I didn’t know squat about the benefits and overall happiness a healthy lifestyle would lead to. I was perfectly content eating frozen pizza, smoking cigarettes, and binge drinking on a regular basis. After I was diagnosed with diabetes, I had a lengthy discussion with my doctor that resulted in an epiphany, “Everything I love is killing me!”

First, we’ll define what I mean by healthy lifestyle. When I asked the question, “What is a healthy lifestyle?” the common answer seemed to be, “Don’t smoke, don’t drink, eat only vegetables and protein, and make sure to exercise every day.”

My first thought was, “You can give that crap right back to the birds.” I was 21, loved to party, and absolutely chock full of testosterone.

The ideas, practices, and benefits a healthy lifestyle provided sounded great for managing my diabetes, but I sure didn’t like the idea of my social life falling off the face of the planet. Believing in the power of moderation, I made some compromises with my disease:

1. Smoking

I quit smoking cigarettes and only smoked cigars on special occasions such as bachelor parties, Super Bowls, or the birth of my first child. That last part was a joke. After many years of searching, special occasions are the only reason I can find to put nicotine or smoke of any kind in your body.

2. Drinking

For me, this was a big one. I’m not really the type of guy that likes to meet girls at church, and school was not really an option for me, but drinking was all my friends and I did. As a result, drinking alcohol (sadly enough) was a major component of my social life. From that day forward, I laid down some basic rules.

No liquor. Liquor causes severe instability in blood sugar levels, and will cause serious problems. I stick only to beer and wine with a maximum of three drinks. If you monitor your sugar regularly and eat beforehand, you should be able to enjoy a nice night out.

3. Eating

Of the areas available for improvement in my lifestyle, eating was the easiest for me to adapt and overcome. When I learned that protein had a minor effect on my sugar that was good news, any hamburger and steak-loving American would be happy to hear that, but the bad news was that French fries, baked potatoes, and (my favorite) sweet potatoes were off limits. That meant I had to learn to love vegetables.

From that point forward, I began cooking veggies with light butter and cayenne pepper. I know that sounds odd, but I like spicy food. As far as your diet is concerned, for the sake of your happiness, find your favorite spices and seasonings and begin experimenting with healthy foods.

4. Exercise

When it comes to exercising many people (including myself) do not follow through for long enough to see substantial results. Personally, I believe in living an active lifestyle instead of becoming a fitness and free-weight junkie. What worked for me? Basic exercises (lunges, squats, and crunches) in front of the television every morning followed by a 15 minute walk.

Complying with the guidelines I listed above, I’m still able to have a fun, active lifestyle while controlling my diabetes. Finally, I need to say that I’m not a doctor, just a guy with Type 1 Diabetes. The practices I listed worked for me to maintain the young-adult lifestyle that I wanted. You may be different, and understanding your own personality traits is critical to successful moderation and control of your diabetes.

Brandon C. Hall is an online business owner and Type 1 Diabetic who runs many websites. For the latest articles and news related to diabetes and the diabetic lifestyle visit: http://www.diabetic-resources.com

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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.

If you are buying healthy diabetic friendly foods at the grocery store…you’re broke.

What is someone with diabetes supposed to do when they go to the grocery store on a very strict budget? Well, what they might do is start to buy sustenance that is less that diabetic friendly because that’s all they can afford. Not good.

I’m going to give you a few grocery shopping tips that will keep the rising gas prices from raising your blood sugar.

There is no way around the fact that the price of wheat and grains has tripled in the past 10 months. You could say, “ok, I’ll just cut down on the amount of products I buy that contain wheat and grains”. Really? Do you realize just how many products contain these things?

It is being estimated that because just about all of our meat/dairy sources are fed wheat and grains as their primary food source we can expect there to be a huge spike in the cost of 80% of our groceries.

So the end result of our rise in gas prices is that all of the healthy foods that diabetics need in order to maintain control of their blood sugar levels will significantly increase in price.

