The benefits of exercise and healthy eating constantly reinforce each other.

First of all, good blood flow to the penis is essential for erections. High levels of cholesterol and fat in your bloodstream leave deposits in the walls of your blood vessels. This leads to atherosclerosis and contributes to high blood pressure, both of which can damage blood vessels and reduce blood flow. Exercise helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure. A diet low in fat and cholesterol also helps to prevent and reverse the buildup of fatty deposits in blood vessels.

Second, a high blood sugar level damages nerves as well as the blood vessels that are involved in getting an erection. A good diet and the right amount of exercise help keep your blood sugar level under control. Studies show that people who exercise are less likely to get diabetes, and people with diabetes who exercise have better control of their blood sugar levels. Exercise helps you use sugar more easily. That leaves less sugar in the blood.

Eating a diet low in calories — and burning calories through exercise helps you tone your body and lose weight. Studies have linked erectile dysfunction and being overweight. Many other studies have shown that exercise fights depression, which also has a major impact on sexual function. With a leaner, toned body and a better sense of well-being and self-esteem, you’re more likely to feel sexy and have normal erections.

But there’s a lot of confusing information out there. Maybe you’re wondering exactly what you should eat and what kind of exercise to choose.

Designing a Sexy Plate

For someone with diabetes, it’s important to have a meal plan approved by your doctor and a registered dietitian who is trained in diabetes nutrition.

In general, though, there are simple ways to make sure you’re eating the right things at each meal.

One good guideline to use is the food pyramid. It tells you how much of various foods should be in your diet. The things you should eat most are at the bottom and those that should be the least part of your diet are at the top. According to the food pyramid, every day you should eat:

* 2 cups of a variety of fruit
* 2.5 cups of richly colored vegetables
* 3 ounces of whole grains like whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, or brown rice
* Up to 3 ounces of refined grains like pasta, white rice, or white bread
* 3 servings of dairy foods (A serving = 1 cup of low-fat milk or yogurt, 1.5 ounces of cheese)
* 5 ounces of meat, fish, eggs, or legumes for protein
* 5 teaspoons of oils (including the oil found in nuts and fish)
* 130 to 295 discretionary calories such as sweets (about 1 cookie or cup of ice cream)

(*Note: These amounts are recommended for the average adult woman. Men can consume about one ounce more in each category.)

The diabetes “exchange” system is another way of figuring out how much of what foods to eat. An exchange list shows what portion size of a given food gives you the same amount of calories and nutrients. For example, one medium-sized peach is equivalent to 12 large cherries.

The American Diabetes Association’s “Rate Your Plate” guide is a different way to look at what you’re eating. Following this guide, you divide your plate into imaginary quarters. One-quarter should contain starches, like potatoes or rice. One-quarter should contain meat. One half should contain vegetables.

Work Out Your Workout

When it comes to exercise, you don’t have to follow any “fad” workouts. Just find a way to get your body moving and your heart rate up. Here is the recommendation of the CDC:

* 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week; or
* 20 minutes of vigorous exercise three days a week.

But what do “moderate” and “vigorous” actually mean? You can tell how intense the activity you’re doing is by measuring your heart rate while you’re doing it.

First, figure out what your maximum heart rate is. That’s the number 220 minus your age. If you’re 40, your max heart rate is 180.

To measure your heart rate while exercising, pause briefly to take your pulse. Place your middle and index fingers on the artery of your neck or wrist where you can feel your pulse. Using a watch with a second hand, count the number of pulses, or beats, in 60 seconds. That’s your heart rate. (If you’d rather take less time to do it, you can count the number of beats in 30 seconds and multiply by two.)

When you’re doing moderate exercise, your heart rate will be 50% to 70% of your maximum heart rate — which is based on a person’s age. If your max heart rate is 180, your goal for moderate exercise is to get your heart rate up to 90 to 126 beats per minute (bpm).

Here’s that equation:

220 – age = max heart rate

180 x .50 (50%) = 90 bpm
180 x .70 (70%) = 126 bpm

For vigorous exercise, figure it the same way, but instead of 50% to 70% of your max heart rate, the range is 70% to 85%.

