We could all benefit from added fiber in our diets. However, it seems the type of fiber consumed is important too. A new study concludes that vegetable fiber is a good defence against type 2 diabetes. The study comes courtesy of researchers at the University of Sydney, Australia, who found that adults eating five grams of vegetable fiber daily were 24 percent less likely than other adults to develop the disease. People over the age of seventy enjoyed a thirty-one percent risk reduction.

The study tracked the eating habits of more than two thousand people over a ten year period. Wow. The researchers also reported that those whose diets contained fiber from mainly cereal or fruit sources did not fare so well - they had a higher risk for type 2 diabetes than those getting lots of fiber from veggie sources. The reason could be that foods high in vegetable fiber produce smaller fluctuations in blood glucose and insulin levels than would cereal or fruits. Lead researcher, Alan Barclay, says legumes are the best fiber source of all.

The results have been published in the latest Diabetes Care.

That's Fit did a great piece featuring the benefits fiber adds to most of our diets. In fact, the FDA recommends we eat 25 to 30 grams a day when most of us are eating less than half that amount!

Even Oprah is praising the nutritious secrets of fiber. Her helping hand, Dr. Oz, has written it all down for you in his latest book, YOU on a Diet. Oprah has featured the YOU: On a Diet Basics in a slide show on her site.

The slide show compels me to brave Borders again (at least this time I might not have to navigate swarms of Harry Potter fanatics). YOU: On a Diet promises to invigorate me with equal parts information, motivation, and change-your-life action that will harmoniously direct my body into wellness. After all - this is the doctor who has helped Oprah look like a daytime supermodel. I'm sold!

The Master Cleanser Detox raises my curiosity to insatiable levels. Many stars have sworn by it - from Beyonce Knowles to Robin Quivers. The misconception behind the safety of this practice for weight loss is reviewed by a registered dietician on The Diet Channel. The Master Cleanser is by no stretch of the imagination a healthy way to lose weight. In fact, the Master Cleanser, otherwise known as the Lemonade Diet, is a complete body detoxifying cleanse that has been around for over 60 years.

The Master Cleanser is a combination of simple ingredients in different combinations throughout the day: organic sea salt, water, lemons, syrup, cayenne pepper and a laxative tea. The day begins with a quart of salt water, followed by interval consumption of several cups of homemade lemonade throughout the day. The lemonade contains fresh squeezed lemons and water, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup. The lemon juice is said to dissolve built-up waste in the colon (the master cleansing agent); the cayenne pepper is for ridding the body of mucus; and the maple syrup is for energy. The end of the day includes a detoxifier herbal tea laxative. The herbal laxative is to aid the elimination process and the salt water acts as a colonic flush. The author of the original plan recommends following the diet for a minimum of 10 days, but also says that the diet can be followed for up to 20 days.

On Friday I went to Borders to get my hands on a copy of the Mater Cleanser. Big mistake after I realized it was the debut of the latest Harry Potter book. I should've called! In any event - I forfeited fighting Gryffindors and Hogwarts to find the book. I returned home to scour the internet for personal reviews of the Master Cleanser. The most important thing I discovered was that people who use the Master Cleanser to lose weight are misinformed. The Master Cleanser is intended for ultimate toxin elimination - not weight elimination. For entertaining enlightenment - I strongly suggest reading the Amazon.com customer reviews!!

Yes, whole foods are good for your health. But maybe even better than you imagined. A Swedish study has concluded that a "Stone Age" diet is great for the health and could even prevent Type 2 diabetes. So what did people eat in the dark depths of prehistory? Well, a variety of foods, but nearly all of it was high in fiber, low in fat, fresh, and nearly unprocessed.

Scientists took a small group of fourteen glucose intolerant heart patients and put them on the diet of a lifetime: lean meat, fish, fruits, vegetables and nuts. This, it is assumed, is the sort of diet consumed by our Stone Age ancestors - hunter gatherers who lived around 70,000 years ago, long before the emergence of agriculture. Meanwhile, another group of patients with similar health issues were put on a supposedly healthy "Mediterranean diet" rich in whole grains, dairy, fruits and vegies, and unsaturated fats. Well, you guessed it. After twelve weeks, the researchers found those on the Stone Age diet had much more stable blood sugar levels and were better able to process carbohydrates without such major blood sugar fluctuations. In fact, all the Stone Age patients had normal blood glucose levels by the end of the study and also dropped a few pounds too. Those on the Mediterranean diet, however, experienced hardly any changes at all.

Admittedly, this is a very small-scale study. But the results are interesting nevertheless, and, I'd wager, not a huge shock to well-informed diabetics who understand the importance of curbing carb intake for better health. On the other hand, I was interested to note that the author of the study, Dr. Staffan Lindeberg, played down the "carb as culprit" angle, and instead emphasized the following simple rule for better health: avoid modern, processed foods.

My family has type 1 diabetes, but when it comes to overnight hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), the similarity ends there. My mom's blood sugar level drops about 100 mg/dl overnight, so she makes sure her blood glucose level is around 180 mg/dl before hitting the pillow. My brother's blood sugar level never drops overnight; in fact, it oddly begins a steady rise upon awakening. Go figure. My dad has had many bouts with nighttime hypoglycemia and he often eats his favorite diabetic snack bar formulated to prevent a serious drop.

If there is one thing I have learned, diabetes is a complex disease and no diabetic is alike.

Diabetic snack bars is a growing market, with some designed to prevent hypoglycemia and others to reduce hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). Here is an article highlighting recommendations from diabetes specialists, along with a short list of products.