So keeping that in mind, I’m going to list a few tips and tricks which give some hints on how to save money at the food store on healthy foods:

photo credit: paulancheta

• There is no nutritional difference between brown and white eggs…but white are cheaper
• Instead of buying individual serving sizes of yogurt which can be quite expensive, buy a large container and separate into one cup servings yourself
• Instead of buying canned beans, try buying dry beans as they triple in volume when you cook them. A 1lb bag will yield 6 1cup servings when cooked.
• Stay away from individually priced snacks, a larger container and the do it yourself method will cut down on the cost in the end
• Try to buy boneless cuts of meat since you are paying a price per pound…bones add weight without being edible.
• If fresh fruit is too expensive buy frozen or canned fruit in water. If you can only get fruit packed in syrup all you have to do is rinse it before eating

These are just a few of the many, many ways for you to save money on your next grocery shopping trip. For more ideas like this you can check out a great article on the American Diabetes Association site giving even more money saving ideas.

With the nicer weather coming I recommend buying all of your vegetables from local farms. Not only is the price cheaper but you are also supporting a local farmer and you are also being “green” as you are buying a product that did not need to be shipped by any polluting means such as a diesel truck.

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Lead author, Renee S. Aronsohn, instructor of medicine at the University of Chicago, said that study ‘demonstrates for the first time that there is a clear, graded, inverse relationship between OSA severity and glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes.’

The study also confirmed other reports that undiagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnea is very common among patients with type 2 diabetes, indicating that it is largely unrecognized additional medical risk factor in these patients.

Dr. Aronsohn and colleagues consecutively recruited patients with type 2 diabetes from outpatient clinics to participate in the study.

The participants were interviewed to assess their diabetes history, medical history and medications, and level of physical activity.

Height and weight measurements were also taken, and each participant’s sleep/wake cycles were monitored for five days using wrist actigraphy and self-reported sleep logs.

Finally, participants underwent an overnight polysomnography test for OSA , and glucose control was assessed by obtaining a blood sample for hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) measurement, the main clinical marker of glycemic control in diabetes

In total, 60 patients were included in the study’s final analysis. More than three-quarters (77 percent) of participants had OSA, but only five had been previously evaluated for the disease, and none were undergoing treatment. Of the study sample, 38 percent (23) were classified as having mild OSA, 25 percent (15) had moderate OSA and the 13 percent (8) had severe OSA.

The researchers found that more severe OSA was associated with poorer glucose control, implying a role more severe diabetes with potentially more complications. Also preventing OSA can help with lowering your A1C and improve sex.

Relative to patients without OSA, the presence of mild, moderate or severe OSA significantly increased mean adjusted HbA1c values by 1.49 percent, 1.93 percent, and 3.69 percent respectively.

These effect sizes are comparable to those of widely used hypoglycemic medications, meaning that having OSA may negate the beneficial effects of
anti-diabetic drugs.

“Our findings have important clinical implications as they support the hypothesis that reducing the severity of OSA may improve glycemic control. Thus effective treatment of OSA may represent a novel and non-pharmacologic intervention in the management of type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Aronsohn.

The findings have been published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. (ANI)

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“Pistachio, when eaten with high carbohydrate food items like white bread, may actually slow the absorption of carbohydrates in the body, resulting in a lower than expected blood sugar level,” said a statement on a study conducted by the University of Toronto.

“Therefore, these nuts can help control diabetes in a country like India where 40 million people suffer from the disease. This figure is likely to go up to 80 million by 2025,” the statement added.

Cyril Kendall, lead researcher of the study, said: “Controlling blood glucose level is important for preventing and controlling diabetes. Our preliminary findings demonstrate that suppressing the glycemic (blood sugar) response of high carbohydrate foods may be part of the mechanism by which pistachio contributes to the prevention and control of diabetes.”

The study further found that pistachio helps control the appetite by controlling hunger stimulating hormones – thus improving long-term blood sugar control.

According to an India-US study, there are about 2.98 million people suffering from diabetes in Delhi alone.

Health expert R.R. Kasliwal said: “In the past five decades, the rate of coronary disease among urban population has more than doubled from four to 11 percent. The situation is of concern in India where more and more young people are getting affected by heart diseases.”

“The mono-unsaturated fat in pistachio has been scientifically proven to help lower the bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase the good cholesterol (HDL) which protects the heart,” he added.