180 x .70 (70%) = 126 bpm
180 x .85 (85%) = 153 bpm

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Source: LifeScan, Inc.

· OneTouch® Ultra® Test Strips – Genuine(L) Counterfeit®
· Click Here to Download Image

Performance testing of the counterfeit test strips obtained by LifeScan to date shows erratic test results that do not meet LifeScan’s performance specifications. It is unknown how counterfeit test strips which may be in the marketplace will perform. LifeScan cannot ensure the accuracy and reliability of blood glucose test results obtained from test strips it did not manufacture. Patients should discontinue use of these counterfeit test strips and replace them immediately. Patients should also contact their physician to assess potential treatment implications. Use of these counterfeit test strips could result in inaccurate test results that may lead to improper treatment. For example, insulin treatment based on inaccurate blood glucose results could result in serious injury or death.

The outer cartons of the recently discovered counterfeit test strips have all of the following characteristics:

OneTouch Ultra Test Strips
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061013/NYF098-a )
— Multiple Languages-English and French text on the outer carton;
— Lot Number 2691191 (located on outer carton and vial); and
— Limited to 50-Count OneTouch Ultra Test Strip packages.

OneTouch (Basic/Profile) Test Strips
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061013/NYF098-b )
— Multiple Languages-English, Greek and Portuguese text on the outer
carton;
— Lot Numbers 272894A, 2619932 or 2606340 (located on outer carton
and vial); and
— Limited to 50-Count OneTouch (Basic/Profile) Test Strip packages.

A detailed description of this issue, specific information for merchants, and periodic updates are available at www.GenuineOneTouch.com.

Upon identifying these incidents, LifeScan immediately notified the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is vigorously pursuing legal actions. The company is also notifying wholesalers, distributors, retailers and pharmacists so that they can quickly identify and remove the counterfeit test strips from the market. Any merchant or patient who discovers counterfeit products is encouraged to report their finding by calling LifeScan at 1-866-621-4855. In addition, any patient or healthcare professional that discovers counterfeit products should file a report with FDA’s MedWatch program by visiting: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/What.htm or calling 1-800- FDA-1088.

LifeScan, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, and a leading maker of blood glucose monitoring products, is dedicated to creating a world without limits for people with diabetes. For healthcare professional resources, and information on diabetes care and LifeScan products and services, visit www.LifeScan.com.

(1) The counterfeit OneTouch Ultra Test Strips are intended for use with
the OneTouch® Ultra®, OneTouch® Ultra® 2, OneTouch®
UltraSmart®, and OneTouch® UltraMini(TM) Blood Glucose Monitoring
Systems.
The counterfeit OneTouch (Basic/Profile)Test Strips are intended for
use with the OneTouch® Basic®, OneTouch® Profile® and
OneTouch® II Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems.

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Taking on the role of spokeswoman for the BYETTA Let’s Talk Campaign, Delta Burke has been battling her own diabetes and wants to share the importance of a healthier more active lifestyle.

If you or someone you are caring for is battling diabetes and are in the New York area please stop by the BYETTA Let’s Talk Campaign’s booth where you can speak with Virgina Valentine, see Chef Smith cook some tasty and health meals and also talk to Nikki Kimbrough of Bally Total Fitness. Keep in mind when battling type 2 diabetes, knowledge is power.

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“If your blood pressure (BP) is 136/88 and you’re a man with a waist over 40 (inches) or a woman with a waist over 35 (inches), it spells trouble,” said Dale J. Hamilton, diabetes clinical services chief at The Methodist Hospital in Houston.

“These are two of the five symptoms of metabolic syndrome, a problem that can lead to type 2 diabetes. All you need is three to begin seeing increased atherosclerosis.”

High triglyceride levels over 150, insulin resistance and a low LDL (good cholesterol) are factors of metabolic syndrome, along with high BP and central obesity. This condition afflicts 47 million Americans, says American Heart Association.

Many of them will end up with type 2 diabetes, which can eventually lead to coronary artery disease and stroke. “Small changes every day can help curb big problems later on,” said Hamilton.

