The Diabetes Question

Spouse's diabetes impacts the entire family

Diagnosed last fall with Type 2 diabetes, he had none of the usual risk factors and no symptoms. At 43, he was a trim 170, former athlete, nonsmoker with no family history of diabetes. That he had the disease was odd, but not impossible.

His doctor prescribed Actos, a commonly used first-line treatment, and suggested he meet with a nutritionist, who recommended Erik limit carbohydrates to 60 per meal -- and that was that. I assumed Erik could do this on his own, and paid little attention to what he ate. He is not one to be fussed over, so I continued with my usual routines of mothering six children. Less than a year later, Erik's blood sugar had gone up and his doctor added another pill to the routine.

Tony Blair: Public health speech in full

"This is the latest in a series of lectures about the issues I believe will dominate the public and political debate in the time to come.

Today I focus on what we call public health but which is really about healthy living. In this lecture I will set out the challenge this issue poses for us: in respect of the increasing strain unhealthy living will put on the NHS; in respect of our quality of life; .

Good diet food? Bad diet food? Forget about it!

If you're a dieter, you've probably noticed that the more you tell yourself you can't have a particular food, the more obsessed you become with that food and the more you crave it. Sooner or later, you give in, and then what happens? You probably go overboard. If you're a compulsive overeater, you binge. And then what happens? You feel ashamed and guilty, you vow never to touch that food again, you try to avoid it, and the obsessive cycle of craving and indulging starts all over again.

Washington State To Take Door-To-Door Health Survey Of Residents

Dr. Juliet VanEenwyk, state epidemiologist for noninfectious diseases, tells the Seattle Times, "We want to get a snapshot of [residents'] health ... and if we can't prevent the diseases, have early detection of them."

The Washington Adult Health Survey, sponsored by the state Department of Health and designed to gather a cross section of state residents, will begin late this month and will take about a year.

In this latest survey, selected participants will be asked about their access to health care and whether they have dental problems, osteoporosis, emphysema or cancer.

Blood Clot Fibers More Elastic Than Spider's Web

Ginger causes ovarian cancer cells to die, UM researchers find

In laboratory studies, researchers found ginger caused ovarian cancer cells to die. Further, the way in which the cells died suggests ginger may avoid the problem common in ovarian cancer of cells becoming resistant to standard treatments.

The researchers are presenting their results in a poster session at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.

Researchers used ginger powder, similar to what is sold at grocery stores, only a standardized research grade. The ginger powder was dissolved in solution and applied to ovarian cancer cell cultures.

The Atkins of diabetes

Then I heard about Richard Bernstein. The endocrinologist is often described as a "maverick" for his diabetes treatments. .