Dear Mr David Shapira,

President and CEO Giant Eagle

Thanks  for  offering these commonly prescribed type 2 diabetes medications for free in the NE starting today.

The medications being offered to a diabetic are as follows

Kids Fitness is one of the core values of the healthy kids healthy weight program and we have been using football as the out for to cover this portion of kids fitness as most parent across America are doing.

The good news, Re has been slotted in as the starting center for the Lions, just about 3 weeks into training camp and before contact drills. I couldn’t have been prouder of him if I tried to. He has made a ton of friends already and has quickly embraced the kids fitness portion beyond my expectations, this in his first year of peewee football and any organized football activities for that matter.

Now Everyone says just be happy because he is getting a hell of an experience and participating in a kids  fitness program which is great. We are building a better foundation for the future but it is a peek into this future that has me a bit conflicted.

Its silly I know as matter of fact at this he wants to be a pro cyclist when he grows up more than he wants the football career, he is always begging me  to incorporate cycling into the kids fitness program by ambushing me every morning to let him come riding with me and I have to explain to him that he cant keep up with me yet, and  here in lies my dilemma with making football a part of my  kids fitness.

As I had noted earlier, the center position on the team is his to loose and as his dad I want him to be the best center he can be, I have already started adding some drills and hiking the ball after practice but in the midst of all this, if indeed he does catch on and does an exceptional job,

He will be labeled, A center.

He will get comfortable in the position, he will be recruited in the same position as well, I can just see him now as the starting center of the Cleveland Browns in 2010…lol

Have you seen the current starting center of the Cleveland Browns however,

• Alex Mack   #55
• Center
• Cleveland Browns
• Height: 6-4
• Weight: 311
• Born: Nov 19, 1985 – Santa Barbara, CA
• College: California
• Draft: 2009 – 1st round (21st pick) by the Cleveland Browns

Yes this is all hypothetical but would I be remiss as a parent in not encouraging his passion in life and encouraging what he loves to make the kids fitness portion as easy as possible.

The whole point of the kids fitness however is to get him to a healthy weight, and to me a football behemoth 6’4″ 311 pounds just does not spell it.

These guys are urged to pack on the pounds to make the team and anyone under 300 pounds is considered not heavy enough and what happens after an NFL career is even more frightening with all the ailments associated not only with playing such a brutal sport  but carrying that weight around. A recent ESPN study showed  double the  mortality rate of heavier players at age 50 for the heavier players than other players.

This is what he has to look forward to if we continue down this road and while it might be far fetched, it is also a possibility and in there lies my conflict.

My kids fitness is very important to me that’s a given and we are just touching down on this journey back to health but the steps I make as parent, at this impressionable age will not only lay a foundation but also guide him forward to healthier alternatives. At the core of the healthy kids healthy weight program is teaching the kids fitness as well as making healthier choices in their diet as well and I am hoping that I am making the right decisions all I can really say is I hope the kids fitness program I have chosen is the right one and that I am making good choices for him, just another stressful day  in my diabetic life.

I was asked recently what advice I would give to someone with a brand spanking  new diabetes diagnosis.

We have a diagnosed with diabetes section here for more in depth coverage on this issue, but I wanted to specifically answer this question here.

so here are the 10 things I would tell someone who has recently been diagnosed with diabetes, I am assuming some of the technical what is diabetes and why do I have a lazy pancreas have been covered by the good ol doctor.

I know at the time of my diagnosis, I had a ton of questions going through my mind but I had very few answers because truthfully a diabetes diagnosis simply tells you that you have it, it does not explain how you got it? even  who is responsible? its purely conjecture.

The physician at the time simply gave me a risk factors of what causes diabetes, at the time non of them fit me. Yes I was black but I wasn’t obese, my diet wasn’t  that bad and I was fairly active in my lifestyle’s so I couldn’t fathom just how I came to catch diabetes.

All I wanted to do with my diabetes diagnosis was tell the doctor to shove it and I know there are many of us who had the same reaction, since I couldn’t wish it away, here is a few things you can do with the diagnosis.

