Reuters UK reports: Americans need more help managing diabetes.

The story, focusing mainly on Type 2 diabetes, suggests that “U.S. patients and doctors alike show a surprising level of ignorance about diabetes and are not doing nearly enough to manage the condition.”

Have you heard of YouTube.com? It’s a place to post homemade videos, and thus “broadcast yourself” to the world. Just for fun, I decided to find out if anyone was making videos on the disease at hand — and guess what? They are!

As you can see, DiabetesMine.com has undergone a bit of a makeover over the weekend. No worries, it’s still “the yellow blog,” because I didn’t want to part with my sunny background, even though my designer friend suggested it. I just love the figure in the Pile ‘O Gold: pretty much sums up how I feel* about this blog (and you, too?)

Many Latinos come to America for the promise of a better life. While they may gain new possessions and freedoms, recent reports also show that this new life has a downside: damaging their health. The American diet of carb-rich, fat-rich, supersized foods is not doing them any good; the rising instance of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes among the Latino population here is a growing cause of concern. And so many of them remain without health insurance…

I’m
not usually one to plug products. But every once in a while, something
comes along that is too fabulous to keep to yourself. This time, Kathy
Moskal, president of Vere Goods, wrote to me about her product after reading of
my diabetes/gluten-related chocolate
laments. She was kind enough to send me some samples, and I must say, I
feel like I’ve found Healthy Dark Chocolate Nirvana.

Thinking it over, my last post didn’t really do justice to those USB flash drives specially designed to let you carry your medical records with you. (In Germany they call them “Sticks,” while a cell phone is called a “Handy” … pragmatic language)

Today marks exactly three years since the harrowing experience of my diabetes diagnosis. When I mentioned to my CDE that my anniversary was coming up, she asked, “Does that bring up any issues for you?” I was a little taken aback. Hell no! But, weeeelll, sort of… Definite maybe. No, I’m fine!

Well, I do. Now. As opposed to most visits with my endocrinologist, I actually come away from visits with this CDE feeling energized. For one reason: she has her feet on the ground! Nothing makes me happier than 1) a little pep talk on how OK I’m actually doing, and 2) getting some very grounded advice about how to handle real-world D-situations.

Splenda vs. Equal vs. Sweet & Low…

Which is the lesser of evils?

I’ve noticed that lately, at least in California, restaurants and cafes now fill their ramekins with ALL THREE PRODUCTS, so patrons can choose their poison. I often stare long and hard at those yellow, baby blue and pink packets, wondering “should I be choosing on taste (who can tell the difference?) or based on some important health concern?”

Thank you everyone for your support and tips on fighting back against plagiarism! Naturally, I’m flattered by a citing now and then as long as there is clear attribution, but the web site in question has actually stolen DOZENS of my posts, including the associated images (even of my kids!), and was so brazen even to lift my original category names: “Scrutinizing the Diabetes News,” “Diabetes Bulletin Board,” “Self-Disclosure” and so on. Wankers!!