Diabetes Community

Finding a Diabetes Community

Saturday, June 19, 2010 by Veronica Lopez

Okay, so you have diabetes, now what?

You never used to have to worry about what you eat, but now it could mean the difference between feeling good and ending up in the hospital.

Diabetic health care includes a lot of things: glucose readings, exercise, doctor visits, medication, and of course, diet. One great diabetes resource is your local grocery store. Did you know that many grocery stores offer classes on nutrition for diabetics? You can learn how to manage diabetes through a nutritious, low glycemic diet and meet others who are also diabetics. Connecting with the diabetes community is an excellent way to obtain general diabetes information and to get some much-needed emotional support.

Along with controlling glucose levels with a healthy diet and exercise, you’ll need diabetic test supplies. The Diabetes Care Club is a great place to find diabetic supplies online, as well as a diabetes resource center. You can ask questions about the latest diabetes testing equipment. The Diabetes Care Club also has an online learning center with informative articles, recipes, and nutrition tips.

Learn as much as you can about managing your diabetes and find a community - online or even in at the grocery store. Don't let diabetes defeat you. Empower yourself.

Diabetes Care Club

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 by Maeve Quinn

People like you who are type 2 diabetes patients can benefit greatly from the support you receive as part of a wider diabetes community. Diabetes Care Club is an organization that supplies its members with diabetic testing supplies. It saves you time by providing free home delivery, no upfront costs, and no paperwork. Also, Diabetes Care Club works with Medicare, Medicaid, and your personal insurance to save you a lot of money. Its Diabetic Care Coordinators provide you with free financial consulting.

With such advanced diabetes supply, the Diabetes Care Club gives you the support you need when dealing with the stress of diabetes disease management, and the funding necessary to achieve good control of diabetes.

Dolphins may be the key in new diabetes research

Friday, February 19, 2010 by Leigh Anne Ellis

Here's info on stunning new research that holds promise for the diabetes community to better-understand the disease ... and even someday find a cure.

2/19/10

From 80 Beats Blog, DiscoverMagazine.com by Andrew Moseman:

Here’s a neat dolphin trick that doesn’t involve jumping through hoops. While dolphins sleep overnight (with half their brains and one eye at a time), they begin to show signs of the kind of insulin resistance that marks type 2 diabetes in humans. But when they wake up and have their breakfast, they switch back to their normal state. A research team led by Stephanie Venn-Watson announced the findings at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in San Diego, and said that dolphins’ apparent ability to switch insulin resistance on and off could lead to better understanding of the disease in humans.

To read the entire blog posting:
blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/02/19/dolphins-use-diabetes-like-state-to-control-blood-sugar/

This blog is associated with Simplex MD (simplexmd.com) and the Diabetes Care Club (diabetescareclub.com), sponsored by Simplex Healthcare.

Important Notice: Information provided is for general background purposes and is not intended as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment by a trained professional. You should always consult your physician about any health care questions you may have, especially before trying a new medication, diet, fitness program, or approach to health care issues.

Arizona's Pima Indians help science and the diabetes community

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 by Leigh Anne Ellis

The people at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) tell a very interesting story about the 11,000 Pima Indians of the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona and their unique part in helping scientists from NIDDK -- the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases arm of NIH -- and the international diabetes community learn the secrets of diabetes, obesity and their complications, over more than three decades.

The work begun in 1965 led to a worldwide clinical definition of diabetes and the universal diagnostic criteria used by doctors to identify and treat diabetes. Researchers currently are working on genetic implications. "We're optimistic we will find one or more genes ... It's still hard to predict how we might prevent diabetes, but we might, for example, be able eventually to correct the genetic difference that causes disease," said NIH scientist Dr. Bill Knowler.

At minimum, Dr. Knowler points out, "identifying the diabetes genes would allow us to identify the people most likely to get the disease."

Read the full story: http://www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/pima/pathfind/pathfind.htm.

The peaceful Pima Indians have served the U.S. in many ways. Photo at right is Luis Morago, a Pima Indian and noted scout for the U.S. Army, 1872 (Smithsonian Institution).

