Defeat Diabetes^® E-Lerts™ Newsletter

July 2004
(Volume III, Issue 7)

Six Diabetes Deaths Every Minute In The World

These are staggering statistics recently published by the World Health Organization (WHO). Other new research suggests diabetes increases the risk of death from pancreatic, colon, liver, breast and bladder cancer.

Diabetes affects the elderly in ways we had not known before. Older diabetic patients who withdraw from their normal social activities were more likely than others to die or develop a disability over the next two years. Poor diabetes control causes mental decline in the elderly.

Also in our Latest News section we have six articles that could fall into the "Did You Know?" category: Artificial sweeteners may disrupt the body's natural ability to "count" calories based on foods' sweetness. Liposuction has no health benefits for diabetes or heart disease. New National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Guidelines call for LDL levels of below 70 for people at high risk for myocardial infarction (MI) and cardiovascular death. Airlines are offering an in-flight exercise program. Medicare redefines obesity as an illness, not a disease. And one that may not be surprising, but now has some scientific evidence to back it up "Western” diets consisting of red and processed meats, refined grains, sweets and desserts may be associated with a greater risk of stroke.

On July 21, 2004, Somewhere in Montana -- In between Terry and Glendive, Montana, Andy Mandell -- Mr. Diabetes^®, Executive Director of the Defeat Diabetes Foundation, completed mile 5,000 of his 10,000+ mile walk of the perimeter of the United States to raise awareness about the disease that nearly took his life.

Mr. Diabetes^® Wake Up and Walk^® Tour Reaches Mile 5,000 of 10,000+ Miles

Mandell began with a 450 mile "trial walk" from Madeira Beach, FL in December, 2000. He resumed his journey from Pensacola, FL in January, 2002 after surgery for diabetic retinopathy, a disease that threatened his vision. Since that time he has traveled through 12 states and completed a total of 5,000 miles to date. He's walked through wind, rain, blistering heat, sleet and snow.  read more  For daily updates on the Mr. Diabetes^® Wake Up and Walk^® Tour  click

Jyl Steinback, America's Healthiest Mom, has come out with a new cookbook, Supermarket Gourmet, and as always, we are bringing you some of her most creative, healthy, low fat, low carb and easy to prepare recipes.

People are starting to realize what a great resource a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) is. Get in line with this month's Islets of Humor by Theresa Garnero.

In this month's Treatments on the Horizon we are presenting updates on two very promising treatments: a Lidocaine patch which significantly reduces diabetic pain and the drug Exenatide, a twice a day injection which will help to control blood sugars and help patients to lose weight.

Two exciting projects are in the testing phase right now. People with diabetes could soon be waving goodbye to the pain and hassle of needles, thanks to a new under-skin sensor that monitors blood sugar levels with a simple wave of the arm. Australian scientists are doing research on a drug to simulate the effect of exercise.

Too many carbohydrates can cause high rises in blood sugar levels, especially if you have diabetes. So you count carbs. But do you know which Carbs Count? In this month's Nutrition News Barbara Quinn tackles that topic. (As an Editor's note: I do research every day on diabetes and I learned a LOT from this column!)

Our Executive Director, Andrew P. Mandell, was just the right person to answer one of this month's readers' questions. It concerns rehabilitation from severe diabetic complications and Andy answers this one from personal experience. Also, have you heard about reflexology helping diabetics?

We at Defeat Diabetes Foundation would like to express our appreciation to our growing, global readers. We have now received questions from every continent (except Antarctica) and realize more than ever that diabetes affects almost every one in this world in some way.

