The healing continues. From laughter, that is.

As we wait with great hope for a cure for diabetes, we do so with a smile thanks to humor to be found on the new website LOL Diabetes (www.loldiabetes.com). I've posted before about this site, which itself is part of the popular diabetes website Six Until Me (www.sixuntilme.com). Nevertheless, things have become waaaaaay to funny over there for me to not highlight some of my favorites.

These would be my Top 5:

5 - The Insulin Monkey. This picture features a stuffed animal, a monkey to be exact, with dozens of syringes sticking out of it, much like a pin cushion. The words "You're Doing it Wrong" that are printed on the picture sum it up perfectly.

4 - iPump. A play on the now famous iPod silhouette ads, this mock version of this campaign features people wearing insulin pumps in place of iPods.

3 - Thumbtacks. A photo of a child's Spider Man poster fastened to the wall with -- Thumb Tacks? No, no, no. Look again...those are lancets! As someone aptly commented on the entry, what a great use for all those extras!

2 - Wanted! In this Old West style Wanted poster, there's a bounty for bringing in Twinkie the Kid. Turns out "The Kid" is wanted for Shootin' Up High Blood Sugars.

1 - The Enemy. By far my favorite, Short, simple, and hilarious. The photo features no other than Willy Wonka himself, with the words "The Enemy" written below. Very true. And very funny.

There are a whole bunch more that could have made a Top 10 list (namely: Soundtrack to a Low, Is This the Remix?, My Pump Makes Me Look Like a Cross-Dresser, Ah! Needle Landslide, and What's Better Than a Cookie).

Be sure to check out LOL Diabetes. Think you have something funny to add? I say go for it!!

Walking -- it's the first thing we learn to do after crawling. Factor in the amount of it we've done over the course of our lives since then, and it's clear that we're more than warranted in considering ourselves experts. Professional, even. We are the walking gurus, and we have the extensive track record to prove it. With this being the case, why is it when it comes to walking as an exercise, so few people do it? Probably because we do it all the time anyway, therefore it does little to stimulate our interest.

We are an easily bored species, one that needs almost constant change in some way, shape or form. This is likely the reason why so many people prefer elaborate workouts to something as simple as placing one foot in front of the other for an extended period of time. To help remedy the situation, you may want to try some of the following Boredom Busters:

Tune-Up. One of the best ways to liven-up a workout is to listen to music. Whether it's the Rocky IV soundtrack to get you all fired up, some body-moving hip-hop, or even Classical favorites, music will help keep your feet moving.

Intervals. Walking is a low-intensity cardio workout, but it doesn't always have to be. To burn extra calories, and to mix things up a bit over the course of your stroll, try picking up the pace for a minute or so every now and again. By doing so, you can burn an extra 100 calories or so over the course of a 30-minute workout.

VERY Short Term Goals. Of course it's important to have long-term goals (i.e. feel healthier, maintain healthy blood sugars, lose weight, etc.), a great way to keep you motivated through your daily walk is to have an almost immediate goal in sight. By this I mean having a goal, or even a reward, waiting for you at the end of your walk. It could be a landmark (such as a view from the top of a hill, or your arrival to a friend's house), but could also be something such as a tasty, low-fat, low-carb meal that is waiting for you.

Make it a Family Affair. With quality time becoming harder and harder for the modern family to find, a great solution is to use that daily walk to serve that purpose. Because you're only walking, you'll have plenty of wind left to have discussions about school, work, and any other topic that would before be part of typical dinner table discussion. Plus, with childhood obesity rates on the rise (as well as the increasing number of children being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes), bringing the kids along may benefit them, as well.

Get Creative. This could mean anything from taking a different route each day, to holding a set of very light dumbells in your hands while you walk. Not only will changes of this kind prevent you from becoming bored, they will also ensure that your fitness results do not plateau over time.

For a few months now, I've been offering fitness tips in what I'm calling the Exercise of the Week (very creative, I know) on TheCardioBlog. But, what occurred to me today is that you folks reading TheDiabetesBlog may be just as interested in learning some of these tips. Sure, I suppose you could very easily drop on by TheCardioBlog and read them over there, but that would be too easy. And, if your serious about losing weight and getting into better shape, let me be the first to tell you that nothing ever comes easy!!. So, on a going forward basis, I think I will also start posting these tips here on TheDiabetesBlog. With that, I offer the first installment of the Exercise of the Week.