“Losing five to 10 pounds will help lower blood pressure. Reducing saturated fats, carbohydrates, and eating about two-thirds the amount you eat now will help you lose weight around the middle. Walk 45 minutes a day instead of 30,” added Hamilton.

Some experts believe replacing sugar with high fructose corn syrup in processed foods in the US and Canada in the 1990s has played a role in the rise of type 2 diabetes cases. It’s all leading to diabetes denial.

High fructose corn syrup is made by changing the sugar in corn starch to fructose, another form of sugar. It has become popular because it extends the shelf life of processed foods and is cheaper than sugar. It has also become a popular ingredient in many sodas and fruit-flavoured drinks.

“The problem with high fructose corn syrup is that it promotes central obesity,” Hamilton said, according to a Methodist Hospital release.

“Another problem with it is that it fools your body into thinking you are hungry. I don’t think you need to eliminate it from your diet, you just need to be aware of how much of it you are consuming on a daily basis because too much can lead to serious weight gain.”

Keep in mind, he said, obstructive sleep apnea and diabetes often go untreated because there are few or no symptoms until it is too late.

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Upon visiting the BYETTA Let’s Talk booth at the festival you will be able to speak to Delta Burke who is currently the spokeswoman for the Let’s Talk Campaign. She along with Virginia Valentine, Chef Smith and Nikki Kimbrough of Bally Total Fitness, are trying to spread the word on the importance of a healthier more active lifestyle when battling diabetes.

If you suffer from diabetes or are the caretaker of someone with diabetes and are in the Atlanta area please stop by and see what the BYETTA Let’s Talk Campaign has to say. After all, knowledge is power.

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Kids with type 2 diabetes

Type II diabetes, in the past, was relegated to the adult population. However, in the new era of ever rising cases of childhood obesity and heart disease, the term adult onset diabetes is quickly becoming a misnomer. The number of children that are presenting to doctors with this disease is rising at epidemic rates.

Unlike Type I diabetes, where there is little to no insulin being produced by the beta cells of the pancreas, in Type II diabetes there is plenty of insulin. The problem lies in the fact that the cells of the body no longer respond to the insulin. The normal response is to cause gates in the cell membranes to open and letting the sugar in from the blood stream. Since this is not occurring, the sugar levels in the blood remain extremely high and the cells are deprived of the necessary energy that they would normally derive from the sugar.

Additionally, as Type II diabetes is sometimes not diagnosed for many years, the pancreas will sometimes stop producing insulin all together since the body sees no need to make something that can’t be used.

Many professionals are prescribing changes in diet and increased activity levels as the medicine needed to help reverse some of the non-responsiveness of the cells to insulin. Making lifestyle changes can dramatically improve the overall health of the patient as well. To augment adjustments in nutrition and exercise, doctors can also prescribe diabetes medication which assists to increase the responsiveness of the cells to the insulin that the body may still be producing.

If left untreated, Type II diabetes can eventually decrease the quality of life and life span of the patient.

Rachel Dayer runs and operates http://www.mustask.com, a health related portal.

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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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At the annual American Diabetes Association conference this week, researchers presented the findings of a 3 year 200 person study that was conducted on Byetta. The findings showed that Byetta causes weight loss as well as control of diabetes.

“Well, it’s weird. You have to wonder how you can go from Gila monster saliva to something that works in humans,” said Sandra Leal, a pharmacist and diabetes expert at El Rio Community Health Center.
The average weight loss was described as modest only totaling about 11 pounds per patient but most of the weight loss occurred in the first year which is great. Since obesity and type 2 diabetes often go hand in hand additional weight loss is a definite benefit to any patient taking Byetta.

The weight loss caused by Byetta can be contributed to two major factors. The first being that Byetta slows the rate at which the stomach empties causing the patient to feel satisfied longer after each meal. The second factor is that it interacts with the part of the brain that is responsible for the sensation of being full. Both of those things would aide in a patient trying to lose weight.

As most of us may know, diet and exercise are both very important in controlling diabetes. If you are on a diabetes friendly diet and are getting your exercise you are doing your part in the battle against diabetes and you should be very proud of yourself.

