Author: Staff Writers

Jon Stanton: No Wonder He’s an ADA Ambassador: What do you say to a guy who’s lost more than 200 pounds and wants to address the subject of diabetes? Nothing. You simply sit and listen because he probably has something important to say.

Argus-Press.com was there when Jon Stanton gave a speech to walkers who participated in this year’s “Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes” event sponsored by the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The Ovid, Michigan resident once weight 430 pounds and was a Type 2 diabetic and is now an ambassador for ADA’s Michigan branch. His team raised $700 for the 2-mile walk.

Here are some highlights from Stanton’s speech. It should be noted that Stanton no longer has symptoms of Type 2 diabetes, but he does not feel his battle is over.

“(Type 2 diabetes) is almost entirely lifestyle driven with being overweight probably being the most significant risk factor. The statistic that hit the most home with me was that one in three children in America can be expected to develop diabetes if we keep going at our current rate.”

“If you’ve had it at some point, it is likely to come back, but if you use common sense with eating and exercise on a regular basis, it is largely treatable until late in life.”

“I was a heavy kid while growing up, but I was rare. Now it is more of the norm. If you go back 30 or 40 years ago, people weren’t developing Type 2 diabetes until they were in their 60s or 70s – it was a late-in-life disease. We have kids now 10, 11 and 12 years old who are being diagnosed with this and they are setting themselves up for a life of pain and limitations. No kid deserves that, especially when it can be prevented.”

Stanton also speaks out on his personal website.

“Did you know that the current generation of children will likely be the first since the Great Depression to have a LOWER life expectancy than their parents – because of poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle?”

“The average American is now consuming 22 teaspoons of added sugar daily. Teenagers consume 34 teaspoons on average. What is especially disturbing is that these measures include only “added” sugar – meaning that naturally occurring sugars (such as “fructose” in fruit and “lactose” in dairy) are not included. Experts say that ideally, women should not consume more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar daily and men should not consume more than 9. Obviously, we have a LONG road before us to get to those numbers!”

“On August 5, 2007, I paid a visit to my doctor that changed my life forever. At that time, I weighed 430 pounds, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, early-stage congestive heart failure and Type 2 diabetes. Today, I suffer from NONE of those ailments, I am medication-free (except for a pill for acid reflux) and I have lost 230 pounds! God is so good, and I am BLESSED to be alive and healthy!”

Stanton adds one final bit of advice most of us can follow, “Get out there and walk, and save yourself and the nation’s health care system some money! Remember – start slowly if you have not been exercising regularly.”

After reading the things that Stanton has to say it is very clear why he was asked to be the ADA ambassador for Michigan. Anyone care for a walk?

The Diabetic Climate of Sandy Lake: One of the truisms about diabetes is it requires a healthy diet with emphasis on certain food types. This can be difficult in poor economics times, perhaps more so when your ethnicity and geographical location places you on a collision course with diabetes.

In Sandy Lake, Canada the Oji-Cree Indians have a rich history, but multiple changes over the last 50+ years have placed them in a treacherous predicament. According to The Vancouver Sun, “A quarter of the people [in Sandy Lake] have diabetes, the highest rate in Canada and third highest in the world.”

Fresh fruit and vegetables in this fly in community are more than twice what the rest of Canada pays. A half-gallon of milk costs nearly $7 Canadian. This has resident Lucy Day saying, “Way too expensive.” She’s not alone and options are almost nonexistent.

The Oji-Cree Indians have lived in the Sandy Lake area since at least the 1800’s. They had to work hard just to stay alive, but in the 1950’s modern conveniences came to Sandy Lake and the Oji-Cree Indians did not have to work as hard. The more sedentary lifestyle coupled with a hereditary that is prone to diabetes has meant that this people group are experiencing profound health difficulties. They don’t want to leave, but it’s getting harder to stay.

They have watched as friends and family are forced to move away from Sandy Lake to receive late stage diabetes care.

More than 10% of their children (under 19) have developed diabetes and much of it is linked to diet, exercise and heredity. More than 40% of residents in their 40’s develop diabetes in Sandy Lake.