Snack bars with uncooked cornstarch (UCS), a slowly absorbed complex carbohydrate, aim to prevent hypoglycemia as the carbs act as a steady source of glucose. They are a good fit for diabetics on intensive insulin therapy with good control (more susceptible to hypoglycemia); as a bedtime snack; to avoid low blood glucose after consuming alcohol; or for those with hypoglycemia unawareness. Check out ExtendBar. My internet search uncovered Gluc-O-Bar and Nite Bites are no longer available.

Nutraceutical refers to foods claimed to have a medicinal effect on human health. The American Diabetes Association says individuals at risk of developing diabetes can make changes in their diet and increse their level of physical activity to reduce their risk. The following mentions a few foods and supplements that are your friends in the fight against diabetes.

You've probably heard a million times the benefit of soluble fiber. It lends a big helping hand by slowing carbohydrate absorption. Easy sources of soluble fiber include: oat bran, nuts, barley, flax seed, fruits like oranges and apples, and vegetables like carrots. Another nutritional gem is coffee! Well, more specifically chlorogenic acid, the antioxidant found in coffee. It slows the release of glucose into the bloodstream after a meal. Caffeine counteracts this effect, so diabetics are better off drinking decaf. Barley malt has similar blood glucose lowering effects as metformin, without the side effects. Some say barley malt is to beer as grapes are to wine. Barley malt extract (available in powder and liquid forms) is also used medicinally as a bulking agent to promote bowel regularity.

Other honorable mentions include: magnesium, chromium piccolinate, conjugated linoleic acid, bitter melon and our beloved cinnamon. Nutraceuticals would likely have substantial diabetes-preventive efficacy, and presumably could be marketed legally as aids to good glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity.

What increases bone density, promotes digestive health, helps keep kids healthy, and benefits the management of diabetes? Here's a hint, it sounds like the lifeblood treatment for type 1 diabetes - insulin - but the name of this goodie is inulin. Inulin in foods provides both bulk and sweetness without causing a rise in glucose levels.

Inulin is a natural dietary fiber found in over 35,000 common foods like artichokes, asparagus, onions, garlic, raisins and bananas. As an undigested fiber, it has no effect on blood glucose levels. It has a zero Glycemic Index. You could easily find it in your grocer's refrigerated section in Stonyfield Farm yogurts. Their version of inulin comes from chicory roots. Amazing all the places this ingredient naturally derives!

It is used increasingly in foods, because it has excellent nutritional and functional characteristics. Inulin can be used to replace sugar, fat, and flour. For the masses concerned with nutrition-labels, it contains one-third to one-fourth the food energy of sugar or other carbohydrates and one-sixth to one-ninth the food energy of fat. I'm curious to see what it tastes like, aren't you? From ignorant experience (uninformed of the artificial sweeteners used) I enjoy Stonyfield yogurts. I'll have to try another brand name with inulin on for size. Breaking news!! I just checked the ingredients in my newest dopamine-boosting fix: Trader Joe's low-glycemic dark chocolate. Golly gee-- sure enough inulin is on the list. I'm so in love with this dark chocolate because it really has such an insignificant affect on my blood sugar. Ultimate kudos to Ramsey, the creator of Miracle Muffins, for this sweet trinket of knowledge on artificial sweeteners!!

Realizing how influential carbohydrates can be on blood sugars, I swore myself to celibacy from baked goods long ago. However, my closed-door policy underwent peace talks after I had the pleasure of speaking with Ramsey Makar, founder of Miracle Muffins. Miracle Muffins are diabetic friendly premium muffin mixes with a plethora of wholesome goodness. Fresh baked, every time -- all you have to do is add water!

Miracle is a strong word. However, when you see the impact these muffins have on blood sugar -- you'll agree it's miraculous. Ramsey wanted to create a muffin that his diabetic mother could enjoy without the rise in her sugar. He concocted a recipe that contains generous amounts of fiber, healthy soy protein, low-glycemic sweeteners, and is very low in fat. Another fact for good measure -- the muffins fit comfortably into the diet programs of Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, LA Weight Loss, Nutra System and Zone.

I saved the best part for last -- the flavors! Each muffin is fresh-baked so you spare nothing on taste. The flavors available are: banana, blueberry, black cherry, chai spiced black tea, cinnamon green tea, chocolate black cherry and gingerbread. The muffin mixes have two versions based on the sweeteners used -- Spnenda or Xylitol. It says something profound about a product that actually helped an Olympic athlete lose weight! When you visit the Miracle Muffin site, take a peek at the You Tube video, read the mesmerizing nutrition details, and indulge yourself in the Miracle Muffin experience. You'll be a believer, too!

Many popular foods out there are touted as being "healthy." However, many are not all that nutritious and will just load your body with sugar, to the detriment of your health, especially if you are diabetic. There's an excellent short article on this very topic that I recommend. It's by Dana Carpender, who has written two low-carb recipe books and is also the editor of the online newsletter Lowcarbezine! (Her own website is www.holdthetoast.com, by the way.)

Anyway, Dana says watch out for highly-processed snacks that are high in sugar and low in fiber. The main offenders? Rice cakes, granola bars, and "wheat" or "whole grain" bread. This last one is one of my pet peeves: if you look closely at the labels on most loaves touted as "whole grain," you will find they actually contain little in the way of fiber. In addition, they often contain added sugar.

Watch out also for polyunsaturated vegetables oils, says Carpender. Yes, back in the 80s we were all told they were the way to go, but now we know differently. Carpender also takes a swipe at flavored yogurts and fruit juice. I was cheering when I read this. Popularly perceived as "healthy," big-brand flavored yogurts are just sugar in a cup. Same deal with fruit juice - all the sugar and none of the fiber. Go, Dana!