Some of the best fat-burning and muscle-building exercises are those that combine several movements into one. The squat-press is probably one of the well known of said movements. And while you may very well want to add that exercise to your routine, I'm instead going to focus on a different multi-muscle movement: A Side Lunge with Upright Row. Although it doesn't have a fancy combo name like squat-press, the results can be just as impressive.

To perform this exercise, start by holding a dumbell in each hand with your palms facing in. Next, take a big step to the right side with your right foot. As you do, bend your right knee approximately 90 degrees and keep it in line with your toes. As you do this, try to keep your left leg as straight as you can. Now, this is where it really gets good and difficult -- as you lower your body to the side by bending your knee, lift your elbows until the dumbells are just below your chin. As you then press off from your foot and return your leg to the original position, slowly lower the dumbells. Continue by next going to the left leg, then back to the right, and so on and so forth. For a very good demonstration, click Here.

Compound movements of this kind are a great way to ignite your metabolism and jump-start your muscles. I'll be sure to show you a few more like it in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, feel the burn, baby!!

Note: The content presented in this post is for informational purposes only. Please consult your doctor or fitness professional before starting a physical fitness program.

Participants are being sought for a new study on the possible benefits of an aspirin-like medication for people with type 2 diabetes. The research, which is being funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, is aimed at determining if Salsalate, a drug that has been used for more than 40 years to treat pain associated with arthritis, can also be used to help manage diabetes.

Recent studies have linked chronic inflammation to the development of insulin resistance type 2 diabetes. To that end, researchers are looking for adults ages 18 to 75 whose glucose levels are not well controlled and who do not take insulin. Participants will be randomly assigned to either receive Salsalate or a placebo and will receive all medication related to the study at no expense to them. They will also be compensated for time and travel.

If you'd like more information, call 312-355-4442 and ask for Felecia Gilet.

Here's something that's bound to end up on LOL Diabetes (www.loldiabetes.com):

If you're having a low, they'll be there. If you're a child that wants to learn the difference between type1 and type 2 diabetes, they'll show you. And if you ever questioned whether the fight against Evil Blood Sugars was being fought, have no fear -- because Captain Glucose and Meter Boy are here!!!

In a series of soon-to-be-released educational DVDs, two well-known actors play the superhero duo who, by their own admission, don't really have any superpowers. Their self-proclaimed mission is to "Educate, Enlighten and Entertain people with diabetes of all ages." In addition to their forthcoming DVDs (which feature actor Alan Thicke as the Commissioner of Diabetes, no less), they also have a comic book in the works.

Man, this is such a cool idea (one that I'm definitely sorry I didn't think of!!). And, best of all, its a great way to give the public an accurate, realistic, and engaging look at diabetes. To check out their website -- which contains a short video segment -- go to: www.captainglucoseandmeterboy.com

Just like I know you have, I too have heard all the buzz surrounding chromium and its supposed ability to help manage type 2 diabetes. I've come across evidence that supports this claim, just as I've found research that debunks the chromium benefit in one fell swoop. So, I decided to dig a little deeper -- staring with how chromium is supposed to work.

Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes occurs when your body stops using insulin effectively. Insulin itself is used by the body for transporting glucose into cells, where it's then used for energy. When insulin regulation breaks down, glucose gets backed-up in the blood, thus starving the body of energy. Chromium reportedly assists in making this transportation easier by making cells respond better to insulin.

Insofar as the evidence to support this claim goes, the research I came across actually showed inconclusive results in terms of chromium's effect on glucose or insulin concentration in humans. But, in animals, tests led researchers to determine that chromium may make insulin receptors more efficient, thereby making type 2 animals need less insulin to metabolize glucose.

Good news for animals with diabetes, but not so much for humans. But wait, don't count chromium out just yet. In a different study (like I said, there are several of them), published last year in Diabetes Care, it was discovered that combining 1,000 micrograms of chromium per day with the standard diabetes medication Glucotrol XL significantly improved the body's response to insulin in people with type 2.

Drug companies are very good at making it seem like taking a certain medication or supplement will be a panacea for just about everything that ails you. Even at the end of their commercials, when they're rattling off a whole host of possible unwanted side effects, the person on-screen is still smiling, riding or a horse, swinging on a swing in slow-motion, or something just as cheery. And while there are many amazing drugs out there that do help people a great deal, there are also many out there that are no more than snake oils.

