The healing continues. From laughter, that is.

As we wait with great hope for a cure for diabetes, we do so with a smile thanks to humor to be found on the new website LOL Diabetes (www.loldiabetes.com). I've posted before about this site, which itself is part of the popular diabetes website Six Until Me (www.sixuntilme.com). Nevertheless, things have become waaaaaay to funny over there for me to not highlight some of my favorites.

These would be my Top 5:

5 - The Insulin Monkey. This picture features a stuffed animal, a monkey to be exact, with dozens of syringes sticking out of it, much like a pin cushion. The words "You're Doing it Wrong" that are printed on the picture sum it up perfectly.

4 - iPump. A play on the now famous iPod silhouette ads, this mock version of this campaign features people wearing insulin pumps in place of iPods.

3 - Thumbtacks. A photo of a child's Spider Man poster fastened to the wall with -- Thumb Tacks? No, no, no. Look again...those are lancets! As someone aptly commented on the entry, what a great use for all those extras!

2 - Wanted! In this Old West style Wanted poster, there's a bounty for bringing in Twinkie the Kid. Turns out "The Kid" is wanted for Shootin' Up High Blood Sugars.

1 - The Enemy. By far my favorite, Short, simple, and hilarious. The photo features no other than Willy Wonka himself, with the words "The Enemy" written below. Very true. And very funny.

There are a whole bunch more that could have made a Top 10 list (namely: Soundtrack to a Low, Is This the Remix?, My Pump Makes Me Look Like a Cross-Dresser, Ah! Needle Landslide, and What's Better Than a Cookie).

Be sure to check out LOL Diabetes. Think you have something funny to add? I say go for it!!

If there's any one exercise that everyone seems to use as a show of pure strength and power, it is certainly the bench press. "How much ya' bench?" is a popular question thrown around weight rooms, and the answers are almost always inflated so as to match the ego of the responder. But, throwing around as much weight as possible may not exactly be the best way to see and feel results from this exercise. That's why I am highlighting the proper form, execution and target muscles of this gym workout staple.

The bench press targets the development of the pectoral muscles (aka the chest muscles), but also calls upon help from your triceps (located on the back of your arms) and deltoids (aka shoulders). To properly do this exercise, you first have to lie flat on your back on a bench (or sturdy alternative -- remember my makeshift bench idea with milk crates and a long, thick plank of wood?). You will then place an equidistant grip on the bar with your hands, lifting it off the support rack. Once you have the bar securely above your sternum and with your arms fully extended, you can now begin. Slowly lower the bar until it touches the chest or stops only an inch from the chest (this is up to you), but be sure to not let the weight "bounce" off of you. Once you've reached the bottom of the movement, hold for one second and then press the weight back up to the starting position. Tip: when you raise the bar, be sure to exhale the air you took in while you were lowering it. Also, when you press the weight upward, try to avoid completely locking your elbows to full extension. This will ensure that there is constant pressure and also help avoid elbow injury). Continue this motion for the desired number of repetitions and sets.

There are several variations to the bench press, including the incline bench press, the decline bench press, the dumbell bench press, etc. Also, you can try mixing up the amount of reps you do from one set to the other, or even the amount of weight you place on the bar. Bear in mind that if your goal is size and strength, fewer reps/longer rest in between sets/fewer sets/heavier weight is the combination you want to go with. If muscle tone and a bit of cardiovascular effect are your desired results, I would stick with a combination of more reps/shorter rest in between sets/more sets/lighter weight.

For a good video demonstration of the bench press, click HERE.

Note: The content presented in this post is for informational purposes only. Please consult your doctor or fitness professional before starting a physical fitness program.

Walking -- it's the first thing we learn to do after crawling. Factor in the amount of it we've done over the course of our lives since then, and it's clear that we're more than warranted in considering ourselves experts. Professional, even. We are the walking gurus, and we have the extensive track record to prove it. With this being the case, why is it when it comes to walking as an exercise, so few people do it? Probably because we do it all the time anyway, therefore it does little to stimulate our interest.

We are an easily bored species, one that needs almost constant change in some way, shape or form. This is likely the reason why so many people prefer elaborate workouts to something as simple as placing one foot in front of the other for an extended period of time. To help remedy the situation, you may want to try some of the following Boredom Busters:

Tune-Up. One of the best ways to liven-up a workout is to listen to music. Whether it's the Rocky IV soundtrack to get you all fired up, some body-moving hip-hop, or even Classical favorites, music will help keep your feet moving.

Intervals. Walking is a low-intensity cardio workout, but it doesn't always have to be. To burn extra calories, and to mix things up a bit over the course of your stroll, try picking up the pace for a minute or so every now and again. By doing so, you can burn an extra 100 calories or so over the course of a 30-minute workout.