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According to Merk, the FDA approved Janumet based on clinical studies showing that Janumet packs a punch equivalent to taking both Januvia and Metformin together. Januvia and Metformin are commonly both prescribed to a type 2 diabetes patient who is having poor results from taking just one or the other. By taking one Janumet you are receiving the benefits of combining Metformin and Januvia in one convenient pill and also cutting down on your out of pocket co-pay costs.

Both Janumet and Januvia represent a new class of diabetes medicines called DPP-4 which work by enhancing the body’s ability to produce insulin while also lowering elevated glucose levels. Januvia paired with Metformin is said to target all of the causes of type 2 diabetes. Janumet now makes this possible in one pill.

I took a look at the Merk & Co press release which is really informative. It gives information on the clinical trials that led up to FDA approval as well as common side effects, dosing and cost.

It appears that someone who is currently prescribed both Metformin and Januvia are not going to notice any additional health benefits by taking Janumet. What they will notice is that taking one Janumet pill will be more convenient as well as less costly to them. Instead of having to pay two separate co-pays each month they will pay just one.

I think that not only breakthroughs in the effectiveness of type 2 diabetes medication is important but also making medication and testing more convenient. People are more likely to stay on top of medication that is easier to take. They are also more likely to keep up with the testing of glucose levels now that their are more convenient methods to this such as electronic blood glucose monitors.

Remember no matter how convenient the testing supplies get and how good the medication gets, you can’t rely on these things along to battle diabetes. You must change over to a healthier lifestyle consisting of a good diet and plenty of exercise. Good Luck.

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First, let’s briefly cover the basics of diabetes.

Diabetes is Elevated Blood Glucose Levels

Higher than normal level of glucose in the blood is diabetes. Glucose is the main energy source for the brain and nerves and comes from digesting carbohydrates. Because of its importance as an energy source, glucose blood level is normally kept within a narrow range.

Two hormones help to keep glucose in this normal range. First, there is insulin. Insulin is released by the pancreas as glucose levels rise after a meal. It promotes the uptake of glucose by muscle cells. Second, is glucogon. This hormone causes the release of glucose out of energy stores during fasting. The insulin to glucogon ratio helps to stabilize the normal levels of blood glucose.

Two Types of Diabetes

In order to have consistently high blood glucose levels either insulin production and/or release from the pancreas is defective or the muscles don’t respond to insulin when it is released.

Juvenile or Type 1 Diabetes – Insulin production is defective. Most often detected early in life. These patients require insulin shots.

Adult Onset or Type 2 Diabetes – The muscles don’t respond to insulin. In this case, glucose stays within the blood and not in the tissues. The early stage is called Insulin Resistance. Type 2 is associated with being overweight or obese.

The Atypical Type of Diabetes – Double Diabetes or Type 3

A young man who has type I diabetes, if he does not follow a proper diabetic diet and an exercise program, could develop type 2 diabetes on top of his type I diagnosis.

This is a fear turned into reality for many type I diabetics and their families. The Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh states that 25% of children with type I diabetes are showing features of type 2. The main feature shared by all of these children…obesity. Dr. Dorothy Becker, a pediatric endocrinologist and leading double-diabetes researcher, feels the numbers will continue to climb.

And an ongoing study to determine the best treatment for children with type 2 diabetes is also uncovering many kids who harbor antibodies that signal they have or are developing the type 1 form.

No matter which type of diabetes came first in a child, it makes treatment that much harder for everyone involved. So what is the best treatment?

Treating Type 3 Diabetes

The best treatment for type 3 diabetes is prevention. Children, with or without diabetes, must exercise. Toning and building muscle tissue is the only effective way to protect against type 3 diabetes.

Strong muscles are metabolic active and able to uptake glucose as expected when insulin is released into the blood. Parents, start a supervised and doctor approved workout program with your children. Something tells me that we may need a strong future.

To Healthy Living!

Michael A. Smith, MD
Chief Medical Consultant
Diet Basics Website

Dr. Smith is the Chief Medical Consultant for the Diet Basics Website, a content rich weight loss site dedicated to the on-line dieter. Please visit his site at Diet Basics.

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