for diabetes? Did you know that there are an estimated 7 million people in America with undiagnosed diabetes and 79 million people with pre-diabetes? This is according to the American Diabetes Association. Undiagnosed diabetes can have some serious consequences and complications including eye problems, skin infections, heart disease, kidney disease, hearing loss and even depression, among others. With adequate diagnosis and treatment, many of these issues could be lessened or even avoided altogether. So when should you get screened for diabetes and what is involved? Usually, all that is required is a simple urine or … Continue reading →

Paula Deen Comes Clean

Hey Y’all, I got diabetes. Can you just hear that spoken in Paula Deen’s southern accent? Well, that may not be exactly how she released the news, but it’s true – one of America’s favorite chefs has Type II diabetes. It really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. If you’ve ever seen a Paula Deen show, read one of her recipes, or even eaten a Paula Deen recipe someone’s cooked, you know they are so good because they are so bad. Her Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies recipe contains a stick of butter. Her Cheese on the Cob is corn … Continue reading →

Foods to Help Prevent Diabetes

Since diabetes runs in my family, I am trying to do everything I can to avoid getting it. Diabetes statistics in the U.S. are staggering. Almost 26 million adults and children have diabetes. And, even more frightening, 79 million are pre-diabetic like myself. I’ve preached about how exercise and diet are great ways to starve off diabetes as long as possible, but there are also some foods that can help fight it. Bean Beans are a great way to raise your blood sugar levels very slowly because they are considered high-quality carbohydrates. And think of how many you have to … Continue reading →

Scary Diabetes Prediction

A new study by the UnitedHealth Group’s Center for Health Reform and Modernization titled “The United States of Diabetes: Challenges and Opportunities in the Decade Ahead” predicts that by 2020 – just a mere ten years away – more than half of the American public will either have diabetes or be diagnosed as prediabetic. As someone who has a history of diabetes in her family, I find this to be a really scary finding. Both of my grandmothers were diagnosed with Type II diabetes when I was just a child. Once my father hit 55, he too was diagnosed with … Continue reading →

Treating Pre-Diabetes

A diagnosis of pre-diabetes can be a serious wake up call. Pre-diabetes means that you have elevated blood sugar levels, but they aren’t quite high enough to be considered diabetes… yet. According to the American Diabetes Association, more than a tenth of people diagnosed with pre-diabetes end up dealing with the full version of the disease within a year. There are two main things you can do to treat pre-diabetes and prevent going into full diabetes: make changes to your diet and increase your activity. Making a lifestyle change works — the Diabetes Prevention Program study from the American Diabetes … Continue reading →

What is Pre-Diabetes?

A family member was recently diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes is when your blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. Pre-diabetes is a new name for an existing condition: impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose. Those names come from the test used to determine the blood sugar levels. Why the new name? Because calling it “pre-diabetes” gives patients a much clearer view of what the test results mean. A person with pre-diabetes is on his or her way to full blown diabetes. A person with pre-diabetes may already be experiencing some … Continue reading →

Migrating Birds Lead the Way to New Diabetes Drug

Is a new diabetes treatment FOR the birds? No… it’s FROM the birds. Researchers from Louisiana State University took a look at how migrating birds make such long flights — and survive without starving. As it turns out, the birds develop seasonal insulin resistance. One function of a bird’s hypothalamus is metabolism control. During different parts of the day, a bird’s metabolism can process fuel differently. Brain chemicals like dopamine regulate whether a migrating bird is insulin resistant or not. Insulin resistance is the same thing that leads humans to develop type 2 diabetes. Most people (as you may have … Continue reading →

Diabetes Cure for Mice in Toronto

Scientists in Toronto have managed to relieve diabetes in mice… starting with a relatively common food item. Researchers took a look at the similarities between diabetes and multiple sclerosis — a disease of the central nervous system. The pancreas (where insulin is produced) has “islets” that produce insulin that help the body process food and manage blood sugar. However, the researchers saw a large number of pain neurons around these islets. Using the idea that diabetes may be linked to the presence of these pain neurons, researchers injected capsaicin (the thing that makes hot peppers hot) into nerve cells near … Continue reading →