1. Do not blame yourself for the diabetes diagnosis – Type 2 diabetes is caused by the body’s increased tolerance to glucose, which simply means that your body cannot utilize the glucose produced by the foods you eat. while there is a direct correlation between obesity and diabetes, it does not mean that you caused diabetes by being overweight. I am personally 5’11″ and I weigh 200 pounds I have always been fairly active even before my diagnosis, but I am a diabetic so while I am not the exception to the rule, there are a lot of predetermining factors to diabetes like family history and race which are by no means your fault and there is no way you could have prevented your diabetes diagnosis.
2. Learn the basics of diabetes management – The basics of diabetes management will include an effective diet plan and this means learning a few things about it: – learn how to count carbs, since carbs provide 98% of the body’s glucose, 58% from protein and 30% from fat reducing the amount of carbs you consume is crucial. Do not be afraid to experiment when you get your blood glucose meter, test an hour after you eat a food to see how your blood glucose is affected and adjust accordingly. Start with about 50 grams of carbs a meal and adjust forward or backwards depending on your glucose levels.                                                                                     – Choose aerobic exercises that will increase your heart rate and keep it there are recommended, exercise will also increase insulin sensitivity and help in weigh loss.
3. Endocrinologist and medical team – One thing we do as patients is revere doctors and follow their advice blindly, they are doctors after all and yes we trust them. The right Endo will do wonders for your diabetes management, believe me and since this is a lifetime of visits, you need to shop around for one who is in tune with your needs, I have encountered many a people who say their Endo will not listen to their needs and are quick to just prescribe remedies instead of listening. Think of them as your pit crew and you the driver, their jobs are to offer advice and HELP you win the race not the other way around.
4. Understanding your new diabetes diagnosis – Diabetes is a progressive disease and diabetes management is always evolving, taking the time to understand diabetes and learning as much as one can of the disease is crucial to its control. Understanding diabetes from an insiders point of view, researching the disease from others is important, a good starting place would be the American Diabetes Association.
5. Keeping track of your diabetes management – Tracking  is a concept that is at the core of diabetes management, Keeping track of how many carbs one consumes will help with adjustments, keeping an overall food diary will help in determining the daily caloric intake. Keeping track of what times one takes their medications will help achieve optimal body acclamation to specific food and medicine intake times.
6. There is no cure for diabetes – Alas its true, diabetes has no cure, anyone who purports that idea is  a snake oil salesman.
7. Embrace the diabetes diagnosis – Diabetes is a major lifestyle  adjustment to the normal, it requires a commitment to change that can only be achieved if fully embraced, fighting or resisting simply will not  work and will delay the inevitable. Embrace the diabetes diagnosis and make the necessary changes to a healthier living.
8. Making changes in diabetes management- With a diabetes diagnosis in hand you are overwhelmed by all the information and all the lifestyle changes you have to incur, the trick is to make minor changes at a time over a longer period of time instead of immediate radical ones.
9. The importance of a support structure to your diabetes diagnosis – The changes associated with the diabetic lifestyle requires a major supporting cast in place and it is advisable to surround your life with those who will enrich your life and help you grow in it. If it is just friends or family who will work out with you or someone to talk to when you feel frustrated or down they are invaluable.
10. The DOC and charitable works – Reach out to the online diabetes community in order to gain insight from people who have had several similar experiences and also do some charity work with the American diabetes association to enrich your life, while these are secondary, they are very much a part of the diabetic life

Optimum presence of nutrition in our body is always essential. This is for sheer physical activeness and routine health requirements.

For a diabetic patient especially the dose and structure of nutritional supplements should be redefined as they are already susceptible to various health trauma and weakness. Going by this above video depicted here would take you through an array of nutritional supplements.

These are Glucose control supplements, Diabetic Neuropathy Supplements, Weight Control Supplements, CardioVascular Health Supplements, Joint Support Supplements, Sexual Health Supplements, Eye Health Supplements, Skin & Foot Care Supplements, Immune System Support Supplements and so on. You would know why 100% pure natural and organic is important as our food ingredients. Natural supplements with pure organic composition, because of its clinical and scientific facts can significantly improve the condition of the diabetic person.

Before the synthetic and chemically composed drug came into existence it was all herbal medicines abundant from natural resources. And these diabetic products procured from several herbs, spices and other vegetations have proved their medicinal value. bitter melon or bitter gourd is one such example of natural ingredients used as dietary nutrition supplement. This is an excellent hypoglycemic agent and very powerful in decreasing the level of glucose.

Gingko biloba, Ginseng, Gymea are some other natural nutritional supplements which you would find with diabetic supplements.

I have been a diabetic for about 13 years now and I must say that at this point  I am fully immersed in the diabetic life, I have been through some harrowing  diabetic experiences, but the good days and the bad days are all part of any disease.

Diabetes can be quite challenging and I am not arguing this fact, sometimes it doesn’t matter how much you are prepared for it, an episode is usually just a round the corner. If you  ask Sarah from sarahndipity a fellow D-blogger about her murphy’s law moment yesterday, she will tell you about a classic diabetes catastrophe moment that’s bound to happen to a diabetic sooner or later but she will also tell you that this is no reason to cry wolf. We all go through these moments sooner or later and if you  know any diabetic, or follow anyone in the DOC they will tell you its a part of life.

My problem is the notion that diabetes is a vicious spiraling cycle of a disease right down to a death sentence waiting to happen, and the majority of this notion is fueled by the media whose motives are purely sensation seeking headlines.

It it the reason we will watch a freight train derail and not avert our eyes or we go to a car race just to watch the crashes.

