Michael Pollan’s – Food for Thought Festival – Keynote Address

Source: Uploaded by REAPFood on Nov 2, 2009 to YouTube

 

Michael Pollan was the keynote speaker for the 11th annual Food for Thought Festival held on September 26, 2009 in Madison, Wisconsin. Mr. Pollan is introduced by Claire Strader, who was elected to serve as the “White House Farmer” in a popular online poll.

The annual Food for Thought Festival is a fun, festive forum that explores and celebrates our many opportunities to eat more pleasurably, healthfully and sustainably.

Past festival speakers include Alice Waters, Mollie Katzen, José Bové, Frances Moore Lappé and several other accomplished cooks, writers and advocates for a sustainable food system.

Despite Obesity Crisis, Gov’t. Slow to Rein in Fast Food Industry

By Elizabeth Whitman

Inter Press Service / News Analysis

Published: Saturday 24 December 2011

 

 

In 2007, McDonald’s spent an estimated 1.74 billion dollars globally on advertising.

 

When the fast food chain Mc­Don­ald’s de­cided to add oat­meal to its menu in Jan­u­ary 2011, it lit­er­ally sugar-coated the of­fer­ing as a “portable, af­ford­able and bal­anced break­fast so­lu­tion… to help make it eas­ier and more invit­ing for our guests to eat more whole grains and fruits”.

Al­though a sin­gle serv­ing of plain oat­meal has one gram of sugar, one serv­ing (253 grams) of Mc­Don­ald’s fruit and maple oat­meal with brown sugar con­tains 32 grams of sugar. One serv­ing of the same oat­meal, with­out brown sugar, con­tains 18 grams of sugar, ac­cord­ing to the com­pany’s nu­tri­tion.

“Why would Mc­Don­ald’s… take a ven­er­a­ble in­gre­di­ent like oat­meal and turn it into ex­pen­sive junk food?” lamented New York Times colum­nist Mark Bittman in Feb­ru­ary 2011.

Mc­Don­ald’s oat­meal, he pointed out, “con­tains more sugar than a Snick­ers bar and (is) only 10 fewer calo­ries than a Mc­Don­ald’s cheese­burger or Egg Mc­Muf­fin”.

But crit­ics say Mc­Don­ald’s un­canny abil­ity to turn an in­her­ently healthy food into an un­nat­u­rally processed prod­uct (the oat­meal it­self con­tains seven in­gre­di­ents, in­clud­ing “nat­ural fla­vor”, ac­cord­ing to Bittman) is not even the most egre­gious of the stunts that large food cor­po­ra­tions man­age to pull.

A Nes­tle su­per­mar­ket that set sail in the form of a barge on the Ama­zon River in Brazil in June 2011 could be one of the more out­landish ef­forts by the food in­dus­try to offer an ex­pand­ing range of cus­tomers a plethora of processed and pack­aged foods. Even though processed food is in­ex­pen­sive, noted Bittman, “the costs aren’t seen at the cash reg­is­ter but in the form of high health care bills and en­vi­ron­men­tal degra­da­tion”.

In the United States, food ac­tivists who are highly crit­i­cal of cor­po­ra­tions that mar­ket ag­gres­sively to at­tract and keep a steady con­sumer base are also crit­i­cal of the gov­ern­ment, which seems un­able or un­will­ing to reg­u­late these cor­po­ra­tions, whether through lim­it­ing their mar­ket­ing or re­quir­ing them to ad­here to spe­cific nu­tri­tion stan­dards.

Sys­tem over­load

As a re­sult, not only are in­di­vid­u­als and com­mu­ni­ties feel­ing the ef­fects of a con­sis­tent in­take of un­healthy processed foods laden with sugar and fat, but so­ci­eties around the world and the earth it­self are also forced to bear the heavy bur­den of the un­sus­tain­able agri­cul­tural sys­tem upon which the food in­dus­try re­lies.

Some 33.8 per­cent of adults in the United States are obese, ac­cord­ing to the Cen­ters for Dis­ease Con­trol (CDC). Obese means hav­ing a body mass index (link) of more than 30. The World Health Or­ga­ni­za­tion (WHO) es­ti­mates that by 2015, 2.3 bil­lion adults will be obese.

Lifestyles that in­cor­po­rate lit­tle to no ex­er­cise and a processed diet high in fat and sugar are linked to obe­sity and being over­weight, which are con­nected to a mul­ti­tude of health is­sues, in­clud­ing heart dis­ease, type 2 di­a­betes and some can­cers.

Mar­ket­ing tac­tics

On Dec. 1, a law took ef­fect in San Fran­cisco, Cal­i­for­nia, known as the Health Meals In­cen­tive Or­di­nance, es­tab­lish­ing basic nu­tri­tional stan­dards for kids’ meals that come with free toys, a mar­ket­ing strat­egy used to at­tract kids.

Be­fore the law was passed, ac­cord­ing to Cor­po­rate Ac­count­abil­ity In­ter­na­tional, Mc­Don­ald’s threat­ened to sue San Fran­cisco on the grounds of the First Amend­ment.

Once the law went into ef­fect, in­stead of giv­ing away free toys with its Happy Meals, Mc­Don­ald’s de­cided to charge 10 cents per toy.

Still, “this law re­ally had a tremen­dous pub­lic health im­pact even be­fore it took ef­fect,” de­spite Mc­Don­ald’s ap­proach, said Sara Deon, Value [the] Meal cam­paign di­rec­tor.

South­ern Los An­ge­les passed a mora­to­rium lim­it­ing the de­vel­op­ment of new fast food restau­rants, for ex­am­ple, and Jack-in-the-Box elim­i­nated toys from meals al­to­gether.

Al­though pro­hibit­ing toys from ac­com­pa­ny­ing meals may change noth­ing about the ac­tual con­tent and nu­tri­tional value of the food, the changes do have an im­pact on who buys fast food meals, and how often.

“It’s re­ally about mar­ket­ing,” Deon told IPS. “Big food com­pa­nies cre­ate big de­mand for their prod­ucts through ag­gres­sive mar­ket­ing,” with some com­pa­nies, es­pe­cially Mc­Don­ald’s, mar­ket­ing es­pe­cially ag­gres­sively to­wards chil­dren, so elim­i­nat­ing toys does help re­duce de­mand.

In 2007, Mc­Don­ald’s spent an es­ti­mated 1.74 bil­lion dol­lars glob­ally on ad­ver­tis­ing, ac­cord­ing to a re­port by Con­sumers In­ter­na­tional. Yum Brands, the par­ent com­pany for Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC, spent 1.23 bil­lion dol­lars.

Ad­di­tion­ally, “fed­eral agen­cies wield tremen­dous in­flu­ence over what types of foods we eat and the in­for­ma­tion we re­ceive about them,” wrote Michele Simon, a pub­lic health lawyer, on her blog, point­ing out that the gov­ern­ment sets food safety stan­dards gives nu­tri­tion ad­vice and sub­si­dizes agri­cul­ture.

How­ever, pow­er­ful food in­dus­try lob­bies are able to pres­sure rep­re­sen­ta­tives and sen­a­tors who hail from dis­tricts where peo­ple rely on food in­dus­try cor­po­ra­tions for jobs.

Con­flict of in­ter­est

Many food ac­tivists se­ri­ously doubt law­mak­ers’ com­mit­ment to en­sur­ing that peo­ple have ac­cess to healthy, af­ford­able food, cit­ing con­flicts of in­ter­est and a focus on pro­tect­ing cor­po­ra­tions rather than peo­ple.

In April, the In­ter­a­gency Work­ing Group (IWG), in­clud­ing the Fed­eral Trade Com­mis­sion, the Food and Drug Ad­min­is­tra­tion, the CDC and the U.S. De­part­ment of Agri­cul­ture, de­vel­oped and pro­posed rec­om­men­da­tions on both the nu­tri­tional qual­ity of food mar­keted to chil­dren and teenagers, and mar­ket­ing prac­tices.

The House Com­mit­tee on En­ergy and Com­merce, how­ever, wrote a let­ter to the IWG, say­ing, “the real causes of child­hood obe­sity have more to do with in­ad­e­quate phys­i­cal ac­tiv­ity and ex­cess calo­rie con­sump­tion than with the ad­ver­tis­ing and pack­ag­ing of food.”

It ig­nored ev­i­dence of a con­nec­tion be­tween mar­ket­ing and the pur­chase and eat­ing of fast food, which in turn con­tributes to ex­cess calo­rie con­sump­tion.

The let­ter asked the IWG to “with­draw the cur­rent pro­posal and start afresh”.

“Cor­po­ra­tions sim­ply throw their money around and threaten politi­cians if they try to get in their way,” Simon told IPS. “Even when reg­u­la­tory agen­cies try to do the right thing they’re beat back by con­gres­sional mem­bers that over­see them.”

Simon is not con­vinced that reg­u­la­tions and guide­lines are the most vi­able so­lu­tions to a host of re­lated is­sues in­clud­ing but not lim­ited to poor nu­tri­tion, obe­sity, and an un­sus­tain­able food sys­tem that ex­ploits labor and harms an­i­mals.

What Simon con­sid­ers truly nec­es­sary is com­plete sys­tem over­haul. Her call for an end to cor­po­rate and in­dus­try con­trol has a fa­mil­iar ring.

