Having spent time as a fitness trainer, added with the time I have spent in the gym over the years for my own personal workouts, I can safely say that I have seen people of all shapes and sizes. And, in the times my girlfriend and I have worked out at gyms ranging from Gold's Gym, Bally Total Fitness, and Gold's Gym, I've come across people with a wide range of workout styles. Some go hard and then go home, others spend most of their time working their jaw than they do their muscles, and others who work out like it's their job (and in some cases it is). Still, of all these people -- as interesting as each and every one of them truly is -- I have always been fascinated by the guy or girl that trains quite hard, but for some reason never seems to reap any benefits of their workout.

First of all, the key word here is "seem." At first blush, you can't tell whether someone feels better emotionally, whether their amount of vigor is at an all-time high, or even if they've lost five or ten pounds. All you can usually tell is what "seems" to be the case; they work out hard, but they look the same. "Look," therefore, is yet another operative term. But, when you spend time talking with these people, and they too confirm that they just can't seem to lose the weight or tone the muscles, one of two things springs to mind: 1) These people are what are typically referred to as "Hard Gainers"; a term that pretty much means what it sounds like, or 2) They may have a medical condition such as a thyroid issue or a gluten intolerance, either of which being a reason why losing weight could be inordinately difficult.

With respect to the latter, particularly gluten intolerance, scientists from New Zealand have recently discovered that when men who were having trouble losing weight stopped eating gluten -- a protein found in rye, wheat, oats and barley -- the weight immediately began stripping off them. The fact is that in some people, gluten appears to cause chronically high levels of insulin, which signals your body to store fat. Insofar as this study is concerned, within 3 months of adopting a totally gluten-free diet, the study participants had reduced their insulin levels by 50 percent.

So, if you are reading this and saying to yourself, "Yeah, that seems like me. I work out all the time, but for some reason I can't seem to change the way I look (or feel)," then perhaps it may be related to the gluten in your diet. I wouldn't automatically jump to this conclusion, however, as the issue could very well be something more related to your workout (how regularly you are actually performing it, how often you change your routine, etc.). But, if you still question whether you may possess a gluten intolerance, try eliminating this grain from your diet for 4 to 6 weeks and monitor your health for both positive and negative changes.

It's a g'day for children prone to developing diabetes in New Zealand. A revolutionary treatment to prevent the development of type 1 diabetes was slated to begin in 10 years. The 10 year waiting period was due to a ban created to prevent animal-to-human diseases. Thankfully, in light of this proposed vaccine-it has been lifted and trials may soon be underway.

Living Cell Technologies was granted the license to manufacture its pig cell products for humans. The license is the first in a three-step process towards obtaining approval for human clinical trials in New Zealand, beginning as early as next year. The groundbreaking vaccine involves an injection of cells from a newborn pig. The cells are coated with a gel to protect them from the human immune system. The cells then secrete protective proteins responsible for the repair and protection of cells.

Australia is known for breathtaking landscapes, playful kangaroos and the narcoleptic koala. With the expected results of this discovery, it will someday soon be a land free of type 1 diabetes. That's another natural beauty to add to the list.

First Canada and now New Zealand. In the latest development in the worldwide quest to find a cure for type 1 diabetes, a new treatment to prevent its development has emerged from Kiwi country. This comes fresh off the heals of an astounding scientific breakthrough from our neighbors to the north last week.

This new approach taken by the New Zealand scientists, which has only been trialed on mice thus far, involves injecting cells sourced from neonatal piglets that have been coated with a gel to protect them against the immune system. According to researchers at Living Cells Technology -- the team behind this development -- the cells then secrete proteins "responsible for the repair and protection of the cells."

As of this writing, the scientists are hopeful that trials on humans can begin within the next ten years. Before this can happen, however, they must determine what the correct dosage would be and the correct age for it to be administered.

So I just finished a blog on the promise of Canada's Conservative Party to provide diabetes care to low-income Canadians if elected to government. Well, the world is a funny place. I immediately stumbled upon a story hailing from my own home country of New Zealand, reporting that a diabetes care program there is folding due to unexpectedly high costs and also the difficulty of getting people to change their unhealthy lifestyle habits, attributed to cultural attitudes.

The Maori people of New Zealand (like Canada's First Nations people) suffer from diabetes at around three times the rate of the non-indigenous population. Phew. The low-cost diabetes plan was put in place with the aim of slowing or preventing the spread of diabetes amongst the Maori - for an annual cost of just $200 per person (that's around $127 in US dollars). The program began in 2004 and involved over five thousand Maori, making it the world's largest reported study on Type 2 diabetes prevention. Although the program is folding, the lead researcher says it has been helpful anyway, demonstrating a thirty-five percent reduction in new Type 2 diabetes cases amongst the sample group. This indicates that prevention programs do work - if only society can come up with the cash to pay for them!

And now, more diabetes-related news from my home country, New Zealand, the land of the kiwi bird, and the kiwi fruit...and lots of sheep. A young couple from South Africa who have been living and working in New Zealand have had their application for permanent residency turned down because one of them has Type 1 diabetes. Natalie Ericsen and Logan Gouws (pictured) came to New Zealand from Cape Town three years ago. Ericsen is the one with diabetes and she says that she manages her condition well and enjoys pretty good health. Although she may eventually end up needing a kidney transplant due to renal failure, she says she has four donors lined up and is willing to pay for the operation out of her own pocket. They were turned down anyway.

Of course, the United States is known for being extremely tough to get into. And I know from personal experience that getting permanent residency is a difficult and time-consuming experience. But I had to confess I have no idea whether or not the US has a similar rule barring anyone with a chronic disease like this. It seems awfully unfair. Anyway, the New Zealand immigration bosses say they're working with the couple while they appeal the decision, but also suggested the couple should have researched the rules and regulations better before moving to the country. Fair enough, too, I guess.

Okay, as much as I hate to encourage the further spread of this dumb story, I want to let people know that the New Zealand man (pictured) who was trying to sell his amputated leg online last week has now secured what seems like a ridiculously good offer for said limb. The leg, which was removed last year following diabetes-related circulation complications, comes complete with tattoos, acquired by the man during a stay in prison. You may remember I blogged a post on this guy a few days ago. Anyway, he tried to auction the leg on the New Zealand online auction site TradeMe, but the site's managers removed the ad, saying it was distasteful to the public. Not to be deterred, he then advertised the leg on a local radio station. The result? An offer of NZ$4,000, which converts to around US$2,500. Apparently the man is considering the offer. Sounds like a pretty good sum to me for a useless body part. Ewww.

Being a native New Zealander stranded in the US I always keep an eye out for New Zealand-related news. Well, the best to come up this week, I'm afraid to say, is more than a little bit stomach-turning. But it is solidly diabetes-related, so I feel obliged to share it with you. In the interests of promoting the free flow of global information, you understand! A New Zealand man who lost a leg to Type 1 diabetes-related complications last year has been keeping said limb on ice all this time (see picture at right). The leg apparently comes complete with tattoos that are mementos from a stint in jail at some point. His daughter also has diabetes, however, and in an effort to raise money for her treatment (oh, and also to pay off his own debts) he was trying to sell the leg online for NZ$3000 (around US$1872). The online auction website Trade Me (New Zealand's equivalent of EBay) put a stop to the plan, however, considering it distasteful. The question is: who did he think would want to buy it?