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 In fact, it is a stretch of the imagination to link the laboratory findings of this unpublished in vitro study with the occurrence of diabetes in humans." Ooh, "unpublished."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...

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."

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."

King County, Washington - following in the footsteps of New York - has banned restaurants from cooking foods in trans fats. King County is home to Seattle, the city famous for its generous rainfall and equally generous caffeine intake. The new rule stipulates that, in addition to the trans fats ban, all eateries in the Seattle-area must also provide nutritional information about menu items.

The trans fats ban was passed by the King County Board of Health in an effort to stem soaring rates of illnesses that are linked to obesity, like type 2 diabetes. Board members and their supporters (including a representative from the American Diabetes Association) argue the change will help turn the tide by improving eating habits. Their opponents, however, have vigorously argued that this is not true. Restaurant patrons already know they're choosing unhealthy foods, they argue, and this new law won't prevent them from ordering fatty and sugar-laden foods. "I have a six-letter word to describe them [the board members and their supporters]," says restaurant-owner Chris Clifford. "It's 'stupid.' You can't help stupid people." Ouch. Well, this is a case where only time can prove him right or wrong. Click here to read more on the new measures.

Shrek, Cocoa Krispies, Frosted Flakes. You don't have to be a health nut to find the breakfast cereal and snack treat aisles at your local supermarket a bit disturbing. Sugar, sugar and more sugar: seems that's the main ingredient in most of the cereals pitched at children. And the appalling effect of all that consumption on the nation's children is evident in record (and rising) levels of childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes. But it seems the food industry is beginning to respond to these concerns.

The New York Times reports that the Kellogg Company plans to quit advertising some of its least nutritious products to children younger than twelve. Those products are the ones packed with so-called "empty-energy" calories derived from sugar and fat, and also containing high levels of sodium. Kellogg also promised to end the use of licensed characters and toys to sell those products. In addition, Kellogg's President and CEO, David Mackay, is quoted as saying that the most sugar-soaked products may be reformulated to make them a tad healthier if it can be done "without negatively impacting the taste of the product."

Kellogg is doing this voluntarily, and expects to complete the changes over the course of the next year and a half. The marketing switch will affect marketing of about half of Kellogg's products. Needless to say, it is what you might call a preemptive move. By making this concession, the company will be able to counter accusations from food industry critics that its execs don't care about the health of our children. Oh, and there's the small matter of a lawsuit which, if it had proceeded, would have brought some horrible bad publicity to Kelloggs. The Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, along with two Massachusetts parents, says The Times, were threatening to bring a suit against Kellogg and Nickelodeon for their tactics in pitching products to young children. These groups now say they will not pursue their case against Kellogg in light of the changes it has made.

Whenever I eat something chock-full of sugar and high-glycemic carbs, I often wonder how my pancreas is doing. Is it in insulin overdrive? I know I certainly feel better when I eat a balance of lean proteins, fruits and vegetables.

Successfully treating diabetes requires more than oral medications and/or insulin. For consistent blood sugar control it is vitally important to consider the foods you eat.

The American Diabetes Association's Virtual Grocery Store is a nice tool for diabetics or anyone wishing to eat healthier and trim the waistline. Start out on a Grocery Store Tour to help you evaluate and choose healthy foods for you and your family. Foods are separated in typical grocery store aisles, with nutritional information provided in a dietary framework that speaks to diabetics.

Click on the Recipe section for dozens of diabetic-friendly meals or head to Express Lane for quick meal ideas. Meal Planning and Shopping List tools are also available. I promise to try a Virtual Grocery Store recipe from time to time. If it passes the family test, I'll be sure to share it!

Scrutinizing nutritional labels on foods is part of the shopping process for many people living with diabetes. Knowing how many carbs, fats, sugars, etc. are in this loaf of bread instead of that loaf can be the difference between a high blood sugar and staying in the desired range. By now, most of these line items you see on these labels are fairly common and well known. But, what about that extra line -- you know, the one that has seemed to pop up in the last few years. No, it's not sugar -- you recognize that one. It's the one right after it. Yeah, that one. Sugar Alcohols.

