Second Thought – The Often-Forgotten Challenges Of Diabetes

Second Thought – The Often-Forgotten Challenges of Diabetes

By Jane Yardley
November is Diabetes Awareness month, a time of year where we recognize the staggering number of individuals affected by diabetes in Canada and worldwide. In Canada alone, there were over 3 million people with diagnosed diabetes in 2015. Approximately 90 to 95% of these people will have type 2 diabetes, a condition that is managed initially with diet and exercise, and ultimately with medication. The remaining 5 to 10% will have type 1 diabetes, for which there is no prevention, there is no cure, and survival requires a careful balance of food intake and insulin dosage.
Canada has one of the highest rates of type 1 diabetes in the world, yet the public is not as aware of the disease as they are with cancer or cardiovascular disease. Type 1 diabetes develops when the immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Insulin acts as the key that unlocks cells in the muscles, fatty tissues and liver to allow glucose (the most common form of sugar in the body) to be taken in for storage, or burned for energy. Without insulin, glucose builds up in the blood, and the body’s tissues slowly starve. Upon diagnosis, people with type 1 diabetes are relegated to a life of counting carbohydrates (and considering carbohydrate quality) at every meal, and taking insulin (either with a needle or with an insulin pump where a small tube sits under the skin) multiple times per day when blood glucose levels creep up.
They also live with the constant fear that their glucose levels will drop too low. This phenomenon, termed hypoglycemia, can have imm Continue reading

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Cooking With Herbs and Spices

Herbs and spices are a healthy cooks best friend. They are excellent for enhancing the flavor of food without the addition of extra fat, sugar, or salt. But herbs and spices have other benefits, as well: They exhibit antimicrobial (germ-killing) properties, act as antioxidants , and may help prevent or decrease the spread of cancer. For centuries, they have been used for medicinal purposes in addition to food flavoring and preservation. The use of herbs, which typically come from the leaves of plants, has been traced back to the BC era. Spices, which come from the bark, fruit, stems, roots, buds, berries, or seeds of plants, started to be used widely around the second century AD. Centuries ago, people thought that herbs and spices had certain properties that benefited health. Today, scientists have uncovered just how healthful many herbs and spices are.
In one study, researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture examined the antioxidant activity (the ability to protect cells against the effects of free radicals, unstable molecules that result from the breakdown of food, exposure to pollutants, or UV light) of fresh herbs grown in a garden at the Agricultural Research Service. They found that each of the herbs tested had greater antioxidant activity by weight than berries, fruits, or vegetables. According to this study, just one tablespoon of fresh oregano has the same antioxidant power as a medium-size apple. How do other herbs stack up? Three tablespoons of dill, 4 1/2 tablespoons of thyme, 7 tablespoons of sage, and 8 tablespoons of parsley all have the antioxidant Continue reading

Poor sleep can increase risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke and more here is why a good nights rest is great for your health

Poor sleep can increase risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke and more here is why a good nights rest is great for your health
The better we sleep at night, the more focused and productive we are
POOR sleep can can increase risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke and more.
Barry Smith, head at Great Yarmouth High School, Norfolk, has told parents to get teen kids in bed by 9pm.
But its not just youngsters who need kip.
Here CHRISTINA EARLE reveals why you should turn in early.
It's not just kids that need to get to sleep early but adults too
A good sleep routine leaves the heart happy.
An American Academy of Sleep Medicine study revealed those who get by on less than six hours per night raise their risk of heart disease.
Those who snooze more than six hours a night are less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes.
If you get less kip than this, your risk of the condition rises by 15 per cent, a US study at Harvard University found.
Six hours of sleep a night can ward of the risks of Type 2 diabetes
Getting too little sleep makes us crave carbs, according to a study by US researchers.
It showed we scoff up to 50 per cent more after a poor nights rest, which means you are more likely to put on weight.
Too little shut-eye causes a loss of brain tissue and function.
Research at Uppsala University, in Sweden, discovered just one nights poor sleep can have an adverse effect on the brain.
Getting enough sleep also boosts your immune system
Getting at least 7.5 hours sleep a night can help you live longer.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine found t Continue reading

Top 20 Tips to Afford Your Diabetes Meds & Supplies

This post may contain affiliate links, which help support this blog but don’t add to your cost.
If you’re struggling to make ends meet, you may feel like you can’t afford your diabetes medications and supplies. Even if you have insurance, you may not be able to afford the co-pays on some meds, and others might not even be covered. If you don’t have insurance at all, you’re likely wondering how to get food on the table for your family before worrying about your own meds.
By now, everyone knows about the increasing cost of medications. Some are increasing more dramatically than others, such as insulin. According to David Domzalski of RuntheMoney.com, “Diabetes is the most expensive disease in the United States.”
But there is hope. It may take a little work on your part, but below are 20 tips on how you can reduce the costs of your diabetes meds and supplies.
Many of us who participated in this year’s Diabetes Blog Week spent a day contemplating and writing about the many costs of diabetes.
I was inspired to write this after reading the article, “40 Financial Experts Share Ways to Save Money on Diabetes Care,” which appeared recently on the website called TheDiabetesCouncil.com. A lot of the financial advice focused on food and diet ideas for saving money, so I wanted to offer a list of cost-saving tips specific to meds and supplies. Please go and read the original Diabetes Council article for even more ways to make living with diabetes more affordable.
Most of the tips below derive from the Diabetes Council article, but some are from my own experience and Continue reading

Diabetes causes shift in oral microbiome that fosters periodontitis, Penn study finds

A new study led by University of Pennsylvania researchers has found that the oral microbiome is affected by diabetes, causing a shift to increase its pathogenicity. The research, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe this week, not only showed that the oral microbiome of mice with diabetes shifted but that the change was associated with increased inflammation and bone loss.
"Up until now, there had been no concrete evidence that diabetes affects the oral microbiome," said Dana Graves, senior author on the new study and vice dean of scholarship and research at Penn's School of Dental Medicine. "But the studies that had been done were not rigorous."
Just four years ago, the European Federation of Periodontology and the American Academy of Periodontology issued a report stating there is no compelling evidence that diabetes is directly linked to changes in the oral microbiome. But Graves and colleagues were skeptical and decided to pursue the question, using a mouse model that mimics Type 2 diabetes.
"My argument was that the appropriate studies just hadn't been done, so I decided, We'll do the appropriate study," Graves said.
Graves co-authored the study with Kyle Bittinger of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who assisted with microbiome analysis, along with E Xiao from Peking University, who was the first author, and co-authors from the University of São Paulo, Sichuan University, the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the University of Capinas. The authors consulted with Daniel Beiting of Penn Vet's Center for Host-Microbial Interactions and did the bone- Continue reading