Are the changes experienced by the Oji-Cree Indians a result of macroevolution (changes or adaptations within an individual or people group)? The Vancouver Sun report said, “Researchers suspect the survivors of such “merciless” food scarcity were genetically and metabolically tuned to make the most of food. It was a distinct advantage to have a metabolism good at packing away extra calories as fat reserves that could be used as energy when food ran scarce.”

In other words this people group may have experienced metabolic adaptations during years when food was extremely scarce (many died during that part of their history). This may sound far fetched, but one of the reasons diets can often backfire (if they aren’t a lifestyle change) is that your body remembers what it is used to having so when it finally gets it there is a process where those nutrients (and even fat) can be horded by the body because it believes it may again be deprived of them at some point.

The isolated community of Sandy Lake continues to make strides toward helping the hundreds of residents who have diabetes learn to make better choices. This includes schools, radio programs and after school athletic events. Leaders are working to gain a dialysis machine to allow residents to stay in town instead of making a long journey to Winnipeg for regular treatment.

Residents seem very aware they need to make healthy choices, yet the exorbitant prices assigned to fresh food in Sandy Lake can make it difficult to afford the healthiest alternatives, “Everyone tells us to eat better, but look at how much everything costs,” laments resident Anne Meekis.

Progress has come to Sandy Lake, but a new direction is needed and change always seems to take time – and money. While funds are in short supply the community continues to work to make corrections where they can.

Through Adversity to Encouragement: It can be easy to become depressed if you have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. However, for Frank Thielmann it is just another challenge – especially in light of the fact he has lost both legs to the disease.

Thielmann is 71 years of age, a car salesman, he loves to hunt and he’s lived with diabetes for 25 years. The Sheboyganpress.com says, “He functions well on prosthetic legs, takes insulin four times a day, religiously watches his diet, works closely with his doctors, and above all, prefers staying active to the alternative.”

Thielmann tells the publication, “I haven’t got time to sit around.” This energetic man visits St. Nicolas Hospital to monitor his diabetes and Mary Roethel, lead nurse at the St. Nicholas Diabetes Center says of Thielmann, “He actually does a very good self-management and that’s really the core of diabetes. Our goal of our certified nurse educators is they help them live well with their diabetes. Diabetes doesn’t control them, they are in control of it.”

Thielmann seems to be an ambassador of that belief. He manages his disease through diet, but he also takes multiple insulin injections each day.

It’s important to note that Thielmann was in his 40’s when diagnosed with diabetes. The Sheboyganpress.com report said, “About 90 percent of diabetics are Type 2 patients, which sets in at middle age. Type 1 diabetes patients are diagnosed at a much younger age. Roethel said diabetes is a ‘silent killer,’ as about a quarter of the people who have the disease are unaware they have it, and she recommends people who may be at risk, with elevated blood sugar levels, be screened for diabetes.”

Thielmann has recognized the value of friends by inviting two mentors to help keep him moving in the right direction. This means managing his diabetes so he can still enjoy bow hunting and his 4 days per week job as a salesman at a respected car dealership in Sheboygan.

To describe the alternative to the work he puts in at management of his disease Thielmann told the Sheboyganpress.com, “If I sat at home I’d probably be dead right now.”

He has the respect and admiration of the staff at St. Nicolas. Nurse Mary Roethel said, “He’s just been really focused and really positive. The attitude of a patient can bring to it that determination of being in control of it.”

With depression as a frequent companion to Type 2 diabetes it is valuable to see how Thielmann works through the issues related to his disease in order to thrive. It would have been easy for him to give up after the loss of both legs, but he has been determined to learn how to manage his interest in LIFE by managing his treatment of diabetes.

He has come to understand the significance of a support team who can cheer him on and hold him accountable. It may feel as if he is training for a marathon, but the truth is the team is likely one of the primary reasons he continues to be such an encouragement to others.

We search to find men and women who not only struggle with diabetes, but also have important stories that can serve to inspire when we may be thinking that giving up is a great alternative. There is life beyond diabetes. The treatment and managed care you attend to is simply the best way to ensure a shot at enjoying all the things you really do care about.

