Posts Tagged diabetes
Managing Blood Sugar – The Diabetics Ongoing Struggle
Posted by Maureen in Clinical Tests, Wellness on November 8, 2012
Have you been diagnosed with diabetes? If you are like many diabetics, you are discovering (or have already found) that maintaining a steady blood sugar level is easier said than done. November is American Diabetes Month and worth our attention because this disease is one of the largest health issues our country currently faces. An estimated one in three Americans will develop diabetes by 2050 if we don’t make major changes to our 
lifestyles. If you have already been diagnosed with Type 1 as a child or young adult or Type 2 as an adult, the prevention information isn’t much use to you. I already have it so what do I do now? Your doctor has most likely already discussed diet and exercise with you and, if you are overweight, suggested that you need to lose some. Based on current research studies here are some tips:
- Follow your doctor’s advice and lose some weight. Even though recent studies, specifically one conducted by Look AHEAD subsidized by the National Institutes of Health, are now showing that losing weight may not affect your risk of having a stroke or a heart attack, the benefits to you from even small amounts of weight lose are huge: Improved hemoglobin A1c readings (which look at average blood sugar levels for the past three months), better blood pressure numbers, better fitness and, less medication required to control the diabetes. Overall, losing weight is one of the best things you can do for yourself if you are overweight, whether or not you have diabetes.
- Tight Control: This method as described by the American Diabetes Association is not for everyone and should be followed in conjunction with advice and supervision from your doctor. The intent is to keep your blood sugar levels as close to non-diabetic levels as possible. There are risks of hypoglycemia and weight gain, but this method can prevent or control the onset or progress of complications from diabetes, providing you with additional years of healthy, active life.
- Frequent testing of your blood glucose level. Even if the tight control idea is too much for you, consider testing your blood sugar more often. This is a step in the right direction and, in conjunction with weight loss and exercise, can help you control your blood sugar better by letting you know where you stand before you eat and two hours after eating. Getting a hemoglobin A1c test every few months will also let you know how you are doing and help you make adjustments.
If you are pre-diabetic or obese and worried about the possibility of developing diabetes you may want to consider drinking black tea. Studies are showing a very high correlation between a low incidence of diabetes and the consumption of black tea.
Controlling your diabetes, however you choose to do it, is key to preventing many of the devastating complications of diabetes such as amputations and blindness. There is no doubt that managing your blood sugar is difficult, time consuming and an overall hassle, but the rewards are extremely high.
Written by labtestingnow.com
Does This Mean I Don’t Have to Lose Weight?
Posted by Maureen in Clinical Tests, Wellness on August 10, 2012
An interesting study has been released in the Journal of the American Medical Association showing that obese people who contract diabetes live longer than normal weight people who develop the disease! What’s up with this? So now, if I have diabetes, I don’t have to worry about losing weight? Not so fast. As always, the results aren’t clear cut and the researchers are trying to determine what the results mean for how people with diabetes 
should react. The study followed 2,600 people who developed diabetes during the study. 12% of them were of normal weight. 2.8% of the normal weight participants died during the study while only 1.5% of the obese participants died. The study controlled for age, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking, which are all factors for heart disease. The death rate was twice as high for lean diabetics than for their obese peers. Normally, heart disease is linked to obesity, which is causing some head scratching among the researchers, although this “Obesity Paradox” has been seen in other diseases.
It appears that there may be something about being obese that protects the heart or it could be that those who are of normal weight and develop diabetes have other things going on that causes their higher mortality. The findings apply to a growing segment of the population and will make it more confusing for doctors who are treating the lean diabetes patient. Controlling blood sugar and exercising will still be key for controlling diabetes but losing weight may not be as important. The next step in studies like this may shed more light on how to handle the “Obesity Paradox” as some researchers have dubbed it. Doctors will want to watch normal weight people who contract diabetes more carefully as they are at a higher risk of death, but what should they tell them that they haven’t already been telling diabetic patients? If you have diabetes, you’ll want to follow this study and others like it carefully, along with all the other monitoring of blood sugar, cholesterol, and weight that you are already tracking.