“We need to build a po­lit­i­cal move­ment,” she said.

Still, de­spite “a lot of lo­cal­ized re­struc­tur­ing” and al­ter­na­tives such as farm­ers’ mar­kets, such op­tions are in­suf­fi­cient, she in­sisted, be­cause they fail to strike at the core of a flaw.

Source: Nation of Change

ABOUT Elizabeth Whitman

Elizabeth Whitman is a journalist writing for the International Press Service.

Bariatric Surgery for Severe Obesity – NIDDK

 

Bariatric Surgery for Severe Obesity

• Bariatric Surgery for Adults
• Bariatric Surgery for Youth
• The Normal Digestive Process
• Types of Bariatric Surgery
• Medical Costs
• Research
• Resources
• References

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Bariatric surgery may be the next step for people who remain severely obese after trying approaches other than surgery‚ especially if they have a disease linked to obesity.

Severe obesity is a chronic condition that is hard to treat with diet and exercise alone. Bariatric surgery is an operation on the stomach and/or intestines that helps patients with extreme obesity to lose weight. This surgery is an option for people who cannot lose weight by other means or who suffer from serious health problems related to obesity. The surgery restricts food intake, which promotes weight loss and reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes. Some surgeries also interrupt how food is digested, preventing some calories and nutrients, such as vitamins, from being absorbed. Recent studies suggest that bariatric surgery may even lower death rates for patients with severe obesity. The best results occur when patients follow surgery with healthy eating patterns and regular exercise.

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Bariatric Surgery for Adults

Currently, bariatric surgery may be an option for adults with severe obesity. Body mass index (BMI), a measure of height in relation to weight, is used to define levels of obesity. Clinically severe obesity is a BMI > 40 or a BMI > 35 with a serious health problem linked to obesity. Such health problems could be type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or severe sleep apnea (when breathing stops for short periods during sleep).

Recent Development

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved use of an adjustable gastric band (or AGB) for patients with BMI > 30 who also have at least one condition linked to obesity, such as heart disease or diabetes.

Who is a good adult candidate for surgery?

Having surgery to produce weight loss is a serious decision. Anyone thinking about having this surgery should know what it involves. Answers to the following questions may help patients decide whether weight-loss surgery is right for them.

Is the patient:

• Unlikely to lose weight or keep it off over the long term using other methods?
• Well informed about the surgery and treatment effects?
• Aware of the risks and benefits of surgery?
• Ready to lose weight and improve his or her health?
• Aware of how life may change after the surgery? (For example, patients need to adjust to side effects, such as the need to chew food well and the loss of ability to eat large meals.)
• Aware of the limits on food choices, and occasional failures?
• Committed to lifelong healthy eating and physical activity, medical follow-up, and the need to take extra vitamins and minerals?

There is no sure method, including surgery, to produce and maintain weight loss. Some patients who have bariatric surgery may have weight loss that does not meet their goals. Research also suggests that many patients regain some of the lost weight over time. The amount of weight regain may vary by extent of obesity and type of surgery. Habits such as snacking often on foods high in calories or not exercising can affect the amount of weight loss and weight regain. Problems that may occur with the surgery, like a stretched pouch or separated stitches, may also affect the amount of weight loss.

Success is possible. Patients must commit to changing habits and having medical follow-up for the rest of their lives.

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Bariatric Surgery for Youth

Rates of obesity among youth are high. Bariatric surgery is sometimes used to treat youth with extreme obesity. Although it is becoming clear that teens can lose weight after bariatric surgery, many questions still exist about the long-term effects on teens’ developing bodies and minds.

Who is a good youth candidate for surgery?

Experts in childhood obesity and bariatric surgery suggest that families consider surgery only after youth have tried for at least 6 months to lose weight and have not had success.¹ Candidates should meet the following criteria:

• Have extreme obesity (BMI > 40 )
• Be their adult height (usually at age 13 or older for girls and 15 or older for boys)
• Have serious health problems linked to weight, such as type 2 diabetes or sleep apnea, that may improve with bariatric surgery

In addition, health care providers should assess potential patients and their parents to see how emotionally prepared they are for the surgery and the lifestyle changes they will need to make. Health care providers should also refer young patients to special youth bariatric surgery centers that focus on meeting the unique needs of youth.

Mounting evidence suggests that bariatric surgery can favorably change both the weight and health of youth with extreme obesity. Over the years’ gastric bypass surgery has been the main operation used to treat extreme obesity in youth. An estimated 2,700 youth bariatric surgeries were performed between 1996 and 2003.² A review of short-term data from the largest inpatient database in the United States suggests that these surgeries are at least as safe for youth as adults. As yet, AGB has not been approved for use in the United States for people younger than age 18. However, favorable weight-loss outcomes after AGB for youth have been reported abroad.

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The Normal Digestive Process

Normally, as food moves along the digestive tract, digestive juices and enzymes digest and absorb calories and nutrients. After we chew and swallow our food, it moves down the esophagus to the stomach, where a strong acid continues the digestive process. The stomach can hold about 3 pints of food at one time. When the stomach contents move to the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine), bile and pancreatic juice speed up digestion. Most of the iron and calcium in the food we eat is absorbed there. The other two parts of the nearly 20 feet of small intestine absorb nearly all of the remaining calories and nutrients. The food particles that cannot be digested in the small intestine reside in the large intestine until eliminated.

How does surgery promote weight loss?

Bariatric surgery restricts food intake, which leads to weight loss. Patients who have bariatric surgery must commit to a lifetime of healthy eating and regular exercise. These healthy habits may help patients maintain weight loss after surgery.

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Types of Bariatric Surgery

The type of surgery that may help an adult or youth depends on a number of factors. Patients should discuss with their health care providers what kind of surgery is suitable for them.

What is the difference between open and laparoscopic surgery?

Bariatric surgery may be performed through “open” approaches, which involve cutting the stomach in the standard manner, or by laparoscopy. With the latter approach, surgeons insert complex instruments through 1/2-inch cuts and guide a small camera that sends images to a monitor. Most bariatric surgery today is laparoscopic because it requires a smaller cut, creates less tissue damage, leads to earlier hospital discharges, and has fewer problems, especially hernias occurring after surgery.

However, not all patients are suitable for laparoscopy. Patients who are considered extremely obese, who have had previous stomach surgery, or who have complex medical problems may require the open approach. Complex medical problems may include having severe heart and lung disease or weighing more than 350 pounds.

What are the surgical options?

There are four types of operations that are commonly offered in the United States: AGB, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), biliopancreatic diversion with a duodenal switch (BPD-DS), and vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG). (See Figure 1.) Each surgery has its own benefits and risks. The patient and provider should work together to select the best option by considering the benefits and risks of each type of surgery. Other factors to consider include the patient’s BMI, eating habits, health conditions related to obesity, and previous stomach surgeries.

Figure 1

Diagram of Surgical Options. Image credit: Walter Pories, M.D. FACS.

Adjustable Gastric Band

AGB works mainly by decreasing food intake. Food intake is reduced by placing a small bracelet-like band around the top of the stomach to restrict the size of the opening from the throat to the stomach. The surgeon can then control the size of the opening with a circular balloon inside the band. This balloon can be inflated or deflated with saline solution to meet the needs of the patient.

Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass

RYGB restricts food intake. RYGB also decreases how food is absorbed. Food intake is limited by a small pouch that is similar in size to the pouch created with AGB. Also, sending food directly from the pouch into the small intestine affects how the digestive tract absorbs food. The food is absorbed differently because the stomach, duodenum, and upper intestine no longer have contact with food.

Biliopancreatic Diversion with a Duodenal Switch

BPD-DS, usually referred to as a “duodenal switch,” is a complex bariatric surgery that includes three features. One feature is to remove a large part of the stomach. This step makes patients feel full sooner when eating than they did before surgery. Feeling full sooner encourages patients to eat less. Another feature is re-routing food away from much of the small intestine to limit how the body absorbs food. The third feature changes how bile and other digestive juices affect the body’s ability to digest food and absorb calories. This step also helps lead to weight loss.

In removing a large part of the stomach, the surgeon creates a more tubular “gastric sleeve” (also known as a VSG, discussed later). The smaller stomach sleeve remains linked to a very short part of the duodenum, which is then directly linked to a lower part of the small intestine. This surgery leaves a small part of the duodenum available to absorb food and some vitamins and minerals.

However, when the patient eats food, it bypasses most of the duodenum. The distance between the stomach and colon becomes much shorter after this operation, thus limiting how food is absorbed. BPD-DS produces significant weight loss. However, a decrease in the amount of food, vitamins, and minerals absorbed creates chances for long-term problems.

Some of these problems are anemia (lower than normal count for red blood cells) or osteoporosis (loss of bone mass that can make bones brittle).

Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy

VSG surgery restricts food intake and decreases the amount of food used. Most of the stomach is removed during this surgery, which may decrease ghrelin, a hormone that prompts appetite. Lower amounts of ghrelin may reduce hunger more than other purely restrictive surgeries, such as AGB.

VSG has been performed in the past mainly as the first stage of BPD-DS (discussed earlier) in patients who may be at high risk for problems from more extensive types of surgery. These patients’ high risk levels are due to body weight or medical issues. However, more recent research indicates that some patients who have VSG can lose a lot of weight with VSG alone and avoid a second procedure. Researchers do not yet know how many patients who have VSG alone will need a second stage procedure.