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

Awareness + Action = Prevention^®
*********************************************************
WE NEED YOUR HELP to continue our highly recognized and well received programs, but we would like to do more. Defeat Diabetes Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Our web site is secure and all donations are tax-deductible.
*********************************************************
Latest Newsnews
We have many more Latest News Articles. Keep checking our Latest News page at www.DefeatDiabetes.org/news.htm. We post new articles at least twice a week.
*********************************************************
Six Diabetes Deaths Every Minute In The World  According to recently published World Health Organization (WHO) figures, diabetes is responsible for 6 deaths a minute in the world.
Diabetes UP’S Cancer Death Risk New research suggests diabetes increases the risk of death from pancreatic, colon, liver, breast and bladder cancer. Moreover, this holds true even after accounting for obesity, which is common among diabetics and is a well-known risk factor for cancer.
*********************************************************
Did You Know?
There is a 65% increase in Alzheimers risk in participants with Diabetes
Arch Neurol. 2004;61:661-666.
*********************************************************
Poor Diabetes Control Causes Mental Decline Elderly women with diabetes are significantly more likely to decline mentally over the years than women without diabetes. Researchers report that poor control of blood sugar levels may be partially to blame.
Medicare Redefines Obesity As An Illness Not A Disease Medicare now recognizes obesity as an illness, a change in policy that may allow millions of overweight Americans to make medical claims for treatments such as stomach surgery and diet programs.
Fading Social Life Signals Trouble in Diabetes Older diabetic patients who withdraw from their normal social activities may be showing early signs of deteriorating health. Researchers found that among more than 5,200 people with diabetes, age 65 and older, those who said they had recently curtailed their leisure activities were more likely than others to die or develop a disability over the next two years.
*********************************************************
Did You Know?
A new study found that adolescents who regularly ate dinner with their families had lower BMI's than those who did not. Study conducted by researchers from Harvard Medical School.
*********************************************************
Artificial Sweetener Disrupts Body's Ability To Count Calories Study shows that switching to a diet drink may not be the best solution to fight obesity. Artificial sweeteners may disrupt the body's natural ability to "count" calories based on foods' sweetness.
Liposuction Has No Health Benefits For Diabetes or Heart Disease A new report published in The New England Journal of Medicine challenges several earlier studies, preliminary ones suggesting that liposuction could improve health by lowering blood fats and other risk factors linked to diabetes. One reason for the finding may be that liposuction removes fat only from under the skin...
*********************************************************
Did You Know?
HDL, Your Good Cholesterol: For each number that you increase your HDL, you lower your cardiac risk by 1 percent
*********************************************************
Airlines To Offer In-Flight Disease Prevention Program Later this month the airline Song, which is operated by Delta Airlines, plans to begin offering an in-flight exercise program. The move is aimed at promoting health and competing with rival low-cost carrier JetBlue which offers an in-flight exercise program. Rival JetBlue already had a yoga program, and has added Pilates to it.
New National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Guidelines Call For LDL Levels Of Below 70 The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) has updated their Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III guidelines with evidence derived from recent statin trials. The updated recommendations, which are endorsed by The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association, suggest that more intensive cholesterol treatment is an option for people at high risk for myocardial infarction (MI) and cardiovascular death. "The lower the better for high-risk people."
Western Diet Raises Stroke Risk "Western” diets consisting of red and processed meats, refined grains, sweets and desserts may be associated with a greater risk of stroke. The women who ate the "worst" Western diet had a 58 percent higher risk of stroke than women who ate the healthiest diets.
*********************************************************
Mr. Diabetes^® Says
Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. Carl Sagan
*********************************************************
Diabetic Recipes recipes
Jyl Steinback, America's Healthiest Mom, has come out with a new cookbook, Supermarket Gourmet, and as always, we are bringing you some of her most creative, healthy, low fat, low carb and easy to prepare recipes.
Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms
Creamy Herb Salad Dressing or Dip
Spiced Turkey Salad
Simple Salmon Steaks
Green Chile Corn Cakes with Salsa
Chocolate-Cinnamon Dip
*********************************************************
Islets of Humor islets
July 2004
By Theresa Garnero, APRN, BC-ADM, MSN, CDE