VERY Short Term Goals. Of course it's important to have long-term goals (i.e. feel healthier, maintain healthy blood sugars, lose weight, etc.), a great way to keep you motivated through your daily walk is to have an almost immediate goal in sight. By this I mean having a goal, or even a reward, waiting for you at the end of your walk. It could be a landmark (such as a view from the top of a hill, or your arrival to a friend's house), but could also be something such as a tasty, low-fat, low-carb meal that is waiting for you.

Make it a Family Affair. With quality time becoming harder and harder for the modern family to find, a great solution is to use that daily walk to serve that purpose. Because you're only walking, you'll have plenty of wind left to have discussions about school, work, and any other topic that would before be part of typical dinner table discussion. Plus, with childhood obesity rates on the rise (as well as the increasing number of children being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes), bringing the kids along may benefit them, as well.

Get Creative. This could mean anything from taking a different route each day, to holding a set of very light dumbells in your hands while you walk. Not only will changes of this kind prevent you from becoming bored, they will also ensure that your fitness results do not plateau over time.

Just because the summer season has reached its end, it doesn't mean that it's time to let our exercise programs go. People tend to put on more weight during the colder months for a few reasons: 1) Because they probably won't be donning their bathing suits at the beach for quite some time, and 2) Because our bodies are designed to slow our metabolism down -- a carry-over from our more primitive days when food sources became more scarce during the cold season. For these reasons, and probably about eight thousand others, it's a smart idea to keep stoking the flames of your metabolism right through the upcoming frost. So, to help you do just that, I'm showing you an exercise this week that will help you burn some serious calories while toning up your legs.

Called the Step-Up, this cardiovascular movement will help you speed up your metabolism as you strengthen and tone your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and even your calves. To perform this exercise, start by standing in front of a weight bench or any safe substitute for one (tip: take two milk crates, spread them apart, and place a firm, wooden board over them -- a great, makeshift bench). Next, take your right foot and place it on the surface of the bench. From there, step-up onto the bench, using your right leg to power the rest of your body up. Once you are standing firmly on top of the bench with both feet, step back down with one leg and follow with the other. Then, step up onto the bench with your left leg, following with your right. Repeat this movement for several repetitions, increasing speed and perhaps even adding small weights (dumbells in hand work well, as does holding a medicine ball) as you get stronger and more familiar with the movement.

I found a very good video demonstration for the Step-Up on ShapeFit.com. To view it, click HERE.

Note: The content presented in this post is for informational purposes only. Please consult your doctor or fitness professional before starting a physical fitness program.

The American Association of Diabetes Educators has spent big bucks this year ensuring its point of view gets across to our representatives in the federal government. The AADE spent $375,000 on lobbying in just the first half of 2007, according to a Senate disclosure form that has been picked up by the media. The law requires that such disclosures be made public. Members of the organization include big Pharma names like Eli Lilly, Novartis and Merck.

The AADE is, obviously, a member organization for diabetes educators, with advocacy in Washington - for professionals and patients - coming as an additional service. The government-run site Healthfinder lists more about the AADE if you're interested. Given the amount of money involved, I'm surprised how little attention this has attracted on the Web. Many news services have featured the disclosure, but only in brief. What I'd like to know is: what issues were the AADE lobbying for and against?

Yesterday I posted on the latest indicator that high fructose corn syrup is harmful and maybe even linked to diabetes risk. Naturally, the American Beverage Association vigorously rejects the report.

In the interest of balance, here's the opposing argument courtesy of the ABA's website. "There is absolutely no unique link between soft drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and diabetes, in children or adults. In fact, it is a stretch of the imagination to link the laboratory findings of this unpublished in vitro study with the occurrence of diabetes in humans." Ooh, "unpublished." Ouch. Nice veiled barb, there.

The statement goes on in some detail, basically saying if the harmful reactive carbonyls occur naturally in a number of foods, why single out HFCS?

Well, you can't blame them for defending themselves. But I laughed at the following: "Singling out any one food, beverage or ingredient as a unique cause or contributor to diabetes is simply not supported by science." I dunno. A study led by a professor of food science at Rutgers. Sure sounds like science to me...

Ever heard of MedCo Health Solutions? It's not a household name like the big pharmaceutical companies Novo, Glaxo etc. However, MedCo, which happens to be in the prescription benefit management business, is a large and powerful company. Now it's about to become even larger: the company is poised to pay $1.5 billion for PolyMedica Corporation, the nation's biggest supplier of diabetes-related products.

According to a Forbes report on the deal, PolyMedica has nearly one million patients using its products. Its product line includes Liberty Healthcare brand, blood glucose test kits and meters, lancet kits, insulin and the like. The Forbes article says the move is basically a smart one on the part of MedCo: it can cash in on the growing demand(14.5 % growth, annually!) for diabetes supplies. MedCo's chief exec, David Snow, told Forbes he anticipates the purchase could make his company (indirectly) the supplier of diabetes treatment products to half of all insured Americans with diabetes.

