The Best Diabetes Blogs Of The Year

The Best Diabetes Blogs of the Year

We’ve carefully selected these blogs because they are actively working to educate, inspire, and empower their readers with frequent updates and high-quality information. If you would like to tell us about a blog, nominate them by emailing us at [email protected]!
Diabetes is one of the largest health issues facing Americans today. More than 29 million adults in the U.S. have diabetes — and almost one quarter of them don’t know they have it. A further 86 million adults in the U.S. have prediabetes, a condition which increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A whopping 90 percent of these people are unaware of that, too.
Both forms of diabetes — type 1 and type 2 — are chronic conditions, meaning they require a lifetime of careful treatment to be properly managed. If left untreated or improperly managed, diabetes can cause serious health complications.
For those living with diabetes, the condition can be isolating and take up a significant amount of time as well as mental and emotional energy. Staying on top of your treatments can also be challenging, as everyday things can make a big impact on blood glucose readings, and treatment options are always changing. That’s why we’ve rounded up the best diabetes blogs out there. Whether you’re looking for recipes, resources, treatment options, or simple tips for living well, you’re sure to find something here for you.
Diabetes Self-Management Blog
Diabetes Self-Management has provided health information to the diabetes community for over 35 years. Their companion blog rounds up tips and info from bo Continue reading

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I'm slim so why am I at risk of diabetes?

Diabetes is on the rise around the world, and nowhere more rapidly than in developing countries that are adopting the sugary, starchy diet that has plagued the richer world for years. And it turns out that Asians, and especially South Asians, are particularly vulnerable.
The nutritionist runs a white measuring tape around my waist. I defy the urge to suck in my stomach.
I'm 42 years old, a mother of two and a journalist based in India's capital, Delhi, currently one of the world's most polluted cities. I eat organic food, rarely snack, and consider myself pretty slim and active, especially compared to my American friends, whom I can see on Facebook are generally twice my girth.
"It's 87cm (34.25in)," says Chaya Ranasinghe, nutritionist at Sri Lanka's National Diabetes Centre. I'm here to find out why slim-looking Indians and Sri Lankans are increasingly falling victim to type 2 diabetes - a disease we tend to associate with people who anyone could see were obese.
"Not bad," I say. "That's pretty honourable for my age."
"Yes, but it should be 80cm (31.5in) maximum," she replies. "You are 7cm (2.75in) over."
"Should have sucked in my waist," I fume belatedly.
Chaya is helping me assess my risk for diabetes and the waist measurement is key for people of Asian origin. That's because Asian genes dictate that fat is laid down in the abdominal area.
It's this "visceral" or belly fat, as well as fat inside the liver, that puts us at risk.
"Imaging technology that measures fat in humans has shown that Asians of a healthy BMI have more fat around organs and in the belly area than Eur Continue reading

Home Pet Glucose Meters 101

I sometimes get emails questioning the accuracy of home pet glucose meters. Some folks get upset if their meter is 20 points off from what their vet’s lab work reveals. I think some people have unrealistic expectations about how accurate a meter can be. I can tell you first-hand that pet glucose meters are actually quite reliable, particularly the meters that are calibrated for pets.
If veterinarians say home glucose testing with handheld glucose meters isn’t as accurate as fancier blood analyzers they may be correct. But, I think they may forget that when glucose testing is run at home we remove the chance of stress hyperglycemia. Stress from being anxious in the vet clinic, commonly known as “white coat syndrome”, can significantly elevate a pet’s blood glucose levels. I personally have seen a couple of non-diabetic cats and small dogs have blood glucose levels up in the low 200’s just from anxiety in a clinic over the years. Even though the diagnostic lab equipment at your vet clinic is likely a bit more accurate than a handheld glucose meter, by taking your pet to the clinic you then introduce error from stress hyperglycemia in most pets. Unless your pet is cool as a cucumber in a vet clinic, the risk of stress hyperglycemia is high. Additionally, having a home glucose meter yields information at that moment in time that can affect our actions even in the middle of the night rather than waiting until you can get your pet to the vet. If your pet is acting goofy, you could check to see if the blood glucose is low. I can’t imagine having a diabetic pet withou Continue reading

Aloe vera should be investigated as diabetes treatment, study says

Diabetes is a global epidemic and a leading cause of disease and death. The fact fewer than half of patients with type 2 diabetes have their disease well controlled highlights the need for new, affordable, effective medications that are not limited by unfavorable side effects. Now, a pooled analysis of nine studies that examined the effect of oral aloe vera in people with diabetes and pre-diabetes suggests the medicinal plant should be further investigated as an antidiabetic compound.
The analysis is the work of researchers at the David Grant USAF Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, CA, who report their findings in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
The analysis shows people with diabetes whose fasting blood glucose (FBG) is above 200 mg/dl may benefit the most from treatment with oral aloe vera.
Diabetes is a lifelong condition where blood sugar is too high, resulting in damage to organs if not treated. There are 382 million people worldwide living with diabetes, with type 2 diabetes accounting for the vast majority of cases.
The authors note that in the United States - where some 21 million people have the disease - the cost of treatment and loss of productivity in 2012 due to diabetes was $245 billion. The global cost is expected to "exceed a staggering $490 billion" by 2030.
People with diabetes are more likely to seek complementary and alternative medicines than people without diabetes. A popular remedy is aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis), a plant used medicinally by the Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Indians, Japanese, and Mexicans for t Continue reading

Is it possible to catch diabetes? It sounds absurd, but that's what a reputable new study suggests. And it may be that other 'lifestyle' diseases such as joint pain and even obesity are contagious, too

At one time, infectious diseases used to decimate human populations — catching something such as cholera or smallpox was usually a death sentence.
But now, thanks to vaccines and antibiotics, few of us need worry about ‘catching’ anything worse than a cold, flu or an upset stomach.
But have we become too complacent?
Intriguingly, scientists are finding evidence that you may be able to catch such ‘lifestyle’ disorders as diabetes, Alzheimer’s and even joint pain.
Last year, scientists found that bacteria from the gut that have been linked to conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease and allergies can form spores — tiny hibernating ‘seeds’ given off by live bacteria that help it survive and multiply.
The research, published in the journal Nature, showed these spores can survive in the open air and could potentially infect other people. ‘This is a new way of transmitting disease that hasn’t been considered before,’ said researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.
It’s cutting-edge science and, of course, more research is needed, but here we look at the surprising conditions researchers now believe might be infectious...
CAN YOU PICK UP DIABETES FROM MEAT?
Earlier this year, U.S. researchers suggested that type 2 diabetes may be caught from damaged proteins known as prions — these are infectious agents, like those that transmitted BSE (or mad cow disease) from cattle to humans.
This is very different to the standard explanation for diabetes of too much weight and too little exercise leading to an excess of sugar (glucose) in the blood bec Continue reading