Its celebration of absurd, grotesque, and unusual tales, but even in its simplest form, Morbid curiosity is responsible for this diabetic myth.

The Oprah Diabetes special and its backlash in the diabetic community is a classic example of this phenomenon at work.

I saw the show, the first time I ever watched Oprah I must add and  after the anger , hurt and betrayal moment  abated, I quickly tossed the whole thing aside as a media as a tabloid piece that most media driven diabetic news are.

These diabetic horror stories follow the same script. You see a  non compliant diabetic with his/her limbs removed and on her dialytic death bed with tubes coming out of most of their body with a story of their non compliant life and regrets for not having done a better job at their diabetic care.

Having stated that diabetes is most certainly not a easy disease disease to handle, I do not lay any blame on someone who is not able to manage diabetes effectively.

Where are the success stories however, There are a lot of people living with diabetes who are compliant who have managed to be a diabetic the right way, but have you ever seen a single one get screen time, absolutely not and the reason is as simple as morbid curiosity.

The Reason why diabetes is cloaked in myth today is because of a lacking in education and the right exposure. The media will tell you that visual aids are a powerful medium as a selling point to any news worthy story and this might be true point in this aspect.

There is no cure for diabetes and having an effective diabetes management routine means that you are healthy or look healthy for all intensive purposes , there is no before and after picture like you see in the cancer stricken patients taking chemo.

the images of diabetic patients that you see are the ones who are non compliant and on their death beds ergo the message becomes a diabetic diagnosis will send you to your deathbed as this is an incurable disease.

Excuse me myth but a diabetic life is not necessarily a death sentence if you take care of yourself and follow an effective diabetes management routine.

In diabetes, alcohol play’s a defining role and I intend on finding out just how defining this position is in my diabetes management the hard way with a little experiment.

This experiment is to see if I can combat a trend of higher fasting glucose levels I have been experiencing in the last month or so.

I have been consistently trending higher in the morning with ranges from 180mg/dl to 230mg/dl and I have been trying to find  a resolution for this phenomenon lately.

A recent study on the Glycemic Effects of Moderate Alcohol Intake Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, published in the Diabetes Care Journal caught my eye when I was doing my research into it and after a quick call to my Endo and his approval, I believe today is a good time as any to try this out and see if it becomes a solution. But before we move further along, I want to cover the alcohol and diabetes issue so there is no confusion.

We often hear the term moderation thrown around a lot when it comes to diabetes management and its one of the elemental factors that I  follow as a diabetic.

None is more crucial however when it come to consuming alcohol., My experiment is not about drinking liquor or beer, it is about having a glass of wine each night after dinner and will explain why in a moment.

Can one drink alcohol with diabetes

A diabetic  consuming alcohol is strictly prohibited because it will l cause adverse effects to your body especially if you are taking   blood glucose lowering medications.

and here is why.

Alcohol, diabetes and the Liver

Drinking alcohol blocks the liver’s ability to produce glucose, thus a diabetic runs the risk of hypoglycemia (Low Blood sugar) because normally when blood sugar levels drop, the liver produces glucose from stored carbohydrates to compensate.

Diabetes complications affected by alcohol consumption

The following conditions are affected by alcohol consumption if you are a diabetic.

• Nerve damage in the limbs. – Diabetics with nerve damage drinking can increase the pain, numbness, tingling or burning sensation associated with diabetic nerve damage.
• Diabetes vision – Heavy drinking ( three or more drinks during one day) can make diabetes vision worse.
• High blood pressure. – Diabetics who also have high blood pressure should also not drink alcohol.
• High levels of triglycerides. – Alcohol  increases the degree of triglycerides in the blood.

How much alcohol can a diabetic drink

• You need to ask your doctor if it is okay to drink alcohol with the medications you are on and if they don’t Gel please do not drink any alcohol.
• Please remember moderation is key, heavy drinking could inevitably lead to hypoglycemia.
• Exercise before or immediately after working out is dangerous because they both will decrease your blood sugar levels.
• If you are looking to loose weight then please stay away from those calorie adding beers

For some type 2 diabetics however adding alcohol to diabetes self management can be beneficial in addition to diet and exercise, this is a specific group that does not take any diabetes medication to control diabetes.

Alcohol In diabetes management- Risks vs Rewards

As stated earlier for someone with high blood glucose levels, drinking alcohol may aid in controlling diabetes but the risks vs rewards ratio clearly favors the latter, so please weigh yours before deciding on the right cause of action.

Alcohol effect on fasting blood glucose levels

The study I mentioned earlier found that adding 13 grams  of wine with dinner every night over three-month trial dropped fasting blood glucose levels by 32.5 mg/dl compared with those in the control group.

This is my hope that I will achieve the same results now i just have to find what what wine I like because I am by no means a wine connoisseur.

I will keep you Informed.