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Can herbs or supplements help you control your diabetes? These 10 have shown some promise in lowering blood sugar, boosting insulin sensitivity, reducing high blood pressure and cholesterol, and more. Talk to you doctor before adding any new pill to your regimen, especially if it has the potential to lower your blood sugar. You may need to check your blood sugar more often and possibly have your doctor adjust your medication dosage. If you don’t see results after a month or two, stop wasting your money.

Talk to you doctor before adding any new pill to your regimen, especially if it has the potential to lower your blood sugar.

1. Gymnema Sylvestre
Main use: Lowering blood sugar
Typical dosage: 200 to 250 milligrams twice daily.

This plant’s Hindi name translates as “sugar destroyer,” and the plant is said to reduce the ability to detect sweetness. It’s regarded as one of the most powerful herbs for blood-sugar control. It may work by boosting the activity of enzymes that help cells use glucose or by stimulating the production of insulin. Though it hasn’t been studied ­extensively, it’s not known to cause serious side effects.

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Fat is a national obsession. Virtually everyone is concerned about how “fat” they are. It’s the hottest topic in the medical literature and at scientific conferences. And government health agencies are spending tens of millions of dollars to find ways to reverse what has been called an epidemic of obesity.

All of this concern is for good reason. Over the past two decades, the number of cases of obesity, defined as more than 30 pounds overweight, in the United States has increased by more than 50%—from 14.5% of the adult population to 22.5%—and another 40% of American adults are overweight, defined as up to 30 pounds overweight. The cost of diseases associated with obesity—including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, gallbladder disease, stroke, some types of cancer, and many other conditions—has been estimated at almost $100 billion per year. What’s more, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that this trend toward obesity will slow down or turn around any time soon.

As much time as we spend talking and worrying about how much fat we eat, how much it clogs our arteries, and how the prevalence of obesity in America is skyrocketing, most people know surprisingly little about what fat is, how the human body stores it, or how the body can get rid of it.

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Diabetes can present two main categories of problems, in the form of short term ill-effects and longer term harm. Minimizing both areas requires discipline.

Rapid spikes or dips in blood glucose level can result in several unpleasant effects: dizziness, disorientation, muscle weakness, nausea and others. For some diabetics, it’s very difficult to prevent this from happening at some time. But there are practices that can improve the odds.

Regular and careful monitoring is a must. It’s no picnic to endure a finger prick three times a day. For those who simply can’t muster the will, it is worthwhile to look into some of the newer glucose monitoring devices that don’t require it.

Some contain tiny, powerful lasers that create a hole through which blood oozes. They produce only a mild tingling sensation. One recent device senses glucose level through the skin using an infrared beam, requiring no blood sample at all.

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Any chronic condition can take its toll, not just physically but also emotionally. Diabetes is especially tough to deal with because it affects many other parts of your body. In addition, your friends, family, and coworkers may not quite understand what you’re going through. At times, it can seem as if you’re all alone in dealing with this serious and life-threatening disease. Staying positive is an important part of diabetes care. Here are some tips for maintaining a healthy attitude along with a strong body.

1. Know that you are not alone. Diabetes can seem like an isolating disease when it strikes, but always remember there are millions of others going through the same struggles you are. According to the American Diabetes Association’s website (http://www.diabetes.org), there are “20.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 7% of the population, who have diabetes.”

2. Get as much information as you can. New techniques for treating diabetes are being developed all the time, so make sure you see an endocrinologist every year for a diagnosis. Know what your A1C levels are. Even if you’ve had diabetes for many years, there is always something new that can be learned. The more information you have, the better you’ll feel about managing your disease.

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You are probably familiar with the Food Guide Pyramid that was created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help people choose a nutritious mix of foods every day. But you should also know about the Diabetes Food Pyramid, which was designed by the American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association.

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\\ tags: Diabetes Food

1. Why do I need to see a dietitian?

Registered dietitians (RDs) have training and expertise in how the body uses food. RDs who understand diabetes can teach you how the food you eat changes your blood glucose level and how to coordinate your diabetes medications and eating. Do you know how many calories you should eat each day? How to cut down on the fat in your meals? How to make eating time more interesting? An RD can help you learn the answers to these, and lots of other questions. Your dietitian will work with you to create a healthy eating plan that includes your favorite foods.

2. Can I eat foods with sugar in them?

For almost every person with diabetes, the answer is yes! Eating a piece of cake made with sugar will raise your blood glucose level. So will eating corn on the cob, a tomato sandwich, or lima beans. The truth is that sugar has gotten a bad reputation. People with diabetes can and do eat sugar. In your body, it becomes glucose, but so do the other foods mentioned above. With sugary foods, the rule is moderation. Eat too much, and 1) you’ll send your blood glucose level up higher than you expected; 2) you’ll fill up but without the nutrients that come with vegetables and grains; and 3) you’ll gain weight. So, don’t pass up a slice of birthday cake. Instead, eat a little less bread or potato, and replace it with the cake. Taking a brisk walk to burn some calories is also always helpful.

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A vanilla cookie dough baked and filled with rich fruit flavored spreadable fruit of choice. A great cookie to make for the holidays, it has 47% fewer calories than the traditional recipe.

6 tablespoons stick butter
1 cup Equal® Spoonful*
1 large egg
2 tablespoons 2% milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup spreadable fruit of choice

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When stored in an air tight tin, you’ll enjoy days of snacking.

3 cups crispy rice cereal squares
2 cups toasted O-shaped cereal
2 cups small reduced-fat pretzels
1 cup oyster crackers
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
1 egg white
1/2 cup SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granular
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

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Acetone a chemical (see ketone bodies) formed when the body breaks down fat instead of glucose for energy. Levels rise and acetone “spills” into the urine and is exhaled in the breath producing a “fruity” smell

Adrenal a gland of the endocrine system that produces essential hormones including adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol

Adult-Onset Diabetes another term sometimes used for type 2 diabetes

Albuminuria occurs when a protein called albumin is found in the urine above a specified level – indicates potential kidney damage

Alpha Cells cells in the pancreas (the area called the islets of the Langherans), that produce the hormone glucagon which in turn raises blood glucose(sugar)levels

Angiopathy a disease of the blood vessels (arteries, veins, and capillaries) that occurs as a long-term complication of diabetes. Two types macroangiopathy and microangiopathy

Antibodies substances occurring naturally in the body that help fight infection

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\\ tags: Diabetes, Diabetes Dictionary

February 2009 – Diabetic patients are less likely to suffer from acute respiratory failure during severe sepsis.

Researchers writing in BioMed Central’s open access journal Critical Care studied 930 million hospitalisations over a 25-year period to investigate the protective effect, adding to our knowledge of both diabetes and sepsis.

Drs. Annette Esper and Greg Martin from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia worked with a team of researchers to investigate suspected links between diabetes mellitus (DM) and the likelihood of experiencing different kinds of organ dysfunction during sepsis.

He said, “We’ve found that people with DM and sepsis were more likely to develop acute renal failure than people without DM, while being less likely to develop acute respiratory failure. Findings like these are important, as accurate identification of populations at risk for different acute organ dysfunctions is crucial to the development of novel therapies for these patients.”

According to the Surviving Sepsis Campaign, it is estimated that 1,400 people die each day from sepsis. DM is an increasingly common illness, believed to afflict as much as 7% of the population of the US.

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