This blog is associated with Simplex MD (simplexmd.com) and the Diabetes Care Club (diabetescareclub.com), sponsored by Simplex Healthcare.

The future of diabetes treatment

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 by Leigh Anne Ellis

I was thinking, as 2010 edges closer, that we've come a really long way in the past century in testing for diabetes and diagnosing and treating diabetes in all of its forms. Just think of the many tools and technologies the diabetes community has at its disposal.

But wait until you hear what's coming.

New application methods of insulin - inhaled and oral - are currently being tested in clinical trials, along with drugs with improved effectiveness and reduced side-effect profiles.

Scientists continue to look for genetic clues, but more important -- I think -- are preventive measures to tackle the worldwide increase in obesity and diabetes, especially in developing countries where most of the predicted new cases of diabetes will occur.

Happy New Year 2010!

This blog is associated with Simplex MD (simplexmd.com) and the Diabetes Care Club (diabetescareclub.com), sponsored by Simplex Healthcare.

Please note: Information provided is for general background purposes and is not intended as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment by a trained professional. You should always consult your physician about any health care questions you may have, especially before trying a new medication, diet, fitness program, or approach to health care issues.

The evolution of diabetes treatment

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 by Leigh Anne Ellis

Do you ever wonder how people in the diabetes community lived before they had self management tools like Ascensia Contour monitors, Optium strips, modified diabetes recipes and the like?

Translated from ancient Greek, diabetes mellitus means 'honey sweet flow,' and stems from a time when tasting a patient's urine was still part of the physician's diagnostic repertoire. By the sweet taste of the urine, diabetes mellitus could be distinguished from diabetes insipidus, another disease with increased urinary output.

Diabetes mellitus appears to have been a death sentence in the ancient era. Hippocrates makes no mention of it, which may indicate that he felt the disease was incurable. The Greek physician Aretaeus did attempt to treat it, but could not give a good prognosis; he commented that "life (with diabetes) is short, disgusting and painful." The Indian Sushruta (written around 100 AD) identified diabetes and further identified it with obesity and sedentary lifestyle, advising exercises to help "cure" it.

The 20th Century was a time of scientific enlightenment in diabetes research, including a number of Nobel Prizes in medicine. The turning point came in 1921, when Sir Frederick Grant Banting and Charles Herbert Best demonstrated that they could reverse induced diabetes in dogs by giving them an extract (insulin) from the pancreatic islets of Langerhans of healthy dogs.

Banting, Best and colleagues went on to purify the hormone insulin from bovine pancreases at the University of Toronto, leading to the availability of an effective treatment -- insulin injections. The first patient was treated in 1922. For this achievement, Banting and laboratory director MacLeod received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923 and shared their prize money with others on the team.

In an unprecedented gesture of generosity to humankind, Banting and Best made the patent available without charge and did not attempt to control commercial production. Insulin production and therapy rapidly spread around the world, largely as a result of this decision. Banting is honored by World Diabetes Day, which is held on his birthday, November 14.

In 1980, U.S. biotech company Genentech developed human insulin. The insulin is isolated from genetically altered bacteria (the bacteria contain the human gene for synthesizing human insulin), which produce large quantities of insulin. Scientists then purify the insulin and distribute it to pharmacies for use by diabetes patients. (The illustration above shows the scientific structure of insulin.)

And each year, our knowledge and diabetes self management knowledge and capabilities grow through further discoveries and vastly improved testing technologies.

This blog is associated with Simplex MD (simplexmd.com) and the Diabetes Care Club (diabetescareclub.com), sponsored by Simplex Healthcare.

The Diabetes Community: Do I know anyone who's got it?

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 by Leigh Anne Ellis

Almost everyone knows someone who has diabetes. The diabetes community in the U.S. is estimated to be 23.6 million people -- 7.8 percent of the population. Of those, 17.9 million have been diagnosed, and about 5.7 million people have not yet been diagnosed. Each year, about 1.6 million people aged 20 or older are diagnosed with diabetes (WebMD).

As diverse as the population itself, celebrities in the diabetes community are high-profile examples of living with the condition, and thriving in spite of it.

