The Cost Of Diabetes: Diabetes Blog Week 2017 // Day 2

The Cost of Diabetes: Diabetes Blog Week 2017 // Day 2

It’s been almost two years and my heart still aches for a person I never actually got to meet.
I met Ish online in a Facebook group for people struggling with diabulimia. Immediately, I was attracted to her quick wit, irreverent sense of humor, and beautiful blue eyes. This girl was the definition of a spitfire but in the absolute best way imaginable. I respected her honesty and treasured her ability to lighten the mood with a single quip or clever remark. I’ve never met anyone quite like her and I honestly doubt I ever will.
Within the diabulimia community, there were several girls, including myself, who hit it off seemingly instantaneously in a special way. I’m not exactly sure how to pinpoint the manifestation of this particular friend group but I do remember realizing that I had found that sense of belonging I had been so long searching for. With a mutual appreciation for all things Harry Potter and Mean Girls related, it wasn’t long before we had a nice little circle of ladies all looking out for each other. It became more than just about diabetes or our similar struggles with disordered eating behavior patterns. We talked about our dreams, our fears, our families, and our relationships. Our lives became entangled and it was that common experience of struggling that solidified the bonds we shared. Even within that group of girls, I felt a particular kinship to Ish. We were absolutely meant to be friends despite our geographical limitations and we often romanticized about meeting up someday.
Hailing from Scotland, the land of my ancestral roots, I felt pulled to Continue reading

Rate this article

Total 1 ratings

Employment and Type 1 Diabetes

Note: This article is part of our Daily Life library of resources. To learn more about the many things that affect your health and daily management of Type 1, visit here.
The Dos and Don’ts of Employers
As a person with Type 1, you are protected under several laws in the United States from discrimination on the job. It is important to get a clear overview of how you are protected so that you can make sure you are being treated fairly and equally. Here is a breakdown of how you are protected:
An employer is not allowed to do the following actions:
Fail to hire or promote you because of your Type 1
Terminate you because of your Type 1 (unless you pose a “direct threat”)
An employer must to the following actions:
Provide you with reasonable accommodations that help you perform the essential functions of your job
Not discriminate with regard to employer-provided health insurance
Interviews: Is it better to disclose?
There’s no law that requires you to disclose your diabetes, and employers aren’t allowed to ask about your medical background before offering you a job. Even if you choose to disclose your diabetes to your employer, your employer is required to keep that information confidential. Some job offers may depend on your ability to pass a medical evaluation after the initial offer, such as police officers or firefighters. However, these results will only affect your offer if they prevent you from doing your job or put your coworkers at risk.
Whether or not you talk about your diabetes is up to you. However, if your employer doesn’t know about your diabetes, you Continue reading

How to lose weight and prevent diabetes in 6 minutes a week

I believe regular movement and exercise is essential to health. As Stephan Guyenet pointed out in a recent blog post, our paleolithic ancestors had a different word for exercise: “life“. They naturally spent a lot of time outdoors in the sun, walking, hunting, gathering, and performing various other physically-oriented tasks. They had no concept of this as “exercise” or “working out”. It was just life.
But while exercise contributes to health in several different ways, it’s not very effective for weight loss. Or, more specifically, I should say that low-intensity, “cardio” – which is how most people exercise – is not effective for weight loss.
Why cardio doesn’t work
How could this be? There are three main reasons:
caloric burn during exercise is generally small;
people who exercise more also tend to eat more (which negates the weight regulating effect of exercise); and,
increasing specific periods of exercise may cause people to become more sedentary otherwise.
In an example of the first reason, a study following women over a one-year period found that in order to lose one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of fat, they had to exercise for an average of 77 hours. That’s a lot of time on the treadmill just to lose 2 pounds!
In an example of the second reason, a study found that people who exercise tend to eat more afterwards, and that they tend to crave high-calorie foods. The title of this study says it all: “Acute compensatory eating following exercise is associated with implicit hedonic wanting for food.” I love it when researchers have a sense of humor. Continue reading

Omega-6 could lower type 2 diabetes risk by 35 percent

Eating a diet rich in omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids could reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by more than a third, a new review concludes.
From an analysis of almost 40,000 adults across 20 studies, researchers found that people who had higher blood levels of linoleic acid — a main form of omega-6 — were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with lower levels of the fatty acid.
Study co-author Dr. Jason Wu, of the George Institute for Global Health in Australia, and colleagues recently reported their findings in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body is no longer able to effectively use insulin — the hormone that regulates blood glucose — or when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin. As a result, blood glucose levels become too high.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 30.3 million people in the United States have diabetes, and the majority of cases are type 2.
Following a healthful diet is deemed one of the best ways to prevent type 2 diabetes.
Polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) such as omega-3 and omega-6 should form a part of a healthful diet, albeit in moderation. The new review, however, suggests that we might want to consider increasing our intake of omega-6 to protect against type 2 diabetes.
Omega-6: A help or hindrance?
Omega-6 fatty acids are considered to be essential for health; not only do they aid brain function, but they also play an important role in skin and hair growth, and they help to regulate metabolism and support bone health.
However, since the body is Continue reading

Diabetes can lead to hypoglycaemia - know the symptoms and act promptly

By Dr V Mohan
Among the various complications arising out of diabetes, the country sees more than 1 million cases per year of severe 'hypoglycaemia' commonly known as 'low blood sugar'. Ill-managed diabetes is the primary cause of this complication that can be identified by the following symptoms: confusion, heart palpitations, shakiness and anxiety. A sweet snack comes in handy for its quick management.
When the blood glucose levels fall, the body usually puts out the above signs and symptoms that one is running low on energy and needs a sugary snack. It is very important that a 'hypo' episode is treated quickly. If it is left untreated, the blood glucose level continues to fall and the person could become unconscious or can have a convulsion (fit) associated with low blood sugar levels. In severe circumstances, hypoglycaemia can be (albeit rarely) fatal.
Hypoglycaemia is defined as blood glucose levels below 70 mg/dl with symptoms and below 60 mg/dl even without symptoms. The common symptoms of hypoglycaemia include weakness, drowsiness, confusion, hunger, dizziness or light-headedness, sleepiness, paleness, headache, irritability, trembling, nervousness, sweating, rapid heartbeat, and a cold, clammy feeling.
According to the Hypoglycaemia Assessment Tool (HAT) study, the incidence of hypoglycaemia is considerable across the world and people with type 2 diabetes may experience up to 19 episodes in a single year. It is suggested that hypoglycaemia is an underestimated cause for death and cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes but few studies have been conducted in Continue reading