“Online Revolt” Infuriates Diabetes Establishment

Last week, we saw the news that the world’s largest diabetes organizations, including the International Diabetes Federation, the American Diabetes Association, the Chinese Diabetes Society, and Diabetes India, are embracing bariatric surgery as a radical new approach to treating type-2 diabetes. According to these experts, surgery should be the standard protocol for many patients.
At the same time, these experts are becoming increasingly dismissive of diet and lifestyle approaches to reversing type-2 diabetes. The crux of the problem is that “the experts” recommend a low-fat, higher-carbohydrate approach, which simply doesn’t cut the mustard when compared to low-carb, higher-fat approaches.
In the information era, however, the truth always comes out.
Today, The Times is reporting on what they are referring to as “an online revolt by patients.” Diabetes.co.uk, a health organization that opposes the official dietary guidelines for diabetes treatment, launched a study, which included over 120,000 participants, the majority of whom suffer from weight related type-2 diabetes.
These people ate low-carb diets for 10 weeks, in defiance of the UK government’s Eatwell Guidelines, which mimic official US guidelines.
Over 70% of participants lost weight and improved their blood glucose levels.
“The results from the low-carb plan have been impressive and this is a solution that is clearly working for people with type 2 diabetes,” said Arjun Panesar, chief executive officer of diabetes.org.uk
David Unwin, a family doctor and clinical expert in diabetes, added, “For ma Continue reading

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When Depression Accompanies Diabetes: How to Cope

Diabetics with depression tend to have higher glucose levels than those not depressed, and depression makes daily diabetes management more difficult.
So tell your doctor about problems with sleeping, focusing, anxiety, irritability, lethargy, hopelessness or sadness. He or she will want to know how long the symptoms have persisted and how they affect your daily functioning.
Unless you have a history of depression, these symptoms are likely temporary, and there is much you can do to hasten their departure. To begin, accept your feelings.
Depression and Feelings
Anger, fear, disappointment, sadness, fatigue, grief and overwhelm are all natural responses to intrusive change. None of these feelings is wrong or a sign of weakness.
Emotions and feelings, even the uncomfortable ones, are meant to be felt. Denied feelings are like trapped birds; they may flap about fearfully or angrily trying to get free or lose hope and sit in sadness. When we acknowledge and feel our emotions, they are free to come and go or flow.
Unfortunately, we often think of emotions as being either positive or negative. It is more beneficial to think of them as information about the internal state of our affairs. We need to take this information into consideration when choosing our actions.
Depression Relief
To relieve depression, you must often make yourself do things you know are good for you, since you cannot rely on pleasurable feelings for motivation.
Socialize, use your supports and ask for help. Getting emotional support will help you manage diabetes, and good diabetes management will empower and str Continue reading

Type 2 Diabetes, Angina, Exhaustion, and 50 Pounds Gone in 18 Months

I have had a love affair with food my entire life. Growing up, my dinners consisted of meat, potatoes, fried vegetables, white rolls, and desserts topped with ice cream. The winter holidays were filled with cooking and entertaining. And every New Year’s Eve, I would make a resolution to go on another diet to get control of my weight. I never thought about the consequences of what I was eating. In July of 2007, just after my 58th birthday, I went to the hospital because I was not feeling well. Blood tests revealed I had type 2 diabetes and a dangerously high blood sugar of 441 mg/dL. I was prescribed five pills and two injections of Byetta a day.
In February 2008, I went to the hospital again because I was short of breath and had pain in my left arm and jaw. I failed the stress test within several minutes. My angiogram revealed five of my arteries were 80 to 100 percent blocked, and I had to have coronary bypass graft surgery. After the operation, I was sent home with a one-page dietary guideline and instructions to limit my saturated fats. It still didn’t register with me that my food choices were the problem. I was too overwhelmed by the scary turn of events and thought the bypasses had “fixed” me. I knew absolutely nothing about nutrition.
Even after the surgery, I continued to have angina due to an 80 percent blockage in my diagonal artery, which had not been repaired. I was given medication to dilate my arteries and relieve the angina. Over the next few years, the dosage was increased several times. Meanwhile, my diabetes was raging out of control. I remember cr Continue reading

How to Adjust Recipes for Diabetes

If you have developed type 2 diabetes or you are pre-diabetic, making changes to your diet and letting go of certain foods you used to enjoy can be hard.
You may wonder what makes certain recipes okay for someone with diabetes, whether you should use sugar or completely avoid fats.
Luckily, if you learn and keep the basics of diabetes meal planing in mind, you can turn your favorite recipes into diabetes-friendly food.
The Basics
Exchange Lists
When trying to develop a meal plan you can resort to exchange lists, which provide detailed information about the carbohydrate, protein, and fat content of foods that you eat every day. You can work with a dietitian to develop a meal plan that is specifically tailored to your personal needs. Following an exchange list can ensure that you get all the nutrients you need for good health and will also allow you to control the amount of carbohydrates in your diet.
Carb-Counting
Another important step that can help with meal planning is learning to count carbohydrates. Work with a dietitian to learn how each type of carbohydrate you eat affects your blood sugar. You can monitor your blood sugar level to determine the effect of various carbohydrates and adjust your insulin injections accordingly.
Four Ways to Adjust Your Favorite Recipes
Here are some tips on how to go about tweaking your recipes to make them diabetes-friendly:
Use liquid fats instead of solid fats. Solid fats often include saturated or trans fats, which are not good for the health of your heart. Many liquid fats can be healthy when used in moderate amounts. Try to use oils Continue reading

Bitter Melon Can Treat Pancreatic Cancer and Diabetes (According To A Research)

Bitter melon, also known as wild cucumber or bitter apple, grows in Asia, East Africa, South America and the Caribbean. It is consumed as food and also has many medicinal effects.
Science is now looking at this plant’s therapeutic effects, especially in relation to treating diabetes and some types of cancer. The findings are promising and suggest there might be yet another alternative for chronic conditions often considered incurable.
Bitter melon helps regulate insulin levels, and this is what might make it efficient in treating conditions related to pancreas where this hormone is produced.
In vitro and animal studies also showed antiviral and lipid (fat) lowering effect. Traditionally, this fruit, which is believed to be the most bitter among all fruits and vegetables, was used to treat colic, fever, pain, skin conditions and burns.
Bitter Melon And Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer is one of the fastest progressing cancers and doesn’t respond to conventional treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
A study performed at the Colorado University examined the effects of bitter melon on pancreatic cancer. The study was done in vitro on four different lines of pancreatic cancer cells, and on mice injected with pancreatic tumor cells.
The researchers observed that bitter melon juice stopped cancer cell proliferation and caused them to die. Tumor growth was reduced by 60% compared to the control group that received water. There were no signs of toxicity or side effects on the body.
Further studies are required to establish the effect of the plant on human patients. Continue reading