Type 2 Diabetes has become an epidemic, but unfortunately, it has moved from being a purely adult epidemic. We are now seeing more and more of a connection between kids and type 2 diabetes. We are seeing that today we have more and more children being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. To understand why you first need to understand what Type 2 Diabetes is. Type 2 Diabetes occurs because your body is insulin resistant. Typically, individuals who suffer from obesity are prime candidates for Type 2 Diabetes. Individuals who have a family history of diabetes, especially those whose parents were diagnosed with diabetes are often quite likely to develop the disease. In children who have been afflicted over 90% will have dark and shiny skin patches that can be found in areas where the skin creases like the back of the neck or in between fingers.

It's true that one's genetic makeup can predispose them to having diabetes, but more and more it has been discovered that when children are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes it is due to environmental and behavioral influences. Today's grocery stores are filled with processed and sugary foods that can really wreck havoc with a child's blood sugar levels.

It is important that children be watched for signs of Type 2 diabetes. You should get your child tested if they are over ten years of age and have or are experiencing puberty. Additionally, if your child has a body mass index that is toward the higher end of their percentile (greater than 85%). Or if your child is significantly overweight then you may want to get them looked at. Additionally, if your child is displaying these factors and you have a family history that is rich in diabetes or shows signs of insulin resistance then you will not want to waste time in hesitating to get your child tested.

Unfortunately, the connection between kids and Type 2 Diabetes is becoming more and more prevalent. Those choices can be adjusted to enhance your child's life so that they can enjoy a healthier lifestyle. Additionally, if your child has already been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you can hold steadfast in the knowledge that your child can manage their diagnosis with simple changes to their diet and exercise program.

Symptoms:

Diabetes, or Diabetes Mellitus to give it its proper medical name, is a disorder of assimilation. When the pancreases become inactive or atrophied and cease to produce insulin, the body is unable to convert the sugar into energy for the muscles. Its chief symptoms are weakness and loss of weight, great thirst and increase in the amount of urine passed. There is sometimes voracious appetite but the patient. Owing to poor vitality of the tissues, various skin eruptions like boils and carbuncles appear. A curious phenomenon is that the younger the patient, the more rapid is the course of the disease.

Allopathy depends mostly on administration of insulin to, dissolve the sugar in the blood and forbidding starchy and sugary foods to the patients modern science has not been able to pinpoint the real cause of the disease: what is available is only generalizations such as, obese persons are more susceptible to the disease, it attacks males more than females, or that it runs in the families etc.

Treatment:

As in cases of other diseases, naturopathy recommends a diet and no drugs. I would recommend about one kg of curd made from cow’s milk and various types of gourds without salt. The greener the vegetables, the most beneficial it would be. Sour fruits like tomatoes, oranges, pineapple, rose apple (jamun), scolanum (makoy) could also be taken with advantage. The person suffering from diabetes must take long walks (preferably ten kilometers) daily. Remember that the disease strikes generally those who lead a sedan try life, and are used to a rich diet.

Cereals, sugar and preparations should not be taken for some time. The other method of treating the disease is by fasting for a couple of days and then eating sour fruit only for a week during which green vegetables may also be alternated with the fruits. Curd made from cow’s milk must form and inevitable part of the every meal. If the curd is not available, about 50 grammes of germinated gram may be taken with every meal. After about a fortnight of this regimen, the patient can take bread made of whole flour.

Diabetics must take physical exercise as that helps to utilize the blood sugar. Walking, preferably jugging is the best exercise I can recommend. Hipbath recommended by kunhe is extremely beneficial in the case of diabetes, particularly for patients suffering from constipation. For a leathery skin most diabetes develops, the best exercise is vigorous rubbing of the skin with a rough towel for fifteen minutes before a bath with cold water.

Allopaths while recommending a sugar face-free diet to the diabetic prescribes a high protein diet like fish, eggs, meat and lentils leading to an imbalance in his food. Advising patients to take saccharine instead of sugar, the allopaths expose them to the danger of slow poisoning. The harmful effects of saccharine have recently been observed.

