Prior to the advent of insulin, in the 1920's, diabetes was treated with a low-carbohydrate diet. These diets were aimed at controlling sugar in the urine, a stark contrast to the current ADA suggested diet of low-fat and high-carbohydrate. In fact the diet recommended by Dr. Elliot Joslin consisted of approximately 20% protein, 75% fat and 5% from carbohydrates.

Well in the early century - this diet seemed to hold most diabetics on course just fine without the magic pills available today. It is also remarkable that the secondary complications and epidemic growth of diabetes was not a hot topic, either. Researchers decided to give Dr. Joslin's diet another go in a modern environment. The results of this low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (LCKD) improved glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes such that diabetes medications were discontinued or reduced in most participants - 17 out of 21 completing the study. The original study had 28 participants, with 8 dropouts. The LCKD can be very effective at lowering blood glucose. Participants also experienced reductions in body weight, waist circumference, and body fat.

It's funny how this study, conducted in 2005, produced results seen almost 100 years prior. LCKD appears to be a reasonable cure for type 2 diabetes. If most diabetes was adequately treated back in days of 1923 without the assistance of pills and insulin - why is it such a mess nowadays? Where did we go wrong?

Pfizer's bandwagon might be busted! Turns-out a study says inhaled human insulin, whether formulated as a powder or liquid, is more immunogenic than injected insulin.

Adverse effects of antibody formation have not been thoroughly investigated. But it was shown, comparatively, that inhaled insulin provokes more of an immune response than injections. Spitting is a dirty habit - but it's not good for nothing. The mucosal defense system is the body's primary line of defense against inhaled foreign matter - kind of like the MARINES of the human body. It is uniquely able to discern self from non-self bodies. So far - it looks like Pfizer's toker is a no go.

As I said before - the adverse events have not been thoroughly investigated. Until we know exactly what kind of mucosal revenge or pulmonary punishment lies ahead - I'd stick to the tried and true...subQ, for now. However the Generex Oral-lyn human trials are looking pretty promising. Stay tuned.

I'm having a blonde moment. The headline reads: cases of undiagnosed diabetes drop sharply. As if this is good news. The article continues - the number of men in the United States with undiagnosed diabetes has declined sharply over the past 25 years. Like I said, I'm blonde. Maybe somebody can help me correlate this to good news for us diabetics.

I have a larger than life question mark looming over my head. A recent news story alluded to the fact that the death toll for women over the last 30 years shows little to no improvement over diabetic men. I think I get it now. The net continues to harvest whole, healthy bodies. Shrimp caught in nets are complete animals. Only once they are dumped onto the boat (let's call the boat "diabetes") are their heads removed (i.e., no turning back to the sea now) Good old Charleston summers! Well diabetics are not shrimps, but as the holes in the net get smaller -- more shrimp are being caught.

So what's does this look like? The number of diabetes diagnosis is on the rise. The long-term complications are on the rise. The cost of treatment (you guessed it) is on the rise. U.S. sales of diabetes drugs reached $9.8 billion in 2005. Sadly, all this money isn't yielding better outcomes for the growing diabetes patient population. So where's the success in this story? Well, if you're in the business of diabetes - it's a jackpot. You didn't let too many get away.

For those of you who do not know her yet - consider today your lucky day!! She is Amy Tenderich and her site, Diabetes Mine, is a force to be reckoned with in the diabetes online community. What do I mean? When Amy speaks - anybody who's anybody in the diabetes online community listens.

A few months ago she posted an open letter to Steve Jobs, which was wildly discussed in the blogosphere and media. She invited gadget designers to rise to the challenge of creating sleeker, cooler, consumer-oriented medical devices for people with diabetes. Not only did she get the diabetes blogosphere stirring - but the minds of entrepreneurs storming, as well.

Amy motivated a San Francisco-based company to react in a universal remote control sort of way. Adaptive Path has designed The Charmr, a prototype of a continuous glucose monitor combined with an insulin pump, universally controlled by a device that looks to be no bigger than a USB stick! I strongly encourage everybody to checkout Amy's blog with all the details (including reader feedback) and the YouTube video on the Charmr. Bravo Amy!!

