Battling Diabetes

The results of the Shanghai Women’s Health Study conducted by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and published in the January 2008 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, were that consumption of legumes ( peanuts, soybeans, and other legumes) reduced the risk of diabetes by over 40 percent.

Those who consumed more soy beans had the greatest reduction in risk–up to 47 percent.

What is a legume?

High in protein, iron and B vitamins legumes or Leguminosae, have seed pods that, when ripe, split along both sides.

Types of legumes:

• lentils
• peas
• soybeans
• peanuts
• beans

And oh those wonderful beans, pinto, lima, kidney, butter, garbanzo, string beans, snap beans, green and yellow wax beans!

While high in starch beans can be incorporated into your diabetic meal plan.

Try tossing some into your salad or an omelet. Need inspiration? Here are a few legume recipes to get you started.

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Known as Gurmar and Merasingi, gymnema sylvestre is a member of the milkweed family. It is a woody plant that grows in the tropical regions of central and south India. The leaves are used as an herbal extract to slow the absorption of glucose.

Gurmar means sugar destroyer.

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Being a teenager is tough enough–tryng to fit in, yet be an individual… A diagnosis of diabetes adds a whole new meaning to the words teenage angst.

When it comes to coping with a diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes, Nick Jonas understands first hand exactly how a teen’s life can be turned upside down.

A Little Bit Longer is the newly released hit song, written by 15 year-old, pop star Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, about his own diabetic journey that began with his 2005 diagnosis of Type I Diabetes. In fact it was a blood sugar of over 700 that sent Nick to the emergency room and began his particular challenge of dealing with diabetes on a road tour.

A Little Bit Longer

Got the news today
But they said I had to stay
A little bit longer
And I’ll be fine
When I thought it’d all been done
When I thought it’d all been said
A little bit longer
And I’ll be fine

But you don’t know what you got
‘Till it’s gone
And you don’t know what it’s like
To feel so low
Everytime you smile or laugh you glow
You don’t even know
No no
You don’t even know

Check out the YouTube Video of the Jonas Brothers and a discussion of A Little Bit Longer.

You can see Nick on the cover of the July issue of Diabetes Forecast, the consumer publication of the American Diabetes Association. If you don’t subscribe (why don’t you?) then you can check out the highlights of the story here.

Attention fans of the band: Nick Jonas is also giving away concert tickets to lucky fans in every American Diabetes Association affiliate branch city in which the band performs. You can read about the winners of a recent Phoenix, Arizona concert, on Friday July 11th.

The concert schedule is available on http://www.myspace.com/jonasbrothers

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If you have any experience with diabetic foods in your grocery store or pharmacy please share with our readers at Battling Diabetes.

Here’s a run down on the most visible products on your retail shelf. The goal for all these products is to provide nutritious prepackaged convenient meals for diabetics.

Fifty/50: Half Our Profits Fund Diabetes Research

Fifty/50 not only provides diabetic supplies but also foods for diabetics in the familiar red package.

“FIFTY 50 was started in 1990 with only 3 products made especially for people with diabetes. We had the idea that if we gave 50% of our profits to diabetes research, people would buy our products. Now, we’ve grown to be the leading company offering a full line of foods for people with diabetes (over 30 products). More importantly, we’ve donated over $10.5 million to diabetes research.”

I was unable to resist the low glycemic hearty oatmeal cookies and tossed them in my cart. Sweetened with fructose, the nutritional information of these and all their products are on the website.

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Your rights as a diabetic are covered by the laws listed below. Be a smart consumer and review them.

There won’t be a quiz later–but please consider this a jumping off point to advocacy.

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Being diabetic doesn’t mean boring meals or uninspiring shopping experiences. Turn a challenge into an adventure. Here’s some ideas.

Have you seen the American Diabetes Association Virtual Grocery Store yet?

Create a profile and sign in first. Then explore all there is to offer on this great site.

• Virtual Grocery Store Tour: lets you see your ordinary grocery store through the eyes of a diabetic trying to make smart choice.
• A Recipe File with recipes and a place to store your favorites. It also includes tips to modify recipes.
• Meal Planning help with exchange lists, the food pyramid and information on how to read labels.
• Express Lane, ideas and recipes on how to eat fast food that is healthy.
• Shopping list lets you import ingredients from the site’s recipes or just add your own grocery needs. It is printable to take with you to the store. More →

For the techno geeks and wizards out there, here’s what is going on in high-tech gadgets for diabetes care.

• Friday Diabetes News mentioned the glucose monitoring car of the future introduced by Medtronics. The M Concept car is a Lincoln sedan that uses wireless technology to monitor a patient’s blood glucose level through the car’s dashboard. Using BlueTooth technology the system alerts the driver of blood glucose problems with audio and visual signals. Medtronics plans to also launch a vehicle system which will dial for medical assistance if the driver does not respond to alerts or when abnormal glucose levels are generated.

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Today’s post is in response to an email from a Battling Diabetes reader who asks how to get low cost diabetes medications, supplies and care if you do not qualify for Medicare.

I’ll do my research but I would appreciate feedback from the experts. YOU! Please post your insights and links so we can all help each other.

If you qualify for Medicare due to your age or disability here are some sites that will answer questions you may have:

WebMD: Medicare Health Center

Medicare Learning Network:An Overview of Medicare Covered Diabetic Supplies and Services (pdf format)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: The Official U.S. Government Site For People with Medicare

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