There are some asanas recommended by yoga specialists which ave proved helpful in dealing with the disease.

It is the testicular Sertoli cell which keeps the human body’s immune system from destroying a man’s sperm. This same cell might create an immunologically protective environment for transplanted pancreas islets and could provide new hope for Type 1 diabetics whose bodies reject those transplants.

Sernova Corp (TSX: SVA), which holds more than 20 patents related to the therapeutic use of Sertoli cells, is currently researching how to prevent islet cells from being killed off by immune-suppressing drugs. Current islet transplant procedures require the use of these anti-rejection drugs to prevent the body’s immune system from destroying the transplanted islet cells.

The first ray of hope for the million or more suffering from Type 1 diabetes came after a discovery in the year 2000 that certain immune-suppressing drugs prevented islet transplants from succeeding. Researchers led by Dr. James Shapiro at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada began using a less toxic drug combo.

Known as the ‘Edmonton Protocol,’ because it was developed at the University of Alberta, the procedure offered hope for insulin-dependent diabetics, known as Type 1 diabetics. For the procedure, doctors collected about one million islet cells from two or more donor pancreas, purified them and injected them into the liver of the diabetic. Surgery amounts to a tube inserted into the hepatic portal vein where the islet cells are dripped into the liver. Seven Type 1 diabetics were transplanted with islet cells using this pioneering technique, which created excitement in this field.

But a new study, recently reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed transplants of insulin-making cells, using the Edmonton Protocol, failed to free Type 1 diabetics from insulin shots. While the procedure improved a patient’s blood sugar control, the transplants failed for ten of the 36 patients within a year of receiving islet cells from the pancreas of organ donors. The majority of patients were forced to return to insulin-dependence because one-half to three-quarters of the islet cells died.

During the study there were 38 serious adverse events, some of which required hospitalization. Patients are given immune-suppressing drugs after the islet cell transplants to block the immune system from identifying those foreign cells. Complaints from the medical profession criticize the anti-rejection drugs because the immune system fails to work the way nature intended. Patients are at risk of getting infectious diseases and other side effects.

Will Sertoli Cells Replace Anti-Rejection Drugs?
In unlocking the riddle of keeping the transplanted islet cells alive, the problem may be in the anti-rejection drugs. “We will have to develop strategies to educate the recipient’s immune system to tolerate the islet cells,” said Camillo Ricordi, M.D., chief cellular transplantation and scientific director of diabetes research at the University of Miami School of Medicine. “When we do this, we can treat all Type 1 diabetic patients, and also Type 2 diabetes patients who are dependent on insulin.”

Numerous researchers are searching for the unique anti-rejection drug which would prevent the body’s immune system from destroying the transplanted islets. Seung Kim, M.D., PhD, and assistant professor of developmental biology at the Stanford University School of Medicine recently announced that immune-suppressing drugs inhibit a protein called calcineurin. Dr. Kim discovered when the protein is inhibited, this hampers the beta cells from keeping blood sugar in check. When the beta cells fail to produce insulin, or too little of it, sugar stagnates in the blood and is not moved into the cells to produce energy for the body. In a nutshell, the anti-rejection drugs, surgeons have used to help islet transplants take hold, might be the culprit which unravels their procedure.

Sernova Corp is presently researching Sertoli cells as a replacement for anti-rejection drugs. “The recent New England Journal of Medicine study confirms that overcoming the body’s immune response to islet transplants remains the biggest hurdle to a successful treatment for Type 1 diabetics,” Sernova President Justin Leushner told StockInterview in a recent telephone interview. It has now been demonstrated that by transplanting islets into a diabetic, you can restore the insulin-producing cells.”