Factoid: ads for PolyMedica star "Cocoon" and "Seinfeld" actor Wilford Brimley.

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has announced an initiative designed to improve the health of employees with diabetes. Yes, the company's head honchos decided they would take the bull by the horns: if employees have difficulty taking care of their health, they determined to find out why and correct the problem. Result: an internal analysis of healthcare spending within GSK.

Turns out diabetes was one of the biggest problems for Glaxo employees. Glaxo's number-crunchers found the company spends more on diabetes medications, but less on medical care, than the national average. GSK's report states the company spent a total of $26.2 million on diabetes treatment for employees in 2005. Glaxo has now launched what it describes as a multilateral plan to address the needs of employees with diabetes. Leading the charge: a patient education campaign ("Know Your Numbers") and a physician intervention program.

Says Glaxo's US benefits chief, Michael Killian, "As a nation, we are seeing our healthcare costs soar and patients' health decline due to chronic diseases such as diabetes. GSK faces these same challenges and is prepared to meet them." Translation: prevention, prevention, prevention.

Glaxo figures there is nothing to lose, but lots to gain. Healthcare plans for employees already cost a bundle. By targeting the health issues that are hurting employees the most, the company can give those employees a better life and save a lotta money. In addition to making the results of its internal analysis available to the general public, Glaxo has invited other employers to utilize this same approach.

Yes, you read correctly. Low-speed car chase. Not something you see in the news too often, right?

Jacob Kells (30) is from Santa Rosa, CA. He has diabetes. Last Thursday, Kells got behind the wheel of a rented U-Haul truck. Oh, what a bad idea. He was obviously having low blood sugar issues because he caused several minor hit-and-run crashes that morning. Kells would not respond to police calls for him to pull over. Result: the cops had to tail him all, slowly, all the way from Redwood City to Gilroy.

When the police finally caught up with him, Kells was reportedly sweating and incoherent. The officers, obviously aware his state was diabetes-related, gave him glucose paste then got him to hospital, pronto. He was later arrested and taken in for psychological assessment - which I guess means there may be something else going on here other than low blood sugar.

Hats off to the officers of the Redwood City California Highway Patrol for recognizing the signs of low blood sugar and reacting accordingly. That is, for understanding the medical basis for Kells' behavior - not assuming the guy was just drunk or high.

You've heard about the sports stars and the rock stars who succeed in life despite suffering from diabetes. Now, here's something a little more unusual: a circus acrobat! Dolly Jacobs is Circus Sarasota's "Queen of the Air." She recently gave an interview to the Bradenton Herald about her life in the circus.

Trim and petite like a dancer, Jacobs was diagnosed ten years ago. How did it happen? She had the warning signs most type 1s experience: weight loss and a killer thirst she just could not quench. Her mom already had type 1, so during a routine office visit, Jacobs asked the doc to check her blood sugar too. Whoa. It was 260 - way, way above normal. Jacobs was diagnosed not with type 1, but with a rarer form sometimes dubbed "type 1.5" or Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of the Adult (LADA). LADA is basically the same as type 1 diabetes, but develops later in life.

So how does one deal with diabetes when your job involves flying through the air with the greatest of ease? Low blood sugar is easy, says Jacobs. Correct it with a soda or juice. High blood sugar is tougher. She says she can go as high as 500 or 600 just from adrenaline. So, just like any other athlete, she depends on testing several times daily and she wears an insulin pump - but not when she's performing. Eating healthy - lean meats, fruits and veg - are important too, she says.

Click here to read more. Kudos, by the way, to the journalist who wrote this article, Roberta C. Nelson, for taking time out to identify the different forms of diabetes and to explain the dangers associated with high vs. low blood sugar. Great!

For a few months now, I've been offering fitness tips in what I'm calling the Exercise of the Week (very creative, I know) on TheCardioBlog. But, what occurred to me today is that you folks reading TheDiabetesBlog may be just as interested in learning some of these tips. Sure, I suppose you could very easily drop on by TheCardioBlog and read them over there, but that would be too easy. And, if your serious about losing weight and getting into better shape, let me be the first to tell you that nothing ever comes easy!!. So, on a going forward basis, I think I will also start posting these tips here on TheDiabetesBlog. With that, I offer the first installment of the Exercise of the Week.

Some of the best fat-burning and muscle-building exercises are those that combine several movements into one. The squat-press is probably one of the well known of said movements. And while you may very well want to add that exercise to your routine, I'm instead going to focus on a different multi-muscle movement: A Side Lunge with Upright Row. Although it doesn't have a fancy combo name like squat-press, the results can be just as impressive.

