Diabetes Expert Gretchen Becker 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/5068 http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068 http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/94747/diabetes-research Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:39:00 -0500 Gretchen Becker [Humor]   It is with great excitement that I announce the creation of the coveted Becker Award for the Most Ho-Hum Research Published in the Recent Past (or BAMHHRPRP, pronounced "bamhhrprp").   The winner this month is a research study that showed that the caffeine in coffee interferes with sleep. Wow! I never knew that! I always thought people drank coffee as a sleep aid. I'm sure glad we have great scientific minds solving... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/94747/diabetes-research http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/93759/newly-diagnosed Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:14:00 -0500 Gretchen Becker You've recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and you don't know what you can eat.   One expert says you need to cut back on fat, but you can eat a lot of carbohydrate (starches and sugars). Another says you need to cut back on carbohydrate, and fat doesn't matter. A third says the important thing is the glycemic index. Your head is spinning. You may wonder why you can't seem to get a handle on all this.   Don't worry. You're... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/93759/newly-diagnosed http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/89512/test-blood-sugar Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:36:00 -0400 Gretchen Becker In the past several years, some reports have been published saying that self-testing of blood glucose (BG) by people with type 2 diabetes is useless, a waste of money, and simply increases rates of depression.   Needless to say, there were loud outcries by many of us with type 2 who know how useful self-testing can be. Without testing, how would we ever know which foods made our BG levels go up the most? How would we know if exercise... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/89512/test-blood-sugar http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/86887/metformin-cancer Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:52:00 -0400 Gretchen Becker Many people see prescription drugs as a last resort. And there's some basis for this caution: most drugs have side effects, ranging from annoying to fatal.   However, not treating diseases also has side effects ranging from annoying to fatal. For example, we know that high blood glucose levels have serious side effects. So we always have to weigh the risks of a drug vs its benefits to determine whether we should or should not take that... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/86887/metformin-cancer http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/85120/overeat Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:07:00 -0400 Gretchen Becker Why do we overeat?   When I say overeat, I don't mean we necessarily pig out on huge amounts of food all the time. Some thin people eat a lot more than some fat people, but their metabolism is such that they can burn off any excess calories as heat.   What I mean is that even if we don't eat a lot, we eat more than we need for the amount of exercise we get. Thus, the only way we can lose weight is to eat less, even if we're not... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/85120/overeat http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/83416/avoiding-diabetes Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:52:00 -0400 Gretchen Becker [Humor]   Most people don't want to get type 2 diabetes, and they'd like to know how they can prevent it. I have a few suggestions based on the risk factors for the disease.   1. Your risk increases when you're over 40 years old.   One strategy to reduce your risk is to avoid ever being over 40 years old. You might consider remaining 39 for the rest of your life, although this could significantly reduce your chances of... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/83416/avoiding-diabetes http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/81751/2-diabetes-fault Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:20:00 -0400 Gretchen Becker I recently got an irate letter (yes, an actual letter that was delivered by a mail carrier) from a man who said his wife had recently been diagnosed with diabetes and it's all her fault.   He said he's been telling her for years that she had to lose weight and exercise more but she didn't do what he told her to do, so getting diabetes is all her fault. And he complained that I said in my book The First  Year: Type 2 Diabetes that... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/81751/2-diabetes-fault http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/81106/thinking-box Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:33:00 -0400 Gretchen Becker A comment to a recent sharepost asking how one could make sandwiches without whole grain bread got me to thinking, and I realized that the secret to good diabetes control is often being able to think outside the box.   Richard K. Bernstein, an engineer who was able to reverse his own complications from type 1 diabetes by working out a low-carb diet that challenged the American Diabetes Association's ideas on diet (lots of carbohydrate... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/81106/thinking-box http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/79779/grains-healthy Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:30:00 -0400 Gretchen Becker Dieticians keep telling us to eat more "healthy whole grains" and fish for optimal health.   One problem with this prescription is defining more. More than other foods? More than we're already eating? More than we ate last year?   There are, of course, formulas for what the dieticians think we should be eating. This percentage of one food, that percentage of another. But do you know anyone who sits down at the dinner table with a... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/79779/grains-healthy http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/78483/pork-spin Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:22:00 -0400 Gretchen Becker [Humor]   Almost every day, it seems, we see a "news" article in which one food is named as having great benefit for people with diabetes, or those at risk. For example, blueberries, milk, lean beef, and now pork.   When you look closely, you always find that the "research" was supported by some food marketing group, in the pork case, Australian Pork Limited and the Pork Cooperative Research Centre.   In fact, the... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/78483/pork-spin