Defeat Diabetes^® E-Lerts™ Newsletter

June  2003
(Volume II, Issue 5)
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LOW CARB! or LOW FAT! or HIGH PROTEIN! or VEGAN! which is the best DIET for DIABETICS? or is there just one? Controversy surrounds all the diets that are claiming to help prevent diabetes or to help diabetics. Low fat diets have been prescribed for years, but obesity and diabetes are now at epidemic proportions. Do Diets Work? Check Latest News to read about the new low carb diet controversy. But another article proclaims a vegetarian diet may cure diabetes. Whether Dr. Atkins and his much maligned low carb-high protein diet is vindicated or not, there are some things all dieticians agree on - eat a healthy diet and enjoy being with people, even if you have diabetes.

It is now summer and we have some cool recipes to beat the heat from Jyl Steinback, America's Healthiest Mom.

We are excited about the latest Treatments on the Horizon from creating insulin-producing cells from stem cells to laughter processing blood sugar as well as improving circulation, stimulating the nervous system, heightening the immune system and making the heart stronger. The FDA is fast-tracking the review process for diabetes drugs. And there are nutritional agents that look very promising for diabetics and prediabetics.

We are getting many questions from you, our readers. For the latest see the Readers' Forum.

Follow the progress of Mr. Diabetes^®. He is now in Grants Pass, Oregon having completed 3538.2 miles on his epic Wake Up and Walk^® Tour.

WE NEED YOUR HELP to continue our highly recognized and well received programs, but we would like to do more. The Defeat Diabetes Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Our web site is secure and all donations are tax-deductible.  