Written by www.labtestingnow.com
Saving Your Life: Diabetes Prevention
Posted by Maureen in Clinical Tests, Wellness on November 8, 2011
Do you know anyone who has diabetes? Does it seem like a minor hassle, not a big deal to watch your sugar intake? Children who need to prick their fingers every day and watch every bite they take might make us think about the high price paid by those with diabetes. This high price is now also paid by adults who have developed diabetes type 2. But, if they had thought about it before blowing off exercise and gaining weight, would it have made a difference in their lifestyle? I would like to think so. And so would the American Diabetes Association. The ADA’s Diabetes 
Awareness Month this year is focusing on how individuals can make a difference, both in their own lives and in their communities. Their “Stop Diabetes” campaign includes taking a pledge to stop diabetes in your own life and a test on Facebook to determine your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Most of us assume that if we don’t have it we don’t have to worry about diabetes but there may be some facts that you didn’t know about diabetes:
- Every 17 seconds someone is diagnosed with diabetes.
- Diabetes costs $174 million per year in the US.
- 1 in 3 Americans will have diabetes by the year 2050 unless we all take action to stop diabetes.
Diabetes isn’t just the well known “prick your finger and inject yourself with insulin” disease. It is the leading cause of kidney failure and blindness and can increase your risk for heart disease and other infections. Many organizations are providing discounted diabetes tests this month in honor of Diabetes Awareness Month including Fasting Glucose to indicate diabetes, Hemoglobin A1c which can identify prediabetes and determine if current diabetes is well controlled and a Diabetic Urinalysis test which indicates how well your kidneys are functioning.
Do your part this month: get yourself tested, look at your risk of contracting diabetes type 2 and do what you need to do to prevent diabetes in yourself, your family and your community. We can save ourselves a lot of money and the pain and misery of living with diabetes, but only if we take action today.
Written by www.labtestingnow.com
The Newest Obesity Attack: A Plate?
Posted by Maureen in Clinical Tests, Wellness on June 3, 2011
How many times do we need to be told what to eat? How many different ways? If you haven’t figured it out by now, will a pretty 
picture of a plate help you? I doubt it. Many doctors doubt it, but the USDA continues to try. Kudos to them for working on it but maybe we just need to get more aggressive. I’ll say it again, I’m tired of my taxes paying for people who aren’t willing to take care of themselves!
The new plate graphic is snazzy and from the website, each type of food, dairy, grains, fruits, vegetables and proteins, is a link to information about how much and what type of food should be eaten. It is a lot easier to decipher than the most recent pyramid with rays shooting out of it. If you want more information and are willing to eat right and get healthy, the USDA is making it a lot easier.
The issue of course is with individuals and lack of willpower. Obesity is known to lead to many disorders and diseases. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension to name just a few. Losing weight may allow you to live longer, stop taking medications for these disease and just feel better overall. So what are you waiting for? Fill your plate properly and stop wasting our tax money. In many cases, these diseases are preventable and it starts with what you put on your plate.
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Itchy Skin Goes A Lot Deeper
Posted by Maureen in Clinical Tests, Wellness on May 17, 2011
Who would have thought that psoriasis, that pesky, itchy skin disease, could be other than an irritant? If you thought your troubles ended there, you are wrong, very wrong. Apparently, psoriasis is associated with a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome. The more severe 
the psoriasis, the higher the association. And, it’s not limited to metabolic syndrome, a precursor to Diabetes Type 2, but also to obesity and hypertension. Although the reasons aren’t clear, it may be that psoriasis is a systemic disease either having wide-ranging effects on the body or that those with a disposition to develop metabolic syndrome, Diabetes and hypertension have immune issues that also cause psoriasis.