What are the side effects of these surgeries?

Some side effects may include bleeding, infection, leaks from the site where the intestines are sewn together, diarrhea, and blood clots in the legs that can move to the lungs and heart.

Examples of side effects that may occur later include nutrients being poorly absorbed, especially in patients who do not take their prescribed vitamins and minerals. In some cases, if patients do not address this problem promptly, diseases may occur along with permanent damage to the nervous system. These diseases include pellagra (caused by lack of vitamin B3—niacin), beri beri (caused by lack of vitamin B1—thiamine) and kwashiorkor (caused by lack of protein).

Other late problems include strictures (narrowing of the sites where the intestine is joined) and hernias (part of an organ bulging through a weak area of muscle).

Two kinds of hernias may occur after a patient has bariatric surgery. An incisional hernia is a weakness that sticks out from the abdominal wall’s connective tissue and may cause a blockage in the bowel. An internal hernia occurs when the small bowel is displaced into pockets in the lining of the abdomen. These pockets occur when the intestines are sewn together. Internal hernias are thought to be more dangerous than incisional ones and need prompt attention to avoid serious problems.

Some patients may also require emotional support to help them through the changes in body image and personal relationships that occur after the surgery.

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Medical Costs

Bariatric procedures, on average, cost from $20,000 to $25,000. Medical insurance coverage varies by state and insurance provider. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reduced barriers to obtaining Medicare coverage for obesity treatments. Bariatric surgery may be covered under these conditions:

• If the patient has at least one health problem linked to obesity
• If the procedure is suitable for the patient’s medical condition
• If approved surgeons and facilities are involved

Patients can contact staff at their regional Medicare, Medicaid, or health insurance office to find out if the procedure is covered and to obtain facts about options.

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Research

In 2003, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the NIH partnered with researchers to create the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery, or LABS. LABS researchers are experts in bariatric surgery, obesity research, internal medicine, behavioral science, and related fields. Their mission is to plan and conduct studies that will lead to more knowledge about bariatric surgery and its impact on the health and well-being of patients with extreme obesity. More information about LABS is available at http://www.niddklabs.org .

To help determine if bariatric surgery is appropriate for youth, NIH launched Teen-LABS in 2007. From 2007 to 2012, the multicenter study is collecting data from teens who plan to have surgery. The data will help to evaluate bariatric surgery’s benefits and risks. Researchers are collecting data about medical problems related to obesity, other health risk factors, and quality of life from these patients before they have surgery and 2 years after surgery. Researchers will then compare the teen outcomes to data from adults. These websites offer more information about Teen-LABS: http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/apr2007/niddk-16.htm and http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/teen-LABS.

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Resources

The following list of publications, websites, and organizations may be of use for patients or health care providers discussing bariatric surgery.

Additional Reading from the Weight-control Information Network

Active at Any Size. This fact sheet provides ideas and tips on how people considered to be overweight or obese can be physically active. It focuses on overcoming common barriers and setting goals. Available at http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/active.htm.

Binge Eating Disorder. This fact sheet provides information and resources for patients who may have binge eating disorder. Available at http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/binge.htm.

Dieting and Gallstones. This fact sheet explains what gallstones are, how they form, and the roles obesity and rapid weight loss play in developing gallstones. Available at http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/gallstones.htm.

Weight Loss for Life. This booklet describes ways to lose weight and encourages healthy eating habits and regular physical activity. Available at http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/for_life.htm.

Additional Reading for Health Care Providers

Pharmacological and Surgical Treatment of Obesity: Evidence Report/Technology Assessment: Number 103. Shekelle PG, Morton SC, Maglione M, et al. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). AHRQ Publication Number 04–E028–1; 2004. Rockville, MD. This report reviews the scientific evidence on weight-loss drugs and bariatric surgery among children, youth, and adults. Available at http://www.ahrq.gov/downloads/pub/evidence/pdf/obespharm/obespharm.pdf [PDF - 3,450 Kb].

Additional Resource

American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
100 SW 75th Street
Suite 201
Gainesville, FL 32607
Phone: 352-331–4900
Fax: 352-331–4975
Internet: http://www.asmbs.org/

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Weight-control Information Network

1 WIN Way
Bethesda, MD 20892–3665
Phone: 202-828–1025
Toll-free number: 1–877–946–4627
Fax: 202–828–1028
Email: win@info.niddk.nih.gov
Internet: http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov

 

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
NIH Publication No. 08–4006
March 2009
Updated June 2011

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References

1. Inge TH‚ Krebs NF‚ Garcia VF‚ et al. Bariatric surgery for severely overweight adolescents: concerns and recommendations. Pediatrics. 2004 Jul;114(1):217–23.
2. Wilson ST‚ Thomas HI‚ Randall SB. Bariatric surgery in adolescents: recent national trends in use and in-hospital outcome. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 2007;161(3):217–221.

Toll free: 1–877–946–4627; Fax: 202–828–1028; Email: win@info.niddk.nih.gov
Weight-control Information Network, 1 WIN Way, Bethesda, MD 20892–3665

Last Modified: July 28, 2011

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Source:

Vitamin D Can Help Shield You From Diabetes

 

By: catherinfernates

 

 

Another health breakthrough to report in the vast arena of breakthroughs that surrounds vitamin D. The “sunshine vitamin.” A new study has found that not getting enough vitamin D can put you at greater risk for one of the biggest health problems of modern times: type 2 diabetes.

This study occurred in children, but the results can be extrapolated for everyone. Looking at obese and non-obese children, researchers found that low vitamin-D levels were significantly more prevalent in obese children. And that they were associated with risk factors for type 2 diabetes. The study appeared in the “Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.”

RECOMMENDED This Vitamin Could Beat the Flu
High rates of vitamin-D deficiency have been found in obese populations and past studies have linked low vitamin-D levels to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Those three health conditions — obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease — are certifiably linked.

How obesity and diabetes is related to vitamin-D deficiency is not fully understood. This new study examined associations between vitamin-D levels and dietary habits in obese children. They tested whether there were links between levels of the sunshine vitamin and abnormal blood sugar levels and/or blood pressure levels.

In the study, obese children with lower vitamin-D levels had the highest degree of insulin resistance. This is the hallmark of diabetes, meaning the body has an impaired ability to move glucose from the blood into cells where it is used as energy. The study couldn’t figure out why this is the case, but did suggest that low vitamin-D levels play some kind of role in the development of type 2 diabetes.

Here’s what happened: they measured vitamin-D levels, blood sugar levels, insulin, body mass index, and blood pressure in 411 obese subjects and 87 control non-overweight subjects. Study participants were asked to provide dietary information, including daily intake of soda, juice and milk, average daily fruit and vegetable intake, and whether or not they routinely skipped breakfast.

Sure enough, they found that habits like skipping breakfast and drinking sugary soda and juice were linked with lower vitamin-D levels among the obese kids.

Vitamin D is simply critical. If you can’t spend 15 minutes of time in direct sunlight (without using sunscreen) each day, it is a very good idea to take a vitamin-D supplement in the range of 1,000 IU.Visit for more information.:-http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/

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Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Vitamin D is simply critical. If you can’t spend 15 minutes of time in direct sunlight (without using sunscreen) each day, it is a very good idea to take a vitamin-D supplement in the range of 1,000 IU.Visit for more information.:-http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/

Diabetes Management Among Native Americans – from A Personal Story

Source: Uploaded by BabyFish1003 on Nov 1, 2011 to YouTube

 

A native American who has been living with diabetes for 40 years tells her journey with Type II diabetes. She gives advise to those at risk for diabetes to get early testing, tips on preventing and controlling diabetes.

Findings from Two Studies on Diabetic Eye Disease Treatment Released

Diabetes Dateline
Winter 2011

A photo of an eye with diabetic macular edema.
Photo courtesy of the National Eye Institute, National Institute of Health (NIH)

 

A clinical trial of people with type 2 diabetes showed that intensively controlling blood glucose to near-normal levels reduced progression of diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of vision loss in working-age Americans. Adding a fibrate drug to statin therapy for control of blood lipids also reduced disease progression. These results come from the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) Eye Study, a subgroup study of the ACCORD clinical trial supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI). The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is the primary sponsor of ACCORD.

ACCORD compared the effect of intensive control of blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids with standard, less-intensive treatments on the risk of major cardiovascular disease events in more than 10,000 adults with established type 2 diabetes. While the earlier ACCORD finding of increased mortality risk outweighed the benefits of near-normal control in the group studied, the ACCORD Eye Study and other recent ACCORD findings suggest there may be benefits to controlling blood glucose to targets lower than currently recommended in patients in whom such control can be achieved safely—for example, in people recently diagnosed with diabetes.

“The ACCORD Eye Study clearly indicates that intensive glycemic control and fibrate treatment added to statin therapy separately reduce the progression of diabetic retinopathy,” said Emily Chew, M.D., chair of the Eye Study and chief of the Clinical Trials Branch of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications at the NEI.

The study findings were published in the July 15, 2010, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. More information about the ACCORD Eye Study can be found at www.nei.nih.gov/news/pressreleases/062910.asp.

