Battle Diabetes Blog

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We all remember the old schoolhouse rock song that says knowledge is power, but have you ever really thought about what benefits can be reaped by having as much diabetes knowledge as possible?

In an age when information is right at our fingertips you would think that upping our diabetes knowledge would be a simple thing, and it is… if you find diabetes information that is accurate and easy to access. Here in lies the challenge.

I don’t interact with a whole lot of diabetics. There someone in my neighborhood that I’ve talked about it one time with. There’s Bernard, who I work with, who is a big hero when it comes to dealing with work/life/family/exercise and balancing it all as a type 1. And there’s a few online communities that I read and contribute to such as Tudiabetes and Quality Health.

I have actually found a site called QualityHealth which provides you with accurate diabetes information that is easy to access. On top of just upping your diabetes knowledge at QualityHealth you will be given access to some great discount diabetic supplies.

So in this case diabetes knowledge is power…and money saved on discount diabetic supplies. Keep reading, I’ll let you know how QualityHealth works. Continue Reading When Learning About Diabetes, Knowledge Is Power

Rising blood sugar levels are not usually associated with rising gas prices or a recession but if you take a look at the effect that the inflation of gas prices is having on our food prices, I think you’ll agree that there is a direct connection between rising gas prices raising your blood sugar.

If you know anything at all about Diabetes care you know the importance of eating a healthy diabetic friendly diet.

photo credit: size8jeans

In the same token, if you know about eating healthy diabetic friendly foods you must be buying healthy diabetic friendly foods at the grocery store. Continue Reading Warning: Rising Gas Prices May Raise Your Blood Sugar

Diabetic Neuropathy can go undetected in Diabetics and therefor the area is not taken care of the way that it needs to be once neuropathy sets in. That is why IPN products such as Neuropad is giving patient’s a needed heads up in the detection of neuropathy.

Along with countless side effects from Diabetes, complications with the foot can be debilitating. Of the world’s entire amputation rate, complications from diabetes are responsible for 25% of the amputations. This breaks down to roughly every thirty seconds someone is losing a limb to diabetes.

How will an Indicator Plaster Neuropad, or IPN, change the way we detect Diabetic Neuropathy in the future?

Continue Reading Indicator Plaster Neuropad Is Key In Early Diabetic Neuropathy Detection

Listen, we would all like to say that we are always on point when it comes to maintaining diabetes health. But in reality, it is very common for people to fall of track from time to time.In this article we are going to look at the most common reason that people fall behind in their diabetes diligence and what you can do TODAY to get back on track with your diabetes care.The most common reason that people neglect their diabetes health is due to…DENIAL. Now you may not consider yourself to be a person that lives in denial. Fine. You also may not consider your lack of diligence towards your diabetes care as a sign of denial. Fine. Continue Reading Getting Back On Track With Your Diabetes Care

And they taste pretty good too!

In an age of pharmaceuticals we tend to forget that there are things like herbal teas that can help improve our diabetes.

Herbal teas are gaining popularity in the United States and this could be due to the infusion of Western and Eastern Medicine techniques being blended together more often.

So what type of herbs are in herbal teas for diabetes control? There are a few but I’m going to give you the two most popularly utilized herbal teas for diabetes control. Continue Reading Two Herbal Teas That Can Help Lower Blood Sugar

It may come as quite a shock to those type 2 diabetics who regularly consume caffeine to hear that studies are now showing that caffeine raises blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetics.

I’m a regular diet coke drinker and I thought that because there is no sugar in diet coke it was safe for me to drink regularly…I was wrong.

The American Diabetes Association announced the findings of a Duke University study which showed that caffeine raised the blood glucose levels of type 2 diabetics throughout the day and especially after meals. But I thought caffeine was ok for diabetics? Continue Reading Caffeine Raises Blood Sugar Levels In Type 2 Diabetics

With all the talk lately about both professional athletes and celebrities who are being named as users of the human growth hormone (HGH), I thought it would be a good idea to talk about the findings which show that human growth hormone causes diabetes.

Studies are showing that excess levels of HGH can cause some pretty serious health problems. Human Growth Hormone effects many areas of the body which includes effecting the maintenance and function of pancreatic islets. So does this mean that everyone who has used HGH will develop diabetes? Coach Wade Wilson of the Dallas Cowboys did. Continue Reading Human Growth Hormone Can Cause Diabetes

The following is a sponsored post

For those of us who understand what it is to live with Diabetes, you understand the importance of finding accurate, up to date information as well as receiving support and understanding. This is what makes the Diabetes portal, Diabetic Live, such an outstanding tool for diabetics.

What sets Diabetic Live apart from a lot of the other informational Diabetes sites is that along with getting some really useful diabetes information you are actually able to create your own blog on their site. What this will let you do is share your experiences, struggles, success, ups and downs with others who are also living with diabetes.

Being able to share and also identify with others who are sharing their views about living with diabetes is really a crucial part to successfully dealing with diabetes. We all know that support is key in our fight against diabetes.

Along with the support there is a great Diabetes 101 section on Diabetic Live which is filled with useful articles that deal with everyday situations that diabetics may find themselves in such as traveling, fighting the common cold, proper foot care and dental hygiene. We all know that there are a lot of things that diabetics need to take into consideration in our daily lives and the Diabetes 101 section of the site will make that easier.

