Another Thanksgiving come and gone, lots of food happily consumed and delicious beverages had by all. I hope everyone had a safe and responsible Thanksgiving with friends and family.

It is usually a tough thing for a diabetic to be completely in control on Thanksgiving day, so much temptation! But thats what we Bolus for right?

In fact, I think maybe Thanksgiving should also carry a second name, maybe “Super Bolus Day” or “Happy Fast Acting Insulin Day”?

In any case, we though it might be cool to get some aggregated stats and see how all the SugarStats users did on Thanksgiving (or at least from those who remembered to record ).

Overall, the stats community stats were fairly good:

Sugar Average: 142 mg/dL
Lowest: 52 mg/dL
Highest: 469 mg/dL

In the end I hope the day was enjoyable (and delicious) for all and that no one ended up in the ER for hyperglycemia.

Apparently so, according to this new study:
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=17125

“While it is believed the development of type-1 diabetes has some hereditary influences, research also suggests environmental factors—including diet—play a role. Researchers from The Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes in Aurora, Colo. report a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids may be associated with a decreased risk of pancreatic islet autoimmunity, a condition associated with the development of type-1 diabetes.”

Discuss:
http://tudiabetes.com/forum/topic/show?id=583967%3ATopic%3A46118

Surprised? Hardly…

“A new study released Thursday suggests sodas sweetened with high fructose corn syrup may contribute to the development of diabetes. The study from researchers at Rutgers University, shows sodas sweetened with high fructose corn syrup contain high levels of compounds that previous research suggests may play a role in the development of diabetes. Especially when consumed in large amounts.”

More details here:
http://www.wtlv.com/news/health/news-article.aspx?storyid=89755

Make sure to digg the story:
http://digg.com/health/Study_Links_Diabetes_and_High_Fructose_Corn_Syrup_Found_in_Soda

It is not often that diabetes gets so much attention in Digg.

To discuss, visit TuDiabetes.com: http://tudiabetes.com/forum/topic/show?id=583967%3ATopic%3A34478

First ADA approved sugar free energy drink Pit Bull

Via Foodingredientsfirst.com

In the midst of the energy drink boom, Hip Hop Beverage Corporation, a Minority Business Enterprise that manufactures Pit Bull Sugar Free Energy Drink, has been the first energy drink approved by the American Diabetes Association as a free food product for diabetic consumers. Based on the nutrient analysis, serving size and ingredient composition, one serving (8fl. oz) of Pit Bull Sugar Free Energy Drink has no calories, no carbohydrates and most importantly, no sugar. These dietary exchanges are based on the Exchange List for Meal Planning by the American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association.

I know there are plenty of you diabetics out there addicted to energy drinks, which one is your favorite? I know I used to be hooked on Low-carb Monster and man, was that a hard habit to kick. Though now I can say I’m quite happy with my organic green tea

First non-evasive diabetes screening device

Via Foodingredientsfirst.com

A one-minute experimental diabetes screening system that uses light to detect diabetes-related biomarkers found in skin regardless of color will be previewed tomorrow for the first time at the 67th annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association held at McCormick Place. Previously reported studies of a prototype of the portable desktop system have shown it outperforms both the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test and the A1C test as a rapid and non-invasive screen for pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. The investigational device, not yet approved for use in the United States, is being designed for use at physician-supervised point-of-care locations.

Known as Scout DS™, manufactured by VeraLight Inc. of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the simple-to-use device weighs about 10 pounds and does not require the patient to fast or provide a blood sample. Using light directed onto a small area of an individual’s forearm the device is able to detect abnormal concentrations of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), which correlate well with diabetes and pre-diabetes and are associated with the disease’s serious complications. The medical device is slated for U.S. market introduction in the second half of 2008.

This looks especially cool but really, 10 pounds?

Artificial Diabetes Pancreas

Via Foodingredientsfirst.com

Scientists in Cambridge say they are moving a step closer to developing an artificial pancreas for people with diabetes.

They are conducting trials in Cambridge with 12 youngsters aged five to 18.

All have type-one diabetes which means their pancreas does not produce insulin – the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels.

I have to say either these kids are pretty brave or I’m a big sissy. Though if they get this stable and properly working it would be a really great thing. I just hope it doesn’t malfunction in one of these testers

Well, we’ve officially been launched for a month now! We wanted to share some overall stats of the system, how we’re doing and a tiny bit of the great stuff to come If you haven’t already don’t forget to get your own account free.

We got hit and continue to get hit with loads of traffic but we’re happy to say things are holding up great.

We’ve gotten great response in these first 4 weeks of launch that have helped us greatly improve the system. Within just the first few days alone we had hundreds of new users sign up and thanks to people seeing the value of the system and spreading the word virally this trend is still happening.

