For young children with type I diabetes, days are filled with constant monitoring, finger pricking and insulin injections.
But one inventor is aiming to bring these children a bit of comfort during these activities, as well as to teach them the importance of staying healthy, he created a teddy called Jerry the Bear, who also has diabetes.
Aaron Horowitz, CEO of tech startup Sproutel, grew up with a condition called human growth hormone deficiency, which also required frequent injections to treat.
After visiting children with type I diabetes in hospitals, Horowitz said he realized that their feelings of loneliness mirrored his own.
Many of the children had stuffed animals, and projected their medical condition onto their inanimate friends, Horowitz said. In people with Type I diabetes, the pancreas cannot produce the hormone insulin. The children would prick their companions' fingers to test their blood sugar, and cut syringes out of paper to give them insulin injections.
Children can feed Jerry, regulate his insulin with injections and prick his fingers to monitor his blood sugar. A large, colorful screen in the center of Jerry's chest provides not only a medical readout, but a space for children to play games.
Horowitz made Jerry's condition into a game. Children must monitor Jerry's health very closely, because - as they will learn through storybook sequences and touch pad games - the bear is training for the Olympics, and won't let his disease stand in the way.
Read the full article at LiveScience
Kobe Bryant has first hand knowledge of diabetes as both of his grandfathers had the disease.
Today Kobe follows a healthy diet and way of life. “When I was younger it was very easy for me to eat what I wanted.
The hardest part of getting old is being able to change your diet. It’s a struggle with yourself, but it needs to be done. Some three-and-a-half years back I made a change in eating with my focus now on eating for performance and recovery. I now eat with a purpose.”
Bryant is in Dubai for a celebrity match, as well as a youth clinic . . .
The two-day event, which will see an exclusive clinic for youth in Abu Dhabi on Thursday followed by a celebrity match at the American University in Dubai (AUD) on Friday, is being supported by GEMS Education in association with the Dubai Diabetes Association, Boston Diabetes Centre, Imperial College of London Diabetes Centre’s public awareness campaign, Expo 2020, GAYSW, Dubai Calendar, Duplays and Dubai Sports Council.
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Eating more whole fruits, particularly blueberries, grapes and apples, is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, with greater fruit juice consumption having an adverse effect.
Increasing fruit consumption has been recommended for the prevention of many chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. However, studies have generated some mixed results.
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Need more "Diabetic Friendly Recipes" - Look no further than recipes from the American Diabetes Association - MyFoodAdvisor Recipes for Healthy Living
The site offers a monthly meal plan with a variety of recipes. Subscribers get monthly e-mails on cooking tips including how to adjust carbohydrates and calories.
You can search the large recipe database by food type, ingredients and the calorie or carbohydrate content. A new set of diabetes-friendly recipes, some of which have been incorporated into the meal plan
A one day sample meal plan with a grocery list and tips to adjust carbohydrates and calories to better fit your needs
Videos showing you how to prepare our recipes and other healthy foods in the kitchen
A feature article on nutrition or a seasonal health topic
Quick tips for eating healthy and living well when time is scarce
There is no cost to sign up for the Recipes for Healthy Living E-Newsletter and the site promises there will be no subscription fees down the road.
Stomach grumbling or blood glucose a bit low? Reach for one of the top 25 consumer-tasted and dietitian-approved snacks.
Diabetic Living's dietitians scoured the supermarkets to find the most nutritious packaged snacks, and a panel of taste-testers (including people with diabetes) ranked the treats. From chips and dip to cookies and popcorn, see which snacks were awarded the Diabetic Living What to Eat Seal of Approval.
Over 2 million people are using the Diabetes Tracker app by MyNetDiary
The app is not free, and the cost is $9.99. So what do you get for this paid app?
Well for one you can scan bar codes on food containers, along with tracking your glucose levels throughout the day, and get daily and weekly reports. You can also track your medications, exercise, water intake and A1C, LDL, HDL, BP tracking.