The research, presented at the Society for Investigative Dermatology, was included only in abstracts and not papers that have published yet and more studies are needed. Whatever the cause, 0ne of the results may be that doctors will recommend more metabolic syndrome screenings for their patients who have psoriasis. Psoriasis increased the incidence of metabolic syndrome by 40% and children with psoriasis also had a much higher rate of obesity (approximately 50% versus 30%). If I had psoriasis, I would be running to my doctor’s office for testing and treatment! I wonder if proper treatment of psoriasis would reduce the chances of developing metabolic syndrome or Type 2 Diabetes? At this point, we don’t know, but you may want to jump on it…
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Can the Schools Control Food and Reduce Obesity? And Should They?
Posted by Maureen in Clinical Tests, Wellness on April 12, 2011
The rise of obesity in children has horrified many people, including the government and some school systems. With a lot of focus on trying to reduce childhood obesity, including President Obama signing a bill to improve the food in public schools and Mrs. Obama’s efforts to focus attention on physical activity and healthier eating, some school systems have jumped into the fray with both feet. A school in Chicago has banned home-packed lunches in the school. Students are required to eat the school lunches unless they have a medical reason or food allergies. And some parents are furious. We all know the ill effects of obesity: diabetes, cardiovascular disease and much more, but this is not the school’s job!
There hasn’t been any discussion of whether this has actually reduced anyone’s weight and many of the students dislike the food and end up throwing most of it away. The cost for those families not on free or reduced cost lunch programs pay $2.25 for each meal, more than it costs to pack a sandwich and carrot sticks. This time, many parents argue and I have to agree, the government/school system has gone too far. Yes, offer healthier lunches at reasonable prices, but forcing families to eat mass produced food that is unattractive, based on some of the pictures, and unappetizing to children is taking too much control from individual families and their children. Although schools have a responsibility to protect and guide our children, parents also have the responsbility and the right to care for their children, especially when it comes to what they put in their little bodies. Do the schools know and have they tracked that the majority of parents pack unhealthy lunches? If I were in this school system, I would be protesting the policy so that I could provide the food that I think is best for my child.
Written by www.labtestingnow.com
New Drug for Prediabetes: Cure or Delay Tactic?
Posted by Maureen in Clinical Tests, Wellness on March 25, 2011
If you are at high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, you’ll be interested to know that a drug that is currently used to treat diabetes may prevent the disease. The drug, pioglitazone, reduced the risk of developing diabetes by 72% in patients with prediabetes. Although the best way to prevent Type 2 diabetes is to lose weight and exercise, many Americans continue to struggle with this idea. Looking for a “quick fix” is our standard approach and the medical community is working hard to help out. 
The question is, Do you have to take the daily pill for the rest of your life? Is that really prevention or are you just pre-treating the disease? How much will this cost taxpayers? And it’s not 100% effective!
Millions of Americans already suffer from prediabetes or metabolic syndrome. High blood sugar, obesity, and high cholesterol combine to create the right environment for developing type 2 diabetes. Tests can determine if you already have prediabetes, which with the right diet and exercise can be reversed. It isn’t known yet if this medication could do that or if the effects continue after you stop taking the medication. There are also side effects including weight gain and edema (swelling due to water retention). If you are at risk, it’s time to get on the treadmill and lay off the burgers! Unless you can’t be bothered…best of luck with the “easy” route.
Written by www.labtestingnow.com
How ‘Bout a Diet Coke with That Burger?
Posted by Maureen in Clinical Tests, Wellness on February 11, 2011
So your one concession to being healthy is to have a diet soda? Not so fast! You are doing as much or more harm by ordering the diet drink as you are by ordering the burger and fries in the first place. 
Unfortunately, it looks like water is the only thing that’s safe. The newest study, conducted by Dr. Nehal N. Mehta, director of inflammatory risk cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania and Hannah Gardener, an epidemiologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and presented at the American Stroke Association conference, found that daily diet soda drinkers are at a 61% higher risk of stroke and heart attack.