Combination of Ranibizumab and Laser Therapy Proves Effective in Treating Diabetic Macular Edema

Researchers have found that the drug ranibizumab (Lucentis), combined with the current standard treatment of laser therapy, is more effective than laser therapy alone in treating diabetic macular edema (DME), a major complication of diabetes that can result in vision loss. DME occurs when fluid from damaged blood vessels in the eye cause swelling of the macula, part of the retina. Ranibizumab blocks the leakage of fluid from the blood vessels. Results of this study were published in the June 2010 issue of Ophthalmology.

This study provides the first definitive proof that a combined treatment and follow-up strategy could halt and reverse diabetic eye disease. “This comparative-effectiveness study demonstrated that a new treatment can protect and, in many cases, improve the vision of people with diabetic macular edema,” said Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D., director of the NEI.

The 2-year study focused on the effectiveness of three DME treatments: laser treatment alone; ranibizumab plus laser treatment; and the steroid drug triamcinolone (Trivaris) plus laser treatment. Specifically, the researchers found that ranibizumab combined with laser treatment improved vision significantly, compared with laser treatment alone.

The multicenter clinical trial was conducted by the NEI and the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network (DRCR.net). DRCR.net researchers will continue to monitor the study participants for at least 3 years to gather more data about the safety and effectiveness of the treatments.

For more information about this study, see www.nih.gov/researchmatters/may2010/ 05102010eye.htm or visit www.drcr.net.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has easy-to-read booklets and fact sheets about diabetes and its complications, including diabetic eye disease. For more information or to obtain copies, visit www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov.

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NIH Publication No. 11–4562
January 2011

The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse is a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health.

Source:

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse
1 Information Way
Bethesda, MD 20892–3560
Phone: 1–800–860–8747
TTY: 1–866–569–1162
Fax: 703–738–4929
Email: ndic@info.niddk.nih.gov
Internet: www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov

Myrtle Beach Chiropractor – How To Cure Diabetes?

 

 

By: Nathalia Alexandra

 

Tens of millions of individuals at this time are being treated for Type 2 diabetes. Those with this type of diabetes have issues controlling blood sugar ranges because theie body doesn’t produce enough insulin or their body has developed insulin resistance says Myrtle Beach Chiropractor.

In many circumstances, patients are given prescription drugs to help management glucose levels. For these dealing with extra superior problems, insulin could also be taken regularly to keep ranges of glucose stable. Whereas some folks do want medical intervention to treat their Sort 2 diabetes effectively, many alternative diabetes therapies can be found as well. Some people have discovered that utilizing various measures to deal with the issue is enough to assist them get off their medications.

Here is a look at some of the various diabetes remedies to contemplate if you happen to are excited by a natural technique to control your blood sugar.

Chromium
One of many potential various therapies for diabetes is chromium, which happens to be a hint mineral. This mineral is essential as a result of it has lots to do with fats and carbohydrate metabolism. Additionally it is recognized to assist the cells of the body in responding correctly to insulin as well. Analysis has found that many people with diabetes have low ranges of this trace mineral and a few research are displaying that supplementation of this hint mineral could possibly help those who suffer from diabetes.

Cinnamon
Another of the potential alternative diabetes therapies to think about is cinnamon, which is a well known spice. Studies from Chiropractor Myrtle Beach that have been done on cinnamon have shown that those with Type 2 diabetes see an improvement in their blood sugar control when taking cinnamon on a daily basis. One research looked at six teams of people, with the primary three groups of individuals taking 6g, 3g, or 1g of cinnamon. The final three teams had placebo capsules of 6g, 3g, or 1g. At the end of this study, the three groups taking cinnamon all showed a big reduction of their fasting blood glucose levels. Different benefits included lowered cholesterol, and lower triglycerides. Different research have also been carried out on cinnamon, showing that it could possibly have a constructive impact on blood sugar ranges in those with diabetes.

Ginseng
Several types of ginseng are available, however relating to an alternative therapy for diabetes, it is North American ginseng that reveals the most promise. Researches on this kind of ginseng have proven that blood sugar may be better controlled when taking North American ginseng on a regular basis.

Zinc
With regards to the storage and manufacturing of insulin throughout the physique, zinc is a crucial mineral. Analysis has shown that these dealing with Type 2 diabetes often have much less zinc than needed because of an increased excretion charge and problems with a decreased absorption of zinc. Zinc can be taken as a supplement, nevertheless it also will be found in a wide range of different foods, including rooster, almonds, beef liver, egg yolks, pecans, recent oysters, buckwheat, walnuts, lima beans, lamb, and  peas.

These are just a few of the choice diabetes treatments from Myrtle Beach Chiropractor to consider if you’re in search of a natural strategy to treat your Type 2 diabetes. Some other frequently used alternative therapies embody aloe vera gel, magnesium, vanadium, gymnema, vitamin D, fenugreek, and momordica charantia. In fact, before trying alternative options, it’s always best to discuss these therapy choices together with your health professional.

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Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Nathalia Alexandra is a seasoned writer who produces about articles relevant to Internet Marketing and Alternative Medicine topics. To acquire further information about Myrtle Beach Chiropractor or Chiropractor Myrtle Beach visit our website.

Do You Need to Get Diabetes Supplies?

 

 

By Carlos Molina Codecido

 

Diabetes is a condition of high glucose level in the body. Diabetic person also experiences excessive urination and persistent thirst. It is a long time illness that has no permanent solution. Yet, there is no need to get depressed. Technological advancements have made life easy for people diagnosed with blood sugar. Regularly testing of blood sugar level can help to keep it low. A healthy diet and fitness regime can keep the diabetic people energetic and help to lead a normal lifestyle.

People having diabetes might be spending much on the diabetes supplies, testing kits, insulin and medicines. Apart from medicines, diabetic people need to eat special diet and frequently test their blood sugar margin. This can be a bit expensive in the long run while suffering from diabetics. A few simple tips can help to reduce the costs involved in handling expenses related to blood sugar problem.

Diabetic people can request their physicians to prescribe generic diabetic medicines for them. These cost less but work as effectively as the branded varietal ones. One could also opt for generic blood sugar testing strips. These could also be bought for lesser price at a retail pharmacy store. There are few drug manufacturing companies that offer patient assistance. Diabetic patients can request their physicians to refer them for the assistance program to avail larger discounts and free samples of diabetic supplies.

Among diabetes supplies, self testing kits are considered most important. These can be carried on camps and trips to monitor the blood sugar in the body anytime and anywhere. These are quite affordable and cost less than $80. Such glucose testing meters can be bought at any pharmacy stores or even ordered online from stores selling supplies for diabetics.

People with blood sugar problems need to take specified insulin dosage in case of higher sugar level in the body. For this purpose, there are different types of devices apart from normal syringes. A diabetic person could choose from pen injectors, jet injectors, insulin pumps or infusers to take a shot of insulin. These supplies to should always kept in stock to avoid complications and to keep the glucose level in control. While jet injectors and pumps cost from $500 to $1000, pen injectors cost less than $100 and can be considered when on budget.

It would also be advisable to check for online stores that deliver diabetes supplies. These websites have all medications related to diabetics. Some online stores also provide great discounts, free of charge delivery and no claim forms. One can call them on the given phone numbers, do a little background check and order for their medications to be conveniently delivered at their doorstep for no additional cost.

Final Tip: by researching and comparing the different => free diabetes supplies companies <= you will get the one that is right for you at little or not cost. Fortunately, we have already done the work for you and listed a company where you can get totally free supplies for diabetics..

Carlos Molina runs the Free Diabetic Testing Supplies website – where you can see his recommendation of the best company to get completely free diabetic supplies. Visit for further information and read her full reviews of the best guides and treatments for diabetics, plus articles and video assistance.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carlos_Molina_Codecido

Benefits Of Omega 3 For Type 2 Diabetes

 

 

By: Sandy Sachs

 

 

You should be aware that you could fall in the high risk category for type 2 diabetes if you are obese, prone to having high blood pressure or are a lazy couch potato. It is estimated that 9 out of 100 people that are over the age of 20 will develop type 2 diabetes. There has been new research done on the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids from cold water fish. The research indicates that addition of omega 3 to the diet could indeed be helpful in warding off diabetes 2. The EPA and DHA present in fish oil could possibly show positive results within 7 months.

In medical terminology, presence of excessive sugar in the blood is known as diabetes. It’s a disease related to carbohydrates. Type 2 is the more common type of diabetes. A person with type 2 diabetes does have insulin but it can’t process the sugar to convert it into energy.

A person with diabetes has a higher risk factor of having a heart attack. It is 6 times more than the people who do not have diabetes. They also have a risk of developing heart disease which is 3 to 8 times higher than someone with out diabetes. If they include omega 3 in their diets, it could be very helpful in maintaining their healthier heart.

Cardiovascular mortality could be reduced by over 30%, if just 1 gram of omega 3 is included in the diet either by eating the food rich in omega 3 or through omega 3 supplements. That could be reducing the risk of a heart attack by 45%.

The omega 3 fatty acids are present in fish such as tuna, salmon, rainbow trout, mackerel and sardines. They are the fatty fish. This type of fish are loaded with polyunsaturated fatty acids that are helpful in lowering your triglycerides. They will also help you maintain a healthy heart rhythm, reduce your blood pressure by small decreases and help with blood clotting. Taking omega 3 fish oil or other supplements may also be helpful for the statin drugs you may already be taking for cholesterol to do an even better job.