What are Sugar Alcohols? Well, put simply, they're a type of carb that adds a sweet taste to foods but do so with half the calories of sugar. They're called Sugar Alcohols because their chemical makeup resembles sugar and alcohol (so, the naming process clearly didn't involve all too much originality). More important than their name is knowing what they do. Sugar Alcohols are converted into glucose more slowly than sugar is, requiring little or no insulin for processing and typically not causing any spike in blood sugar.

Typically, you can find Sugar Alcohols in some kinds of chewing gum, soft drinks, toothpaste, mouthwash, cookies, and even throat lozenges. Although Sugar Alcohol's effects on blood sugar appear to be minimal, research has shown that too much of it (somewhere around 30-40g per day) can have a laxative effect. Some research suggests that problems of this kind can also arise from a daily consumption of even less than 30g.

The company making oral insulin a reality is distributing a teaser product to give you a hands-on example of the efficacy, ease and convenience their drug delivery system offers. Feast your buccal cavity on Glucose RapidSpray! The reality of oral-insulin is coming soon to the US - but its sugar stabilizing sister is here today!

Glucose RapidSpray can be taken at the first sign of the need for glucose, during exercise, between meals, or even before bedtime. It is simple to use and easy to carry. It comes in two different flavors, orange and raspberry, and there are no artificial colors. The main ingredient in Glucose RapidSpray is D-Glucose (dextrose), which is a simple monosaccharide sugar. Keep Glucose RapidSpray in your home, office, pocket, purse, or car (as long as it does not stay in sub-zero temperatures for too long). Interested in getting your hands on it?

The product is now available in over 2,500 stores in the United States at Aurora Pharmacy, Inc., Bi-Mart Corporation, The Diabetes Place, Fruth Pharmacy, Inc., Hy-Vee, Inc., Kerr Drug, Inc., The Medicine Shoppe® Pharmacy, Meijer, Inc., and ShopKo Stores. It is also available for purchase online at Glucose Rapid Spray and Diabetic Express.

This might be the first product from Generex you'll use, but it certainly won't be the last. Generex's flagship product is oral insulin, brand name Oral-lyn™. It is available for sale in Ecuador for the treatment of patients with Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes, and is in various stages of clinical trials around the world. For more information, visit the Generex site or call 1-800-391-6755.

Valentine's Day. Sure is a tough day to be diabetic if you have to fight a yearning for sugary treats that are nutritional no-nos. Is is possible to have a sweet Valentine's Day without sugar? Well, maybe. For starters, check out the DLife website. The folks over there have posted some handy hints on how to get by on the big, red, heart-shaped day without giving in to a candy craving. Their advice includes trying low-carb candies and (for couples in lurve) focusing on romance, flowers and the like.

As for helping diabetic kids to deal with the sugar deluge associated with V-Day, here are a couple of good suggestions: have them distribute non-foodie gifts with Valentine cards at school. Think along the lines of little, inexpensive items like stickers. They also advise stashing any candy your diabetic child may receive as a gift and keeping it to be distributed a little at a time.

You have to wonder if parents with diabetic kids have a particularly difficult time on holidays like this, which are so tied up with sticky treats. Must be hard to talk the little ones into going without. Seems to me the best solution for kids and adults is to refocus onto "safe" foods that are still fun and Valentine's Day-themed. Okay, you'll have to use your imagination a little, but life is full of challenges! For example, I liked the website Pioneer Thinking's suggestion: whipping up a big hot potful of spicy Gazpacho soup. It's healthy, affordable, red-hot and can be enjoyed by all. There's just no candy in it. Nor is it heart-shaped. (As I said, you need to use your imagination for this to work...) But what a great idea! I can see it now: in a future, alternate-universe America, people spurning red boxes of candy in exchange for hot and spicy cuisine. A bowl of chili and a bunch of roses for your True Love? Stranger things have happened in this world...

A clinical trial found the effects of a high sugar diet did not increase insulin resistance in the men tested. Insulin resistance is an important marker of diabetes risk. This study showed that an intake of sucrose two and a half times above average consumption did not have adverse effects on insulin resistance in healthy, nondiabetic men.

