Beginning Anew With Diabetes
Each of us has the opportunity every day to begin our life anew. But we usually grab that chance only at the beginning of the year.
A New Orchid
Now is the time. This is the time, first, to accept ourselves, including the diabetes that we must live with every day. Only after we stop fighting against what is now, can we achieve a resolution that we set for our change. I find this both ironic and true.
This is the time for resolutions. We... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - January 1, 2014 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
A Christmas Gift to People with Diabetes from Polymer
The best way that we have to check our A1C level will live after all. In September I reported here in “The Key Diabetes Test Bites the Dust” that Bayer Diabetes Care would stop making the A1CNow device at the end of this year.
At that time I ask a Bayer spokesperson who I had known for years if Bayer might sell the facility that makes the A1CNow device to another company. “Our business plans are confidential,”... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - December 25, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Twin Diabetes Highs: Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar
The big news announced yesterday was that people older than 60 can now have higher blood pressure before their doctors will tell them to take drugs to bring it down. But the guidelines for those of us who have diabetes remain the same.
An expert panel says in its new guidelines that people over 60 need to keep their blood pressure below 150/90 rather than the 140/90 level as previously recommended. And people with diabetes of any age... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - December 20, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
The Dawn Phenomenon: A Diabetes Puzzle Solved
The dawn phenomenon is one of the most disturbing challenges for those of us who have diabetes. Many of us wonder about the puzzle of why our blood sugar level spontaneously rises during the last hours of sleep each night.
This has also mystified our doctors and medical researchers, so much that they have published at least 187 articles in the professional literature during the past three decades since the first study of the subject appeared.... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - December 11, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
A Great New Meter System for Diabetes Blood Sugar Tracking
The OneTouch Verio Sync may be the best blood glucose meter for people with diabetes. But before you rush out to buy one as a Christmas present for yourself or for a loved one, please note one problem. It’s not yet for sale.
The Verio Sync Paired with an iPhone
LifeScan Inc., the company that is making it, tells me that they expect their new meter to become available in January, February, or March of next year. LifeScan sells more... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - December 5, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Will the Diabetes Sentry Prevent Hypos?
I wish that I could give you an unqualified endorsement of the new Diabetes Sentry. It is the only noninvasive device currently on the market for the detection of hypoglycemia symptoms. Worn like a wristwatch, it is simple and easy to use.
It can detect the two most common symptoms of hypoglycemia, a blood sugar level that can be dangerously low and which many people with diabetes call a hypo. The common symptoms are a drop in... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - November 26, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Marvelous Macadamias for Diabetes
If all that you demand of what you eat is that it is healthy and tastes good, macadamia nuts are a wonderful choice for those of us who have diabetes. But no food is perfect.
Unlike all other nuts, eating macadamia nuts won't wreck your ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fats, which are both polyunsaturated fats. The absolute amount of polyunsaturated fats in even a large amount of macadamias is so low that relative amount need not be a... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - November 22, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Diabetes without Drugs
If you have type 2 diabetes, you can manage it well without any drugs -- without any oral medications and without insulin. If you have type 1 diabetes, you will always have to take insulin injections, but you can likely use less than you do now.
To manage diabetes well means keeping your blood sugar level down in the same range as that of people who don’t have diabetes. The way we check this level is the A1C (sometimes called... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - November 15, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Drinking and Diabetes Don't Mix
Compared with some other stuff we put in our mouths, the trouble with alcohol might not seem to be a big deal for most of us who have diabetes. We all know, of course, that even a little alcohol can mean big trouble for those of us who can’t handle alcohol in moderation.
More than 30 percent of adult Americans have “experienced alcohol use disorders during their lifetimes,” according to a 2007 study in JAMA Psychiatry. That... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - November 7, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Grateful for Diabetes
Those of us fortunate enough to be Americans have so many things to be grateful for this month, and we will celebrate that gratitude in four weeks. In fact, those of us who have diabetes have a whole month to be thankful for it.
Yesterday, President Obama proclaimed November 2013 to be National Diabetes Month. While this Presidential Proclamation seeks to raise the awareness of everyone about the prevention and management of diabetes, the... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - November 1, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Emergency Preparedness for Diabetes
Like everyone else, those of us who have diabetes need to prepare for emergencies. But because we have more and different needs, we have to do more than just think about what could go wrong. Sadly, that’s what most people do.
Some people have set aside stores of food and water. But only about 10 percent of American households are prepared for an emergency. Yet climate change and increasing weather extremes are creating more and more... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - October 24, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
The Trouble with Peanuts in Managing Diabetes
If you have diabetes, beware of peanuts, peanut butter, and peanut oil.
Some people think that because most tree nuts, like almonds, are so healthy, that peanuts should also be good for us. But peanuts aren’t nuts at all. They are a legume, and unlike most nuts we can’t eat them raw.
Actually, we can’t eat them at all if we want to avoid some of the side effects that we can get from them. Some of these side effects can be... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - October 17, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
The Best Snack for Weight Loss and Diabetes
Almonds are both my favorite snack and trail food. In fact, lately I seldom eat anything else between meals or on trails.
Unlike some other tasty nuts like cashews, almonds are much lower in carbohydrates, which are the part of our diet that is almost solely responsible for raising our blood sugar level. Nothing else in our diet is more important for managing our diabetes than keeping that level in check.
Some other nuts have a somewhat... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - October 10, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
The Top Ten Diabetes Terms
This post is a text preview of a slideshow that my associates at HealthCentral will be preparing next week. This is my way of explaining the most important terms that we have to live with non-technically in 65 words or less each.
Insulin Resistance
When you need more insulin than the beta cells of your pancreas can provide, glucose builds up in your blood instead of going into the cells in the rest of your body. This resistance to your... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - October 4, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Dangers of Sulfonylureas for Diabetes
If you doctor started you on one of the sulfonylureas to manage your diabetes, you may be significantly more likely to die early than if you take metformin. Research presented on Wednesday showed that among more than 92,000 people in the United Kingdom with type 2 diabetes those who took only sulfonylureas were 58 percent more likely to die from any cause than those who took only metformin.
The research is in an abstract, “Association... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - September 27, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