Predicting Type 2 Diabetes May Have Gotten Easier: It is widely known that type 2 diabetes is typically developed as a byproduct of lifestyle and diet choice. It is also prone to development due to certain health conditions. However, there may be a predictor of the development of type 2 diabetes that may open new strategies in diabetic health care.

Globes Online reported that drug developer Compugen, “Found and experimentally confirmed a genetic biomarker, CGEN-40001, for predisposition to type 2 diabetes.”

According to Wikipedia a biomarker (biological marker), “Is in general a substance used as an indicator of a biological state. It is a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention. It is used in many scientific fields.”

What this means is the CGEN-4001 biomarker has the potential to be used as a preemptive test for the development of type 2 diabetes.

Globes Online reported, “Following diagnosis, high-risk patients may benefit from more aggressive management either through lifestyle modification or drug treatment. There are an estimated 24 million people in the US with diabetes, 90% of whom have type 2 diabetes.”

The CGEN-4001 biomarker is essentially an enzyme that naturally occurs in your body. Globes Online said, “From the approximately 350,000 multiple nucleotide genetic variations… a very small set of 135 variations was selected as being potentially related to type 2 diabetes in Caucasians. Compugen studied this set and found a specific enzyme CGEN-4001 which demonstrated the predicted correlation with type 2 diabetes in Caucasians. Lab studies showed that adding the enzyme increases the risk of type 2 diabetes by 50-80%.”

While the presence of CGEN-4001 can be a predictor of the development of type 2 diabetes it may also lead some medical scientists to wonder if therapies may be developed that could remove CGEN-4001 from the body as a means of reducing the incidence of diabetes.

However, this can be little more than conjecture as studies and research continue into this novel and still potential method of diabetes prediction.

The CGEN-4001 is an enzyme variation of what is known as Phosphofructokinase platelet (PFKP), which is used to effectively deal with glucose. The variation may have something to do with the alterations within the bodies of those who are developing type 2 diabetes.

Compugen, and Israeli based pharmaceutical company gained as much as $2.00 per share on the stock exchange in response to these new findings. According to their website, “Compugen’s mission is to be the world leader in the discovery and licensing of product candidates to the drug and diagnostic industries under milestone and revenue sharing agreements. The Company’s increasing inventory of powerful and proprietary discovery platforms is enabling the predictive discovery – field after field – of numerous therapeutic and diagnostic product candidates. These discovery platforms are based on the Company’s decade-long focus on the predictive understanding of important biological phenomena at the molecular level. Compugen’s current collaborations include Biosite, Medarex, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics (a Johnson & Johnson company), Roche, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc., and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.”

This current research is in line with their stated mission; “Compugen’s research and discovery efforts are focused on developing unique predictive biology capabilities, which utilize computational technologies and experimental processes, to obtain deeper understandings of life at the molecular level and to incorporate these understandings in the development of diagnostic and therapeutic discovery engines.”

He is a 21st century cattle rustler, a baby-faced cowboy and owes a few years behind bars. Oh, did we mention he has brittle diabetes?

Roddy Dean Pippin is a mere 25 years of age and already a convicted criminal. He sports a bright smile and a cowboy hat. According to the American-Statesman, “Despite cries that to send him back behind bars might be a death sentence, Pippin was headed back to a state jail… to serve the remaining four years of his sentence. Pippin had been freed from state lockups and placed on house arrest about two years ago after questions were raised about whether he could receive proper medical care in prison because of the volatility of his diabetes.”

Pippen surrendered to officials in North Texas recently on horseback. Pippen was quoted last week as saying, “I wasn’t this nervous going in the first time. I’m scared. But now I know what I’m facing. I hope I survive this. I don’t know. I’m just praying. That’s all I know to do.”

Pippen was convicted when he was just 21 years old. He was eventually released on house arrest (wearing an ankle monitor) because of his diabetic condition.

There have been those who have lobbied to get Pippen released from jail so his health conditions can be monitored more easily, but District Attorney John Staley Heatly told the American-Statesman, “It was a plea-bargained sentence (Pippin) agreed to. If he in fact cannot receive proper care (in prison), the law allows him to apply for a medical release. … Instead, he’s trying to get his sentence changed. He owes four years.”