The specific reason isn’t clear yet. Is it something in the soda itself? Is it that those who drink diet soda are filling those extra calories with unhealthy foods (burgers/pizza/fries)? A prior study has already linked high consumption of diet soda to metabolic syndrome. The study controlled for other risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. They also monitored calorie intake but not what those calories consisted of. So, although you may not need to dump your daily diet soda habit yet, if you are already at high risk, it couldn’t hurt. There don’t seem to be many shortcuts to the healthy lifestyle. We thought diet soda might be one, but don’t pat yourself on the back for switching from sugary soda. The jury is still out!
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Do You Need the Government Telling You How to Eat?
Posted by Maureen in Clinical Tests, Wellness on February 1, 2011
With new Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), the government has updated their eating “suggestions.” No one likes being told what to eat, but the majority of Americans can’t seem to do it right. Unable to manage choosing the right foods to prevent obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, we continue to get bigger and sicker. 
The guidelines, updated every 5 years by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), were just released and include recommendations on what NOT to eat as well as what you should eat. This is a departure from previous guidelines and highlights how far away from healthy we’ve become.
The guidelines focus on two major concepts: Balance calorie intake with physical activity and focus on consuming nutrient dense foods and beverage. Some of the major recommendations include reducing the amount of salt for older Americans even further (down to 1500 mg/day from 2300 mg/day), consume less than 10 percent of calories from fatty acids and less than 300 mg a day of cholesterol, limit your intake of trans fats, solid fats, sugars, and refined grains, and finally, consume alcohol in moderation. The hope of the USDA and the HHS is that the American public will take these recommendations to heart and begin to counteract the effects of poor diet and lack of physical activity and to reduce the epidemic of overweight and obesity. It would be wonderful if a document like this would really make people sit up and take notice, but it’s going to take a lot more than that. If folks haven’t noticed that their obesity is threatening their health and they aren’t making changes already, a pretty document isn’t going to fix their eating problems.
Written by www.labtestingnow.com
Staving Off Diabetes Is As Easy As Walking
Posted by Maureen in Clinical Tests on January 21, 2011
Here we are…mid-January. How are your New Year’s Resolutions going? I hope you haven’t fallen off the resolution wagon already, but if exercise is your goal and it’s getting too difficult there may be an easier way to keep going. A recent study printed in the British Medical Journal found that walking 10,000 steps a day 
can prevent diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity and will reduce your body fat over time. Even better, you don’t need to start out with 10,000 steps per day. People who took it slow and increased the amount gradually, aiming for 10,000 steps a day, still saw these benefits. Some companies are helping out by providing pedometers and encouraging exercise, but you can (and should) do it yourself.
Some easy ways to get there are:
- Invest in a pedometer. You can find them for as little as $15-$20.
- Find a friend to walk with or to compete with. This will encourage you to keep it up.
- Report your walking numbers to your friend or spouse. Being held accountable helps.
- Recognize your accomplishments. Tell your buddies you need a pat on the back, then let them know you’ve reached your weekly goal so they can cheer you on.
Diabetes is a very expensive health issue costing taxpayers millions of dollars per year in treatments and causing long term health problems. Type 2 Diabetes is preventable! The natural inclination to eat too much sugar and fat and then follow huge meals with lounging on the couch are contributing to unnecessary health problems. Glucose tests are easy to get and can let you know if you are already heading in the wrong direction. Even if long walks seem too hard to fit into your day and too painful, start with a short walk. The alternative of obesity, insulin injections and long term cardiovascular disease don’t look that attractive. In view of the choices, what’s a brief 30 minute walk at lunch, parking at the back of the parking lot or walking the dog around the block a couple of times after work?
Written by www.labtestingnow.com
CDC H1N1 Flu Updates:- Press Briefing Transcript: Dr. Thomas Frieden's Remarks at the 2010 Influenza Workshop for Journalists
- HHS News Release: WHO Declares End to 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic
- WHO Statement on H1N1 in post-pandemic period
- UPDATE: 2009 H1N1 Flu International Situation Update
- UPDATE: 2009 H1N1 Flu International Situation Update
- MMWR: Regional Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccination Campaign -- Skokie, Illinois, October 16--December 31, 2009
- UPDATE: 2009 H1N1 Flu International Situation Update