Dietary Supplements: Hype Or Helpful?

Dietary Supplements: Hype or Helpful?

More than half of Americans take dietary supplements . You probably have a bottle of vitamins or an herbal supplement in your cupboard or medicine cabinet (I know I do!). The dietary supplement industry is big business the projection is that by 2024, the supplement market will reach $278 billion . Supplements are touted everywhere in drugstores, grocery stores, health-food stores, and, of course, on the Internet. Plus, entire stores (GNC, Vitamin Shoppe) are devoted to selling pills and potions to enhance health and performance. And lets not forget the celebrities and sports stars pushing supplements on us, as well. But are dietary supplements all theyre cracked up to be? Does swallowing a fistful of pills every morning really make you healthier?
Dietary supplements encompass a whole host of items , including vitamins and minerals, herbs and other botanicals, enzymes, and amino acids. Supplements come in a variety of forms tablets, capsules, softgels, gelcaps, liquids, and powders. Some common supplements include:
Are dietary supplements approved by the FDA?
According to the FDA , a dietary supplement is a product intended for ingestion that contains a dietary ingredient intended to add further nutritional value to (supplement) the diet. From that definition, taking a supplement sounds like a pretty good idea. Taking a multivitamin every day, for example, seems pretty benign, and for the most part, it is. However, the FDA does not approve dietary supplements. This means that supplement manufacturers are not required to obtain FDA approval to market their products. Continue reading

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Study finds increasing trends in new diagnosed cases of type 1 and type 2 diabetes among youth

Rates of new diagnosed cases of type 1 and type 2 diabetes are increasing among youth in the United States, according to a report, Incidence Trends of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes among Youths, 2002-2012, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
In the United States, 29.1 million people are living with diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes, and about 208,000 people younger than 20 years are living with diagnosed diabetes.
This study is the first ever to estimate trends in new diagnosed cases of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in youth (those under the age of 20), from the five major racial/ethnic groups in the U.S.: non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. However, the Native American youth who participated in the SEARCH study are not representative of all Native American youth in the United States. Thus, these rates cannot be generalized to all Native American youth nationwide.
The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), found that from 2002 to 2012, incidence, or the rate of new diagnosed cases of type 1 diabetes in youth increased by about 1.8 percent each year. During the same period, the rate of new diagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes increased even more quickly, at 4.8 percent. The study included 11,244 youth ages 0-19 with type 1 diabetes and 2,846 youth ages 10-19 with type 2.
"Because of the early age of onset and longer diabetes duration, youth are at risk for developing diabetes related com Continue reading

Smart Blood Sugar Review Control Diabetes With Food

Smart Blood Sugar Review Control Diabetes With Food
Smart Blood Sugar- Hope For Diabetic Patients
Smart Blood Sugar is the title of an ebook which is based on ways to control diabetes. It helps you to evaluate your body status, on which levels your sugar is. How can you control it and how many ways can be used by you. It is a complete detail of what diabetes is, how can you prevent its risk in the easiest ways.
By the details, it has a mysterious status. In this review, I will evaluate the ebook Smart Blood Sugar for its accuracy and authenticity. The online testimonials are highly positive, but still, it needs so much to be talked about. Before going any further, lets check the brief details of the ebook are as following.
Are you a person who feels lethargic doing physical activity? Are you already a surfer of diabetes and are on diabetic medicines? Do you want to find a way which can reduce your insulin injections daily? Have you come across treating diabetes with home based natural remedies? Do you want to switch regular medicines with safe herbal alternatives? Do you want to get rid of diabetes or any associated problem? Given all the information, if any of the answers from up listed questions is yes, then you are the one who actually needs Smart Blood Sugar in your life. It is more convenient to take care of a disease at home, with and ease and comfort rather than rushing to the hospitals and doctors now and then.
Smart Blood Sugar is a downloadable ebook which is available online. It is a complete guide on what is diabetes, why is it called, what is the actual Continue reading

Stevia and Diabetes

Using sugar as a sweetener can be a dangerous choice for people with diabetes. The good news is that diabetics now have a multitude of options for sweetening their morning cup of coffee compared to years ago. In the U.S., that choice has expanded to include a component of stevia (rebaudioside A). Stevia's stevioside compounds are also approved by European food authorities, and stevia has been used as for centuries in South America. (1-2)
Safety Concerns About Artificial Sweeteners
Concerns about artificial sweeteners have fueled research into natural alternatives. Worries began with the earliest artificial sweetener - saccharin. Once upon a time, saccharin was the only sweetener available for diabetics and for those looking to cut calories (in the United States). But in 1972, saccharin was removed from the FDA's "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) list. (3-4)
The problem was that saccharin is it's known to cause cancer in animals. The National Toxicology Program later determined (in 2000) that it's no longer a potential carcinogen in humans. However, during the almost 30 years in between other sweeteners were developed and approved. (3-4)
The Aspartame Controversy
Side effects and health conditions linked to these newer sweeteners, especially aspartame, continue to be reported. Some complaints are supported by science. For example, excessive levels in the blood of one of the byproducts of ingesting aspartame can cause brain damage. The FDA suggests that only people with certain rare genetic disorders (or the fetuses of pregnant women with these disorders) could accrue hig Continue reading

Remote Screening for Pediatric Diabetes Gets Closer

For Professionals Research Updates Type 2 Diabetes
Remote Screening for Pediatric Diabetes Gets Closer
Researchers sought to determine if the use of a computerized support system would allow for improved identification of pediatric patients at high risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, and its implications to initiate earlier treatment.
With Tamara S. Hannon, MD, MS, and Elena Christofides, MD
Given the rising prevalence of diabetes in the pediatric population, the value of a remote screening method to foster an earlier, more consistent diagnosis, was pursued with the aim of improving clinical outcomes.
Tamara S. Hannon, MD, MS, associate professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana, and her colleagues, sought to employ the Child Health Improvement Through Computer Automation (CHICA), a computerized clinical decision support system, to decrease screening barriers and improve rates of diagnosis and follow-up for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in children;1 the study was published in JAMA Pediatrics .
The findings indicated that the proportion of youths meeting the outcomes criteria for T2Dbody mass index (BMI) and at least 2 other risk factors was an astonishing 41.3%.1
Based on the authors literature review, they had expected greater than 20% of their patients 10 years or older would have a BMI at or above the 85thpercentile and at least 2 risk factors for T2D.2
While the CHICA analysis did not increase the proportion of youths identified with diabetes risk factors, it more than quadrupled the rate of scree Continue reading