Texas has done an admirable job in seeking to assure critics that Pippen will be monitored in relation to his brittle diabetes.

In a 2005 article Pippen told reporters, “I deserve a lot worse. One hundred years ago, I would have gotten the rope.” Four years later Pippen uses social media to keep in touch with supporters, has a publicity firm managing publicity and he has a video out. District Attorney John Staley Heatly responded to that last bit of news by saying, “”The conditions of his probation required him to be confined to his mother’s home and the immediate vicinity — not out riding along the highways and through the woods. Too bad I didn’t see that two weeks ago. I could’ve filed to revoke him.”

Heatly was responding to the fact that the video was made in a location that was in direct violation of the conditions of his house arrest.

Still, there remains concern for the health of convicted felon Pippen. Robert McCausland, a Dallas-area tech official was quoted by the American-Statesman as saying, “The last time he was in prison, he had to become deathly ill to get help. There is a real possibility he could die. Roddy should not have to pay with his life.”

Pippen has had type 1 diabetes since the age of six and seizures have been common since that time. He agrees that not being able to hold a job due to his condition caused him to make some bad choices, and families who had cattle stolen from them agree. However, Pippen has become something of a darling among a growing fan base because as the American-Stateman said, “He is polite and engaging, speaks often about his religious faith, about riding the plains on his horse Baby Face, about his love of the Texas cowboy legends.”

This perhaps only adds to the debate surrounding diabetes care among prison inmates where the issues are real and easy answers are hard to come by.

A Diabetic’s Birthday Gift: In a slight twist on an old story one young man is providing an example to others that giving means more than getting. The beneficiaries of his idea are diabetics and his ability to give rests on the celebration of his birthday.

There is an old story that tells of a young boy who had never experienced the idea of receiving gifts on his birthday. The idea was foreign to him. During wartime his family took in boarders and when one guest learned that it was the boys birthday he offered him a handful of coins. The boy had no idea why the man would give him money. The man simply said, “These are for gifts.”

The boy smiled and ran from the house in the direction of the General Store. That afternoon he asked all the boarders in the home to come to the kitchen. There the little boy presented each with a ‘gift’. He had understood that the money for gifts was to embrace the joy of purchasing a small gift for those who had made an impact on his life.

We may smile at the naïve nature of the boy, yet there is another young man – this time a flesh and bone counterpart that has placed his own spin on this story. Tanner Fincher is only 8 years old and yet he understands giving in a way most of us do not.

According to El Paso’s KVIS-TV, “For two years now, Tanner has asked people to donate money to a camp scholarship fund instead of giving him a birthday present.”

Tanner’s selfless gesture has brought out the generosity in others. So far the young boy has been able to donate more than $1,000 to the scholarship program. Tanner told KVIS, “I got to see different people who have the same thing as me. Some kids can’t afford to go to diabetes camp so I donated some money for them.”

The generosity of young people like Tanner can work to encourage hardened cynics as to the benefits of generosity for a cause.

Meanwhile, Twilight star Kristen Stewart participated in a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Walk to Cure Diabetes event recently. The even kicked off at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Stewart was quoted as saying, “It’s amazing to be around such inspiring people.”

Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard and actor Dorian Gregory who were also using their star power to provide a platform for diabetes awareness joined Stewart.

The JDRF indicates, “As many as 3 million Americans have type 1 diabetes, a disease most often diagnosed in childhood that strikes suddenly, lasts a lifetime, and carries the constant threat of deadly complications, including heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, and amputation. JDRF’s mission is constant: to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Thanks to dramatic research progress, a cure is now within our reach.

”The Walk draws people together in a healthy activity for a worthy cause, raising money to help find a cure for diabetes. It’s fun for families and builds camaraderie among company employees. Above all, it’s an event you will feel good about being a part of.”

And in the end whether it is raising awareness or using birthday money to support diabetic causes we are finding many young people willing to rise to the occasion and answer the call.

Thank you.