The study observed 13 healthy men over a 6 week period. The men ate either a high-sugar diet (25% of their energy from sugar) or a low-sugar diet (10% of their energy from sugar). After 6 weeks, the subjects crossed over to receive the other diet for another 6 weeks, separated by a four week wash out period during which the subjects returned to their usual diet. Insulin resistance was measured by a two-step glucose clamp. The high sucrose diet showed no significant adverse effects, such as elasticity of the arteries (known as vascular compliance) which impacts on risk of heart disease, and glycaemic profiles.

This study does not support the notion that sugar intake has any adverse effect on the risk of diabetes in healthy, nondiabetic men. Yes, I agree with the findings of this study. They are healthy. Their response to sugar is healthy. What would a study of 13 men with a parent who has type 2 diabetes look like? I suspect those results may show a horse of a different color.

Horizon Science has developed an all natural sugar with less effect on raising blood sugar. The discovery was made over a three-year period at a sugar mill in Australia.

The glycemic index is based on how much blood glucose rises after consuming a particular food over a 2-hour period. This is compared to a "reference" food. White sugar has a GI rating of 65, whereas the GI rating of this sugar is 51, nearly 25 percent lower. In essence, this means that the lower GI sugar will raise your blood sugar 25 percent less than white sugar. The low GI sugar has higher amounts of polyphenols, which have been shown to reduce body fat and increase lean muscle mass. A number of studies suggest that a low GI and slowly digestible carbohydrates can contribute to the prevention of obesity and diabetes.

The new ingredient can be used in cooking and baking like ordinary sugar, whereas artificial sweeteners can become carcinogenic when heated. Don't preheat the oven just yet -- you'll have to wait a little while for the sweet victory of lower GI sugar. The product will not be on the market until 2008.

It's terribly unfair. Your sugar drops. You can feel it. The primitive instincts that do not qualify as being on our best behavior sometimes spill out in the subliminal advertising of a low sugar. When your blood sugar drops to hypoglycemic levels, your body goes into survival mode and only lends energy reserves for the nature of survival-unfortunately social graces and reason do not register high on that list.

dLife has put together a guide to help take the guesswork out of treating a low sugar. Too often we tend to over treat lows and end up on the other side of the 80/120 fence, It's difficult to master the twin deficits: too little sugar or too little insulin. But as Kerri (Six Until Me) points out-there is no such thing as a perfect diabetic...we can only do our best.

With that in mind, dLife suggests a few good ways to treat a low, without going too far. Their Rule of Thumb emphasis the 15 grams per 15 minutes rule. This simply means after consuming 15 grams of a fast acting carbohydrate, wait fifteen minutes before re-testing. If your levels are still too low, repeat and retest. Good sources of fast acting carbohydrates include: Glucose tablets (read packaging for equivalent of 15 grams carb) , sugar-sweetened soda (read packaging), 3 small Smarties rolls , 8 Sweet Tarts, or 1 Tablespoon of honey.

It's very seldom that organizations geared toward aiding the human struggle are called out. If you'll remember, this surprisingly happened to the American Red Cross after 9/11 when people cited misappropriation of donated funds. More recently, a New York Times article raised questions about the relationship between the ADA and food and drug companies.

In addition to a previous product tie-in with SnackWell's Sugar-Free Lemon Creme cookies (which included the affixing of the ADA label as a proud supporter on the side of boxes), the ADA has reportedly partnered with a number of other food companies whose foods are still as high-calorie as their sugar-rich alternatives. This list of products included Frosted Shredded Wheat and Sugar-Freedom Eskimo Pies up until last year, when the A.D.A. began cutting ties with some food companies that offered foods that were high in calories (sugar-free or not). But, critics complain that not all ties have been severed, as evidenced by the ongoing relationship that the A.D.A. still maintains with the Cadbury-Schweppes company. Specifically, the three-year, $1.5 million sponsorship deal allows Cadbury to promote the A.D.A. as a "proud sponsor," has permission to use the A.D.A. logo on its Diet-Rite sodas, Mott's Apple Sauce, Snapple unsweetened tea and other products. While these products themselves may not be unhealthy choices, critics feel that the A.D.A. affiliation has allowed Cadbury to pose as a "concerned corporate citizen," clouding the fact that this company still sells fattening foods like Dr. Pepper and Cadbury Cream Eggs in grocery stores.

