Sugar Matters

Sugar Matters
Kudos to you, SVG!
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March 27, 2012
I am writing this week’s article on the plane as our team from the Patsy Douglas Foundation heads home. Two weeks ago, on March 10th, all of us had ...
Sugar Matters
Just a blink away
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March 6, 2012
Ah, our next Mission trip is just a blink away! Our last few preparations are in the works for this return trip of the Patsy Douglas Foundation Diabet...
Sugar Matters
Different Diabetes: Type 1
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February 21, 2012
This week we will start a review through a slightly different land of type 1 diabetes. This column has focused mainly on Type 2 diabetes, because that...
Sugar Matters
Diabetes and stress
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February 14, 2012
This is a question that comes up very frequently in clinic, and also in normal conversations: Can stress make your blood sugars go up? The answer is t...
Sugar Matters
Hide and seek with Sugar
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February 7, 2012
There has been a lot of research into the effects of added sugar to various drinks you can buy in stores, often under the names of “fruit juices.”...
Sugar Matters
Low Fat diets for weight loss – yes or no?
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January 31, 2012
One of the reasons I love attending my conferences is that there is always some great overlap with other fields. The Nutrition-based lectures are alwa...
Sugar Matters
CPR – Learn it, know it
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January 24, 2012
CPR - cardiopulmonary resuscitation - you all know it well. Yes, you do; at least you can recognize it on TV and the movies all the time. The scene: s...
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Getting ready again: Mission trip home
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January 17, 2012
It’s that time again! We are starting preparations for our upcoming Patsy Douglas Diabetes Mission Trip to St Vincent, which will occur this year be...
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Welcome Back, let’s get on Track
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January 10, 2012
Yes it’s a new year! Another time to get ourselves motivated to make change, make things better! It does not matter if you don’t make actual “re...
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Hide and seek with Sugar
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December 20, 2011
As we are all in the throes of cooking and baking for Christmas, which is right around the corner, many of you will be already rationing to figure out...
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Cold and Flu Season Approacheth…
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December 13, 2011
The full brunt of cold season will soon be on us. Do not be mistaken viruses can pop up at pretty much any time. In fact some viruses hang around all ...
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Holiday season: our best and worst times
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November 29, 2011
December is right round the corner; can you believe it? Where did 2011 go?{{more}} As always, we look forward to this busy, fun time of year, filled w...
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Question from the audience
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November 22, 2011
This week will be devoted to answering a question I received from a reader: “I have a family history of diabetes. I am 42 years old and right now, m...
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A quick reminder: Diabetes hurts eventually
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November 8, 2011
I know, I know, — everyone is getting ready to swing into the holiday season and now look, I need to drop this difficult topic on you like a bad sor...
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A Note of Encouragement, and Warning
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November 1, 2011
How did everyone do last week on that quiz? Congrats to all who did well! For those of you who had no idea what the answers were, the back issues of t...
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Quick Pop Quiz
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October 28, 2011
Oooh, I LOVE to drop a surprise test on people!!! This one is super-quick, and will mainly serve to remind everyone about the importance of certain te...
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Listening and thus avoiding more harm
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October 18, 2011
A short while back, I had the sad fortune of being called in consultation for a patient whom we had seen just a few weeks prior in the hospital. This ...
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The deadly sins of diabetics
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October 11, 2011
For people with diabetes, there are a few particularly bad habits that need to be minimized or cut out completely. For some, moderation is indeed the ...
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How is heart disease diagnosed?
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October 4, 2011
For the most part, many doctors will approach people with type 2 diabetes as though they already have heart disease, meaning that the recommendations ...
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Healthy Hearts are Happy Hearts
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September 27, 2011
Given our recent review of diabetes-related complications, this week I wanted to touch again on heart disease by going through a few misunderstandings...
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What’s going on inside your head?
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September 20, 2011
Sure, you could make all sorts of cute jokes about “having sweet thoughts” when we start discussing the effects of diabetes on your brain. But jok...
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Eyes revisited
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September 13, 2011
As we continue talking about complications, this week we address diabetes and its effects on your eyes. I wanted to revisit this important topic becau...
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Beyond sugar numbers in Diabetes
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August 23, 2011
We have talked alot about monitoring blood sugar levels themselves, both with your own glucose meter as well as with the A1C lab you get drawn every t...
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A refresher is always good
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August 16, 2011
Just when you think you have it under control, that is when you let up and get slack! It is that way with everything, isn’t it my friends? It is alw...
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A few cautions about the hemoglobin A1C test…
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August 9, 2011
I know for a fact that most of you reading this have an A1C drawn more often than you do a finger stick check,{{more}} because from what I recall from...
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A quick reminder: Diabetes hurts eventually
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July 26, 2011
I know, I know, — everyone is high off the recent Carnival festivities and just slooowly getting back into the swing of things. And now look, I need...
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Life and Diabetes: a constant re-evaluation
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July 19, 2011
The past few weeks have been spent with us discussing some of the ways in which everyday life, and sometimes not-so-everyday life, can affect how well...
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Life and diabetes week 3: Vacation!
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July 8, 2011
This week, we approach the opposite of last week when we talked about stress. This week, in honor of Vincy mas, we discuss what happens when you actua...
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Some thoughts on Life: how it affects diabetes
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June 21, 2011
Yes, you did read the title correctly: how Life affects diabetes, not the other way around! It occurred to me that we spend a good bit of time talking...
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What are your target numbers anyway?
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May 31, 2011
Despite discussing this at various times, many patients seem to forget what their target numbers are in regard to their diabetes. If you are fortunate...
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Type 1 diabetes details – Quiz time!
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May 24, 2011
AHA! Caught you unawares, maybe. Before we go on to further discussions about Type 1 diabetes, time for a quick quiz this week. I hope you have been p...
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Can Type 1 Diabetes be cured?
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May 17, 2011
This is a common question we get in clinic, and from random interested folks out in the community. And I KNOW many of you in Vincyland may have asked ...
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What makes Type 1 diabetes different?
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May 10, 2011
Last week we touched on some of the myths/misconceptions about Type 1 diabetes. As I have mentioned in the past, it is similar to Type 2 diabetes in s...
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Type 1 diabetes: myths versus facts
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May 6, 2011
This week, we will go through some basic facts and myths about Type 1 diabetes. You may be asking: Why bother? Isn’t Type 1 the same as Type 2? Trut...
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To the Type 1 Diabetics: we hear you
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April 29, 2011
During this year’s mission trip, we had the honor of meeting some remarkable people, including five who really touched all the members of our team, ...