Leushner calls Sertoli cells “Mother Nature’s anti-rejection drug” because of their immuno-protective property. It is on this basis Sernova Corp has moved forward in researching the impact the co-transplantation of Sertoli cells with pancreatic islets as a way to reverse Type 1 diabetes. “The Sertoli cells are the backbone of our company and our technology,” Leushner told us.
Several studies involving testicular Sertoli cells with pig islets transplanted into rats and mice have shown promise with this technology. A University of Alberta study, published in Diabetologia (2000, 43:474-480) demonstrated that testicular Sertoli cells can protect allogeneic islet grafts from rejection after transplantation into animals with chemically induced diabetes. Another study, conducted at the University of South Florida College of Medicine, which was published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences in 2001 (944:420-428) also offered hope in cell transplantation therapy for diabetes using Sertoli cell-enriched tissue constructs.

Human Diabetes Reversal in Mexico City
In a recent controversy, the prominent Mexican transplant surgeon Dr. Raphael Valdes was given an unusual vote of no confidence by the International Xenotransplantation Society for his reversal of Type 1 diabetes in humans. Dr. Valdes had begun co-transplanting Sertoli cells with islet cells, both derived from piglets, into humans. Valdes has claimed to reverse diabetes in 31 Mexican patients. Although many of his patients stepped forward to defend Dr. Valdes, the Society censured him for skipping pre-clinical tests on primates. Valdes’ former professor at Cambridge University (UK), Dr. David White, is now conducting the mandatory pre-clinical research at the Robarts Research Institute at the University of Western Ontario. Dr. White is also chairman of the scientific advisory board of Sernova Corp, which is funding the research to develop a commercial product to reverse Type 1 diabetes.

Dr. White said of Valdes’ research, “Clinically, his work has extraordinary potential.” Previous attempts at xenotransplanting animal islet cells into humans failed because researchers could not get those cells to survive for long in a human body. Dr. White believes Valdes’ pioneering work could help him develop a revolutionary new therapy.

Dr. White told us he hoped his research would improve upon Dr. Valdes’ efficacy rate in helping patients become insulin independent. His challenge is to identify the most effective ratio of Sertoli cells to islet cells for the co-transplant process. White told us, “Immunosuppression drugs are very toxic to the human body.” As a young researcher at Cambridge University, Dr. White was part of the research team which helped develop Cyclosporin A, an immune-suppressing drug, to prevent the body from rejecting organ transplants. Sernova Corp’s proposed solution is under the working hypothesis presupposing that once islets and Sertoli cells are injected into a small vascularized chamber implanted below the skin, the islets can produce insulin in response to the body’s demands while the Sertoli cells protect the islets by masking their presence from the immune system. According to Leushner, “This ongoing research is built upon several proof-of-concepts experiments already completed by Dr. David White and others.”

Leushner concluded, “We hope to do xenotransplantation without the human recipient rejecting those cells. By using Sertoli cells from pigs and islet cells from pigs, and transplanting them into a human recipient, the islets can function normally without being rejected.

If you are suffering from type2 diabetes and if you have asked experts about ways to cure it, I am sure that different experts have given you their varied opinions which has left you even more confused and left you wondering: Where do I start? The only way to cure type2 diabetes is to modify your diet in such a way that your body receives a low amount of carbohydrates. How will such a diet help you? When our body receives less than usual amount of carbohydrates, it has no way but to burn our own body fat to produce energy. As our body fat burns, we begin to lose weight and become slimmer. As we become slimmer, our body becomes more sensitive to insulin. And when our body becomes more sensitive to insulin, then our blood sugar levels are automatically kept under control and we get rid of type2 diabetes. First of all, you will learn how to lower your carb intake.

Because carb is what our body needs to produce energy. Carbs contain many nutrients without which our body will become weak. As you can see, carb is not our enemy; and it is possible to lower carb intake without abstaining from carbs altogether. Ideally, your diet must not contain more than 55-65% of carbohydrates.

Your diet should also contain at least 11%-18%. You should eat more of lean types of protein such as egg whites, white meat chicken and turkey, and soy products. Try to avoid animal fat as it is notorious for increasing cholesterol; levels in our body, which may result in heart diseases.