As with most diseases, doctors first advise you to change your lifestyle such as your diet and adding exercise in your daily regimen. Normally weight loss is an important factor. 80% of people who have diabetes are obese. Loosing weight will also help you control your blood pressure. Exercising on a regular basis will help improve with glucose control, blood lipid levels,helps the flowing of your blood, helps you to remain physically fit and can reduce your chance of heart disease. Shedding extra flab also will reduce your chances of catching diabetes.

People living in Alaska and Greenland have healthier hearts as compared to Americans and also have fewer cases of diabetes. They consume a lot of fatty fish that contain omega 3 fatty acids. The Japanese too consume large amounts of fish and also have lesser cases of heart disease and diabetes.

Getting omega 3 in your diet if you are a diabetic may help you live a healthier and longer life. Lower your risk of dying of heart disease by eating fish twice a week or getting a daily amount of omega 3 in your diet.

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Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Come visit www.whatsomega3goodfor.com for more information on Omega 3 Benefits

Normal Blood Sugar Level Charts

Source: Uploaded by taulandi on Jan 4, 2010 to YouTube

http://www.all-about-beating-diabetes.com/normal-sugar-blood-level.html

After you notice diabetes symptoms, your next step is to measure your diabetes blood sugar levels. Your doctor will prescribe you HbA1c test.

Children of the Corn Syrup: lecture by Dr. Stephen W. Ponder

Source: Uploaded by delmarcollege on Jun 24, 2009 to YouTube

Dr. Stephen W. Ponder , MD, FAAP, CDE is the director of the Childrens Diabetes and Endocrine Center of South Texas at Driscoll Children‘s Hospital. Dr. Ponder delivered his presentation on children and obesity, “Children of the Corn Syrup,” as part of the Friday Science Lecture Series at Del Mar College on March 7, 2008

The Super Diet For Type 2 Diabetics: The 5 Foods: ABC TV Interview

Source: Uploaded by diabetesengineer on Aug 7, 2009 to YouTube

http://www.deathtodiabetes.com Author of “Death to Diabetes” discusses his Super Meal Diet for Diabetics that helps to achieve blood glucose stabilization and proper insulin levels; shows examples of the Super Meal Model; also discusses who’s smarter: God or man.

The Diabetes Watch

 

By Martin Tobias

The world is cur­rently in the grip of a di­a­betes epi­demic. A re­cent major study by Majid Ez­zati and col­leagues from Im­pe­r­ial Col­lege Lon­don and Har­vard Uni­ver­sity found that the num­ber of adults with type 2 di­a­betes in­creased from an es­ti­mated 153 mil­lion in 1980 to 347 mil­lion in 2008. The num­ber could be 370 mil­lion today.

Every re­gion of the world is af­fected, al­though the epi­demic is grow­ing most rapidly in Ocea­nia and least rapidly in East Asia. Glob­ally, the type 2 di­a­betes epi­demic has been grow­ing in lock­step with ris­ing obe­sity lev­els.

This is not sur­pris­ing – an in­crease in body fat and a de­crease in phys­i­cal ac­tiv­ity are the di­rect causes of type 2 (as op­posed to type 1) di­a­betes. In fact, much of the health ef­fects of obe­sity and phys­i­cal in­ac­tiv­ity are me­di­ated through di­a­betes.

These health ef­fects are se­ri­ous. Di­a­betes al­ready is the major cause of kid­ney fail­ure, blind­ness, and lower-limb am­pu­ta­tion in many coun­tries, and a major cause of heart at­tacks and strokes.

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De­spite this, sur­veil­lance of di­a­betes re­mains rel­a­tively un­de­vel­oped through­out the world, even in high-in­come coun­tries. Pub­lic-health sur­veil­lance is “the on­go­ing sys­tem­atic col­lec­tion, analy­sis, in­ter­pre­ta­tion, and dis­sem­i­na­tion of health data for the pur­pose of pre­vent­ing and con­trol­ling dis­ease” – in short, in­for­ma­tion for ac­tion.

There is noth­ing in this de­f­i­n­i­tion that re­stricts sur­veil­lance to com­mu­ni­ca­ble dis­eases, yet in prac­tice this has gen­er­ally been the case. The rea­sons are not hard to find. Com­mu­ni­ca­ble dis­ease out­breaks occur over days to weeks (or at the most, months); the dan­ger is “clear and pre­sent”; and pre­ven­tion and con­trol gen­er­ally re­quires in­ter­ven­tion by the state – the quar­an­tine of vic­tims, trac­ing and im­mu­niza­tion of con­tacts, or elim­i­na­tion of en­vi­ron­men­tal sources of the in­fec­tious agent.

The sit­u­a­tion re­gard­ing chronic dis­eases like di­a­betes is very dif­fer­ent. The epi­demic hap­pens silently over years or decades; the dan­ger is ei­ther not rec­og­nized or not con­sid­ered avoid­able; and ac­tion is often seen as the re­spon­si­bil­ity of the in­di­vid­ual (lifestyle mod­i­fi­ca­tion) or health-care sys­tem (phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal pre­scrip­tion), rather than the state.

Yet ef­fec­tive chronic dis­ease sur­veil­lance can save lives. If dis­ease trends are mon­i­tored, along with pa­tients’ re­sponses to treat­ment and the pop­u­la­tion’s ex­po­sure to risk fac­tors, the suc­cess or fail­ure of poli­cies de­signed to pre­vent or con­trol chronic dis­eases can be eval­u­ated, re­source al­lo­ca­tion can be ra­tio­nally pri­or­i­tized, and the pub­lic can be kept fully in­formed of the risks that they face.

Rec­og­niz­ing this, in De­cem­ber 2005 the New York City Board of Health man­dated the lab­o­ra­tory re­port­ing of test re­sults for gly­co­sy­lated haemo­glo­bin (HbA1c) – a bio­marker for di­a­betes and a key in­di­ca­tor of blood glu­cose con­trol – thereby cre­at­ing the world’s first pop­u­la­tion-based di­a­betes reg­istry. Manda­tory lab­o­ra­tory re­port­ing of HbA1c re­sults (along with basic de­mo­graphic data) for a de­fined pop­u­la­tion (New York City res­i­dents) al­lowed New York’s De­part­ment of Health to mon­i­tor trends in di­a­betes preva­lence, as­sess test­ing cov­er­age, and ex­am­ine health-care use and glycemic con­trol of res­i­dents liv­ing with di­a­betes.

Be­yond these pop­u­la­tion-based sur­veil­lance func­tions, the reg­istry was able to sup­port pa­tient care by en­sur­ing that in­di­vid­ual health-care providers and pa­tients were made aware of el­e­vated or ris­ing HbA1c lev­els. Both the pa­tient-sup­port func­tion and the sur­veil­lance func­tion re­quired use of a unique pa­tient iden­ti­fier, so that let­ters could be mailed to pa­tients and tests from the same pa­tient could be linked over time.

In 2009, Thomas Frieden and col­leagues from the New York City Board of Health re­viewed the reg­istry’s first four years of op­er­a­tion and con­cluded that it was per­form­ing well. Get­ting all lab­o­ra­to­ries to re­port reg­u­larly and com­pletely, how­ever, proved chal­leng­ing and not all health-care providers and pa­tients proved will­ing to par­tic­i­pate.

The Board of Health’s ini­tia­tive has been widely praised as ex­em­pli­fy­ing the ap­pli­ca­tion of clas­si­cal com­mu­ni­ca­ble-dis­ease sur­veil­lance-and-con­trol tools to a chronic dis­ease. Other com­men­ta­tors, how­ever, have crit­i­cized the reg­istry for po­ten­tially com­pro­mis­ing pa­tient con­fi­den­tial­ity and pri­vacy, and even for dis­rupt­ing the re­la­tion­ship be­tween pa­tients and their doc­tors.

While these crit­i­cisms may or may not be jus­ti­fied, it is prob­a­bly true to say that the New York City di­a­betes reg­istry, though highly in­no­v­a­tive, is at best an in­terim so­lu­tion. Rather than re­ly­ing on lab­o­ra­tory re­port­ing of a sin­gle bio­marker, an ideal chronic-dis­ease sur­veil­lance sys­tem would ex­tract all nec­es­sary data di­rectly from the pa­tient record.

Any di­ag­no­sis of di­a­betes, or sub­se­quent mon­i­tor­ing of dis­ease pro­gres­sion, re­quires a med­ical con­sul­ta­tion and hence an entry into the pa­tient record – and so into the prac­tice’s pa­tient-man­age­ment in­for­ma­tion sys­tem. Log­i­cally, the sur­veil­lance sys­tem should op­er­ate by ex­tract­ing the en­tire sub­set of data re­quired for sur­veil­lance pur­poses from each health-care provider’s pa­tient man­age­ment in­for­ma­tion sys­tem (“front-end cap­ture”).

This data would then be se­curely trans­ferred (elec­tron­i­cally) to a suit­able data ware­house. After ap­pro­pri­ate clean­ing (check­ing for miss­ing data, cor­rect­ing cod­ing er­rors), and cloaking, the data would be avail­able for ac­cess and query­ing. Given ap­pro­pri­ate sta­tis­ti­cal analy­sis and care­ful in­ter­pre­ta­tion, use­ful re­ports could be gen­er­ated for sur­veil­lance pur­poses and, if de­sired, for pa­tient-care sup­port as well (using en­crypted unique pa­tient iden­ti­fiers to pre­serve con­fi­den­tial­ity of per­sonal in­for­ma­tion).