more cartoons by Theresa  and About Theresa Garnero
*********************************************************
Treatments on the Horizon
New Under-Skin Sensor That Monitors Blood Sugar Levels For Diabetics People with diabetes could soon be waving goodbye to the pain and hassle of needles, thanks to a new under-skin sensor that monitors blood sugar levels with a simple wave of the arm. The sensor, which is smaller than a dime and paper thin, is based on the same theory behind plastic security tags used in stores to prevent shoplifting.
Lidocaine Patch Helps with Diabetes Pain  During a 3-week treatment period, most of the patients experienced a dramatic reduction in pain. Patients also reported an improved quality of life with treatment, according to the team. Significant improvements were noted in sleep quality as well as in various psychologic measures, such as depression and anger.
*********************************************************
 Did You Know?
A study at the Sri Sathya Institute in India showed that mulberry leaves possess blood glucose-lowering and antioxidant properties that may help control fasting blood glucose. Clinica Chimica Acta, Dec. 2003
*********************************************************
Workout in a Pill Comes a Step Closer Wash down that pizza, cheesecake and beer with a magic pill to make it all vanish from your waistline. The prospect may be only a few years away, say Australian scientists doing research on a drug to simulate the effect of exercise, a move sure to excite couch potatoes the world over.
New Diabetes Drug Exenatide - One Step Closer to Market A large lizard, a federal researcher's hunch and a San Diego biotech's leap of faith could result in the next diabetes treatment from Eli Lilly and Co. Twice a day injection will help to control blood sugars and help patients to lose weight.
*********************************************************
Did You Know?
Low Carb Vitamins, aren't low in carbohydrates, they are just being advertised for people on low-carb diets. These vitamins tend to contain more B vitamins and antioxidants. There IS concern that strict low-carb diets might not provide enough vitamins and minerals. A regular multivitamin is fine for most low-carb dieters. Anything over the RDA probably isn't necessary.
*********************************************************
Nutrition News nutrition
July 2004
By Barbara Quinn, MS, RD, CDE

Carbs that Count
It’s true. Too many carbohydrates can cause high rises in blood sugar levels, especially if you have diabetes. Most nutrition professionals advise you to “count” the number of carbohydrates you consume each time you eat. Question is, What counts? Here’s a list of what to look for (in order of importance) to help guide you through your next label-reading adventure:  read more  and  About Barbara Quinn
*********************************************************
Did You Know?
Researchers report that people who habitually drink tea have less body fat and lower hip-to-waist ratios than do infrequent tea drinkers. The body-fat percentage of those who had been habitual tea drinkers for more than 10 years was 19.6% lower than that of non-habitual tea drinkers, and their hip-to-waist ratio was 2.1% lower. Obesity Research, Sept. 2003
*********************************************************
Readers' Forum forum
Our Executive Director, Andrew P. Mandell, was just the right person to answer one of this month's readers' questions. It concerns rehabilitation from severe diabetic complications and Andy answers this one from personal experience. Also, have you heard about reflexology helping diabetics?

Q - I have had diabetes since 1994. Recently lost job and insurance so was off meds for about 9 months. During that time my body was hit with major nerve and muscle damage. I have several places where organs have moved and formed bulges. What kind of exercise program can I due to recondition these muscles? Doctors At VA are not helpful with this matter. - John - for our response

Q - Does Reflexology help people with diabetes? How? - Sorela - for our response
*********************************************************

This concludes the Defeat Diabetes^® E-Lerts™ Newsletter.

If there are specific questions you have, you may reach us at info@DefeatDiabetes.org.

If you liked our E-Lerts™ Newsletter, found interesting and informative articles, or enjoyed our delicious recipes, please refer this newsletter to someone you know who may also benefit from reading it.  Just click HERE.  When you do, an email (from you) will open.  Enter your friend's email address, Copy and Paste the message below into the email, personalize the message and click send/submit.

If you're not already receiving E-Lerts™ each month, please join us and subscribe to the Defeat Diabetes^® E-Lerts™ Newsletter.

To unsubscribe, please go to our unsubscribe form.

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

Important Notice: The opinions and statements expressed in the Defeat Diabetes^® E-Lertsä Newsletter are directed at a general audience. Its intent is solely for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult a health professional on any matters regarding your health and well-being, or if you are interested in anything mentioned in the Defeat Diabetes^® E-Lertsä Newsletter. The information presented here is believed to be accurate, based on the best judgment of the Program Director, but the reader is responsible for consulting with his/her own health professional on any matters raised within.