Fiber is essential because it helps lower your blood sugar levels. Foods such as whole-grain breads, cereals and pastas, oats and other whole grains, brown rice, lentils and beans, fruits, vegetables and nuts contain a high amount of fiber and should be included in your diet.

Along with having the ideal daily diet for type 2 diabetes, you should also drinks lots of water: at least eight glasses of water per day, if no more. This will help keep your body moving. If you would like to get more information on daily diet for type2 diabetes, simply click on the link in my resource box below!

Complications from diabetes are the second largest cause of deaths in the United States. Nearly two million people in the United States have Type 1 diabetes which is treated by insulin. Many others have Type 2 diabetes, and about five percent of the population is not even aware they have diabetes. Even today, many researchers are looking for a Type 1 diabetes cure. A team of scientists and diabetes experts recently released a study showing that by using a combination of two drugs, they were able to reverse Type 1 diabetes at the beginning of the disease. Using these two drugs they were successful in reversing diabetes in most of the mice tested in the study. This success allows them to predict they will be using humans in clinical trials soon. Two separate clinical trials have proved that a combination of drugs called anti-CD3 and the reversal was preserved for over a year. Researchers are thrilled about the opportunity of a cure for diabetes, especially those who deal with early onset diabetes, or Juvenile diabetes. These clinical trials still need approval and would include trials with individuals who have been recently diagnosed with diabetes or those who are considered pre-diabetic.

Since complications from high blood sugar levels get worse over time, the hope is that this combination of drugs will reverse the diabetes before it has time to damage major organs within the body.

It is thought that the drug combination teaches the immune system to tolerate rather than attack the insulin producing cells in the pancreas. The combination appears to forestall the immune system and lessens the attack on the beta cells. Regulatory cells are also injected to specifically protect these beta cells. The disease did not re-occur during the life of the animals tested.

The best news is for children who are diagnosed with the disease. If their diabetes can be reversed, they can have normal lives!
Combining this new procedure with exercise, healthy sleep, and a healthy low blood sugar diet could be a new Type 1 diabetes cure and mean the end of this terrible disease in our lifetime, and prevent some of the complications from Type 1 diabetes which include kidney disease, blindness, and even amputations.

If this drug duo is approved as a viable vaccine against diabetes, it will be the first time that scientists were able to reverse diabetes. This drug combination may restore insulin-producing cells without the need for a pancreas transplant and damage from anti-rejection drugs.

Researchers and scientists need to be encouraged to continue working on the cure for this terrible disease. When trials are started on humans, the combination of the anti-CD3 and nasal proinsulin may create the results that are needed. This would truly be a wonderful blessing for people around the world.

Restrictions on a diabetic's diet can make for dull and boring meal options, but that doesn't have to be the case. There are great recipes that offer delicious, healthy meal options for diabetics that the whole family will enjoy!

What to look for in Great Diabetic Recipes

Variety
Great diabetic recipes or diabetic recipes sites will offer a variety of recipes that will provide you with choices for each meal. This will give you options to not get bored with the same recipe and meal night after night.

Nutritional Dietary Information
A good diabetic recipe should provide you with the nutritional information for the finished meal. This is recipe "label reading" just like you would do on any packaged food you pick up in the grocery store.

The important things to watch on the nutritional information are:
• Sugar
• Carbohydrates
• Saturated Fat

The content of the above per serving, should be less than 7 to 9 grams or 20% of your daily intake, generally speaking.

Diabetic Holiday or Specialty Recipes
The easiest time to fall away from healthy eating is during special occasions or Holiday meals. The best diabetic recipe sites will provide holiday diabetic recipes or special event recipes.
There are great Diabetic Thanksgiving Recipes or Christmas Diabetic Recipes that make Holiday cooking for diabetics a healthy event.