Good Health,
Lisa M. Rasolt
Program Director
lrasolt@DefeatDiabetes.org

Awareness + Action = Prevention™
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Did you know?
Insulin Resistance on Rise in Young Girls:  From the earliest years of childhood, girls are more likely than boys to develop the early warning signs of diabetes. Diabetes Care June 2003
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Latest News
Weighing In On the Low Carb Diet Controversy  The two new studies in the New England Journal of Medicine directly compare low-carb diets to a traditional low-fat diet in obese patients over a longer period of time. The conclusions were that: (a) about a third of patients on both diets quit early on; (b) people who stayed on the low-carb diet lost more weight than the folks on the low-fat diet; (c) regardless of which diet you were on, the longer you stayed on the diet, the less well it seemed to work; and (d) scary predictions of bad things happening to people’s cholesterol levels on a low-carb diet turned out not to come true.
Can a Vegan Diet Cure Diabetes? Early studies suggest that persons with diabetes can improve and, in some cases, even cure themselves of the disease by switching to an unrefined, vegan diet. Working with Georgetown University, we compared two different diets: a high-fiber, low-fat, vegan diet and the more commonly used ADA diet. Fasting blood sugars decreased 59 percent more in the vegan group than in the ADA group. While the ADA group lost an impressive 8 pounds, on average, the vegans lost nearly 16 pounds.
Good Carb, Bad Carb High-glycemic carbohydrates are bad because they leave the stomach quickly and trigger the rapid rise in blood sugar and insulin, which is soon followed by a crash in blood sugar that prompts renewed hunger. The result can be more calories consumed and more weight gained. More important, a calorie is still a calorie is still a calorie. No matter what combination of protein, fat, and carbohydrate you eat, if you take in more calories than you burn, you'll get fat. Bottom line? Stick to whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables, and avoid refined carbohydrates as much as you can. Chances are, you'll be less hungry and much healthier.
Eat Out, Stick To A Healthy Diet - And Enjoy!  Sharing a meal out with family or friends is a pleasurable way to socialize. Having diabetes doesn't have to reduce this enjoyment! You can dine out, entertain, picnic and celebrate the holidays…while eating a healthful diet. Keeping diabetes under control involves making certain changes to your eating habits. Actually, most Americans would benefit from making these changes.
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Mr. Diabetes^® Says
Take care of yourself. Good health is everyone' major source of wealth. Without it, happiness is almost impossible. Lloyd Shearer
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Low-Carb Guru May Have Been Right, Tests Show Controversial Atkins Diet A month after his death, two scientific studies suggest Dr. Atkins was right -- steak and lobster can be slimming. Diabetics in particular did very well on the low-carbohydrate diet.
Skipping Meals May Help, Not Hurt, Health  A report found that a diet in which mice ate only every other day appeared to protect them more from diabetes and the memory-robbing Alzheimer's disease than either a low-calorie diet or eating as much food as they wanted every day. Although the research was conducted in another species, Mattson said the findings appear to suggest that, for healthy adult humans, forgoing a meal now and then may not be such a bad idea, "and it may be beneficial." "It may be okay to skip breakfast, for example," he said.
Do Low-Carb Diets Work?  Low-carb diets work because of calorie restriction, not carb restriction. It was found that the low-carb diet had no adverse effects on cholesterol, glucose, insulin or blood pressure. Researchers conclude that there is inadequate evidence to either support or refute the claims that low-carb diets are good for you.
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Diabetic Recipes recipes
Here are some cool recipes to beat the heat from Jyl Steinback, America's Healthiest Mom:
Spinach Dip
Gazpacho Soup
Summer Veggie Salad
Crab Delight
Cold Pasta Primavera
Fruit Kabob and Dip
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Treatments On The Horizon
Israeli-US Team Create Insulin-Producing Cells From Stem Cells Tel Aviv University and American researchers have managed to cure diabetes in mice by creating insulin-producing cells from stem cells taken from the liver of a four-month-old miscarried human embryo and implanting them into Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetic mice. Researchers hope that eventually such cells could be transplanted into human diabetics - if a way is found to protect them from rejection through an autoimmune attack.
Laughter Cuts Blood Sugar in Diabetics  A study shows that diabetics may be better able to process the sugar they consume during meals if they order a side of laughter with their food. Laughter is also thought to improve circulation, stimulate the nervous system, heighten the immune system and make the heart stronger.
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With no Government funding, Defeat Diabetes Foundation relies on the generosity of "We the People" to help keep our programs going and growing.   We can't do it alone ... We need your financial support!
Make a "Tribute", "Memorial", or "General" donation.
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FDA Chief Looks To Speed Diabetes, Obesity Drugs  Mark McClellan, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said he wants to apply a fast-track review process normally reserved for drugs for terminal cancer and AIDS patients to drugs for diabetes and obesity. McClellan's initiative is unprecedented because it would expand the accelerated review for treatments to a much larger group of people with health problems that generally are not immediately life-threatening.
New Nutritional Agents for People With Diabetes and Prediabetes Chromium picolinate by itself is very effective for reversing insulin resistance. However, a new product that seems to be even more therapeutic for those with diabetes is now available. It’s a patented composition of chromium picolinate plus biotin called Diachrome™. beneficial effects of the antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E and alpha-lipoic acid. The effects of two less-well-known antioxidants, lutein and coenzyme Q10, also deserve mention.

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Did you know?
About 45 percent of women and 25 percent of men are trying to lose weight at any one time, but only one-fifth are using the recommended combination of fewer calories and increased exercise.   AHA, NIH, CDC, NHNES
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Readers' Forum
Q - I'm afraid I might have diabetes. My grandmother had diabetes when she died. My brother and I both are overweight. Our hands and arms feel like they are asleep while we are using them. It's a burning, tingling feeling and no matter how much you shake them, that feeling doesn't go away for awhile. I have to go to the bathroom a lot and I have sores that don't heal well at all.I can't afford to go to the doctor. I'm only 23 and my brother is 21 and I'm really scared. - Serena - for our answer

Q - I was told several months ago that I was border line diabetic when I was in the hospital. My family doctor had me take every test he could think of and could not find the actual diabetes. But when I took your screening test at www.DefeatDiabetes.org/screeningtest.htm, I found that I have all the symptoms of both "Type 1 and Type 2", with the exception of about two.

I don't want to be a diabetic, but I feel that I should start treating myself as if I was, in order to save my life in the future. I need to learn how to eat and whatever it is that a diabetic does in order to sustain a longer, healthier life.

Please help me. You could not even imagine how horrible I have been feeling these last several months. - Mary - for our answer
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This concludes the Defeat Diabetes^® E-Lerts™ Newsletter.

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The Defeat Diabetes Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Our web site is secure and all donations are tax-deductible.