Diabetic Live was started in 2006 by Christopher Berry. Christopher is a 33 year old Type 1 diabetic. He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the very young age of 3, so you can imagine the experience and know how he is able to offer to others who are also living with diabetes.

Here at Battle Diabetes we feel strongly that it’s one thing to be educated about Diabetes but it’s a whole other thing to actually live with diabetes. The best type of support and advice comes from those who live it and at Diabetic Live you can be sure that you are getting just that.

Actually Scientific America has a lot to say about diabetes. So much so that they just released a Scientific America Special Report: Managing Diabetes.

This Scientific America Special Report focuses on much more than just managing diabetes. They have gone into pretty good detail about every aspect of diabetes. The Scientific America Special Report: Managing Diabetes would be a perfect article for someone who needs a total overview of diabetes which includes the causes and the treatments.

Some of the more alarming facts in the Scientific America Special Report: Managing Diabetes are that in 2005 roughly 7 percent of the American Population had diabetes. That would be about 20.9 million people. Out of that 20.9 million people 6.2 million people were unaware that they even had diabetes.
Continue Reading 21 Million Americans Have Diabetes. 6 Million Don’t Know It.

I got this from a reader and wanted to see if anyone had any specific help for him. I don’t have any experience with Insulin so I’ll give it to people who do:

Hi there Ken,

I am a diabetic aged 56 years and am using 70%/30% Humulin Insulin since about 9 years. Everything was all right and I never had any symptom of Hyperglycemia, hence presumed that my sugar levels were under control. Therefore, I tested my blood very seldom. My work involves long hours of sitting before computer.

Since about two weeks my feet started getting swollen at the end of the day and became normal again in the morning. But the most alarming factor is that my left ankle joint is getting stiff , painful and difficult to move. I have started testing my sugar after the onset of this condition and it is always found to be around 250. I have increased my insulin dose and have even stared taking it three times a day instead of previous two times (morning and evening).

But it has not worked.

The sugar level does not come down. In the morning, of course, it is 120 to 130. I am very careful in my diet strictly avoiding ANY sweet items.

All my other body systems are working absolutely normal. I shall be highly grateful for any advice please.

Best regards,

Asghar

The perfect Christmas gift for a Diabetic would be one that is both useful to the Diabetic and raises money for diabetes research and awareness.

Don’t have any diabetic friendly gift ideas? No worries. I have put together some Christmas Gift Ideas for Diabetics that should make any Diabetic on your list happy.

What’s great is that not all the gifts are diabetes themed but all are included in the American Diabetes Gift of Hope program meaning partial proceeds go towards Diabetes research and awareness. What better Christmas gift could a diabetic receive than support for finding a cure for diabetes? Continue Reading The Perfect Christmas Gift for Diabetics

Since November is American Diabetes Month, the media is spotlighting celebrities with Diabetes in an attempt to show that people, no matter the color, shape or economical status are being affected by diabetes.

ABC News: Stars Battling Diabetes is piece on the ABC News site which spotlights 14 celebrities throughout history which have battled diabetes. The site gives a picture of the celebrity along with a brief history of when they were diagnosed with diabetes.

One celebrity’s story really popped out from the rest… this celebrity claims to have cured type 1 diabetes. Continue Reading Which Celebrity Claims to Have Cured Type 1 Diabetes?

Thanksgiving is one of the more challenging holidays for those of us with diabetes. The reason? The entire holiday revolves around food. Let’s face it, you gather with family and friends on this day to celebrate and have a Thanksgiving feast.

As we have come to accept, there is no taking a vacation from Diabetes. It’s not like you are on a special diet to lose some pounds and can choose to make Thanksgiving your cheating day…it doesn’t work like that.

As a diabetic on Thanksgiving you are left with a couple of choices:

1. You can either stay home and not celebrate with your family and loves ones
2. Or you can make sure that you have a game plan for healthy diabetic eating before you sit down for your meal.

If you choose the first option, be prepared to never hear the end of the “time you decided not to go to Thanksgiving dinner”. If you choose the second option…keep reading. Continue Reading See How Easily You Can Have a Diabetes Friendly Thanksgiving

Just when you thought Diabetes was being left out of the disease awareness month trend comes American Diabetes Month. The American Diabetes Association has declared that November is American Diabetes Month. Diabetes is getting a full five week month to boot…not one of these cheesy four week months.

The American Diabetes Association is sponsoring this American Diabetes Month to shine the spotlight on what is said to be the fastest growing healthcare crisis of the 21st century. There are approximately 75 million Americans who are either at risk for type 2 diabetes or who currently have diabetes. But what can we expect out of the American Diabetes Month? Continue Reading November Is American Diabetes Month

If you’re sick and tired of staring at your old glucometer, then there’s something new out there that might interest you. Check out Stick Me Designs’ blood sugar meter cases. Here’s a note and some history on how Rickina Velte came up with the idea.

After I became pregnant with my second son Ace, I was diagnosed with GD. I went through the depression, the anger and the denial and I couldn’t understand why this was happening to me. Thankfully with the support of online ‘friends’ and my family I was able to channel all of those feelings into taking care of myself and my son, and into something more creative. I saw my glucose meter bag as a way to do this. Continue Reading Change Your Old Blood Sugar Meter to Something Stylish