Maintaining healthy eating during the Holiday meals and special events is key to overall health. We easily overlook how often a special dinner, birthday or holiday season occurs. These many special days lead to special foods that are usually not on a diabetic diet.

Sticking with healthier meal options on these days is a good way to create a healthy diabetic lifestyle that will carry you to old age.
Not to mention that these holiday meals or special occasions can lead to 5 lbs extra weight gained per year. This will gradually lead to a large increase of weight overtime as you age.

Being overweight is very detrimental to the health of a diabetic.

Knowledgeable Diabetic Tips and Information
The knowledge and care taken with the information on a diabetic recipes site is telling of the true responsibility the site and writers take with the recipes and data they provide.
See what type of data and information the site provides. Is it helpful? Accurate? Or Insightful?

Tools for Managing Diabetes
Good diabetic recipe sites will also provide information or links to tools that aid diabetics in successfully managing their diabetes. This may include books, references, cooking tools, recipes, knowledgeable resources, etc.

Diabetic Recipes to Stay Away From
Use common sense when picking from some so called "diabetic recipes". Things to watch out for are recipes containing:
Sugar or sugary ingredients
Canned fruits or preserves

Anything with "candied" in the title of the recipe (no brainer right)

Diabetic foods don't have any taste!

Diabetics shouldn't eat those kinds of things!

If it looks too good to eat, you probably shouldn't eat it!
Do these horrible rules come to mind when you think of your diet? What's on the diabetic menu?

While diabetics should consider what they're eating, they should also have fun with their food! You can find hundreds of healthy and delicious recipes that will suit your diabetic diet. You don't have to eat bland, tasteless foods anymore! Here are a few menu ideas you will find at The Mayo Clinic:
From the main course

-Marinated portobello mushrooms with provolone
-Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Sun Dried Tomatoes
-Caribbean Beef Ragout with Coconut Rice
-Baked Red Snapper in Parchment with Julienne Vegetables
-Grilled Salmon Steaks with Tarragon Sauce
-Pizza with Onions and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
-New Mexican Chicken-Cilantro Sausage Strata
-Easy Vegetarian Lasagna
-Chicken quesadillas
-Chicken strips with honey mustard sauce
-Asparagus, tomato and red pepper French bread pizza

To crisp Salads
-Arugula Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Shaved Parmesan
-Lobster and Shrimp Salad with Fresh Vegetables

To refreshing drinks
-Fresh Fruit Slush
-Strawberry Lemonade

To sinful desserts
-Strawberry shortcake
-Creamy Cheesecake with Fresh Raspberries
-Fresh Peach Cake
-Fruit Chiffon in a Chocolate Cookie Crust
-Chocolate Popcorn

Those are just a few of the hundreds of delicious recipes that you can eat!

Moderation
This word is sometimes despised in any diet world. But, wouldn't you rather have a longer life to eat those delicious and healthy foods? Diabetics don't always have to omit desserts and sweets from their diet; they just have to be careful not to eat excessive amounts more than once or twice a week.

Choice
Everybody loves to have choices. And guess what? Diabetics have choices, too! Some tips on how to choose foods that ensure the health of diabetics are:
-Diabetics should eat the same amount of food around the same time each day to ensure stable blood sugar levels.
-Diabetics should use a system called "Carbohydrate Counting." This means counting the total number of grams of carbohydrates you eat at a meal or planned snack time based on your healthy exercise habits and medication.
-Diabetics should choose smaller portions of deli meats, poultry and fish, and low or fat-free dairy products.
-Diabetics should watch their cholesterol level.

Well, friend, wouldn't you rather have the choice of what to eat instead of having someone else make the decisions for you while you're helpless in a hospital bed? Not only do you have the power to live a healthy life, you can live it with flavorful diabetic foods!

A Typical infusion set is made up of the pump connector, a length of tubing and the needle or cannula. If you are having problems with unexplained high sugars when using your insulin pump and you are confident your control should be better, the chances are that it is due to problems with the infusion set. Tiny blockages can build up in the needle or cannula that the pump can't detect. Changing the infusion set regularly (typically every 24 to 72 hours dependent on the type) is vital for good performance.

