Did you know that diabetes medicines work differently for every patient?How your body responds to a medicine can depend on how long you have had diabetes, if you have other diseases, or whether you experience side effects from some of theingredients.But did you know that your sex can alsoeffect the way diabetes medicines work?Recent research has found that one diabetes drug, metformin, may have very different effects in men and women.]]>
You probably know that diabetes is a serious disease that affects millions of Americans today. If not treated properly, it can damage your heart, kidneys, nerves, and eyes.In many cases, medicines (including insulin) are needed to treat type 2 diabetes. Sometimes, if caught early enough,diabetes can be treated with exercise and healthy eating.]]>
Ginger Vieira has lived with type 1 diabetes and celiac disease since 1999. She is the author of Your Diabetes Science Experiment and Emotional Eating with Diabetes, and currently works as a freelance writer.]]>
There are several important numbers everyone should know — your address, phone number, social security number and date of birth. You should also know about numbers related to your body, such as height, weight and age. Do you know another important number that gives information about you? Are you familiar with your BMI?]]>
Could binge eating lead to diabetes? Teenage girls and young-adult women sometimes eat in a disordered way because they worry too much about their bodies, or they may be looking for approval from friends, or suffering from depression. Although many cases of disordered eating involve restricting food, binge-eating is also a problem. Research from the “Growing Up Today Study” suggests that teenage or young-adult women who binge eat have more risk of getting type 2 diabetes. The scientists were surprised to find that a person’s weight, which is normally a risk factor for getting diabetes, did not seem to play a role in their findings.]]>
Optimal diabetes care involves eating healthy balanced meals, staying active, and following your healthcare provider’s suggested medicine regimen. As you get older, these tasks may be harder to do because of vision problems and a loss of lean muscle that can make being active more difficult. A recent study has found that older adults who are less mobile may be at higher risk for diabetes.]]>
According to health and environmental scientists, POPs (persistent organic pollutants) are a serious public health problem. POPs are a group of substances that can stay in the environment for a long time, especially in the food we eat. This puts human health at risk in a variety of ways, even after the substances are no longer used. With this in mind, researchers at the University of Granada in Spain wanted to find out if there is a link between POPs, obesity, and other major metabolic problems. In this study, which was published in the journal Environmental Pollution, researchers measured the levels of pollutants in the fat tissue of almost 300 men and women. In particular, they looked for the following POPs: DDE: A main ingredient in DDT, an insecticide popular in America the 1980s. Though dangerous to human and environmental health, some countries still use it to fight malaria. PCBs: Another dangerous group of chemicals, used mostly in industrial equipment. Even though the use of these POPs is restricted, the researchers found them in the bodies of all of the study subjects. But they were more likely to be found in high amounts in those who were obese, or [...]]]>
Obesity is a well known risk factor for heart disease, which in itself is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. It is also well known that eating healthier and staying active are vital to preventing or delaying the onset of obesity and diabetes. However, a study recently published in the journal?Diabetologia?found that a lack of sleep may also be a big risk factor for obesity and diabetes. Researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center looked at a group of healthy adult men between the ages of 18 and 30 years. In one-half of the study, the men slept for four nights at eight hours a night, while they only slept for about four hours a night in the other half of the study. When the men only had about four hours of sleep a night, they had higher levels of free fatty acids in their blood than when they had eight hours of sleep. These high levels of free fatty acids stayed high for about five hours in the morning and did not drop until overnight. Researchers say that this increase of free fatty acids in the blood is something that they see often in those at risk [...]]]>
Smoking during pregnancy can have a severe, negative impact on the health of both the mother and her child. Past research has shown that smoking while pregnant raises the baby’s risk of: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Lung problems Birth defects Premature birth Brain problems Infections Low birth weight Obesity Disability A recent study from the University of California, Davis and the Public Health Institute have found that diabetes should be added to that list. Researchers looked at almost 2,000 women whose mothers had seen an OBGYN (gynecologist) through the Kaiser Permanente Foundation Health Plan between 1959 and 1967. They found that those who had mothers who smoked while pregnant with them were two to three times more likely to have diabetes as adults. The study also showed that there was a higher diabetes risk among the women whose fathers had smoked while they were in utero, but the researchers are not sure exactly how high the risk was. Surprisingly, this risk was higher whether the women were normal weight, overweight, or obese. This means that if your parents smoked during your childhood and/or while you were in utero, it does not matter if you are at a normal [...]]]>
Intensive care for type 1 diabetes may lead to longer life Caring for diabetes can be a daily challenge. No matter what kind of diabetes you have, you have to watch what you eat, get regular exercise, take medicines as prescribed, and get regular checkups with your healthcare providers. Now, a new study published in JAMA has shown that there is another way to extend your life if you have type 1 diabetes. People who had an average of 6.5 years of intensive therapy when they were first diagnosed with the condition were found to live slightly longer than those who did not. While heart disease, cancer and serious complications are always big risks for people with diabetes, those who had this type of treatment were less likely to die from all of these things. So, what is intensive diabetes therapy? For most people, it means working closely with healthcare providers to get their blood glucose levels as close to non-diabetic levels as possible, in a short amount of time. This usually means a higher than average dose of diabetes medicines like metformin, and lifestyle changes like a balanced meal plan and more exercise. New tattoo may help you [...]]]>
This week in Diabetes news: Sleep Apnea and Kidney Function, Meal Plans, Antibiotic Use During Pregnancy, Kids' Healthy Habits, Diabetes costs. Read on.]]>
Managing your diabetes is hard work. Something that many people do not like doing is checking their blood glucose. The reason is simple—you have to prick your finger with a needle, often many times each day. Is there a better, easier way? For now, unfortunately, the answer is “no,” but don’t give up hope, because scientists are working a new method for checking your blood glucose that does not involve a needle. This new method, which is currently being developed, would allow you to check your glucose simply by blowing into a machine that you can hold in your hand. This machine is called a “breathalyzer.” You may have heard of this kind of device, as many police departments use a breathalyzer to check the blood alcohol level of drivers. It works the same way, but it checks for something different. How Does This Machine Work? When you check your blood glucose using a drop of blood from your fingertip, your current testing machine directly measures the amount of glucose in your blood. The breath-testing machine works a little differently. It measures the amount of a chemical called “acetone” in the air you exhale. What is Acetone? Acetone is produced [...]]]>
It may come as no surprise to you to learn that overweight, obesity, and diabetes are some of the most common medical problems found in adults today. Part of what is so alarming about these diseases is that they put you at risk for a variety of other health problems, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart attacks.]]>
For over 40 years, I have watched diabetes education grow and change in the United States. Quality education has really made a difference in the lives of people with diabetes. I tell my own patients that my job is to give them all the information they need to decide what they are willing and able to do to live better.]]>