Lessons from the Diabetic Capital of the World: Central Chronicle has said India is the, “diabetic capital of the world with 50.8 million (7.1%) of its people suffering from diabetes.” Why is diabetes so prevalent in this country and what can the rest of the world learn from this pandemic?

The U.S. government has been quoted as saying that roughly 8% of the U.S. population has developed diabetes. The most current figure for total diabetes cases in the U.S. is around 24 million. This should put into perspective the total number of people who live in India.

If you think that a simple intellectual diet of information would be enough to combat the disease in India you may not understand some of the forces at work there. Central Chronicle suggests, “A rapid shift in… dietary habits and lifestyles is resulting in a rapid rise in obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and heart disease. Hence a proper and healthy diet remains the cornerstone of prevention and management of these diseases.”

The article describes the profound growth in consumption of fast food compounded with convenience food snacks. This is believed to have contributed substantially to the rise in cases of diabetes within India.

As a guideline the article indicates, “The daily carbohydrate intake, derived from whole wheat, unpolished rice, barley, buckwheat, oats, millet, whole pulses, legumes, and whole fruits like guava/apple etc, should be around 50-60% of total calorie intake.”

It seems clear from the article that the prevailing belief among many in India is that a change in diet has been the leading cause of the rise in diabetes among the people in this Asian country. The Central Chronicle article suggests several guidelines that could help the people of India.

• Visible fat (oil, butter, ghee) and invisible fat (from cereals and pulses), together should be less than 30% of total energy. This can be got by consuming 4 to 5 teaspoonfuls of a combination of two or more vegetable oils. Correct cooking methods like boiling, steaming, roasting, grilling etc, instead of frying can minimize the visible fat intake.
• Trans fatty acids should be less than 1% of the total energy. These are found abundantly in bakery products, ready to use soups and gravies and foods prepared in margarine and vanaspati ghee. Hence it is best to avoid these products.
• Ideal protein intake is 1gm/day for every one kilo of body weight. Thus for the average Indian male, this could be obtained from two bowls of cooked pulses, or 2 pieces of lean chicken/fish meat, or 500ml of double toned milk, or 9 servings of wheat flour. This much of protein will provide 10-15% of the total calories.
• Salt intake should be less than 5gm per day. So, we Indians need to drastically curtail the ever so popular consumption of salted potato chips (a big favourite of children), pickles, and salty fried snacks.
• Sugar in very small amounts and water in excess (about 8-10 glasses) every day, should cap it all.
• Apart from this, it is important to take small frequent meals at intervals of 3-4 hours. While eating out (which has become increasingly popular, even in small towns in India), one should choose small portion sizes of healthy snacks. Beverages like buttermilk, coconut water, fresh lime with water are excellent substitutes for aerated and high calorie drinks. (Source: Central Chronicle)

Having information still remains useless unless that information is used to facilitate change. No one changes without the desire to make the change. The trend toward diabetes will be altered only when people choose for themselves a lifestyle that welcomes positive lifestyle changes and pay attention to what is consumed.

Diabetes and the Words We Say: What if the words you say and the disposition you choose had a direct bearing on your health? A new report suggests it does.

ABC.com recently reported that when we allow ourselves to become angry and utter words that cause additional anger we may be flooding our bodies with hormones and proteins that are damaging to our health.

This report states, “Pennsylvania State University researchers have found a “physiological marker” showing that words can have a significant impact on a person’s health. Scientists have known for at least a decade that stress can cause a rise in proteins that have been linked to cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, arthritis and some cancers.

“But psychologist Jennifer Graham at Penn State reports that choosing words that reflect thoughtfulness, or rationality, or perhaps just caring, can reduce the increase in proteins, called cytokines, such as Interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. During stress, those proteins normally go up, thus impairing the immune system.”

It seems that people who actually do care for others, who express both empathy and sympathy may have better overall health than those who are either apathetic or worse yet, angry.

There is an old proverb that says a careful word turns away wrath. The words we choose to say impact the health of the person we talk to – and it impacts our own health.

If you are in a position where you must constantly confront others you may find an overall impact on your health.