If you're a daytime tv addict- the upcoming JDRF event might be worth your time and money. And don't worry about missing an episode of Days of our Lives. The event is being held on Saturday, August 25t!

Several stars of NBC's hit daytime drama series, Days of our Lives, are heading to Massachusetts on August 25 to support a charity event for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). From 11am to 4pm, fans will get the opportunity to "meet and greet" their favorite Days of our Lives actors and actresses. There will also be photo opportunities and autograph sessions, as well as show novelties up for sale. However, food and beverages will not be served during the daytime reception, which has been priced at $80 per person.

Among the Days of our Lives stars that are slated to appear that night are James Scott (EJ Wells), Stephen Nichols (Steve "Patch" Johnson), Rachel Melvin (Chelsea Brady), Judi Evans (Adrienne Josephine Johnson Kiriakis) and Blake Berris (Nick Fallon). The JDRF charity event will be held at the Burlington Marriot. Fans who wish to attend the event can order tickets online. For those who will be coming from outside the Burlington area, a block of rooms have been set aside by the hotel specifically for the event. For room reservations, call 1-781-229-6565. Like sands through the hourglass... attend the fundraising event to enjoy the stars from Days of our Lives!

Read all about it. Professor Vincent Marks, a world expert on insulin who has assisted in some high profile cases of insulin murder, has written a book - the 'Insulin Murders - True Life Crimes'.

The first recorded incident of insulin used for murder was in 1957, and since then there have been about 50 cases globally of insulin being used for murder. Although insulin can be used to kill, Professor Marks said it was actually a very poor murder weapon. Detecting its use was difficult, but not as many assumed...impossible.

It is not a very good weapon especially nowadays. More tests are available to prove the misuse of insulin. If a non-diabetic is dead on arrival without a usual suspect - I suggest the coroner check the patient's blood sugar. If that's hovering around absolute zero I'd put a request in for the insulin antibody kit!

The scientific community has been in a heated debate about xenotransplants (transplanting pig islets into humans). Although the procedures are showing to be effective - is the insulin secretion entirely pig? Some experts surmise that after the transplants, diabetic patients are actually able to produce some insulin on their own, after all.

The latest press release from Tissera, Inc (an Israeli-based company) made a statement that raises my hopes. It was, "By the fourth month after transplantation, the insulin dose needed to maintain near-normal blood sugar levels decreased by more than 90% in comparison with the insulin dose needed before transplantation, meaning that endogenous insulin production was predominantly responsible for blood sugar control."

The question of the origin of endogenous insulin was addressed by measurement of blood C-peptide. C-peptide splits from insulin and indicates the level of insulin secretion from the patient. C-peptide levels were measured both at baseline and in response to a sugar load, which brings about a rise in blood C-peptide. The measured C-peptide was shown to be predominantly of pig origin. So herein lies my question: is predominantly more than 50%? A type 1 diabetic has undetectable levels of C-peptide. Period. After the xenotransplant the C-peptide level is all of a sudden detectable? Could these islet transplants assist in regenerating the diabetics' own islets?

The best part of blogging for The Diabetes Blog is the steep learning curve you embark upon as you research media outlets with an eye on diabetes. I've grown up as a sister and daughter of two brothers and a mom and dad with type 1 diabetes, but the challenges type 2 diabetics face are entirely foreign.

Alarmingly, recent surveys reveal about 60% of type 2 diabetics are not reaching glycemic goals. A new book, Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes: Five Essential Health Factors You Can Master to Enjoy a Long and Healthy Life, offers type 2 diabetics tools to better manage their health. Authors Richard A. Jackson, MD, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School and Amy L. Tenderich, MA, diabetes blogger, journalist and author, hope the book can guide the type 2 diabetic -- who often realizes little face-to-face time with their physician -- get a handle on these five test results for better diabetes control.

The book moves beyond the vague notion many type 2 diabetics have that "they need to eat better and exercise more." Rather, the book teaches the importance and optimal ranges of five tests ... A1C, blood pressure, lipids, microalbumin and eye examinations.