Case in point, I just came across this supposed interview (it looks kind of staged to me) on YouTube, featuring a doctor who claims that type 2 and type 1 diabetes can be miraculously cured by drinking alkaline water. A bunch of B.S.? Honestly, I hope it's not! But, it probably is. So, instead of relying on miracle drugs and supplements, here are two very easy ways to address issues commonly faced by many people living with diabetes:

1 - Weight Loss. Very often, doctors will recommend that their patients with type 2 lose weight, hoping that this may lead to a lower A1C and improved overall health. So, instead of trying out Alli or any other popular weight loss drug on the market, try this little weight loss tip. Whenever you go out to dinner, eat a cup of broth-based soup (i.e. chicken, tomato) as an appetizer. New research into people's restaurant eating habits shows that people who consume a cup of soup as an appetizer tend to eat 20-percent less of their entree. The key is to stay away from cream soups of any kind, and to opt for a cup rather than a bowl. You may also want to add a little chili powder, especially since capsaicin, the compound found in chili pepper, has been shown in lab tests to actually kill fat cells.

2 - Lower Blood Pressure. People with diabetes must stay on top of their blood pressure, as an elevated level is rather common among those with both type 1 and type 2. While there are many trusted medications available to treat high blood pressure, you may also want to consider eating pistachio nuts. Penn State nutritionists discovered that eating one and a half ounces of pistachios daily for one month helped keep test subjects' blood pressure down. What's more, eating three ounces per day also showed signs of arterial relaxation, allowing better blood flow and making the heart's job that much easier.

Things can get a bit stuffy sometimes in the medical world. This is probably for good reason, because in many cases the topic of conversation is someone's health. To help create a less "buttoned-up" medical environment, many people have taken up writing their own personal blogs. Such sites offer a look at what it's really like to live with a particular condition, rather than pouring through page after page of text or internet site that focuses almost entirely on the science behind it all. This, of course, is not to say that there isn't great value in the latter -- especially since that's primarily the type of blog we run here at TheDiabetesBlog. But, let's face it, sometimes you just need to take a step back from it all and laugh.

To that end, you may want to check out a new site called LOL Diabetes (www.loldiabetes.com). The site itself is an offshoot of the popular diabetes blog Six Until Me (www.sixuntilme.com). Following the design of the odd, but hugely popular, humor website that features cats and other small animals doing funny things, LOL Diabetes (LOL stands for Laugh(ing) Out Loud, by the way. Just in case you were new to...well, civilization) features photos, videos and stories that are two things: 1) Related in some way to diabetes, and 2) Funny!!

After viewing the site, don't be surprised if you feel compelled to submit a funny diabetes tidbit of your own. I'm even sort of tempted myself. If you choose to follow suit, you can go ahead and send your own humorous photo, video, or whatever to loldiabetes@yahoo.com Feel free to say that I referred you...it may get your stuff up on the site quicker ;)

New York, New York -- it's a hell of a town. People from around the globe make their way to the Big Apple, just to get a look at the many extraordinary people, places and things that make NYC the great city it is. However, what they're probably not seeing is a citywide epidemic; one that continues to pervade at a staggering rate.

According to a new Health Department report, close to 500,000 New Yorkers -- which pretty much translates to one out of every eight adults -- have been diagnosed with with diabetes. In addition, there are an estimated 200,000 other people who have diabetes but are unaware of the fact that they do. The morbidity rate for diabetes-related deaths rose by 75 percent between 1990 and 2003.

The report also points out the disparities that exist between different racial, gender, and socio-economic groups. If you'd care to take a look at this report, you can find it at: www.nyc.gov/health

Help Wanted.

Needed: Researchers with several years of experience in a laboratory setting who are able to produce conclusive results from studies on patient-oriented outcomes. The perfect candidate will be familiar with the insufficient evidence that has been collected thus far to determine if the so-called antidiabetic drug rosiglitazone is effective enough to warrant its use in spite of potential side-effects. This candidate will also be aware that rosiglitzone has been shown to raise the risk of edema, increase body weight, and possibly increasing cardiovascular risk.

Research is currently being done on this drug, and a meta-analysis of data from 18 trials that involved close to 8,500 patients are being examined by the Chochrane Systematic Review. Those involved in this study are calling for additional studies to be held to support their analysis and assist them in making a determination of efficacy on this drug.

And just in case you thought I was serious with this, please know that I'm not. Although, the information involving the drug rosiglitazone and its potential side-effects is true. As for the whole job opening thing -- who knows, maybe it's worth looking into.

