The Growing Problem of Diabetes — What Can We Do? (Part 2)

This post was written by Gerald Bernstein, MD, FACP, Director, Diabetes Management Program, Friedman Diabetes Institute at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.

It was the month of June 1959. I was in the last 30 days of my physician training internship, rotating through pediatrics. A 12-year old girl was admitted with type 1 diabetes mellitus. At that time, the only available tools for diabetes management were testing the urine for glucose and ketones. Other blood tests, including blood glucose, could take hours to perform. Insulin for injection consisted of mixed animal insulin (cows and pigs) and was much longer-acting and less predictable than the type we use today. The patient was a remarkable young woman and took things in stride.

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Diabetes No Match for Tennis Champions

When I was in high school in the late 1940s, I lived a few blocks away from the West Side Tennis Club. This was the home of the United States Championships, which ranked with those of Australia and Wimbledon. It was a different, more amateur era for tennis — players wore all white, including sneakers, and just as white were the tennis balls — yet the play was no less intense than that of today. Back then, there were no “tie breakers,” so matches could go on for hours — a challenge for any player with type 1 diabetes (once known as juvenile diabetes). (more…)

Fuel Your Workout Without Expanding Your Waistline

This post originally appeared on Healthline.

If you live with diabetes and exercise regularly, you might have asked yourself, “What am I supposed to eat after my workouts?” Some gyms have a conveniently placed juice bar right at the entrance, making it seem like everybody should be “refueling” post-workout with a super-sized smoothie. Health food stores will sell protein shakes and bars that claim to help “rebuild muscle” and “enhance performance.” So what is a person living with diabetes to do? (more…)

The Growing Problem of Diabetes — What Can We Do? (Part 1)

This post was written by Gerald Bernstein, MD, Director of the Friedman Diabetes Institute at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.

One of today’s greatest public health issues is the growing number of people with diabetes mellitus, most commonly type 2 and most often (but not always) associated with excess weight. To appreciate the scope of the problem, it is important to understand the true nature of the disease. (more…)

A National Goal: Improving Cardiovascular Health and Quality of Life

Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, are responsible for seven out of every 10 deaths among Americans each year, and many of the risk factors that contribute to the development of these diseases are preventable. Healthy People 2020, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), aims to improve the health of all Americans by providing science-based, 10-year national objectives. (more…)

Can Exercise Replace Drugs?

Can exercise replace drugs? A study recently published in BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal) asked this question for four chronic conditions: coronary artery disease, pre-diabetes, stroke and heart failure. The study, which included more than 330,000 patients, was a “meta-analyses.” In other words, it compiled data from previously published controlled trials that looked at the effects of exercise or drug therapy on survival for the illnesses in question. (more…)

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