KEY INFUSION SET CHOICES

If you are still considering which pump to buy, you should carefully consider the cost of the infusion set, as over time, this cost will overtake the initial cost of the pump.

Connection Most pumps use a universal "Luer Lock", which means a greater choice is available. Some (notably the Minimed Paradigm range) use a proprietary lock, which restricts the choice. Some companies are producing adaptors, but check the costs.

Needle or Cannula Needles are good for people with little body fat or who are allergic to cannulas. Needles need changing daily or every other day. A Cannula is a soft fine tube that is pushed down a steel inserter needle which is then withdrawn. Cannulas are more popular, as they are more comfortable for most people. A cannula based infusion set will last up to three days.

Insertion angle Straight forward 90 degree needle offers the simplest and most repeatable insertion. Angled sets are available with 30 to 45 deg angles. These offer a greater variety of insertion depths and favor slower insertion.

Needle / Cannula Depth In order to accommodate different amounts of fatty tissue, different insertion depths are available. Typically 2 or 3 needle depths are available and your Doctor can advise you.

Tubing length A length of tubing connects the needle / cannula to the connector at the pump. Allow yourself plenty.
INFUSION SITE SELECTION

As with manual injections with an insulin pen, where you set up your infusion set is important. The best areas are at the front and sides of the stomach, acceptable sites are on the outside of the thighs and tops and bottoms of your upper arms.

You should also rotate your site position, some use a clock face method - imagine a small clock face in an area, first use the 12 o'clock position, then 3, 6 and 9. More sophisticated methods are available, but use whatever you can remember easiest.
SITE USE

Follow these simple steps to ensure trouble free site preparation and infusion set insertion:
• Always start with clean hands, preferably use an anti-bacterial soap
• Clean the area thoroughly and allow to dry naturally
• Keep the needle / cannula sterile - do not allow it to touch anything non sterile
• Infusion set insertion is often better if you are standing rather than sitting
• Make the skin taut and follow any specific manufacturers instructions for the final insertion
• Check your blood glucose levels about two hours after a new infusion set is inserted

When the time comes to remove the set, soften the dressing with water or baby oil and keep the skin taut as you remove the set. Keep an eye on the old site and make sure it heals. NEVER reinsert a used infusion set! NEVER try to immediately reinsert a new infusion set in the same site.

Getting help with diabetes and free testing supplies can be tough if you don’t know where to look. DiabetesMedicareInfo.com is here to help.

If you have diabetes, you may be entitled to a FREE blood glucose meter.
There are companies that offer help with diabetes and free testing supplies. Among them is Access Diabetic Supply, one of the leading mail-order diabetic supply companies in the United States providing help with diabetes and free testing supplies to thousands of diabetics nationwide. They provide a complete selection of brand name products to help with diabetes and free testing supplies including glucose meters, test strips, lancing devices, lancets, control solution, insulin, syringes, insulin pump supplies, impotence devices, respiratory medications & supplies, and more. To see if you or someone you love qualifies for help with diabetes and free testing supplies, enroll today and see why thousands of diabetics turn to Access Diabetic Supply for help with diabetes and free testing supplies!

Another company that can help you with diabetes and free testing supplies is FreedoMed. They can also provide Free Medical Supplies. Currently FreedoMed is only a Medicare provider, but they should be accepting Blue Cross in a few months which means they will be accepting Nevada Blue Cross Supplemental Medicare Insurance and Anthem of Indiana Blue Cross Medicare Supplemental Insurance. However, many of the good “private” insurance companies pay out of network to help with diabetes and free testing supplies.

Having these companies help you with diabetes and free testing supplies will not only save you time but money as well. For thousands of people, having help with their diabetes and free testing supplies is a required function in order to live a healthy life.

We have four recipes for diabetics, which you will really enjoy.