In view of the ris­ing bur­den of di­a­betes and other chronic dis­eases through­out the world, ur­gent at­ten­tion must be de­voted to strength­en­ing sur­veil­lance sys­tems for non­-com­mu­ni­ca­ble dis­eases at all lev­els – from local prac­tices to global in­sti­tu­tions.

Help us speak truth to power. Do­nate what you can af­ford to sup­port Na­tionofChange.

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ABOUT Martin Tobias

Martin Tobias is a public health physician in Wellington, New Zealand.

Source: Nation of Change 

Controlling Diabetes One Day at A Time

Source: Uploaded by PalomaHomeHealth on Nov 4, 2009 to YouTube

This video is for patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.The program covers basic information on disease management.It also explains the importance of regular check-ups,controlling sugar,eating healthy portions and exercise.

Better Management Of Diabetes With Diabetesdek

 

By: Adam s casper

 

 

If you have a child or teen that faces problems managing and coping with diabetes the latest edition of the easy to read and informative Pediatric DiabetesDek is now available. It contains useful and up-to-date information about better managing life with diabetes.

The Pediatric DiabetesDek contains reliable and practical how to information about coping with the challenges of living a life affected by type 1 diabetes. The Pediatric DiabetesDek helps families that have a child or teen with type 1 diabetes better understand their special needs. It facilitates standing up to the stress and challenges of such situations.

The Pediatric DiabetesDek contains valuable information that helps family members control the diabetes of their loved one. It is not uncommon for diabetics to suffer from conditions such as ketoacidosis or hypoglycemia. The information available helps you better deal with such potential emergencies.

The Pediatric DiabetesDek provides in-depth information about the various types of diabetes such as type 1, type 2, monogenic, and gestational diabetes. It also tells you how they are connected and why it is important to have all the data possible about such conditions.

You can share correct information with a friend or a family member about the importance of maintaining the right levels of blood glucose and how exercising regularly and eating the right type of food can help them mitigate the risks associated with pediatric diabetes.

 
The Pediatric DiabetesDek explains in great detail and in lucid language, the various crucial aspects of diabetes management. It describes in detail the role of insulin in diabetes management and other important aspects of using insulin such as an insulin regime, the dosage that needs to be administered for effective treatment as well as the different types of insulin available for treatment of various types of diabetes.

 
The Pediatric DiabetesDek will also point out some proper foods to eat and the appropriate serving sizes. This useful information will help you help your loved ones manage their weight.

Diabetes is a health condition that requires intense care and proper health management on all fronts. The information provided in the Pediatric DiabetesDek describes how you can provide children and teens with much of the care they need. It helps address crucial issues such as managing depression, and long term health concerns such as stroke and heart related diseases.

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Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Welcome to InfoDek, A Professional pediatric diabetes guide for your family to manage and control diabetes in children and teens. DiabetesDek publications are pocket sized booklets that contains useful advice and information regarding diabetes.

Can Diabetes be Cured?

 

By Djehuty Ma’at-Ra

Types Of Diabetes

There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes includes individuals dependent upon insulin to prevent ketosis (abnormal accumulation of ketones in the body as a result of a deficiency or inadequate utilization of carbohydrates). A keytone is an organic compound having the group -OH- linked to two hydrocarbon radicals.

This category (Type 1) of diabetes is also known as the insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) subclass and was previously called juvenile-onset diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes deals with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM).

These categories of diabetes were conveniently and strategically created by the National Diabetes Data Group of the National Institute of Health. When you see or have the word institute, you should see the connection to the word institution. When you want to perpetuate a thing, you institutionalize it. That’s why the United States is full of institutes (research centers and foundations) for various degenerative diseases.

Diabetes is predicated upon lack of insulin secreted by the cells of the pancreas. Knowing this alone can help us to heal from diabetes. So, what is insulin? Insulin is a naturally occurring hormone secreted by the beta cells of the pancreas in response to increased levels of glucose in the blood. Now look at this truth hidden in the medical definition of insulin. Insulin is naturally occurring. Naturally pertains to Nature! So-called diabetics have deviated.

The following are the components to the disease called diabetes: 1. Insulin (a hormone) 2. Hormonal or endocrine system 3. Pancreas (gland, organ) 4. Digestion, 5. Digestive enzymes 6. Sugar in the blood (blood sugar level) 7. Conversion of sugar into heat and energy.

The major problem with diabetes pertains to the gland called the pancreas, which in so-called diabetics does not secrete insulin. This is a hormone secreted into the bloodstream along with digestive enzymes which regulates blood sugar levels and aids in digestion.

All internal glands that are secretory (function of secreting) in nature have a duct. That duct in so-called diabetics is clogged! Why? Because of the hardened mucus around it! The pancreatic duct is covered with dried and hardened boogers (mucus) that prevents secretion of insulin. So-called diabetics are eating things with sugar (unnatural, man-made sugar to be specific) or things that break down into sugar (i.e. complex carbohydrates). Because the pancreas is unable to secrete insulin into the bloodstream to regulate the sugar in the blood and it is also unable to convert the sugar into energy, the blood sugar levels go very high and the unconverted/unburned sugar converts into FAT. This explains the obesity factor in diabetes. What medical doctor with a college degree can or will elucidate diabetes to the degree as explained above? The word doctor derives from the Latin word docçre which means to teach.

Most medical doctors will never teach you what causes your health problem or pathology and how to fix it for fear of losing a good-paying client. Because the so-called diabetic cannot convert sugar into energy, they convert the sugar into fat causing obesity. This is linked to a nonfunctioning colon that is compacted with excessive fecal matter and waste that causes the colon to protrude, even to the point of now pressing against the already nonfunctioning pancreas. The problem is now exacerbated.

In addition, excess fat in the body greatly hampers bodily circulation, which is why so-called diabetics have poor circulation. The condition of poor circulation prevents blood, oxygen, and minerals from circulating throughout the body, mainly to the extremities (hands and feet), especially in the feet, which causes the legs of so-called diabetics to turn gangrene blue. And what does your beloved and entrusted doctor do for the poor circulation? He/she prescribes pharmaceutical grade drugs! And what do these drugs do? They make the body MORE acidic than it already is. These pharmaceutical drugs, especially the synthetic insulin these doctors prescribe, greatly inhibit circulation, even to the point of thinning the blood (i.e. the drug Coumadin) causing a STROKE!

I know what I’m talking about People because I have dealt with many so-called diabetics and when they began dealing with me, their condition got a lot better and most of them got off of drugs altogether and completely healing from diabetes in a matter of weeks. Yes, for me, it’s that simple! Diabetes is easy to heal. Any disease is easy to heal when you know what the cause of the disease is.

When a so-called diabetic’s circulation is cut-off to the legs and feet and the legs turn swollen blue, what does the doctor suggest for this situation? AMPUTATION! Amputate. n. To cut off (a part of the body), esp. by surgery. [Latin. Amputâre, cut around] SOURCE: American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition

That’s right! Instead of reviving the so-called diabetic’s leg, the doctor will recommend amputation. Do you know why? Because amputation calls for surgery and surgery is BIG MONEY in America! This is the only reason for amputation. Doctors, most of them, don’t care about “people” – God’s children, who strayed and became sick (law of cause and effect). The motivation of money blinds a doctor’s heart (4th Chakra, seat of love and compassion) and therefore NO allopathic doctor heals or will tell you that he/she healed (or assisted in healing) a person with diabetes or any other disease. Doctors don’t heal or cure! They TREAT symptoms and MANAGE disease. That’s all! Who wants to manage or treat genital herpes, AIDS, diabetes, or cancer instead of healing from it entirely?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Djehuty_Ma’at-Ra

Benefits of Goji Berry on Diabetes

 

by Diabetic Discovery 

(submitted 2011-02-27)

 

Diabetes is a medical condition that affects more than 23 million Americans. Identified by continuous abnormally high levels of glucose in the blood because the body fails to produce sufficient insulin or the body’s cells resist using the insulin produced. This chronic condition has potential life-threatening complications and is believed to have affected humans for centuries. In recent years, many people have turned to alternative medicines and "super-fruits" like Goji berries to treat their conditions.

While there are various forms of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2 are generally diagnosed the most. Type 1 diabetes is when cells of the pancreas fail to produce an amount of insulin needed to allow blood glucose to enter cells to produce energy. Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed when the cells resist insulin’s action, resulting in too much glucose in the blood (see resources below).

Goji berries, also called wolfberry, are found in the moderate to sub-tropic regions of Asia, including China, Mongolia, and in the Himalayas of Tibet. The origin of the word goji is believed to come from the simplified Mandarin word for the plant. Similar to other nightshade family plants like tomatoes and chili peppers, wolfberry is a flowering plant that produces a berry that tastes like a cross between a raspberry and a cherry. In southern regions of China, goji berry plants are generally more than 3 feet tall, but in northern China, the plants can grow to more than 9 feet.

