How Did I Get Fat? How Did I Get Diabetes? How Did I Get So Unhealthy?

How did I get fat? How did I get diabetes? How did I get so unhealthy?

My daddy used to love my mama’s peas and cornbread, but watching him eat them was quite fun. Mama usually prepared his plate and took it to his recliner, where he ate on a TV tray while watching the news. Inevitably, he would finish off his cornbread first and still have peas on his plate. Well, being a faithful member of the “clean your plate club,” he figured he HAD to have another piece of cornbread to go with those peas. Then, he’d run out of peas, but still had cornbread, so he got more peas. This crazy process went on for 3-4 trips back to the kitchen until he could finish his plate evenly. By now, you’re probably thinking 2 things for sure: 1)My daddy was a bit silly 2) Why the heck is this story here on the KetoNurses’ blog?
Well, to answer the first question, yes, my daddy could be quite the prankster and his antics brought much laughter to our lives over the years. His story of “peas & cornbread” illustrates a very valuable lesson for us. Today, we’re going to discuss cravings in the context of how the liver processes the carbohydrates we overconsume. Let’s first take a look at normal glucose-related processes in simple terms.
SIMPLE VERSION: When healthy people eat carbohydrates, the pancreas secretes insulin to immediately control the amount of glucose entering the bloodstream. The bloodstream only needs about 4 teaspoons of glucose in a 24 hour period; what happens when we consume carbs that convert into 10-15 teaspoons of glucose? Insulin from the pancreas comes to the rescue and immediately latches on to glucose molecules entering the bloo Continue reading

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Sorry, But These Things Will Not Cure Diabetes

As editor of ASweetLife, the Diabetes Magazine, one of my jobs is to block the barrage of comments we receive from people claiming to have cured their own diabetes with a home remedy, or those espousing the instantaneously successful treatment of a doctor whose name appears to be an amalgamation of Latin suffixes. Daily, I delete suspicious comments, things along the lines of a man who claims a donut a day keeps diabetes away, which he can prove because he has been eating a donut a day for the past 52 years and does not have diabetes. He can also sell you donut extract for $4.99 per drop, if you want to avoid all those donut calories. It might be sold on Goop, but I have not checked.
If we get a message proclaiming a one-pill-cures-all-diseases from a devotee of someone with a name like Dr. Abiliusesco, who is only reachable by clicking HERE on this very safe link, it gets marked as spam. But as I bid adios to the snake oils, I do so not only with the satisfaction of obstructing the swindlers and scoundrels, but with a tinge of regret. I grew up with a mother who had an incurable disease. Over the duration of her illness, which progressively worsened, we tried to cure my mother with everything from experimental surgery to bee venom to acupuncture. Though only a young child, I understood we were fighting a battle that was already lost. Those scarce moments of hope, however, that perhaps a charlatan’s newest injection would give way to even the slightest improvement, were glorious. What I’m trying to convey is not that I believe in tossing aside scientific facts and reaso Continue reading

Cannabis Oil For Diabetes? The Positive Effects Of CBD On Insulin And Metabolism

Five-year study shows CBD oil helps treat diabetes
With CBD use on the rise, many doctors are questioning whether they should prescribe the plant compound for diabetes to help patients cope with the symptoms and even fight the disease itself.
Dr. Allan Frankel, an M.D. with Greenbridge Medical, wrote on OCCNewspaper recently about the experiences and successes he’s had treating his diabetes patients with CBD oil, concluding that it can help with both the treatment of the disease itself, as well as aiding the day to day management of diabetes related symptoms like inflammation and joint pain.
“For certain, it is worth a try.”
CBD Oil For Diabetes: What Do Patients Say?
We spoke to Pete Jarlett, a diabetes patient to get a personal view on how CBD oil for diabetes can be beneficial. He has been treating his diabetes with a combination of a Ketogenic diet (healthy fats) and CBD oil, on the advice of Dr. Joseph McCall and HoneyColony cofounder Maryam Henein.
“Overall, I feel a million times better, but everyone has to make their own decision. I feel strong and I’m getting my energy back.”
Jarlett even enjoys cooking with CBD oil although temperature is important to consider to not destroy the healing properties.
“You can even elevate the CBD oil at the pinnacle with other oils. Once you can work it into your diet it can be so easy.”
Diabetes: Relentless Rise
Diabetes refers to the group of metabolic disorders characterized by high blood glucose levels; almost 400 million people worldwide suffer from either type one or type two diabetes and it kills up to 5 milli Continue reading

Service Dogs Provide Alert Assistance for People with Diabetes

Seeing eye dogs were the first type of service dogs in the U.S., supporting the blind community. Gradually, our understanding of dogs’ service abilities expanded, and in 1975, Bonnie Bergan coined the term “service dogs” and started the first service dog non-profit, Canine Companions for Independence. To this day, CCI trains dogs to support people with a wide range of disabilities and places them with those in need.
As research on what dogs are capable of providing became more concrete, the Americans with Disabilities Act expanded the definition of service dogs in 1990 to include “any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability.” This allowed for the expansion and support of formalized dog training to serve a wide community of people dealing with various disabilities and special needs in the U.S. Among these are diabetics.
Nowadays, thousands of service dogs are being trained around the country to alert diabetics who show signs of abnormal blood sugar levels as well as to communicate to a third party if an emergency situation arises. Read on for a comprehensive guide to the research and the organizations involved.
Diabetes is an Illness that Affects Millions
In the U.S. today, diabetes impacts over 30 million people with another 84 million who are prediabetic based on the National Diabetes Statistics Report. Each year the number of people impacted continues to grow, and there are over 7 million people who are living with diabetes but are undiagnosed. While this illness can be managed with a h Continue reading

Dogs Detect Diabetes. Do They Smell This Chemical?

Dogs have an uncanny ability to detect changes in human physiology, and can even draw attention to diseases like cancer. As our canine companions have a powerful sense of smell, it's thought this is achieved through the nose.
One thing dogs seem to smell is an abnormal drop in blood sugar level, which occurs in people with type I diabetes.
Low blood glucose -- hypoglycaemia or 'hypo' -- can occur suddenly and cause symptoms such as fatigue, which might lead to seizures and unconsciousness if left untreated. As a consequence, charities like Medical Detection Dogs train animals to act as 'medical alert assistance dogs' that tell owners when they're at risk of a hypo.
But precisely what dogs detect has long been unknown. Now researchers at Cambridge University have found that a fall in blood glucose coincides with a rise in 'isoprene' -- a natural chemical we release while breathing.
The new study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, involved using insulin to gradually lower blood sugar level under controlled conditions, then used mass spectrometry to measure the concentration of molecules in exhaled breath. This preliminary analysis was done with eight diabetic women (average age 46).
The results show that levels of isoprene spiked during hypoglycaemia, and would almost double in some patients. Isoprene is common in our breath, but it's unclear how the chemical is produced or why levels rose (one possibility is that it's a by-product of reactions that make cholesterol). There was no significant rise in other volatile organic compounds such as acetone, ethanol and propane. Continue reading