Shocking news '24,000 diabetes sufferers dying every year unneccessarily'

The news report yesterday ' Wednesday 14 December' in the Daily Express highlighted how many people with diabetes die from the condition and its complications.  24,000 is a shocking amount of people and not all of them would be older people.  This reasons given are mixed with some not receiving the full amount of care by the NHS and others simple not managing their diabetes.  Women according to the report are more likely to not manage their diabetes were men are better than this. Has this something to do with the life responsibilities that some women have i.e. house, children, self etc?  Or is it simply because managing diabetes is not on the top of their priority list.  I would be interested to hear what you have to say about this.

Two important statistics to leave you with.

1. The Express states ' up to 75,000 diabetes die in England every year'

2. The National Diabetes Audit found almost  '450,000 children and younger adults with diabetes have high risk blood sugar levels that could lead to severe complications'

According to various reports this is only going to get worse.

Can cinnamon help to control blood sugar?

According to Jeff O'Connell in his book Sugar Nation he came across this, little know to me anyway, gem of research which  indicates that cinnamon may help reduce blood glucose levels.  He writes 'A pair of studies found promising results, reductions in blood glucose levels of 20 percent or so'  Other studies have also looked at cinnamon for reduction of blood glucose levels but not with the same results. 

Cinnamon has an active ingredient called hydroxychalcone, which seems to improve insulin sensitivity.  Whether it is the cheap  or the expensive version of the spice it does not seem to matter.  Like O'Connell I will be adding it to everything that I can.  Whether proven or not it is a lovely tasting spice and will not do my any harm.  It could even help with my blood glucose levels.

The Diabetes Information Jigsaw

During my research in the last few days I came across a report called The Diabetes information Jigsaw.  Has anyone heard about this?  It was conducted in 2006 so the information is a little out of date but I wondered if anything that it reported on had changed.  It mentions that the 'government has made patient-centred care for diabetes a priority' but key deadlines had been missed.

From the three reports that I read: 'The Diabetes Information Jigsaw', 'DAWN' and 'Implications of the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study' diabetes is estimated to affect 370 million by 2030!  That is a shocking amount of people and it is not only in the older generation but more young people are being diagnosed with Type 2.  At least half of us do not 'achieve glycemic control', self-management is poor, just as many suffer from depression and we want better information and support.

I would like to hear what you think.  Drop me a line with your views on how you are managing your diabetes or if you are a carer how it is going for you both.

This is my second day of having one juice a day and already I have noticed a difference in my sugars.  Yesterday before eating was 9.4 mols, I juiced a lunch with a refreshing juice made with three greens: celery, cucumber and broccali.  Although I was not hungry my stomach flet empty so I had few crackers and cheese.  Reading before tea was 9.8 mols. 

This morning before breakfast was 8.3 and I had a wonderful juice that was made of: 1 apple,1 pear, 1/2 lemon, 1/2, deseeded red and yellow peppers and 1 small beetroot.  When juiced it looks like the picture.  It is a wonderful refreshing drink that has an earthy smell and taste.  Some people might find it hard to take a first because of the earthy taste.  I found it too sweet so I will try it next time with only 1 apple.  My readiings tonight was 9.8 mols. 

Juicing makes me feel light and not heavy which I feel after eating carbs.  It is a wonderful feeling.

New Lease of Life!

It has been a little while since I last posted to the site.  My apologies you all of you who are following my blog.  The thing that I find the most difficult to deal with is the mood swings that I get when my sugar is either too high or lower than normal.  I don't intend to feel down, there is nothing in my life to make me feel down, but my tendancy with my sugars bouncing about is that I get down.  And when I am feeling down I find it hard to motivate myself.

However I seem to have a new lease of life and back into looking at ways that I can manage my diabetes and keep the downs at bay.

Speak to you all soon.

Since I last wrote I have been asking people with type 2 diabetes if they believe there is a cure.  On the whole their answer was that diabetes can be managed but not cured.  If your diet is strict and you adhere to the recommendations by the professionals i.e. Doctors, diabetic nurse, dietician etc then complications will be a long way in your future.  Regardless of how well you manage your diabetes they all agreed that in time it will progress and they will eventually be on insulin and living with some of the complications we all hope to never get.

There is some debate what ‘a cure’ means.  Is it that you will never have the symptoms every again no matter what the diet and lifestyle is?  Or is having being strict and having good management a cure?  Could we say that a change in lifestyle and diet may eliminate all signs of the disease, is this then the cure?  Many professionals believe that it is genetic and once the gene is turned on then it cannot be turned off.

What do people mean when they say that diabetes can be cured? 

A little more research and pondering are required to define this.

In the meantime....

I have been experimenting with food and recording how my body reacts to different diets.  Amazingly for one whole day I was off my insulin with normal readings for one meal and lower readings for the others!  This is worth investigating a little further.

A little something for you to consider –

Would you rather change your lifestyle and diet to be free from all the signs and symptoms for the rest of your life?  Do you think like many other people that your health and wellbeing can never be retrieved and it is too much effort to change which results in complications and an early death?

Drop me a line and let me know.

Till next time.

Is this the cure?

Cousens is not the only one who professes that diabetes can be cured.  Fellow Americans Dr Neal Barnard ‘The Reverse Diabetes Diet’ [not read] (http://www.nealbarnard.org/) and DeWayne McCulley Death to Diabetes [not read] (http://www.deathtodiabetes.com/) also claim that diabetes can be cured.  There are variations on the same theme, that processed foods should be reduced and/or eliminated from our diets, more emphasis on fresh greens, no sugar, and eat low Glycemic (GI) foods.  Don’t forget to exercise!

It’s all well and good having this information from America but like so much other information, that’s all it is, and it is frustrating!  Cousens book There is a Cure for Diabetes is really heavy to read. There are words in it that I haven’t a clue what they mean.  You are probably familiar with these types of words.  Medical in every sense for example do you know what Glycation means or Glycosylaated Protein? The last one should be familiar to all of us as it is the HGBA1C that tests our red blood when we have our 6 monthly check-up.

Cousens book is interesting in small bites and the case studies are interesting to see but they don’t really share what is the affects of the change in diet.  Yes they share that they are now or at least by the end of the program cured but not what the process was like.  It would be interesting to see how they have managed away from the centre and if they have retained the lifestyle change.

Closer to home, last month I read about a clinical study conducted by researchers from the Human Nutrition Research Centre that claimed that they had found a cure for type 2 diabetes.  The diet consisted of 600 calories for 8 weeks.  When I read this I cringed with the thought of only each 600 calories a day, a woman should have 1940 calories a day.  Crazy!

NHS Choice has more information on the research if you are interested.

The results: After one week their blood sugar levels were normalised and by week eight they had improved their pancreatic sensitivity to insulin and lost weight.  Fat stored in the liver also decreased.  None of the participants were on insulin and had only been diagnosed for less than 4 years.

Are they cured?

The quick answer to that is no.  Four weeks after the diet had stopped the participants not only gained weight but their fasting blood sugar increased.  I am sure that we all could have told them that this would happen.  As for being cured?  According to Cousen if they had remained on the diet they may have been. For there to be a cure it means a lifestyle change for life!

Our choices are simple. 

Die earlier than we would be expected to after years of developing complications, if we stay on the diet that we currently have.  This includes people who are good at managing their diabetes with diet.  It will by all accounts sooner or later catch up with you.  Or decide that we want to live a full life, without all the complications and be alert, have energy to spare and feel good.  

I know what I am going to choose, do you?

Till next time.