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Barbara Oster has had diabetes for 15 years, and her medication wasn’t working so well, reported WBAL-TV in Baltimore.

“It just blows you up, makes you feel like you’re gaining all this weight,” she said.

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved two new diabetes drugs — Byetta and Symlin — that studies have proved help patients control their illness and cut back their eating.

“One of the lovely side effects of both drugs is people tend to lose weight,” said Dr. Paula Yutzy, a diabetes educator at Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center.

Byetta comes from the saliva of a scary-looking lizard — the Gila monster. The drugs mimic the effects of hormones, helping to regulate the disease by controlling liver functions and digestion, as well as making patients feel more full.

Yutzy said she’s glad the medications have reached the public.

“When you have diabetes, you don’t have cruise control, and so you have to monitor your blood sugar, watch what you’re eating, take your medicine — there’s a lot more involved in staying at the right speed,” Yutzy said.

The drugs have to be injected, but Oster said it’s no big deal for most diabetics because the needles are tiny.

“The girls at work, when I stick my fingers, say, ‘OK, let me get out of the room!’ But it doesn’t hurt,” she said.

Patients still have to watch their diet, exercise and monitor their other drugs.

“It has taken a long time to bring this drug to market, but those of us in the diabetes world are very excited about it,” Oster said.

Oster has only been taking Symlin for two weeks, but she said she already feels positive results.

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It’s real easy to overlook the warning signs that your blood sugar levels are not under control unless you stick to a very strict sugar level testing regimen. Like a lot of people, once my blood sugar levels were under control for a long period of time…I kind of slacked off with the frequency of testing my sugar levels.

Complacency is a huge factor in the denial associated with diabetes. Unfortunately I fell into this trap. I didn’t start with regular blood sugar level testing again until I was feeling the side effects of having a high blood sugar level. We all know that having a high blood sugar level for a prolonged period of time will cause diabetic related complications in the future.

So once I got back on track with regular blood sugar level testing I was alarmed to find that I had elevated levels. Just waking up in the morning my sugar level was around 280. That is really high for not having eaten anything since dinner time the evening before.

The Warning Signs Of Elevated Sugar Levels Were There

There are a few telltale signs of elevated sugar levels that you need to be on the look out for. Here is the thing, if you are not actually testing your blood sugar level and seeing that it is raised, some of these warning signs can seem to be due to other factors…at first.

• constantly tired
• body aches especially upon waking
• thirst
• shooting pain in your body
• frequent urination
• feeling confused

Now you may look at these warning signs and say “how did you not make the connection between any of these and diabetes?”. Well, the mind is a powerful thing. Since I was convinced that I was doing all the right things to battle diabetes I guess my mind just wouldn’t allow me to make the connection.

The tiredness and body aches in the morning I blamed on my mattress. Feeling confused went along with being tired. I figured I just wasn’t getting a good nights sleep and so this must be causing the confusion. The thirsty thing…hey it’s summer. Who doesn’t get more thirsty in the summer?

What it boils down to is that if I had stayed on top of my blood sugar level testing I would have known right away that my current diabetes treatment was no longer working.

Byetta Was My Solution

After being seen by my doctor it was decided upon that I would begin taking the Byetta drug to help control my blood sugar level. So, that’s good news right? I can just start a new drug and all will be well. But, what I didn’t realize is that Byetta is taken in the form of an injection. What, what, what?

Is this the beginning of the end for me? Are insulin injections right around the corner? Well, according to my doctor…no. Starting Byetta injections does not mean that I will have to do this for the rest of my life or that soon I will be giving myself insulin injections. It means that for right now, Byetta will be used to help control my blood glucose level. We can revisit my options again in the future.

Daily Injections!!!

In the doctors office I was shown how to properly inject myself in the stomach with Byetta. It didn’t seem like much fun. To stick myself in the stomach two times a day with a needle? I was not feeling good about this.

My doctor explained to me that if I can handle all the pin pricks in the fingers that it takes to test my blood glucose level…this tiny injection would be no big deal. I have to say, I wasn’t buying that right away.

Once I actually injected myself with Byetta I realized that it isn’t painful at all and it is something that I could handle doing to myself. After just one injection it was apparent that Byetta was working to lower my blood glucose level.

