Health Expert Gretchen Becker shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. 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/profiles/c/5068/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/5068/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/5068/index http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/152963/neuropathy-bg Mon, 14 May 2012 19:15:52 -0400 Gretchen Becker Researchers have reported that a compound formed when blood glucose (BG) levels are high, called methylglyoxal, causes neuropathy. They say they are working on ways to reduce the levels of methylglyoxal.   This would certainly be nice. But what is really sad when one reads a summary of the article in  Nature Medicine is the comment that “roughly 50% of patients with diabetes” develop neuropathy.   We know that... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/152963/neuropathy-bg http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/152875/vision-diabetes Fri, 11 May 2012 17:18:40 -0400 Gretchen Becker One thing many people have heard about diabetes before they are diagnosed is that when you have diabetes, you may go blind.   Of course this is true.   It’s also true that when you don’t have diabetes, you may go blind. There are no guarantees of anything in this life.   But because they’ve heard this about diabetes, people who are diagnosed with “fuzzy vision,” may panic, thinking they’re... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/152875/vision-diabetes http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/152548/exercise-appetite Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:54:01 -0400 Gretchen Becker When you're trying to lose weight, you're often told to exercise more. But some people say that exercise just makes you hungrier.   So some scientists decided to test this relationship, using something called functional MRI, or fMRI. This is a technique that can detect the blood flow in different areas of the brain. The more blood flow, the more activity in that portion of the brain. Then they had some people exercise for an hour on a... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/152548/exercise-appetite http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/152098/kudos-type-1 Sun, 15 Apr 2012 08:55:11 -0400 Gretchen Becker I'm very absent-minded. I tend to go to the library to return library books, get there, and realize I've forgotten the books. This wouldn't be such a problem if I didn't live 45 minutes from the library.   Or I'll go to town and remember the library books and forget my purse. This is especially problematic when I'm almost out of gas. One time I had to borrow $3 from a trusting owner of a 7-11 store because the gauge was on empty and the... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/152098/kudos-type-1 http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/151882/salivary-glucose Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:27:21 -0400 Gretchen Becker When you eat carbohydrates, digestion begins in the mouth. Your salivary glands secrete a hormone called salivary amylase that starts breaking down starches and other large carbohydrates into smaller carbohydrates and glucose.   Recent research has shown that different people contain different levels of this salivary amylase, and the levels are both genetic and environmental. People who are descended from populations that traditionally... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/151882/salivary-glucose http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/151666/bariatric-surgery Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:22:24 -0400 Gretchen Becker In November 2010, Health Central sent me to Cleveland, where the Cleveland Clinic was having a conference on medical innovations for obesity. Several physicians spoke about about the benefits of bariatric surgery, especially the Roux-en-Y surgery, which seems to improve symptoms of type 2 diabetes as well as causing weight loss.   After the conference, I wrote about their experiences with surgery and weight loss, some of their opinions... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/151666/bariatric-surgery http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/151335/type-2-develop Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:13:22 -0400 Gretchen Becker A nifty study of a personal genome was published in the journal Cell last week. What makes it fascinating is that the subject of the study apparently developed type 2 diabetes during the study and the researchers were able to follow its progress.   You can see a popular summary of the study or read the full article if you wish.   During the course of the study, the subject had a couple of viral infections, and after the second... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/151335/type-2-develop http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/150764/imaginary-food Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:28:09 -0500 Gretchen Becker Most of us sometimes have food cravings. Well, OK, like maybe 16 hours a day if we're very strict about our diets (aka "eating plans" or whatever you want to call them).   How can we best deal with them?   A study published in the journal Science about a year ago made one suggestion:  Imagine eating the forbidden foods many times and your cravings will lessen.   Let's say you're on a low-carb diet and you're craving a... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/150764/imaginary-food http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/150394/making-lifestyle Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:30:47 -0500 Gretchen Becker One thing I hear over and over again in the media is that people with type 2 diabetes just need to make a few "lifestyle changes" and they'll be cured.   Well, I'd love to be cured, so I sat down and tried to figure out how I could change my lifestyle, which is now pretty dull.   First I went out and bought a motorcycle. Then I got a few tattoos. I joined a gang, and we spent many happy hours racing back and forth on a highway,... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/150394/making-lifestyle http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/150310/taking-drugs Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:03:18 -0500 Gretchen Becker One thing I hear a lot from people who have just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is, "I don't want to take drugs."   I can understand this point of view, because I felt the same way when I was diagnosed. I'd been unusually healthy until then, and the only drugs I took were occasional antihistamines in hay fever season and the occasional aspirin, maybe two or three times a year.   My doctor wanted me to take metformin, which had... http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5068/150310/taking-drugs