Let’s look at this from the perspective of someone who spends time online. It is possible to become involved in a forum or respond to a blog in which you allow your emotions to gain control of your response. You may feel good about your response initially, but may end up regretting – then fretting – over the posted response. If ugly words are traded back and forth you may find elevated stress and all the hormones related to that stress are pouring into your blood stream. Now consider this concept in your relationships with a loved one. If we can learn to control our words and develop a lifestyle that is genuinely concerned with the well being of others we may see a difference in how we ultimately feel.

We exist in a time when stress seems to be the norm, but we are also paying for that stress in terms of bodily damage. We may not be able to escape every stress, but we can learn to manage our response in a way that promotes both physical and psychological health.

The ABC.com report provides ample evidence of how the body responds to stress and arguments between married partners.

One of the proteins released in the heat of stressful arguments is cytokines. MedicineNet.com describes this element as, “A small protein released by cells that has a specific effect on the interactions between cells, on communications between cells or on the behavior of cells. The cytokines includes the interleukins, lymphokines and cell signal molecules, such as tumor necrosis factor and the interferons, which trigger inflammation and respond to infections.”

So in a very real sense your argument could impact inflammations, make infections worse, create conditions for the growth of tumors and ultimately create an environment where diabetes and cardiovascular disease can take over.

We were once told to keep quiet, then later to say whatever was on our minds. Perhaps the new rule is to speak the truth, but do so kindly. Your health is impacted when you chose not to.

The Role of Morbid Obesity in Diabetes: It’s no secret – the American population is growing. This growth is not just in numbers, but also in total size. New reports indicate that 1/5th of all Type 2 diabetics are morbidly obese. What’s the cause for this growth and how can we make changes?

DiabetesInControl suggests, “Among the reasons for the increase in obesity among diabetics and the overall population are inexpensive food, larger portion sizes and consumption of sugary soda.”

That seems pretty straightforward and you have to admit there are restaurants that seem to provide a portion large enough to feed a small country, but the choice as to what we eat and how much we consume is ultimately ours to make.

As to the numbers DiabetesInControl reports, “62.4 percent of U.S. adults with Type 2 diabetes are obese, and 20.7 percent are morbidly obese. Among African American adults with Type 2 diabetes, 1 in 3 is morbidly obese.”

Dr. Holly Kramer is a kidney specialist and lead author of the report cited in DiabetesInControl. Kramer believes there are, “substantial public health implications,” in these findings. Kramer said, “Between the survey periods 1976-1980 and 2005-2006, there was a 141 percent increase in the rate of morbid obesity among adults with Type 2 diabetes.”

Mosby’s Medical Dictionary describes morbid obesity as, “an excess of body fat, or weight of 100 pounds over ideal body weight, that increases the risk of developing cardiac and endocrine disturbances, including coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus, as well as some kinds of cancer.”

This condition tends to propel a diabetic forward into advanced medical need and at the same time projects an inability to manage health and wellness without intervention.

DiabetesInControl suggests, “Diabetics already are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, and obesity further increases this risk, especially among women. Obesity also increases other diabetes complications, including end-stage kidney disease. Other obesity complications include sleep-disordered breathing, arthritis and fatty liver disease.” This can add to the stress of attempting to manage your diabetes on your own.

TopNews.co.uk suggests a secondary indicator of diabetes potential. “Recent research has revealed that people who snore heavily and frequently are at least 50% more at risk of developing diabetes than those who sleep quietly. As per the study, which was undertaken at the Yale University in US to study a ‘snoring-related condition called sleep apnea’, people who snore regularly are more prone to experiencing changes in the body’s metabolism and this can lead to diabetes,” it reported.

The common points of reversal for those moving towards diabetes are to reduce portion size (remember the stomach was designed to hold food the equivalent size of your fist) and to exercise. These two seem easy enough, yet the stress of 21st century living can make self-control and body discipline a difficult prospect for most. Sometimes the change you need to make would be beneficial for your entire family. By making health objectives a family mission you could end up with a scenario where family members work to keep each other accountable for wise choices and may spur each other into improved levels of physical activity. One alternative for those who are morbidly obese is gastric bypass surgery, but many physicians view this alternative as a last resort.