It has been one week since beginning Byetta and I have not had any raised blood sugar levels. Every time I test my blood sugar level it is always within the normal range. So for now…Byetta is working to control my diabetes.

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Hypoglycemia, which most diabetics already know, is when your blood sugar level drops down to an unsafe level.

The problem is, how is someone going to tell if you are experiencing hypoglycemia or if you are just drunk? Many of the early warning signs of hypoglycemia are mimicked by alcohol. Your friends may not seek help for you until you lose consciousness and maybe not even at that point. Come on, you’ve never seen anybody pass out drunk? Sometimes beer and diabetes don’t mix.

Another problem with a Diabetic consuming alcohol is that if done on a regular basis it can cause you to gain weight. Gaining weight while battling diabetes is pretty much the opposite of what you need to be doing. Weight gain is going to cause a diabetic to lose control over their disease.

Let’s not forget that when you are drunk your judgment could become impaired. This impaired judgment could lead to you eating a whole bunch of things you shouldn’t be eating. Oh, I don’t know, say you’re out on the town and before you know it…last call. Next thing you know you are stumbling into a sub shop that’s open late and stuffing your face with a foot long sub. Not good.

Moderation, awareness and good judgment are key when a diabetic is consuming alcohol. It’s good to remember that just because you may be out having a grand old time doesn’t mean that you are taking a vacation from your diabetes.

You still need to be checking your blood sugar levels and being very aware of any early signs that something is not right.

As for the moderation piece, experts consider a sensible drinking limit to be about 3 alcoholic drinks per day. So 21 per week. Here’s my question: Can you save up all of your daily drinks for consumption on Saturday night? Joking…kind of.

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A safe range being between 4.5 – 6.5 mg/dl. This is the reading you a looking for upon waking. It is known as your fasting blood sugar level. Having a reading slightly above these figures is not going to kill you but it is a good indication that something is not quite right with your blood sugar control system. Natural Foods is a great way to keep this number low for you in the morning.  For more info on diet, exercise and the reversal of type 2 diabetes see what Dave has to say.

What are the three steps to lowering your blood sugar and reversing type 2 diabetes?

1. Diet This is the daddy of the bunch, your diet is above all else your medicine, prevention, cure and life enhancing all in one magic potion. Never underestimate diet. Sticking to a diet rich in natural unprocessed foods. Dark green veg, healthy lean protein, healthy un altered vegetable oils (cold pressed if available), all low glycemic foods.
2. Restrict Carbohydrates. There is much controversy over the low carb lifestyle but what the opposing forces fail to mention, is that your body is primarily geared up to run without carbs, if you are not sure about this just look up any good scientific source on the process known as gluconeogenesis. It will explain how your body quite literally creates its own energy in the absence of carbohydrate.
3. Exercise. Never underestimate the profound effect, twenty minutes walking will do for you three or four times a week. Exercise helps remove excess blood sugar from your system and not only burns it up as energy but also stores it a stable long chain glucose molecules known as glycogen, this stuff is called upon as back up when in times of increased physical activity and stress.

The Glycemic index (also glycaemic index) or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates that break down rapidly during digestion releasing glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI. For most people, foods with a low GI have significant health benefits.

High Glycemic Index Foods Are Linked to Health Problems

What researchers have learned is that high glycemic index foods generally make blood glucose levels higher. In addition, people who eat a lot of high glycemic index foods tend to have greater levels of body fat, as measured by the body mass index (BMI). High BMIs are linked to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

High glycemic index foods include many carbohydrates such as these:

• Bread
• Pasta
• Rice
• Cereal
• Baked goods

Low Glycemic Index Foods Are Healthier Choices

Low glycemic index foods generally have less of an impact on blood glucose levels. People who eat a lot of low glycemic index foods tend to have lower total body fat levels.

Low glycemic index foods include these:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Whole grains
• Legumes

For a more comprehensive list of glycemic foods and additional reading please check out David Mendosa’s Glycemic Index article.