First 30 Day Stats

Within the first 4 weeks of launch:

Sugar Readings

• Over 17,500 Sugar Entries Recorded.
• Averaging 147 mg/dL and 9.2 mmol/L respectively

Top 5 Meds:

1. Lantus
2. Humalog
3. Novalog
4. Metformin
5. NovoRapid

Foods

While only premium members can track food/carbs, plenty of food/carb tracking going on:

• Some of you LOVE yogurt, popcorn, peanut butter, orange juice and milk
• Over 2850 meals have been eaten via over 750 different foods
• Over 85,100g grams of carbs consumed
• Avg carbs per food entry: 134g
• Avg carbs per meal: 29g

Before and After Meal Sugar Readings

Before you ask, yes these types of graphs and trends will be making their way into your own SugarStats account. So you premium users can look forward to an even greater look into how your meals affect your blood sugars.

Overall Averages:

• Before Breakfast: 143 mg/dL
• After Breakfast: 154 mg/dL
• Before Lunch: 141 mg/dL
• After Lunch: 150 mg/dL
• Before Dinner: 151 mg/dL
• After Dinner: 158 mg/dL

Activities

Another premium only feature but very important to keep track of:

1. Over 6200 minutes of physical activity tracked. Over 103 hours.
2. Over 206 minutes per day (3.4 hours)

Some of your favorite exercises include:

1. Walking
2. Swimming (one of my favs)
3. Dancing
4. Yoga

Overall Averages (in mg/dL):

• Before Activity: 147
• After Activity: 150

What’s to come

Besides the few that really want to track everything in detail, we’ve gotten absolutely great response from you guys. You’ve told us you love how simple and easy to use the system is. This is great to hear as that is what it was built for, so the average diabetic will actually WANT to use it and then actually be able to understand the statistics.

Even so there are plenty of places we can improve on and you’re helping greatly with that. While we won’t go into detail on our future plans (gotta keep some excitement huh? ), we’re working on some really cool stuff. We’ll give a few little hints:

• Would you like to share your stats (on your blog etc) for all to see your progress?
• Think your mobile phone/PDA browser could be more useful for adding entries?
• Would you like to add friends within SugarStats to see their stats and create a support system?
• Do you use Twitter, Facebook, MySpace etc?
• Want to show your people better and more informative graphs? (especially for premium users)

Ok ok, thats enough for now. We don’t have dates for specific features but there is plenty of exciting stuff going on over here So don’t forget to create your free account.

Finally, THANK YOU

And finally a big thanks to all our users and BETA testers who have helped craft the site and application. Your support and feedback has been tremendous and we really appreciate all of it. Stay tuned because there is more to come for sure!

Hours of TV watched increases HBA1C levels

Via PrNewsWire.com

The more hours of TV
kids with type 1 diabetes watch, the less they are able to maintain good
blood glucose control, according to a study published in the June issue of
Diabetes Care.

The study by researchers in Norway found that the more television a
child or adolescent watched, the higher the child’s average blood glucose
level measured. For example, young people who watched less than one hour of
television per day scored an average level of 8.2 percent on the HbA1c, a
test that measures how well blood glucose is controlled over several
months. Those who watched up to 2 hours daily scored 8.4 percent; up to 3
hours daily scored 8.7 percent; up to 4 hours daily scored 8.8 percent; and
those who watched more than 4 hours of TV per day scored 9.5 percent on the
A1C test. The ADA recommends keeping A1C levels at 7 percent or below.

Very interesting study to say the least. I should consider myself lucky I grew up with little TV… Though I don’t think that helped my a1c levels much As for my current viewing habits… I guess I’ll have to cut down on my CSI and 24.

Diabetes reaching crisis level. CDC estimates 41 million pre-diabetic

Via Blackvoicenews.com

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimates that one in three children born in the U.S. five years ago is expected to become diabetic in their lifetime. The number of diabetics has grown by 80% in the past decade.

The CDC also estimates that 21 million Americans have high blood sugar levels and are therefore diabetic, but don’t realize it because the outward signs are not showing…yet. The CDC also estimates 41 million others are pre-diabetic, with blood sugar levels steadily increasing. Most people with early signs of the disease are not taking necessary action by more-carefully choosing what they eat.

This number just keeps going up and up. While hearing news like this is sad, it is something to be aware of in order for people to start taking control and help to change the trend. I know it took me a while to change my eating habits, but it was worth it. Sooner or later all the fast food, deep fried food and gallons of coke a day catches up with you. A fight any persons pancreas just can’t win.

