Would you like to reduce your daily insulin requirements by a third or stop all diabetes medicines? Lofty goals, yes - but given the Eat To Live program - it's quite possible.

Regardless of my attempts to downgrade insulin dose in the last 15 years - my blood sugars would not take the hint. Had I known Dr. Fuhrman had figured this one out long ago - instead of badgering feats of diabetic noncompliance I would have picked up his book, Eat To Live. Dr. Fuhrman explains the best diet for humans to live longer in good health is also the best diet for one with diabetes. A diet comprised mostly in nature's perfect foods-green vegetables, beans, eggplant, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, garlic, raw nuts and seeds and limited fresh fruit, allows for people to eat as much as they want and still lose weight, drop their cholesterol, and their blood pressure relatively quickly.

The Eat To Live dietary style is a vegetable-based diet designed to maximize nutrient per calorie density. It is the most effective treatment for those with diabetes, more effective than drugs. For a type 2 diabetic, this approach has resulted in complete reversal of the diabetic condition in the vast majority of patients and for a type 1 diabetic it solves the problems with excessive highs and lows and prevents the typical dangerous complications that too frequently befall those with diabetes. Joel Fuhrman, M.D is a board certified family physician specializing in nutritional medicine for overweight and diabetic patents.

A Medco Health Solutions report found that spending on diabetes drugs could rise 70% by 2009, and was second only to cholesterol medications in 2006. Yet, myths about this condition abound. Life@work tells you what causes diabetes, and offers tips to help reduce the complications of the disease.

The following risk factors increase your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes: age, obesity, physical inactivity, and a high fat diet. Rarer causes of diabetes (including type 1 diabetes), include: certain medicines, as well as any illness that damages the pancreas and affects its ability to produce insulin. Eating sweets does not cause diabetes. However, it may cause obesity and this is associated with people developing Type 2 diabetes. Stress does not cause diabetes, although it may be a trigger for the body turning on itself as in the case of Type 1 diabetes. It does, however, make the symptoms worse for those who already have diabetes.

Diabetics can reduce heart disease by consuming ½ c. soy nuts. Half a cup of soy nuts (dry-roasted soybeans) every day, may work as well as anti-hypertension medication to lower blood pressure, a new study conducted on women at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston found. A technique used in yoga to reduce stress and lower blood pressure is the Bhramari or Humming Bee. To perform this pose: Sit comfortably, eyes shut. Inhale and exhale deeply a few times. Inhale. While exhaling, hum gently, making an "mmm" sound. Lips must remain shut. You can also insert index fingers into each ear to feel the sound vibrating at your facial sinuses. This is one round. Do up to nine rounds. This exercise is used to create a meditative mind-set, for healing or controlling various ailments, from diabetes to digestive disorders. Pause for a moment today and enjoy some soy nuts and a humming bee pose.

In 2005, Omron Healthcare presented the Motivate, Monitor and Measure session at the annual meeting of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. At the conference, specialists spoke about weight management as it relates to diabetes, hypertension and overall wellness. Omron wanted to focus on the importance of motivating to increase activity, monitoring the response and measuring the outcomes.

People with diabetes are faced with a greater risk of developing high blood pressure and heart disease. Omron's commitment to raising awareness about blood pressure, weight and exercise programs is evidenced by the engineering that makes their products among the best in the market for their ease of use and accuracy.

Omron Healthcare's products were used during the presentation to show how patients can motivate themselves and monitor their walking with the HJ-112 Premium Pedometer, as well as monitor and measure their blood pressure with the HEM-780 Automatic Blood Pressure Monitor, equipped with the ComFit Cuff, which fits arms 9 to 17 inches, the only cuff which is applicable to 97% of the US adult population and proven to be accurate for obese individuals and the HEM-637 Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor outfitted with Automatic Positioning Sensor (A.P.S.), which detects the position of the wrist and guides it to the heart level by sound and display on the monitor. The product lineup has all the whistles and bells a person needs to be motivated to monitor and measure. After all - it's your health we're talking about!

Data presented at the 2006 North American Association for the Study of Obesity confirmed that the all natural dietary fiber in FBCx effectively binds to dietary fat, specifically saturated fats, preventing absorption of a portion of your dietary fat. Don't jump to the conclusion that FBCx is just another four-letter word for P-I-L-L.

The double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial with obese diabetic volunteers concluded that all volunteers in the active group responded to FBCx, but those that had the highest saturated fat-containing diets experienced the largest adjusted weight loss. Results from this trial also indicate: significant weigh loss among all participants, decrease in serum triglyceride levels, decrease is serum cholesterol, decrease in LDL cholesterol and significant reduction in the amount of blood pressure medicine required.

Tell me if the following doesn't lure you like a moth to a flame. Imagine a diet program that does not involve a diet. It like a dietary illusion: 2 tablets per meal, 3 meals a day turns 2,000 consumed calories into 1,500 absorbed calories. Yes, that's the way to win the battle of the bulge - pick Mother Nature for your team!

University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers found that yogurt enriched with fruit or made from soy could play an important dietary role for people living with Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Scientists screened extracts from a sampling of dairy and soy yogurts for properties that could help stabilize diabetes and hypertension. The fruit-enriched yogurts, especially those made with blueberries or made from soy, may curb some aspects of diabetes. The findings provide a strong rationale for further clinical studies, and for incorporating "healthy diet design" into disease management strategies.

The research shows that certain plant compounds affect enzymes targeted by diabetes drugs, notably alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase. The research also investigated foods' effect on angiotensin converting enzyme or ACE inhibitors, medicines used to fight high blood pressure. The study used peach, strawberry, blueberry and plain yogurt made by four different producers, including a soy brand. Tests showed that soy blueberry yogurt strongly affected all three of the enzymes. Peach and strawberry yogurt also affected alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase. The researchers tested the yogurt varieties for antioxidants and plant compounds called phenols. Phenols and polyphenols give red wine and tea some of their heart-healthy benefits. Plain soy yogurt was the most potent, with blueberry dairy yogurt scoring second on phenol and antioxidant content, the researchers said. Soy yogurt was also the best at inhibiting ACE, which causes blood vessels to narrow and raises blood pressure.

If you've been steering clear of sweet snacks like yogurt for fear of losing blood sugar control - here's your chance to reconsider. Stroll down your local grocer's dairy isle and peruse the colorful display of fruity yogurts. They are just begging for a shot at the title of the sweet treat for better diabetes control.

Our odiferous little friend has been touted for many health benefits. Diabetics should pay close attention because, although it has the dubious distinction of causing dragon breath, let us not allow the immediate social expense to outweigh the long-term health payoff.

Medical research has been underway to assess whether these traditional uses of garlic have scientific validity. Much of the research is showing real promise. Knowing that heart disease is twice as likely to strike diabetics, it would behoove many of us to take a chance with a few cloves of garlic every day. What have you got to lose? Studies suggest that fresh garlic may prevent blood clots and destroy plaque. A little garlic breath never killed anyone. Can't say the same for plaque in your blood now, can we?

In addition, garlic may be beneficial for risk factors for heart disease, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Preliminary studies in rabbits, rats, and limited numbers of people have demonstrated that garlic has some ability to lower blood sugars. A few cloves of garlic can substantially affect some medications. For example, if you are on a sulfonylurea drug, you will want to be extra cautious of the effects garlic will have on your blood sugars. A few popular examples of these drugs are: Dymelor, Diabinese, Tolinase, Orinase, Amaryl, Glucotrol, Glucotrol XL, DiaBeta, Micronase, and Glynase. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, I would choose Mother Nature over scientific intervention. This is one of those little dietary adjustments that might be worth a try.