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Inner City Diabetes Program

The Vine Hill Community Clinic serves an inner-city population in Nashville, Tennessee. Approximately 90% of the clinic’s patients are on a state form of Medicaid. Like many primary care clinics in the U.S., Vine Hill provides outpatient care to many patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is the leading cause of adult blindness, kidney disease, and amputation. Although almost 18 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, less than optimal care is often provided, particularly in at-risk communities. Improving care for these patients is vital because many complications may be helped or avoided with good care and behavioral changes.

Recognizing the urgent need for improved diabetes care, the Vine Hill clinic contracted with LifeWings in 2004 to provide what is considered to be a very promising form of training for the healthcare industry: Crew Resource Management (CRM) based training. CRM is a team based approach to service delivery not usually found in the medical arena. CRM was developed in the 1990s to reduce the human error component of aviation accidents. CRM produces an inclusive, organized, collaborative environment in which potentially high-risk decisions can be made with the most possible information and high degrees of accountability and flexibility. CRM enables teams to make better decisions and have the best chance of avoiding negative outcomes. The methodology has worked remarkably in aviation, arguably the safest high consequence industry, resulting in no U.S. passenger deaths in three years.

The Vine Hill Community Clinic initiative included a formal study conducted on visits from 619 type 2 diabetes patients over a thirteen-month period. The conclusions of the study state that the CRM training was instrumental in improving the diabetes care process and the patient outcomes. The number of patients who met the recommended levels for blood pressure, amputation risk, body weight, and other factors improved after receiving care from the CRM trained staff. Further benefits to the clinic include improved organization of diabetes care team, decreased patient visit time, and shorter orientation periods for new staff: all very important cost-saving measures for the severely under-funded public health sector. Although follow-up training is important to the continued success, the improvements from this training are viewed as significant to this clinic.

The success of this effort, and others like it, are not going unnoticed by the medical community. With persistent press about the alarming number of preventable, error-induced deaths in the U.S., medical providers are desperately looking for innovative ways to improve patient care. Many medical care providers never receive formal training on teamwork, situational awareness, or conflict management. Critical communication skills that could save lives are often not taught, monitored, or measured. Protocols and checklists are often not a part of typical medical care delivery, in the clinic or in the operating room. Contrast this with the systematic, documented, and mandatory recurring training received by those in the aviation community and it is not hard to see why the numbers are materially better. CRM ensures all members of a crew flying an aircraft know their responsibilities, protocols, and obligation to speak up if they feel something is not safe. The medical community is learning that applying these principles to healthcare delivery can provide measurable improvements for their patients.

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Which Glucometer is Best?

1. Does the meter require a test strip or a control solution that you need to use when checking for accuracy?

2. Do you need the Glucose Meter to be small enough to fit inside a purse or briefcase?

3. What does cleaning the Glucose Meter entail?

4. Do you need a meter that allows you to do a AC1 check at home? Some don’t have that feature.

5. Would you prefer a Glucose Meter that uses test strips or do you find that cartridges are easier?

6. The smaller the amount of blood the meter requires the better so you definitely want to know what size blood sample the meter requires to take an accurate reading.

7. The price is a huge factor when choosing a meter. If you are the kind of person that misplaces or has a tendency to break glucose meters and possibly will have to replace it then a meter on the cheaper side would be better for you.

8. The test strips or cartridges definitely should be factored into the cost. You may get the cheapest meter available just to find out that the strips that it requires are the most expensive on the market.

9. Is any of the cost for the Glucose Meter or the test supplies covered by your health insurance? If so, go out and get the most expensive Meter that your heart desires.

10. Are you kind of a computer geek and want to be able to download your results to your computer? This is a very good way to track your levels.

11. Are you tired of having your fingers pricked? You may want to check out the Glucose Meters that use alternative site testing.

12. Do you ever need to check your levels in the middle of the night? If so you could get a Glucose Meter that glows in the dark.

13. Are you already carrying way to many gadgets on your person and would love to streamline? Now available is a Glucose Meter and Personal Digital Assistant in one. Pretty cool huh?

So as you see there are many things to consider before running out and getting a new Glucose Meter test kit. Like I said, I opt for all the bells and whistles on mine because I am a nerd and need to have the latest and greatest. No matter what your budget or your preferences there is a Glucose Meter out there that will be perfect for you.

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