World Diabetes Day 2017: Mindfulness Musings For Daily Practice

World Diabetes Day 2017: Mindfulness Musings for Daily Practice

This year’s theme for World Diabetes Day is Women and Diabetes, so I figured as one of the 11 million American women with diabetes , and a counselor who specializes in mindful approaches to living well with diabetes, I’d share a few concerns and ideas with the blogosphere, in hopes of touching a few of you with something of value….
Here’s the headline from the Non-Communicable Disease Alliance (NCDA), one of the organizations promoting awareness of our disease this year:
"Diabetes is the ninth leading cause of death in women globally, causing 2.1 million deaths each year. As a result of socioeconomic conditions, girls and women with diabetes experience barriers in accessing cost-effective diabetes prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and care, particularly in developing countries."
When I read statements like this, my mind and heart sink into sad thoughts and dejected emotions. “What can I do to help such an enormous problem?” Recent outpouring of tangible assistance for those in the wake of our many natural disasters this year, give hope – and they give us something to DO, like send extra supplies or money for the valuable humanitarian efforts to keep our fellow diabetes tribe members alive.
What about the feelings that still linger? Feelings and thoughts of fear (what if I’m affected by the next disaster? Am I adequately prepared?), guilt (why not me? Could I do more?), anger (at institutions, governments, global warming, people who drive Hummers, etc), despair and/or indignation (this problem is all just too big, too much; life is hard enough Continue reading

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Study advances efforts to screen all children for Type 1 diabetes

Study advances efforts to screen all children for Type 1 diabetes
Novel way to present pancreatic proteins increases the sensitivity of Type 1 Diabetes Tests
IMAGE:This is an illustration of the ZnT8 protein embedded in a fatty membrane and attached to the P-Gold Assay. view more
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Stanford University and the University of Florida report the development of a novel antibody detection technology that holds promise for improving the accuracy of diagnostic tests for type 1 diabetes in young children and making populationwide screening practical.
In a report on the work , published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Sept. 5, the scientists say the technology enables screening for more autoimmune antibodies implicated in type 1 diabetes than current tests by incorporating a full-length pancreatic protein, called the pancreatic zinc transport 8 (ZnT8), that is targeted for autoimmune attack in people with the disease. By improving the accuracy of this test, researchers hope to catch the disease earlier and extend testing to all people. Type I diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes, is a relatively rare form of the disorder in which the pancreas produces no insulin. It accounts for about 5 percent of all cases of diabetes in the United States.
"Although current tests are about 94 percent accurate in detecting the antibodies years before children and young adults lose all blood sugar control, they are not accurate enough to rely upon for populationwide screening, so current antibody test Continue reading

Osteoporosis and Diabetes: Pros and Cons to Antidiabetic Regimens

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Osteoporosis and Diabetes: Pros and Cons to Antidiabetic Regimens
Study aims to distinguish different antidiabetic drugs and their effect on osteoporosis in people with diabetes.
Osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes have recently been the focus of study in recent years. Osteoporosis is a bone condition defined by low bone mass, increased fragility, decreased bone quality, and an increased fracture risk. Research has shown that people with tyope 2 diabetes are at risk for developing osteoporosis and fractures. The incidence of fractures increases with age and therefore osteoporosis is most likely seen in individuals 50 years or older. The increase in fractures poses an increased mortality rate among patients with osteoporosis. This mortality rate is increased when people with type 2 diabetes develop osteoporosis.
There are many risk factors of osteoporosis and bone fractures. According to the World Health Organization, individuals with low bone mass and increased fragility are most susceptible to fractures and osteoporosis. The Nord-Trondelag Health Survey from Norway showed a dramatic increase in hip fractures among type 1 females. As such, the longer an individual is diagnosed with diabetes, the lower his or her bone mineral density (BMD) becomes. In addition, it has been reported that women with type 1 diabetes are more prone to developing fractures and ultimately osteoporosis when compared to females without diabetes. It is suggested that insulin plays a role in diabet Continue reading

How to Manage Work Stress If You Have Diabetes | Everyday Health

Positive coping strategies for high-stress work situations are crucial for people with diabetes, as stress can cause dangerous blood sugar swings.
When Sheryl Hill goes into work at the St. Louis Park, Minnesota,nonprofit where she is a co-founder and theexecutive director, she attends countless meetings, sifts through a sea of paperwork, and plows into a seemingly bottomless inbox. But with prediabetes, Hill, 61, also makes sure she carves out time to de-stress so her blood sugar stays under control.
Im a strong advocate for meditation over medication just one letter is the difference in being healthier, Hill says.
Research suggests Hill is right to prioritize stress management at work, especially because she has prediabetes. A study published in September 2014 in Psychosomatic Medicine found that work-related stress and job strain are major risk factors for type 2 diabetes in men and women. In the observational research, which involved about 5,340 healthy working participants, those people who reported high job strain had a 45 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who reported low strain after a follow-up period of about 13 years.
The way we perceive stress also matters. A study published in September 2012 in Health Psychology found that people who said they believed stress negatively affected their health and also experienced high levels of stress had a greater risk of early death than people who experienced high levels of stress without this belief.
For people with diabetes, managing the physical and psychological reaction to stress is cru Continue reading

Is Diabetes Causing My GERD?

Because gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD is related to both neuropathy or nerve damage and obesity, people with diabetes have an increased risk of developing this condition. Learn more.
GERD often accompanies both type 1 and type 2 diabetes as it is related to both neuropathy and obesity.
While many people experience occasional heartburn or mild acid reflux, when these symptoms occur at least twice a week or interfere with everyday life, you may be diagnosed with Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
GERD causes symptoms or injury to the esophagus by frequent acid reflux—the backwash of stomach acid and bile salts that flood the esophagus.
“It’s primarily due to the dysfunction of the muscles and nerves that control normal esophageal functions and normal gastric emptying,” says James C. Reynolds, MD, AGAF, FACP, FACG , a gastroenterologist, and professor of medicine at Penn Medicine. “But the good news is that GERD is treatable and can be cured.”
Because GERD is related to both neuropathy or nerve damage and obesity, people with diabetes have an increased risk of developing acid reflux disease. According to one 2013 study, “the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux symptoms in diabetes could be as high as 41%.”
“For people with type 1, the mechanism is entirely related to nerve damage caused by years of inadequate glycemic control,” says Dr. Reynolds. “Type 1 has clearly shown to be a risk factor for developing problems in the gastrointestinal tract, including constipation, diarrhea, gastroparesis and GERD, all of which can be improved Continue reading