I think we all want to believe that when someone robs a store they do because they desperately need the money. One such robbery attempt was just that. A man entered the E-Z Mart in Connecticut and told the clerk to open the register. He lifted his shirt to show the man he had a gun.
The robber apparently told the man that he hated to do this (the robbery) but he needed $40 for insulin.

A convenience store clerk wouldn’t open the register for a robber but gave the man $40 from his own pocket after the robber told him he needed the money for insulin. The clerk gave him $40 out of his own pocket. Police are trying to find the robber.

Image: Cherie Burbach

Looking for Diabetes Notes? You’ve found us! Diabetes Notes is part of Blisstree now. How do you like our new digs?

Don’t worry, I’ll still be providing diabetes news and updates here. And the “Putting a Face on Diabetes” interview series remains alive and well! (A little “health” humor there! Tee hee).

This is an exciting time for diabetics everywhere, as each day we know more about the disease and get closer to a cure.

Remember if you’re a Type 1 or Type 2 diabetic who is interested in being interviewed, please send me an email at: cherieburbach@yahoo.com. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you as we learn about and tackle this disease.

Every once in a while, someone will ask me to explain exactly what diabetes is. Most people know that diabetics “can’t have sugar” (which isn’t really true anymore) but they don’t understand why.

As we’ve learned over the last several years, it isn’t just about the sugar. It’s about carbs and a healthy lifestyle.

To help understand how someone gets diabetes, here’s a visual explanation:

Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating today!

I love this holiday for many reasons. First, it gives us a chance to sit down and focus on gratitude. How often do we really get to do that? It also gives us an opportunity to be with family and friends, and celebrate what life is really about: caring for one another. It’s truly a day to realize how lucky we have it. We are blest.

There might be some diabetics out there who are sad because they have a disease which causes a lot of maintenance, pain, and restrictions. Beleive me, I am with you in all of that. There are days when I’m more positive, and some days when I feel defeated.

But not today. On this day, let’s be thankful that we are diabetics today. We have never had it so good in terms of medical knowledge. Insulin has allowed us to live. More than that, the knowledge we have about carbs and exercise have given us a leg up in the care for the disease.

Instead of focusing on food today (and it’s hard not to, with a holiday centered around it), let’s focus on the goodness of being a diabetic at the best possible time in history. Let’s support each other and as we sit down to say a prayer of thanks for the bounty before us, let’s also say a prayer for each other!

I will be saying a prayer of thanks for everyone who reads this blog and comments, all of those who write me, and all of those struggling with the disease. I will be saying a prayer for all my fellow diabetics, and I hope you will, too.

HAVE A BLESSED THANKSGIVING!

I always like studies directed especially towards Type 1 diabetics. I know the majority of people are Type 2 diabetics and so many studies need to be directed towards them. But, as someone that is a Type 1, it’s nice to see some research directed our way.

So anyways, here’s an interesting study that came out regarding Type 1 diabetics and exercise. According BD Diabetes, “Intense exercise training can help normalize muscle metabolism in people with type 1 diabetes, which could result in “clinically important health benefits,” Australian researchers report.”

What does that mean for us? That intensive exercise spurts might actually be able to help with weight loss. Of course, this is one study. More study needs to be done on the subject, but to me this is very exciting research. I know a lot of Type 1 diabetics who have struggled with weight, and this could be one reason why.

Here’s an important recall warning for diabetics:

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an alert that 471,000 mislabeled syringes for diabetics being recalled from Wal-Mart and Sam’s Clubs stores pose risk of insulin overdose.

The agency warned patients and health care professionals not to use disposable 31-gauge, 1cc ReliOn syringes with Lot Number 813900 as its manufacturer, Tyco Healthcare Group LP (Covidien), recalled the product on Oct. 9, 2008 and Wal-Mart notified buyers to return them in exchange for replacements. The said syringes were sold at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Clubs stores from Aug. 1, 2008 to Oct. 8, 2008.

The syringes being recalled are for use with U-40 insulin but were packed in boxes of syringes for use with U-100 insulin.”

~source

Vitamin D supplements in early childhood may help in keeping the development of type 1 diabetes at bay. Archives of Disease in Childhood revealed this finding from research.

The results showed that children given additional vitamin D were around 30% less likely to develop type 1 diabetes compared with those not given the supplement. And the higher and the more regular the dose, the lower was the likelihood of developing the disease, the evidence suggested.

What do you think about this one? Several logical reasons were given to back this research up…

1. There is a striking difference in the incidence of type 1 diabetes according to latitude and levels of sunlight exposure, with a child in Finland 400 times more likely to develop the disease than a child in Venezuela.

2. Pancreatic beta cells and immune cells carry receptors or docking bays for the active forms of the vitamin.

Do you buy it? Tell me your opinion, I am on the fence…

via Science daily/Eurek Alert 

Weight loss and changes in ones lifestyles may be more pertinent in helping type 2 diabetics then high insulin treatments among overweight patients.

The evidence is compelling that when insulin levels are high, certain tissues are overloaded with fatty molecules, which leads to insulin resistance. And yet, the high blood glucose levels of many obese patients with insulin-resistant type 2 diabetes are being treated with increasing amounts of insulin in an attempt to overpower that resistance. While high doses of insulin may lower glucose levels, it will also increase the fatty molecules and may cause organ damage.

There are so many options to help one lose weight in this case. You can search out a nutritionist, see a weight loss specialist and use combination medication and exercise and then in severe cases there is bariatric surgery. We know from countless research that bariatric surgery is successful in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

I know just how tough weight loss can be but I also know when my diet, exercise and weight is at a controlled level, my diabetes is almost obsolete.

via UT Southwestern Medical Center

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! We might just have a new type of oral diabetes treatment. It is derived from yeast and yes, that did make me giggle since yeast is in bread and bread is carbs and carbs turns to sugar and… you get my point.

It is called glucose tolerance factor, GTF, and is essential in understanding how your body builds a resistance to insulin and can use it an ineffective way at different parts of the day or in differing situations.

The results indicate that GTF acts similarly to insulin in the rats, lowering the level of glucose, and of LDL-cholesterol, (the “bad” cholesterol), and raising the level of HDL-cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol). GTF inhibited oxidation processes that can cause atherosclerosis and result in further complications of the disease like strokes and heart attacks. Moreover, when GTF is given at early stage of the disease, it could prevent or delay renal complications. GTF also helped to prevent cataracts and retinal damage. It was also found that GTF improves the effectiveness of injected insulin.

More research needs to be done but we have a strong start and great possibilities!

via Science Daily

Glucose and fructose are metabolized in the liver. When there’s too much sugar in the diet, the liver converts it to lipid. Using a mouse model and human liver cell cultures, the scientists discovered that the increased production of lipid shut down a gene called SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin), reducing the amount of SHBG protein in the blood. SHBG protein plays a key role in controlling the amount of testosterone and estrogen that’s available throughout the body.

This would indicate that the bodies liver metabolism is all “out of whack” before there are even disease symptoms and we could in turn use SHGB as a bio-marker for liver function. Pretty good idea, huh?

Less SHGB protein means more testosterone and estrogen released in the body and an increased risk for infertility, uterine cancer and heart disease, especially in women. This discovery also debunks the earlier assumption that too much insulin reduces SHBG, a view which arose from the observation that overweight, pre-diabetic individuals have high levels of insulin and low levels of SHBG. Quite the opposite indeed. This would make insulin not to blame and suggest that it is actually the liver’s metabolism of sugar that counts.