Diabetes and healthy eating

I read this article the other day titled "Its American diabetes month". Its pretty harsh regarding the typical American diet nowadays, but the truth hurts.

She linked to this site, which lead me to this vegan diet how to guide. I found it interesting, especially since this is the sort of information I've been looking for. I'm not saying that I'm going vegan, and it isn't necessarily very technical, but I'm just glad to find other options right now.

They have a message board there too. I haven't really looked at that yet though.

A good series of articles on reversing diabetes.

Eating for diabetes reversal

I still get these emails from WebMD from time to time, and mostly they're not worth it. Every once in a while though there's something worth reading, and this is one of them I believe. It discusses the importance of diet in controlling diabetes, as well as what kinds of diets work.

More suppliments and foods

I found a pretty good resource at the Diabetes Action Research and Education Foundation website. It was a pdf called "Managing Your Diabetes". What I was specifically interested in for this post was the section on "Beyond the Basics" which included vitamin/mineral supplimentation, plant pharmacology, and other natural ways to manage diabetes.

Vitamin/Mineral list:
Vitamin B-6
Biotin
Vitamin C
Chromium
Coenzyme Q (Co-Q-10)
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)
Vitamin E
Lipoic Acid
Magnesium
Niacin
Nitric Oxide
Vandium

Plant Pharmacology:
American Ginsing
Bay
Bitter Gourd
Cayenne
Cinnamon
Evening Primrose Oil
Fenugreek
Flax
Ginger
Gurmar
Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA)
Lagerstoemia speciosa
Nopal
Onions and Garlic

The link straight to the document itself is up above if you click on it's name. I don't know how much I can actually get away with copying anything straight out of there.

I haven't really tried any of these myself, except maybe the occasional cinnamon in my coffee, so I can't profess to the actual usefulness of each item. Either way, it gave me more things to look up and follow up on later.

Vinegar good for diabetes and losing a few lbs?

I saw this video on webmd.
I was about the benefits that vinegar may have on blood glucose levels. Its short, about a minute and a half. Give it a look. It fits in well with my search for alternative means for controlling blood sugars. What also fits in well is what I've wanted to post for a week or two but just haven't gotten around to it. Maybe tomorrow?

Helpful Suppliments?

A short list, from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC)

Chromium

The benefit of added chromium for diabetes has been studied and debated for several years. Several studies report that chromium supplementation may improve diabetes control. Chromium is needed to make glucose tolerance factor, which helps insulin improve its action. Because of insufficient information on the use of chromium to treat diabetes, no recommendations for supplementation yet exist.

Ginseng

Several types of plants are referred to as ginseng but most studies of ginseng and diabetes have used American ginseng. Those studies have shown some glucose-lowering effects in fasting and post-prandial (after meal) blood glucose levels as well as in A1C levels (average blood glucose levels over a 3-month period). However, larger and more long-term studies are needed before general recommendations for use of ginseng can be made. Researchers also have determined that the amount of glucose-lowering compound in ginseng plants varies widely.

Magnesium

Although the relationship between magnesium and diabetes has been studied for decades, it is not yet fully understood. Studies suggest that a deficiency in magnesium may worsen blood glucose control in type 2 diabetes. Scientists believe that a deficiency of magnesium interrupts insulin secretion in the pancreas and increases insulin resistance in the body's tissues. Evidence suggests that a deficiency of magnesium may contribute to certain diabetes complications. A recent analysis showed that people with higher dietary intakes of magnesium (through consumption of whole grains, nuts, and green leafy vegetables) had a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes.

Vanadium

Vanadium is a compound found in tiny amounts in plants and animals. Early studies showed that vanadium normalized blood glucose levels in animals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. A recent study found that when people with diabetes were given vanadium, they developed a modest increase in insulin sensitivity and were able to decrease their insulin requirements. Currently researchers want to understand how vanadium works in the body, discover potential side effects, and establish safe dosages.

Now I posted this because I've heard of Chromium, but not the others from above. Another few I can think of off the top of my head that I'll have to include later when I get more information are cinnamon and sweet potatoes.

I put this in my list of scattered information tidbits that I wanted to collect in one place.

Diabetes Tattoo?

According to this article, researchers are looking into a nano ink that changes colors according to blood glucose levels.

A special tattoo ink that changes color based on glucose levels inside the skin is under development by Massachusetts-based Draper Laboratories. The injectable nanotech ink could eventually free diabetics from painful blood glucose tests.

This sounds awesome to me, but then again, I already have a tattoo, so I wouldn't mind getting another. I can't wait to find out more.

Lack of Sleep Connected with Diabetes?

A coworker handed me an issue of Science News with an article titled "Gene connects lack of shut-eye with diabetes". Luckily enough I was able to find it online to share in the prior link.

The cliff notes are basically that melatonin is created to make you sleep, and your pancreas has melatonin receptors so it slows insulin production when you are sleeping. This makes sense because you're about to go inactive for the next 8 hours (hopefully) and you won't need to use much energy or eat any food.

A 2007 study found that people who get less than five hours of sleep a night were significantly more likely to have type 2 diabetes. Experiments on sleep in the lab confirm this trend: Healthy young adults who were prevented from entering deep sleep for just three nights couldn’t properly regulate blood sugar levels, a 2008 study shows. What’s more, the subjects became more resistant to insulin during the study, eventually reaching the levels of insulin sensitivity that resemble the insulin resistance of diabetic people.

What does that mean for people who already have diabetes? I don't know that it helps much beyond making apparent that sleep is always important. The end of the article says they might start doing studies of people on melatonin supplements for aiding sleep. I don't think that melatonin supplements would help if you were already Type 2 diabetic though because type 2 people are already insulin resistant, they typically need more insulin, not less.