So for the cost, there are a lot of interactive features to this app. Available at iTunes store
Diabetes management is a daily effort of maintaining glucose levels
Glucose Buddy is a free app from Azumio. You enter your glucose numbers, carbohydrate consumption, insulin dosages and activities and monitor them throughout the day on the app or you can do the same on the free account online - which is great for older diabetics who do not have a smartphone or tablet.
You can also view and print charts that show your glucose levels.
The app is available for iOS and Android. http://www.glucosebuddy.com/
Diagnosis of diabetes in today’s world does not mean you are doomed for a future of kidney failure, amputations, and a short life.
Treatments and technology available today can, with effort and persistence, help us live a long and healthy life. (Sadly, there are some countries that do not have access to these treatments and technologies.)
Long-term studies of people with diabetes show that keeping blood sugars in a healthy range can dramatically lower the risk of complications.
In fact, even a few years of better blood sugars has a protective effect that lasts for decades. On the flip side, years of uncontrolled diabetes increase the risk of kidney problems.
Did you know that people with diabetes account for 44% of the newly diagnosed cases of kidney failure each year?
Here's what you need to know . . .
Photo courtesy of EB Johnson
African Americans are at particularly high risk of stroke, but even after experiencing one, many patients don’t get their blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes under control, according to a US study.
The researchers note that control of such risk factors in general could prevent many of the 1.1 million heart attacks and 731,000 strokes that occur in the United States every year.
In the study, researchers from Rush University in Chicago looked at more than 1,000 African-American stroke patients enrolled in a study of anti-clotting drugs. Ruland’s team was not concerned with the drug results, but instead looked at awareness and control of risk factors by the patients.
“We know from previous studies, both for primary prevention and prevention of recurrent heart attack and stroke, that real aggressive risk factor reduction will lead to fewer events,” researchers say.
While 73% of study participants known to have high blood pressure were taking medication to control it, just 30% had actually brought their blood pressure down to or below normal levels.
Medication may not have been effective in lowering blood pressure because “the treatment strategy wasn’t aggressive enough,” according to researchers. They says that may be due to attitudes of both the physician and patient, lack of follow-up care and poor patient compliance in taking prescriptions.
Less than half of the patients with known high cholesterol were taking medication for the problem. Most who were prescribed drugs were taking cholesterol-lowering statins, but they were effective in only about two-thirds of patients. In addition, one quarter of the patients with high cholesterol did not know it.
Of the 40% of study participants with known diabetes, 84% reported being on some type of medication. Among the diabetic patients whose blood glucose was checked, one third did not have it under control. In the remaining 60% of the patients who did not have diabetes, 2% were at high risk for developing the disease.
According to researchers, previous studies have shown that African Americans who have had a stroke are more likely to have two or more risk factors.
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You know what we need in life with diabetes? More police. More warnings. More lectures. More raised eyebrows and far more people gasping at the sight of our blood sugar when it isn’t perfect.
If you’re interested in doing it all wrong, increasing the already existing stress levels we live under day in and day out with diabetes, then here’s the guide for you
MySugr has created two apps - MySugr Companion on iOS for adults, and and Android app MySugr Junior for kids.
The app is basically a diabetes logbook. It provides immediate feedback and helps you stay motivated.
You win points for every entry made which help tame your diabetes monster. The goal is to tame your monster every day.
The apps introduce elements of gamification to a process that is normally dreaded by children and adults alike. The data from the Junior app can be automatically shared with parents, prompting more accountability and responsibility on the part of the child, and more peace of mind for the parent.
For adults or children with diabetes, the apps make it easier to stick to a regimen and make adjustments based on data.
https://mysugr.com/
Also check out Diabetes apps among top 10 doctors recommend to patients
Trying to find a produce store or a large grocer in an economically depressed neighborhood is about as easy as finding an apple in a candy store.
Lack of access to good nutrition impacts racial and ethnic minorities and recent immigrants disproportionately.
Poor nutrition combined with higher stress can contribute to other health problems, including type 2 diabetes.
But a new University of Michigan study may help explain how to cope with this stress and perhaps curb some of these health problems.
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