It reminds me of the quote:

“If you keep doing what you’ve always done. You’ll keep getting what you’ve always got”

New Diabetes Compression Sock

Via Vivantmedical.com

Diabetes affects every aspect of a person?s health, including their feet. menzies-med introduces Dia-Flow, a diabetic support sock that protects the feet while helping to increase circulation.

Thought I personally don’t have circulation problems or problems in general with my feet, I know others might find this useful. There have been times though of very bad BG management on me part, I started to feel the effects in my feet… It scared me to death and provided me with all the motivation I needed to try and keep things under control. Hearing that 54,000 diabetics have amputations each year is yet another reminder. Yikes!

We’ve been getting some great feedback recently and I must say it is great to hear. I know using SugarStats personally has made a huge difference in my life but hearing it from other people really confirms how it was all worth In a few weeks of simple tracking and bringing his awareness to it his average dropped 10%!

Manny from TuDiabetes.com has been using it himself for only a few weeks and posted a review with some great things to say, he even made a video!

If you don’t see the video here is a direct link to it on YouTube

If any of you have experiences or feedback of SugarStats you’d like to share then we’d love to hear it, send it over to info@sugarstats.com

Diabetes stem cell cure

Via http://www.timesonline.co.uk/

“Diabetics using stem-cell therapy have been able to stop taking insulin injections for the first time, after their bodies started to produce the hormone naturally again.

In a breakthrough trial, 15 young patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes were given drugs to suppress their immune systems followed by transfusions of stem cells drawn from their own blood.

The results show that insulin-dependent diabetics can be freed from reliance on needles by an injection of their own stem cells. The therapy could signal a revolution in the treatment of the condition, which affects more than 300,000 Britons.”

Using honey on diabetic ulsers to save amputation?

Via http://www.scienceblog.com/

“The sore on Catrina Hurlburt’s leg simply wouldn’t heal. Complications from a 2002 car accident left Hurlburt, a borderline diabetic, with recurring cellulitis and staph infections. One of those infections developed into a troublesome open sore that, despite the use of oral antibiotics, continued to fester for nearly eight months. Then Hurlburt’s physician, Jennifer Eddy of UW Health’s Eau Claire Family Medicine Clinic, suggested she try using topical honey. Within a matter of months, the sore had healed completely.”

Blood sugar measurement without needles using freakin’ lasers!

Via http://www.healthdecisions.org/

“Hong Kong scientists have invented a device to help diabetics measure their blood sugar painlessly for the first time without pricking their fingers. The size of a mobile phone, the instrument emits a weaker form of infrared, or near-infrared, which penetrates the skin on the finger and homes in on the bloodstream.”

Hospitalizations of Diabetic U.S. Children Surging

Via http://www.bloomberg.com/

“The number of U.S. children hospitalized by a form of diabetes almost tripled from 1997 to 2003, largely because of obesity, according to a study.

Children admitted with the ailment, Type 2 diabetes, had longer stays in hospitals and more diagnoses on record than patients with a different form of diabetes, researchers said in an abstract to be presented today at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual conference in Toronto. Children ages 9 to 12 years old had the highest hospitalization rates.”

Commentary: This is really sad to hear and something hopefully we as a diabetic community can change through education and better management. As someone who has been hospitalized for diabetes before I don’t wish this upon anyone, especially children.

Continuous Glucose Management (CGM) to change diabetes therapy

Via http://www.huliq.com/

“The convergence of small-scale electronics and sophisticated biocompatible product designs is giving hope for a better future to millions of diabetes patients worldwide and may provide possible future diabetes treatment and therapy.

Glucose monitors that are designed to be implanted and can continually measure glucose levels have the capability to improve glycemic control and patient wellbeing. By integrating the sensing element, electronics, and a power source in a single package, implantable glucose monitors are creating new options for caregivers and their diabetes patients.”

Commentary: This is something I’ve been pretty excited about lately. There has been a lot development and more and more devices being passed by FDA. It opens up a huge door to compile massive amounts of info daily on what is affecting your blood sugars and when. Hundreds of readings per day without having to poke your finger each time, awesome! I can’t wait to see what that will look like in SugarStats.

FDA passes approval for Dexcom’s 7-day Continuous Glucose Management System

Via http://www.shareholder.com/

“DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ: DXCM) today announced that it has received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for SEVEN™, its 7-Day STS® Continuous Glucose Monitoring System. SEVEN is DexCom’s second generation device designed to help people with diabetes better manage their diabetes and control their glucose levels. Widely recognized as one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States, diabetes is a chronic disease with no known cure that afflicts approximately 20 million people in the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). In the U.S., diabetes is the leading cause of adult blindness, end stage kidney failure and lower limb amputations. People suffering from diabetes are also more significantly at risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke.”