To perform this exercise, start by holding a dumbell in each hand with your palms facing in. Next, take a big step to the right side with your right foot. As you do, bend your right knee approximately 90 degrees and keep it in line with your toes. As you do this, try to keep your left leg as straight as you can. Now, this is where it really gets good and difficult -- as you lower your body to the side by bending your knee, lift your elbows until the dumbells are just below your chin. As you then press off from your foot and return your leg to the original position, slowly lower the dumbells. Continue by next going to the left leg, then back to the right, and so on and so forth. For a very good demonstration, click Here.

Compound movements of this kind are a great way to ignite your metabolism and jump-start your muscles. I'll be sure to show you a few more like it in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, feel the burn, baby!!

Note: The content presented in this post is for informational purposes only. Please consult your doctor or fitness professional before starting a physical fitness program.

A lot of people I know avoid foods that list high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as an ingredient. Apart from the calories they add to foods, there's a growing belief that lab-devised products like HFCS are simply unnatural and may be harmful. Wikipedia has an interesting article on the origins and controversy surrounding HFCS, if you want to learn more.

Not surprisingly, the food industry has always defended HFCS against claims that it is harmful. But here's the latest contradiction of that claim: a recent study found that HFCS is "astonishingly" high in reactive carbonyls, which are thought to contribute to the development of diabetes. The study was led by Dr. Chi-tang Ho, head of Rutgers University's Department of Food Science, and colleagues. They concluded that one can of HFCS-sweetened soda contains five times the reactive carbonyls that are normally found in the blood of a person with diabetes.

A news release by the American Chemical Society, announcing Dr. Ho's findings, notes that previous studies have already linked HFCS to cell and tissue damage. They suggest that HFCS consumption may raise the risk of diabetes, not to mention obesity. Say's Dr. Ho: "People consume too much high-fructose corn syrup in this country. It's in way too many food and drink products and there's growing evidence that it's bad for you."

Participants are being sought for a new study on the possible benefits of an aspirin-like medication for people with type 2 diabetes. The research, which is being funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, is aimed at determining if Salsalate, a drug that has been used for more than 40 years to treat pain associated with arthritis, can also be used to help manage diabetes.

Recent studies have linked chronic inflammation to the development of insulin resistance type 2 diabetes. To that end, researchers are looking for adults ages 18 to 75 whose glucose levels are not well controlled and who do not take insulin. Participants will be randomly assigned to either receive Salsalate or a placebo and will receive all medication related to the study at no expense to them. They will also be compensated for time and travel.

If you'd like more information, call 312-355-4442 and ask for Felecia Gilet.

The Rusing family of Tucson, Arizona, run a remarkably successful lemonade stand. The stand began as a way to keep the kids occupied, but turned into a bit of a money maker. It's been so successful, in fact, that it's now in the running for the title of Best Lemonade Stand in America. Yes! There is such a thing. Cute, huh?

The Rusings donate the proceeds from the stand to diabetes research. The stand is named "The Mighty Quinns" for Quinn Rusing. Quinn, who is four-years-old, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age three. He helps run the lemonade stand, along with mom, Carolyn, and six-year-old twin sisters, Cali and Olivia. The secret to their success appears to be the free cookies. That's right. Free Famous Amos cookies with each 25-cent glass of lemonade purchased.

Spot anything odd about this story? Lemonade stand with free cookies as a diabetes fundraiser?? Um, what about all that sugar?! I spotted this story about the Rusings on the Tucson Citizen website. Another reader has posted this comment: "With 60 grams of sugars in a 12 ounce glass, the shareholders of Bristol-Myers-Squibb and Merck are gonna be in real good shape."

Drug War '07: drug giants Novo Nordisk and Sanofi-Aventis have been sparring recently over their insulin pen designs. Novo alleges Sanofi has stolen its design ideas, basically. Check out Bev's post on this to learn more.

The reason it's such a big deal to them is money. The insulin pen could be super-lucrative for investors. Meanwhile, here's some news that's bound to get big pharma even more excited: a new study reports that insulin pens are cheaper and more effective than insulin shots.

Why so good? Fewer trips to the emergency room and fewer visits to the doctor. Insulin pens boast a pre-measured dosing system, with each dose of insulin contained in a single, disposable cartridge. This eliminates the risk of over- or under-dosing, says senior author of the study, Dr. Rajesh Balkrishnan of Ohio State University in Columbus. The researchers say that study participants who used an insulin pen instead of a regular syringe ended up reducing their annual healthcare costs by nearly $17,000. Wow.

What I'm not clear on here is whether or not they factored in the added expense of upgrading from syringes to insulin pens.

Want to know more? The study has been published in the latest issue of Clinical Therapeutics, but you can click here to read a summary.