Tween heartthrob Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers went public with his type 1 diabetes in 2007. Once called juvenile diabetes, type 1 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes among people younger than 20, but it can strike at any age.

Actress Mary Tyler Moore was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 30. Now in her 70s, she has long been active in promoting diabetes research; she serves as the International Chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Actress Salma Hayek had gestational diabetes while pregnant with her daughter -- Hayek has a family history of diabetes. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after pregnancy, but it raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes or getting gestational diabetes again.

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2008. Cutler now wears an insulin pump, monitors his blood sugar and has called his condition "manageable."

Singer Patti LaBelle has type 2 diabetes. On her web site, LaBelle recalls her diagnosis. "I passed out on stage ... and the doctor came back to me and said, 'Did you know you were type 2 diabetic?' and I said, 'I had no idea,'" states LaBelle, who has a family history of diabetes. LaBelle has since written healthy cookbooks and she exercises regularly.

This blog is associated with Simplex MD (simplexmd.com) and the Diabetes Care Club (diabetescareclub.com), sponsored by Simplex Healthcare.

A fresh take on diabetic desserts

Monday, November 2, 2009 by Leigh Anne Ellis

Thanksgiving dinner low-fat diabetic dessert recipe: Cranberry-Apple Crisp

Thanksgiving dinner should be a wonderful celebration and family get-together. What it doesn't need to be successful is an overwhelming variety of food. That goes for desserts, too -- especially for those in the diabetes community.

This year, why not try different instead of more. I promised I would post more recipes adjusted for those who take diabetes self management to heart. Here is a nice twist on a traditional crisp. Fresh fruit forms the base of the crisp, and to dress things up, you could add low-fat custard, fat-free topping or fat-free frozen yogurt à la mode.

Cranberry-Apple Crisp for Thanksgiving
(4 to 6 Servings)

INGREDIENTS:

2 large apples, Granny Smith variety (or Pippin, if not available)
8 ounces fresh, washed, cleaned cranberries
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice or apple cider
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp butter, cut into tiny pieces

MIX:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel, core and chop apples into one-inch pieces. Place apple pieces and cranberries in an 8 x 8 glass baking dish and drizzle with the lemon juice. Pour the apple juice or cider (reserving 2 tablespoons) over the fruit mixture. Mix together the brown sugar, oats and flour. Smear the butter pieces into the oat mixture and sprinkle it on top of the apples. Over that, drizzle the remaining two tablespoons of apple juice or cider. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the crisp is golden and bubbling. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

Diabetes Recipes: Pecan Pie

Friday, October 30, 2009 by Leigh Anne Ellis

Diabetic Pecan Pie

People often think diabetes recipes are pretty bland and boring, but I guarantee they are not. I'm from the South where we call this a pe-CAHN pie, and it is so full of sugar it makes your cheeks glow. However, it is a favorite around holiday time and many people prefer it to the even more traditional pumpkin pie.

For those in the diabetes community and those interested in diabetes self management, this recipe for pecan pie has been adjusted for you. But anyone trying to cut down on sugar intake -- and particularly the sugar rush of pecan pie -- will enjoy and benefit from this recipe.

P.S. For more great dessert options, visit the Diabetes Care Club (www.diabetescareclub.com). You'll find a lot of great recipes -- some are mine and some have been contributed by others. Enjoy y'all.

Diabetic Pecan Pie

INGREDIENTS:

1 unbaked 9" pie shell
2 large eggs
1/2 tablespoon milk

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup light syrup (NOT corn syrup!)
1/2 cup sugar substitute (Splenda or other)
1 tablespoon flour
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

MIX:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter first and set it aside to cool. Add indgredients to a large mixing bowl in this order: eggs, light syrup, salt, sugar substitute, flour, vanilla extract, melted butter. Using a mixer on slow speed, blend mixture until it is smooth. Add the pecans and mix, making sure all pecans have been coated in the liquid. Pour mixture into pie shell and brush the rim of the crust with milk to provide a glaze. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until done. Baking times vary with ovens and altitudes.

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