While they are closely related and both are in the genus Boxthorn (Lycium), Himalayan goji berries (Lycium barbarum) should not be confused with Chinese wolfberry (Lycium chinense). The two species of the wolfberry plant (the names have little to do with the geographies of the species), are both rich in antioxidants and are thought to be beneficial in boosting the immune system and promoting longevity.

A perennial that produces flowers with five petals, the goji berry plant produces an oblong, red-orange berry–containing 10 to 60 tiny seeds–that is normally 1 to 2 centimeters long. Ripening in the northern hemisphere usually occurs from mid-summer to mid-fall.

For more than 6,000 years, herbalists and alchemists have used goji berries to make tonics and teas to boost the immune system, protect the liver from damaging toxins and disease, improve circulation (particularly in the legs), increase fertility, and promote longevity.

Studies have shown that goji berries are rich in antioxidants, specifically carotenoids, which are known to protect the retina of the eye and believed to decrease the risk of developing macular degeneration, a disease associated with complications from diabetes. Goji berries have also been found to help increase circulation and are believed to be beneficial in preventing and treating a number of cardiovascular diseases, including angina and coronary heart disease (see resources below). Studies have also shown that goji berries stimulate the nervous system (responsible for all internal organs) and causes relaxation of arterial walls, allowing them to expand and lower blood pressure.

Goji berries have been proclaimed by proponents of alternative medicine as the "super-fruit" that can decrease the risk of developing diabetes, in addition to treating those who already have it. However, the Food and Drug Administration has yet to verify and approve these claims.

Studies also suggest that goji berries (consumed as tea) may hinder anticoagulant metabolism and may react with certain medications. It important to consult with healthcare providers before consuming anything that may have a negative reaction with other medications.

For more information please contact us at http://www.diabeticdiscovery.com.

About the Author

The Health & Wellness Experts  www.diabeticdiscovery.com

Source:  GoArticles.com © 2011, All Rights Reserved.

When Your Child is Diagnosed with Diabetes: PARENT’s QUESTIONS

 

NDEP is a partnership of the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than 200 public and private organizations.

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• Am I at Risk?
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• Download Tip Sheets

When Your Child Is Diagnosed with DIABETES: PARENTS’ QUESTIONS for the Health Care Team

Parents of children with diabetes often have concerns about the disease, its impact on their family, and how to keep their children safe and healthy. Use these questions to talk with your child’s health care team and learn about your child’s diabetes care needs… at diagnosis and later on as well.

What are the different types of diabetes?

• Which type of diabetes does our child have?
• Will it ever go away?

The Facts About Diabetes

Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents

Tips for Kids: How to Lower Your Risk for Type 2 Diabetes

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International

What does this mean for other members of our family?

• Does it mean our other children will get diabetes too?
• What about other family members?

Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents

4 Steps to Control Your Diabetes. For Life.

NDEP Teen page

Tips for Kids: How to Lower Your Risk for Type 2 Diabetes

What are my child’s treatment goals?

• How can we help our child meet these goals?
• How often will our child need to visit you each year?

Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents
(See Treatment Goals and Family Support)

4 Steps to Control Your Diabetes. For Life

NDEP Teen page
(See Tip Sheets for Kids with Type 2 Diabetes)

What other health care team members can help care for our child’s diabetes?

• How do we contact them?

Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents (See Visiting the Health Care Team)

How can we work together as a family to help our child?

• How can we help our child check blood glucose, take insulin, eat healthy foods, be more active, and learn about diabetes?
• Who can help us work together as a family?

Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents (See Helping Children Manage Diabetes)

 

What emotional issues might our child and family face?

• Will diabetes affect the way our child behaves?
• When do we start letting our child manage his/her own diabetes care?
• Who can help us cope with these issues?

Tips for Teens with type 2 Diabetes: Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Diabetes

Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents (See Transition to Independence )

Learn about age-related issues and diabetes on the American Diabetes Association website

Learn about reactions to being diagnosed with diabetes on the American Diabetes Association website

Should we tell friends and family about our child’s diabetes?

Learn more about telling your friends and family about being diagnosed with diabetes on the American Diabetes Association website

Who can help us if we don’t have medical insurance?

Insure Kids Now! A national initiative to linking families to low-cost insurance programs

Health Insurance for Uninsured Children

What resources are there to help our child in school?

Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel

Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents (See Diabetes at School)

What research is going on?

Three large nation-wide studies are under way.

The TODAY study wants to find the best ways to care for type 2 diabetes in children and teens and has begun in 13 medical sites. To find out if you can join go to www.TODAYstudy.org.

Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet is a group of studies looking at ways to prevent or to treat type 1 diabetes early. To find out if you can join go to www.diabetestrialnet.org/public.html or call1- 800- HALT- DM1(1-800-425-8361).

The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study will help us learn about how type 1 and type 2 diabetes differ, what medical problems arise, the health care children receive, and how diabetes shapes their daily lives. www.searchfordiabetes.org

A lot of other research is going on. To find studies in your area, talk to your health care team and visit the JDRF and ADA (links below).

Additional Resources for Parents and Children

National Diabetes Education Program
www.ndep.nih.gov or call 1-800-438-5383

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF)
www.jdrf.org or call 1-800-223-1138

Children with Diabetes
www.childrenwithdiabetes.com

American Diabetes Association (ADA)
www.diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383)

 

In This Section

• What is Diabetes?
• Be Active
• Stay at a Healthy Weight
• Make Healthy Food Choices
• Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Diabetes
• Lower Your Risk for Type 2 diabetes
• Quiz for Teens with Diabetes

 

Source :

Is Your Shampoo Making You Fat?

 

This OnEarth column was written by Laura Fraser.

 

We all know that Americans — leading the way for the rest of the developed world — are getting fatter. We hear about the “obesity epidemic” on the TV news, with footage of people depicted from the waist down shuffling around in XXL sweatpants and carrying supersized sodas. The majority of us are overweight, complaining about how our jeans are getting tighter and wondering why, despite all our efforts to diet and go to the gym, the number on the scale keeps edging higher.

For years, the explanation for weight gain was straightforward: it was all about energy balance, or calories-in versus calories-out. This Gluttony and Sloth theory held that obesity simply came from overeating and under-exercising, and the only debate was about dieting — whether it was better to join the low-fat or the low-carb camp. Some scientists explored genetic differences associated with fat, but others said genes couldn’t possibly explain the rate at which Americans were gaining weight: “We just aren’t evolving that fast,” one obesity expert noted.

Environmental scientists have long suggested that there were likely external factors at work, but until recently, the traditional obesity-research community rejected such claims. Now it seems thatthe tide is turning: This month’s issue of Obesity Reviews features an extensive look at the accumulating body of research linking the environment with obesity.

The idea of our surroundings contributing to weight gain is nothing new, of course. But past discussions about the role of the “environment” focused mostly on the fast-food culture that we live in, where highly processed, highly caloric foods are constantly available, eating times are chaotic, kids run around drinking sugar-saturated sodas all day, no one has time to cook, fruits and vegetables are scarce in low-income urban areas, a venti frappuccino has 760 calories, and muffins are the size of melons. Add to that our changing physical environment — the fact that everyone sits in front of computers every day, instead of working out or working on the farm — and the “calories in” excess of the weight equation seems obvious, and obesity over-determined.

But even allowing for such influences, something wasn’t adding up. There are plenty of people out there who eat well and exercise like Gwyneth Paltrow and still feel like their weight is out of control. Then there are those annoying people who eat everything they desire, never work out, and stay thin. There had to be more to it than calories. We know that hormones — the chemical messengers produced by our endocrine system to control things like blood pressure and insulin production — can fatten up animals for slaughter; that some drugs increase your weight; and that a change in hormones at midlife shifts where your fat is distributed. Researchers began to recognize that obesity is much more complicated than calories in and out, and that a lot of other mechanisms involving the hormonal regulatory system are involved in our bodies’ delicate weight balance.

Paula Baillie-Hamilton, an expert on metabolism and environmental toxins at Stirling University in Scotland, was among the first to make the link between the obesity epidemic and the increase in the chemicals in our lives. “Overlooked in the obesity debate,” she wrote in 2002 in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, “is that the earth’s environment has changed significantly during the last few decades because of the exponential production and usage of synthetic organic and inorganic chemicals.”

Exposure to those chemicals, said Baillie-Hamilton, can damage the body’s natural weight-control mechanisms. She calls toxic chemicals that act as endocrine disruptors — mimicking hormones, and blocking or exaggerating our natural hormonal responses — “chemical calories,” and those in question include Bisphenol A, phthalates, PCBs, persistent organic pollutants such as DDE, a breakdown product of the insecticide DDT, and pesticides containing tin compounds called organotins. Many studies have shown that endocrine disruptors have been linked to early puberty, impaired immune function, different types of cancer, birth deformities, and other diseases. Now obesity and metabolism are on that list.

Environmental researchers call these chemical calories “obesogens.” Bruce Blumberg, a University of California at Irvine professor of developmental and cell biology, studies the effects of endocrine disruptors on obesity in mice and sees clear differences between those who are exposed to them and those who aren’t. “Pretty much anyone who observes people knows that obesity is way more than eating and exercise,” says Blumberg. Instead, metabolism, appetite, and the number and size of fat cells you have come into play, all of which are affected by hormones, and therefore by hormone disruptors. Blumberg has shown that the organic pollutants tributyltin and triphenyltin derail the hormonal mechanisms that control the weight of mice. He’s found that when pregnant mice are fed a dose of organotins that is equivalent to normal human exposure to those chemicals, their offspring have 10 percent more fat cells than normal mice, the fat cells grow bigger than normal, and they end up, overall, 10 percent fatter than your average mouse.

