October 29th, 2009 by Joseph Scherger, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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I’ve written before here about the glycemic index, that measure of how fast a food causes your blood sugar to rise. High glycemic foods, like simple sugars, cause our blood sugars to rise quickly resulting in a pouring out of insulin, a rapid fall in our blood sugar, and we become hungry again soon. Protein in our diet blunts this glycemic index effect, as does eating more complex carbohydrates such as vegetables.
An new concept has emerged that complements the glycemic index, called the glycemic load. The glycemic load reflects how much total carbohydrate is released in your body from various foods. While carbohydrates, sugars and starches, are a core part of our nutrition, we know that eating a lot of them results in more hunger and we end up eating more calories and gaining weight. Low carbohydrate diet plans have shown some advantage over low fat diet plans for losing weight, although both work if the total calories eaten are reduced. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at eDocAmerica*
October 24th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
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Do you know how hard it was to not tell you guys I am pregnant? Sitting on that information for three months was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. There were SO MANY questions I wanted to ask, and so many stories I wanted to share, but I knew it was best to keep my mouth shut until we were past a certain point. And it is still early in our pregnancy, all things considered, so I shared our news with hopeful optimism and in hopes of some positive thoughts being sent our way.
And holy crap do you guys deliver. I’ve read every comment on the Dear Baby post, even though I’ve had to take breaks to grab tissues because you made me tear up quite a bit. My husband, my mom, and my mother-in-law are reading the comments, too. And they say thanks for the support as well. 🙂
So now you know. And now I can talk about what the past three months have been like. (Video to come this afternoon.) Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
October 21st, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
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Dear Baby,
I’ve been thinking about you for a long time.
My doctors told me it would be a challenge to have you. They said that diabetes would be a tricky hurdle as I planned for you. They said you might not happen. There were so many reasons to be scared and so many reasons to doubt, but I never gave up on you, Baby. I have always wanted you and have worked so tirelessly to make my body safe for you. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
October 11th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Announcements, Better Health Network
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I have a lot to catch up on, but something I wanted to post about ASAP was the Making Sense of Diabetes contest that is happening at TuDiabetes, in preparation to raise awareness of World Diabetes Day (coming up fast on November 14th).
According to the release, “We are seeking video entries that tell about the impact diabetes has on our lives through one of the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. Diabetes affects our lives in ways we may not always realize. We smell insulin, savor glucose tablets, feel the poke of our lancing devices, react to our doctor’s words and see the life ahead of us.”
They’re looking for video submissions, and there are some really cool prizes on tap for winners. Not to mention the emotional boost that creativity like this can provide – which, in my mind, is huge in helping us deal with diabetes. For details on how, and what, and when, to submit, check out this entry on TuDiabetes. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
October 4th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Humor
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Last night I had a chance to sit with some parents here in Norwalk and talk about our collective experiences with diabetes. These parents were taking care of children with diabetes, ranging from the newly diagnosed three year old to the newly diagnosed 13 year old, and everywhere in between. High school angst, the issues of disclosure, the pursuit of “perfection,” and all those other issues that parents of kids with diabetes, and the kids themselves, are dealing with.
“I was invited here to talk about how to raise a child with diabetes without losing your mind. But I’m not really qualified to talk about that sort of thing, to be honest. I’m not the parent of a diabetic child. I am the diabetic child.”
The parents at this group were wonderful, all actively engaged in their child’s health, just trying to make sense of what diabetes doles out every day. We were a small group – about 12 of us in total – so the conversation flowed pretty smoothly and comfortably. And we hit upon some very intimate issues.
Like menstrual cycles and their impact on blood sugars. (Remind me again why I’m talking about puberty and my female hormones with strangers?) Or the dodgy things I did as a kid to lash out at my diabetes or my parents or at life in general. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
