Diabetes Expert David Mendosa shares Diabetes management news and commentary at MyDiabetesCentral.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17 http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17 http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/76837/glucocard-mini-meter Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:16:38 -0400 David Mendosa My new blood glucose meter is perfect for travelling or hiking. It's small, fast, has a small sample size, and features pre- and post-meal flags. It's easy to read and has auto coding of test strips. I can even personalize it with a choice of face plates. At the recent convention of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists in Houston I saw this meter at the Arkray USA booth. It impressed me so much that I asked the company to send... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/76837/glucocard-mini-meter http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/76455/arteries-corn-flakes Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:16:46 -0400 David Mendosa High glycemic foods make the major blood vessel of our upper arms swell out or expand from internal pressure, according to new research. This brachial artery is the most convenient place that scientists and doctors have to measure how elastic our arteries are. The elasticity of our arteries anywhere in our body is a measure of our heart health. When the walls of an artery anywhere in our body expand suddenly, this can lead to heart disease or... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/76455/arteries-corn-flakes http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/75990/motivation Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:33:18 -0400 David Mendosa Motivating people with diabetes to control this disease is my goal in life. For most of my life I consciously took in information, but now what gives me the greatest joy is to share it.But what motivated me to control my own diabetes?Yesterday afternoon I gave my chiropractor a copy of the article that I wrote here on Chia Seeds, mentioning that many people had read and commented on it. While he was treating me, he said that my articles must... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/75990/motivation http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/75667/neuropathy Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:31:08 -0400 David Mendosa A few days ago when I finally was able to see a neurologist for the headaches that started four months ago, the first part of his examination was of my feet. I had heard of referred pain, but this seemed extreme to me, and I told him so. The doctor replied that he would get to my head. In the meanwhile he gave me a complete examination. He used a tuning fork, similar to what musicians use. I could feel it as he went down my legs. But when he... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/75667/neuropathy http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/75106/david-guide-a1c-6-0 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:53:50 -0400 David Mendosa The A1C test is our best scorecard to show how well we are controlling our diabetes. It measures how much glucose has been sticking to our red blood cells for the previous two or three months. Since our bodies replace each red blood cell with a new one every four months, this test tells us the average of how high our glucose levels have been during the life of the cells. The experts recommend that we should get our A1C level tested at least... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/75106/david-guide-a1c-6-0 http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/74755/glucose-tabs Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:19:14 -0400 David Mendosa This weekend my friend Mark and I drove about 120 miles from our homes in Boulder to Leadville in Central Colorado. Mark is a member of the diabetes support group that meets monthly at my apartment, and we are both avid hikers and nature photographers. On Friday as we set off on the Turquoise Lake trail near Leadville, Mark checked his blood glucose. It was about 75 mg/dl so he ate a chocolate bar that he had in his pack. "I figure that as... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/74755/glucose-tabs http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/74230/glycemic-variability Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:01:57 -0400 David Mendosa The A1C is certainly the gold standard to see how well we are controlling our diabetes. But even gold isn't good enough for us. The A1C doesn't show our glycemic variability. For those of us who have our blood glucose levels under reasonably good control, our glycemic excursions are even more important than our average level. A low A1C level can mask a lot of lows and highs. The experts call these hypos and hypers "glycemic variability... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/74230/glycemic-variability http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/73865/inflammation-root Sun, 07 Jun 2009 21:23:32 -0400 David Mendosa More and more research pinpoints inflammation as a root cause of type 2 diabetes. Being overweight makes it harder for us to control our diabetes, but that can't be what causes it. Since a lot more people are overweight or obese than have diabetes, weight alone can't lead to diabetes. No one ever demonstrated that obesity causes diabetes or even insulin resistance. In my most recent book, Losing Weight with Your Diabetes Medication, I... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/73865/inflammation-root http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/73236/a1cnow-home Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:53:00 -0400 David Mendosa Today Bayer Diabetes Care launched the A1CNow SELFCHECK that we can use to check our A1C level at home. Finally.Many of us have been waiting for years. In September 2006 I wrote here that we would have it "soon." Then, a year ago at last year's convention of the American Diabetes Association in San Francisco a Bayer spokesperson told me that next year they plan to sell it over-the-counter in three-packs. Now that the SELFCHECK is finally... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/73236/a1cnow-home http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/72835/triglycerides Sat, 30 May 2009 13:13:20 -0400 David Mendosa Until now our doctors have lacked an effective way to predict who is at the greatest risk of neuropathy. Usually we find out too late --  when irreversible nerve damage has already occurred. Diabetic neuropathy is the most common microvascular complication we have. More than half of all people with diabetes develop neuropathy. It is a complication in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In the past few years the U.S. Food and Drug... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/72835/triglycerides