Other compelling research that fat is not just about eating and exercise comes from studies that show that animals that live in human environments get fatter just by virtue of being around people. Researchers at the University of Alabama recently found that chimpanzees, macaques, mice, rats, dogs, cats, and other species that lived in proximity to humans got fatter than animals that didn’t live in an industrialized environment — even when their lab chow and exercise was highly controlled. The authors suggested that endocrine disruptors were one likely culprit in this cross-species obesity epidemic.

For her article in the new Obesity Reviews, Jeanett Tang-Peronard, of the Institute of Preventive Medicine in Copenhagen, looked at some 450 studies on endocrine disruptors and obesity and found that nearly all of them showed a correlation between exposure to those chemicals — particularly in utero and in early childhood, when hormonal mechanisms are vulnerable — and an increase in body size. She says that in early life, chemicals seem to alter the epigenetic regulation of certain genes, disrupting the programming of hormonal signaling pathways that affect fat storage, fat distribution, and appetite. (The epigenome governs patterns of gene expression.) This reprogramming could explain how we are indeed evolving so fast.

Tang-Peronard says that it is impossible, now, to tease out how much of obesity is caused by chemicals, and how much by energy balance. They’re intertwined, anyway, with imbalances in appetite-regulating hormones like leptin and ghrelin causing us to want to eat more of the available food. “Endocrine disruptors may play a significant role in obesity,” she says. But the research is in its infancy. She also points out that only a few of the tens of thousands of known environmental chemicals have been tested for their association with obesity. “We are only scratching the surface,” she says.

What to do about the problem of endocrine disruptors and obesity? It’s hard to say, given that virtually all humans have been exposed. Pediatrician Maida Galvez is involved in the Mt. Sinai “Growing Up Healthy“ study of 330 children in East Harlem, monitoring their exposure to endocrine disruptors and their body weight. “Even if these chemicals play a small role in obesity, it’s a preventable exposure,” she says, explaining that if certain substances can be determined to have deleterious effects, we can avoid them at critical stages of development and ultimately replace them with safer alternatives.

For now, Galvez recommends that parents steer clear of Bisphenol-A — present in many plastic water and baby bottles, and in microwavable and dishwasher-safe food containers. (If you find a printed “7″ on the bottom, get rid of it.) She also suggests avoiding shampoos, cosmetics, and soaps containing phthalates — up to 70 percent of “top-selling products,” according to a 2002 report by the Environmental Working Group. (Look for fragrance-free products, which are less likely to contain phthalates, or for anything from the Illumina Organics range or The Body Shop. And, she says, eat fresh fruits and vegetables, instead of foods that are processed and/or packaged in plastic.

That’s one point on which traditional obesity researchers and environmental scientists agree: Eat plenty of fresh, organic vegetables. And while you’re at it, get out into the fresh air and get some exercise.

Featuring great stories and great solutions, OnEarth magazine is a survival guide for the planet.

Source: Organic Consumers Association (OCA)/ OnEarth Magazine

Type 2 Diabetes: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

• Diabetes, Type 2

 

YESTERDAY

• No proven strategies existed to prevent the disease or its complications.
• The only ways to treat diabetes were the now-obsolete forms of insulin from cows and pigs, and drugs that stimulate insulin release from the beta cells of the pancreas (sulfonylureas). Both of these therapies cause dangerous low blood sugar reactions and weight gain. Patients monitored their glucose levels with urine tests, which recognized high but not dangerously low glucose levels and reflected past, not current, glucose levels. More reliable methods for testing glucose levels in the blood had not been developed yet.
• While scientists knew that genes played a role (i.e., the disease often runs in families), they had not identified any specific culprit genes.
• National efforts were not being made to combat obesity—a serious risk factor for the disease. Fewer people developed type 2 diabetes compared to today because overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity were not pervasive.
• Patients were almost exclusively adults—the reason that the disease was formerly called “adult onset diabetes.” It was rare in children or young adults.

TODAY

• Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed. The NIH-funded Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) clinical trial (http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/preventionprogram/) found a lifestyle intervention (modest weight loss of 5 to 7 percent of body weight and 30 minutes of exercise 5 times weekly) reduced the risk of getting type 2 diabetes by 58 percent in a diverse population of over 3000 adults at high risk for diabetes. In another arm of the study, the drug metformin reduced development of diabetes by 31 percent.
• Based on the DPP findings, the National Diabetes Education Program developed the education campaign, “Small Steps. Big Rewards. Prevent Type 2 Diabetes.” to help people at high risk take the necessary steps to prevent the disease (www.ndep.nih.gov).
• Ongoing NIH translational research efforts are testing cost effective ways to deliver the DPP-proven lifestyle change in real-world settings. This vigorous effort is needed to address the escalating prevalence of type 2 diabetes which now affects 7.8 percent of Americans, disproportionate affects minorities, and is conservatively estimated to be the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S.
• Type 2 diabetes is increasing in children, in tandem with rising obesity rates. This trend is alarming because, as younger people develop the disease, the complications, morbidity, and mortality associated with diabetes are all likely to occur earlier. Also, offspring of women with type 2 diabetes are more likely to develop the disease. Thus, the burgeoning of diabetes in younger populations could lead to a vicious cycle of ever-growing rates of diabetes.
• The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study (www.searchfordiabetes.org) has provided the first national data on incidence and prevalence of diabetes in youth. About 3700 youth under 20 years old are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes each year, and the disease is particularly prevalent in minority youth.
• Research has vastly expanded understanding of the molecular underpinnings of diabetes and its complications. Recent work has boosted to nearly 40 the number of gene regions associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, laying the foundation for new approaches to prevention and therapy.
• NIH-supported clinical trials validated a marker called hemoglobin A1C (A1C). This marker reflects average blood sugar control over a 3 month period. This technology, along with tests that allow patients to monitor their own blood glucose throughout the day, helps make better blood glucose control achievable for many people with type 2 diabetes.
• Because lower A1C levels have been shown to be predictive of longer life and fewer complications, the test has helped speed development and approval of better forms of insulin and new diabetes medicines that work though a variety of mechanisms. New drugs are available that lower glucose without weight gain or even with modest weight loss. Several agents targeting the specific metabolic abnormalities of type 2 diabetes are now available and can be combined, thus delaying the need for insulin.
• Tight blood sugar control has become a standard of treatment for most diabetes patients based on results from NIH clinical trials demonstrating that keeping A1C below 7 can prevent or delay devastating disease complications.
• A large clinical trial showed that older patients with longstanding type 2 diabetes at high risk of heart disease do not benefit from more intensive blood glucose control than is currently recommended. These findings spare patients from unneeded therapy and provide important data to help individualize therapy, with less stringent A1C targets suggested for some people such as those with advanced diabetes complications.
• Clinical trials have shown that blood pressure and lipid control reduce diabetes complications by up to 50 percent. Physicians are now much better equipped to prevent and control heart disease, which often accompanies diabetes, and is the leading cause of death in people with diabetes.
• Nationwide improvements in risk factor control show research-proven strategies are being translated into practice. Improvements in control of cholesterol, blood glucose, and blood pressure have added an estimated one year to the expected lifespan of a person with type 2 diabetes since 1992, and improved quality of life by reducing the incidence of burdensome complications like blindness, lower limb amputations, kidney failure, and coronary heart disease.
• As a result of research proving their benefits, Medicare now covers blood glucose self monitoring materials and diabetes education services, helping people to better control their diabetes.
• Kidney disease can be detected earlier via urine tests. Therefore, patients can be treated earlier to slow the rate of kidney damage. Improved control of glucose and blood pressure prevents or delays progression of kidney disease to kidney failure. With good care, less than 10 percent of patients develop kidney failure.
• With timely laser surgery and appropriate follow-up care, people with advanced diabetic retinopathy can reduce their risk of blindness by 90 percent. A recent study showed a drug which limits blood vessel growth can be an important supplement to laser therapy for diabetic macular edema.
• The NIH spent over $1.1 billion on diabetes research in fiscal year 2009. In 2007, total costs attributable to diabetes for Americans was estimated at $174 billion—an increase of 32 percent since 2002.

TOMORROW

• Research will find better ways to bring proven diabetes prevention strategies to more people at lower cost.
• Earlier and more aggressive treatment approaches may help better prevent diabetes complications.
• New understanding of the biology of obesity and insulin resistance is informing the development of new therapeutics to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes.
• Identification of susceptibility genes for diabetes and its complications will enable earlier implementation of prevention measures targeted to those at highest risk.
• Research on the effect of maternal diabetes on offspring may help to break the vicious diabetes cycle.
• Continued research on the mechanisms underlying the development and progression of disease complications will result in the ability to predict who is likely to develop them. Personalized treatments could then be developed to preempt complications. This strategy would dramatically improve the health and well-being of patients.
• NIH clinical trials will identify new approaches to prevent and treat the emerging problem of type 2 diabetes in children.

For more information, contact The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK): NIDDKinquiries@nih.gov
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases www.niddk.nih.gov

Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

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