The other major concern of critics is the A.D.A.'s relationship with big pharma. Evidently, the A.D.A.'s annual convention is largely paid for by drug companies, and corporate execs of these companies have also sat on the A.D.A.'s policy setting volunteer committees. According to these critics, this relationship has led to more of a focus shift to the treatment of diabetics through the use of pharmaceutical drugs, rather than offering healthy ways that people can change their lives (i.e. exercise programs, dietary suggestions, etc.).

Quite frankly, I'm not sure if I agree with these critics or not. The A.D.A. is a great organization, one that is tasked with attempting to curb the single-most pervasive health problem in the U.S. And, despite the fact that the number of people who have type 2 diabetes has increased by 80% in the last decade, it for some reason or another still does not get the public attention (and funding) that many other health organizations receive. So, if the A.D.A. is able to get millions of dollars by putting their logo on the side of a damn bottle of Snapple UNSWEETENED Ice Tea, is there really anything wrong with that? If so, maybe we should get those Girl Scouts off the streets right away, because if you eat ten boxes of their cookies, you may gain weight, too. But, and here's my big but (that sounded weird), perhaps it is somewhat misleading when you see the A.D.A. logo on the box of a sugar-free cookies, suggesting that because the A.D.A. is a health conscious organization, those cookies must also be a healthy choice. The high calorie count and saturated fat content tell a different tale, however. So, like I said, I'm not sure if I agree or not. I think that I could probably be swayed one way or the other fairly easily. Oh yeah, and insofar as the A.D.A.'s relationship with pharmaceutical companies is concerned, I'm not exactly sure that I can find a justification -- other than again stating that the A.D.A. is underfunded in its battle against one of the most expensive diseases in the world. The money has to come from somewhere.

A man by the name of Mike Adams, also known as the Health Ranger, compares the addictive nature of table sugar to that of illegal drugs like crack and heroin in a comic named Sugar Addicts. Mike explains how white sugar is like dietary crack. Believe me when I tell you, this is only a taste of how passionately he shares his crusade on information that empowers^TM.

Mike created News Target after a life altering experience. Before the age of 30, he was struggling with borderline obesity, diabetes, depression and severe back pain. Visiting doctors and following their advice enabled him to continue to eat anything he wanted, until he had an epiphany. He realized that practically everything he was led to believe about health, disease, food and medicine is possibly untrue. So began his mission of educating people on how to achieve and maintain peak health. Mike shares his discoveries about harmful foods, drugs, medical practices and dishonest marketing, to defend our ability to have a healthy future.

Call him a prophet of self-help, if you will. Mike shares his super-learning abilities with us. He knows, firsthand, that when you reform your physical health, you are revitalizing your entire nervous system - including your brain. With this highly perceptive clarity, he continues to educate us with articles that embody his own experience of health transformation. He has made it his life's work to explore and share the truth about nutrition, disease, health and healing. He features a quote from the Dalai Lama that sums it up, "Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them." Hear, hear, Mr. Lama.

Scientists in India have developed a new variety of wheat that may end up benefiting diabetics - or anyone, in fact, needing to reign in their cholesterol levels. This is according to an announcement made by the Indian government on Monday. The new wheat variety is named "dicoccum" and was developed to withstand long, cold winters. However, dicoccum has another attribute: once eaten, it is digested slowly and releases energy a little at a time over the course of five or six hours. The result? No sugar surge in the blood stream - which is pretty darn important for diabetics. In addition, the Indian government also says that this particular type of wheat effectively restricts cholesterol.

Naturally, there is a downside to all this agricultural wonder: dicoccum does not grow as productively as normal varieties of wheat, meaning it sells for at least three times the price of regular wheat. Oh well.