I apologize for covering a topic that may have very well been covered already a few weeks ago, but the way I see it, if the entries on this page change too quickly for the bloggers to keep up, it must be extra tough for the readers. That all being said, I wanted to point out the mixed results of a recent study on inhaled insulin (or the insulin bong, as I like to call it).

For people with type 2 diabetes, taking extra insulin during mealtimes is a necessary step in helping to regulated blood glucose levels. These doses are taken in addition to baseline insulin that is taken throughout the day and night. What researchers at the ECRI Institute have discovered is that inhaled insulin may improve blood sugar control for people with type 2 just as well as short-acting insulin taken by injection.

After a three-month period, the researchers found the inhaled insulin to produce equally as effective results in patients than insulin shots. The tricky part, however, is that the inhaled insulin seemed to be a bit problematic for users who experienced low blood sugar levels -- hypoglycemia.

Despite the mostly positive results, inhaled insulin still gets mixed reviews from researchers. Not only is its problem dealing with hypo a...well, a problem, but speculation also surrounds the long-term effect of inhaled insulin on the lungs.

Researchers at the University of Buffalo recently found that a blood component once used to test for early-stage kidney problems may also help detect risk for the development of pre-diabetes.

Reporting in the July 2007 issue of Diabetic Care, the University of Buffalo researchers reported that elevated levels of cystatin C were linked to a much greater risk of progression to pre-diabetes. Currently, there are over 54 million Americans who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, which, if not addressed through proper diet and exercise, oftentimes results in the development of type 2 diabetes.

Lead researcher on the study, Richard P. Donahue, Ph.d., stated that "If further studied support our finding, testing for cystain C could become an important part of a standard physical examination. Preventative measures could be in place before glucose intolerance has a chance to develop and take its toll."

Good news and bad news: The reported death rate in diabetic men has gone down over the last 30 years, however it remains unchanged for women. How does this happen?

The study shows the death rate for men with diabetes had reduced 43% between 1971 and 2000. The date rate for women with diabetes throughout this period did not change. The death rate for heart disease among men with diabetes fell by more than half, but again, the death rate for women was static. Overall, the study showed that the decline in death rates for diabetic men mirrored a decline in death rates for all Americans during the study period. Anybody have any clues as to what changed? I have a few guesses - all of which amount to more stressful lives.

The finding in women is concerning, and means we may need to explore whether different approaches are needed to treat men and women. Men are more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than women. I wonder if men with diabetes are bigger procrastinators than women when it comes to hormone replacement therapy. Insulin is a hormone, isn't it?

Contrary to what diet experts have now been telling us for over a decade, researchers from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh have reportedly found that it is not necessary to cut simple sugar (sucrose) from our diets in order to lose weight. In fact, the researchers posit that diets are more strictly adhered to when the dieter consumes small amounts of sucrose on a regular basis.

Writing in the International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition, the researchers stated that the results of their study on the topic showed the greatest reduction in body weight and BMI loss to come from dieters who included sugar in their diet. The researchers further stated that their results "contribute to the growing body of evidence that an effective way to lose weight is by adhering to a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet and by being physically active." They also added "it also provides evidence that the exclusion of sucrose, as is normally advocated in a weight loss diet, is not necessary to achieve weight reduction."

Personally, I feel that that more investigation into these claims need to be made before I start breaking out a Tootsie Roll Pop and washing it down with a Mountain Dew. And, regardless of whether or not there is any merit to this claim, the impact that sucrose has on the blood sugar of people with diabetes remains undesirable. To offer my final two cents, I think that what the researchers discovered is that people who are able to indulge in sweets once and a while are more apt to adhere to their diets. This occasional indulgence (or "reward") satisfies their cravings, making it far easier to stick to their healthy food regimen for the remainder of the time. However, to go as far as to basically imply that it is healthier to regularly consume sucrose than it is to not do so is bit of a stretch.

You know diabetes is entering the mainstream when you see a tv ad hawking designer blood glucose meters. I'm not much of an impulse shopper, but these little buggers are sharp!

LifeScan, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson Company, now offers their OneTouch(R) UltraMini(TM) blood glucose meter in four bold colors -- Silver Moon, Limelight, Pink Glow and Black. The sleek body is small enough to slip into your pocket or purse, with easy to read results in just five seconds. The meter uses OneTouch(R) Ultra(R) test strips. LifeScan's website claims the strips are covered at the lowest co-pay by more health plans than any other strip. Not bad.

Americans eat up designer gear. Diabetes is on the rise. I predict a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with a blood glucose meter seamlessly snapped in back. Patent that.