The Significance Of A Diabetes Educator

The Significance of a Diabetes Educator

Diabetes education, formally called diabetes self-management training, is a process by which people learn the key elements of caring for diabetes day-to-day, from how to eat healthy, managing their glucose-lowering and other medications, to problem solving and coping with the evolving nature of diabetes.
How "teachers" help
Diabetes educators, who provide diabetes education, are health care professionals, typically nurses, dietitians and pharmacists, who have specialized expertise and possibly additional credentials to help people achieve and maintain optimal health over the course of their lifetime.
Taking care of diabetes is no doubt challenging, but ever more possible today.
People with diabetes and their health care providers may not realize that diabetes self-management training, when provided in an accredited program, is a covered benefit through Medicare, many private insurers and health plans. While these programs are most commonly found at hospitals or medical centers, programs are increasingly found at public health facilities, community centers, pharmacies and even virtually.
Working with your educator
Depending on the specific situation, insurance and primary care provider’s preferences, a person may meet with a diabetes educator several times—either individually, in a group or both. Medicare and private insurance and health plans cover up to 10 hours of diabetes education in the first year of diagnosis, with varying levels of coverage in the ensuing years.
The person with diabetes and their educator work together to set self-care behavior change goals that Continue reading

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4 Steps To Reverse Diabetes Naturally

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Type 1 Diabetes May Be Triggered By a Common Virus, Study Suggests

Researchers found that kids exposed to enteroviruses are more likely to develop the autoimmune disease.
A new study suggests that a common virus may increase children’s risk for developing type 1 diabetes, raising the possibility that a vaccine may one day help prevent the lifelong disease. The research is not the first to make a connection between enteroviruses and diabetes, but the authors say it’s the largest and most definitive study to date.
Enteroviruses are a group of viruses that usually cause mild illnesses, like the common cold. Certain strains of enterovirus—such as the poliovirus, enterovirus-D68, and coxackievirus (also known as hand, foot, and mouth disease)—can cause more serious symptoms.
Previous research has also suggested that children exposed to enteroviruses are more likely to develop type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease that damages insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, than those who have not. To further study this link, researchers at the University of Tampere in Finland tested more than 1,600 stool samples from 129 children who had recently developed diabetes and 282 non-diabetic children for enterovirus RNA—a marker of previous infection. They found a significant difference between the groups: Only 60% of the control group showed signs of prior infection, versus 80% of the newly diabetic group.
The results, published in the journal Diabetologica, also showed that enterovirus infection typically occurred more than a year before children tested positive for islet autoantibodies, the first sign of type 1 diabetes. Taking this time lag i Continue reading

Diabetes Calculator for Kids

Everything matters when it comes to your child's care. That’s why Nationwide Children's has developed an online resource for managing your child's diabetes. Our goal is to empower families to successfully manage diabetes at home in order to provide as normal a life as possible for patients with diabetes.
Managing your child’s diabetes requires the proper balance between insulin dose, food and activity on a daily basis. It is important to keep your child’s blood sugars within a target range at all times. This online resource will enable you to calculate the insulin dosage given to your child prior to eating.
Diabetes Toolkit
The Diabetes Sick Day Calculator and Sick Day Journal are available in our free myChildren's mobile application.
The Diabetes Calculator for Kids is an electronic tool that calculates rapid acting insulin bolus dosage in 5 easy steps. Each chart is customized based on the child's personal input and information that is generally provided by a doctor or diabetes educator.
Please consult your physician with any questions related to your individual diabetes management plan.
5 easy steps to better
Diabetes management
The Diabetes Calculator for Kids is a helpful electronic tool that calculates rapid acting insulin bolus dosage for a child with diabetes. Each chart is customized based on the child's personal input and information that is generally provided by a doctor or diabetes educator. Continue reading

Study reveals how a very low calorie diet can reverse type 2 diabetes

In a new study, a Yale-led research team uncovers how a very low calorie diet can rapidly reverse type 2 diabetes in animal models. If confirmed in people, the insight provides potential new drug targets for treating this common chronic disease, said the researchers.
The study is published in Cell Metabolism.
One in three Americans will develop type 2 diabetes by 2050, according to recent projections by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Reports indicate that the disease goes into remission in many patients who undergo bariatric weight-loss surgery, which significantly restricts caloric intake prior to clinically significant weight loss. The Yale-led team’s study focused on understanding the mechanisms by which caloric restriction rapidly reverses type 2 diabetes.
The research team investigated the effects of a very low calorie diet (VLCD), consisting of one-quarter the normal intake, on a rodent model of type 2 diabetes. Using a novel stable (naturally occurring) isotope approach, which they developed, the researchers tracked and calculated a number of metabolic processes that contribute to the increased glucose production by the liver. The method, known as PINTA, allowed the investigators to perform a comprehensive set of analyses of key metabolic fluxes within the liver that might contribute to insulin resistance and increased rates of glucose production by the liver — two key processes that cause increased blood-sugar concentrations in diabetes.
Using this approach the researchers pinpointed three major mechanisms responsible for the VLCD’s dramatic ef Continue reading