The Key Diabetes Test Bites the Dust
A spokesperson for Bayer Diabetes Care today confirmed that the company will stop making the device that is the best way we have to check our key blood glucose level.
When I called Susan Yarin, the spokesperson for Bayer’s diabetes care business, I asked her about the rumor that Bayer would stop making the A1CNow device at the end of the year. This device is the only way that we have to check our A1C levels at home and get immediate... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - September 26, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
A New Audible Meter for People with Diabetes
Most blood glucose meters are either pretty basic and inexpensive or offer lots of features at considerable cost. But one meter comes with a low price tag and yet does more than any other.
For those of us who have limited vision or are blind this meter is a godsend. It is the second generation Solus V2 meter from BioSense Medical Devices in Duluth, Georgia.
I reviewed its predecessor, the Solo V2, three years ago at “A New... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - September 18, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Diabetic Grain Brain
Later this month a renowned neurologist will publish an important book about how wheat, carbs, and sugar are destroying our brains. While all of us have some interest in our brains, what could this have to do with diabetes?
The connection is actually too close for comfort. Having diabetes doubles your risk for Alzheimer’s disease, the most dreaded form of dementia. In fact, many people, like Mark Bittman in The New York Times, are... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - September 10, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Painless Diabetes
The trouble with diabetes is that it doesn’t hurt. Because it is painless, most people who have diabetes think that they can ignore it. After all, anything that is serious would hurt a lot, right?
Wrong.
The pain comes later with the complications of diabetes that come in its wake, sometimes years later. Some of these complications hurt a whole lot. Think of the continuous pain of diabetic neuropathy, one of the most common... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - September 2, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
The Bad Fats for Diabetes
All of us know that we need to avoid the bad fats. But nobody is quite certain yet which of the fats are bad for us. A new study of saturated fats helps to clear up the confusion.
Bad fats are those that are bad for our hearts. Nothing is more important for those of us who have diabetes, because heart disease is the most serious and common complication that we face.
The scientific community does agree that one type of fat is quite... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - August 29, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
When Omega 3 Works for Diabetes
The easiest way to protect our hearts is to increase the amount of omega 3 in our diets. Since heart disease is the most serious complication of diabetes, nothing could be more important for us. But it’s not that simple.
A study to be reported in the September 2013 issue of The Journal of Nutrition shows a surprising connection between omega 3 and physical activity. An observational study of 344 healthy adults living in and around... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - August 21, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Safety of Diabetes Drugs
Two studies published in professional journals this year have cast renewed doubt about the safety of one of our most important class of diabetes drugs. But the leading regulatory agencies both in Europe and the U.S. seem to think that those studies are flawed.
We call this class of drugs incretin-based or GLP-1 agonists. They include Byetta, Victoza, and Bydureon.
The most recent investigation of this class of drugs came out last month... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - August 12, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Cutting the Cost of Diabetes
The experts tell us that diabetes is the most expensive disease we can get. But it can be the cheapest.
The costs are not just the oral medications and insulin, the blood glucose meters and test strips, and the visits to the doctors. But the financial drain can also include income lost from missing work. And the biggest costs have to be the poorer quality of life that so many of the complications of diabetes can bring in their wake.
So... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - August 6, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
The Fast Path to Heart Health with Diabetes
Almost all of us who have diabetes are too busy to keep our hearts in good shape. At least most of us act as if we were.
When our hearts get out of shape, we aren’t so busy any more. Heart disease is the most common as well as the most serious complication of diabetes.
This combination of lack of time and importance of heart health drive my quest for a quicker way to meet this challenge of living long with diabetes.
Lead Author... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - July 30, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Weightism and Diabetesism
We all know that those of us who have diabetes, particularly when we are also overweight, have serious health problems to manage. And almost all people with diabetes are overweight.
But we often overlook the social problems that accompany these issues. They can be as serious and can make our physical problems even worse, according to provocative new research.
Discrimination is the root cause of these social problems. Although... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - July 24, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Diabetes Supplements are Drugs Too
Many people with diabetes use supplements to help them manage their blood sugar. They use everything from bitter melon and gymnema sylvestre to cinnamon and fenugreek to help them control their diabetes. And now to judge from the many emails I get, berberine has become the big hope.
Most people who take supplements for blood sugar control do that because they worry about the side effects of prescription medication. The problem is... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - July 17, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Easy Steps to Diabetes Control
All the things that that we need to do when we learn we have diabetes and want to manage it can seem daunting. Diet, weight loss, exercise, reducing stress and inflammation, and taking pills or insulin can add up to a major headache.
But a brand new study shows that one of these tasks has become much easier. A little exercise can be a big help in bringing down our blood sugar level after a meal.
We have known for years that a brisk walk... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - July 10, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Easy Summer Living with Diabetes
Ah, summertime when the living is easy! Sometimes it can be too easy for those of us who have diabetes.
Rest and relaxation is much of the reason why we love summer so much. We need relief from the stress of work, relationships, and city living. Stress produces cortisol, which is the primary stress hormone, and it increases the amount of blood sugar that we have.
But, like anything else, the rest and relaxation can go too far for our own... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - July 3, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
How We Defeated Obesity and Diabetes
The biggest challenge in managing our diabetes is controlling our weight. But fortunately we have three roads that will take us there.
Cheryl, who is my friend and colleague at HealthCentral, traveled one of these roads. I have traveled the other two. Each of them have been a great trip.
A couple of weeks Cheryl wrote “How I Defeated Obesity and Diabetes” for the obesity area of HealthCentral. Gastric bypass surgery is the... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - June 25, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
Standing Up for Diabetes
Besides eating wisely, what could be the best way to manage diabetes than getting a lot of exercise? For years the experts have been telling us that we need to work out regularly and to get our required dose of both aerobic and anaerobic exercise.
Exercise helps, but just getting off our butts now seems to be even more important. Stand up please!
This is the message of two recent reports in peer-reviewed professional journals.... (Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts)
Source: David Mendosa's SharePosts - June 14, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Mendosa Source Type: blogs