Pasta with tomato sauce
Ingredients for 4 dishes:
• 4 tomatoes, peeled and cut cube shape
• ½ mug fresh basil
• 3 spoons red onion, minced
• 3 spoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• salt
• black pepper powder
• 250 g pasta

Put the tomatoes, the basil, the onion, the olive oil, the vinegar, the garlic, the salt and the pepper in a big bowl and mix them gently.
Boil the pasta for 10 – 12 minutes, according to the instructions on the package and drain them well.
You obtain 4 dishes of pasta and you can put them in heated plates. You can pour tomato sauce on each dish of pasta and you can decorate them with a fresh basil leaf.

Chicken with basil
Ingredients for 4 dishes:
• ¼ mug fresh basil
• 2 spoons of fresh mint
• ¾ mug of chicken soup
• 3 green onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 spoon minced ginger
• 2 spoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small egg plant cut cube shape, un-peeled
• 1 minced onion
• 1 red pepper, without seeds, cut julienne
• 1 green pepper, without seeds, cut julienne
• 500 g chicken, without skin or bones, sliced
• 2 spoons of soy sauce

Put the basil, the mint, ¼ of the chicken soup, a minced green onion, the garlic and the ginger in a blender and mix until all the ingredients are minced.
Heat a spoon of olive oil in a pan, at low temperature. Add the egg plant, the onion, and the peppers until the vegetables are soft (about 8 minutes). Put the mixture obtained from basil and the other spices in a pan in which you have heated 1 spoon of olive oil, stirring continuously. Add the chicken, the soy sauce and heat them for 2 minutes. Add the egg plant mixture and stir until it is heated inside. This is one of the recipes for diabetes which can be served hot, on plates which have been heated previously and decorated with green, minced onion.

Brown rice with asparagus
Ingredients for 6 dishes:
• 1 spoon olive oil
• 1 mug brown rice
• 3 mugs of water
• 1 cube concentrated chicken soup
• 1 small onion, minced
• 250 g mushrooms
• 250 g asparagus
• 2 spoons grated cheese
• ½ cup minced parsley
• nutmeg

Heat the olive oil at low temperature. Add the rice and heat it, then add slowly the water, the soup cube, the minced onion, the mushrooms and the nutmeg. Boil the rice for 30 minutes. If it is necessary, add water so that the rice can boil well. Cut the asparagus, throwing away the wooden part of the stalk and add it to the rice. Cover it and let it boil at low temperature.

Black pepper, cinnamon, cayenne pepper – none of these spices are new or unusual to most people. In fact, these are spices that many of us use on a regular basis, especially black pepper.

But did you know that these spices also have many health benefits?

Did you know that there is more reason to use these spices than to simply add flavor and spice to a meal?

Black Pepper
In America, black pepper is one of the most commonly used spices. In fact, it is not uncommon for a person to use pepper with every meal – a little on his eggs, a bit on his sandwich and salad, a lot on his steak and corn… Because black pepper is good for us!

Black pepper improves digestion by stimulating the taste buds and thereby alerting the stomach to increase hydrochloric secretion. Black pepper is also an antioxidant, and it has antibacterial effects. But wait – there’s more! You will be very happy to know that the outermost layer of the peppercorn actually helps stimulate the breakdown of fat cells!
Black pepper also helps prevent the formation of intestinal gas, promotes urination, and promotes sweating.

Cinnamon
Cinnamon also has a very healthy dose of manganese, but the health benefits of cinnamon are different than those of black pepper. Cinnamon can help eliminate and prevent the clumping of blood platelets. The scent of cinnamon can boost brain function – in other words, smelling cinnamon can improve your virtual recognition memory, working memory, and more!
Cinnamon can also help stop the growth of bacteria. Some even say that cinnamon can be used as spicy alternative to traditional food preservatives. For people with type 2 diabetes, cinnamon is wonderful – it can help them respond to insulin and thereby normalize their blood sugar levels.

Cayenne
The list of benefits from cayenne pepper seems to go on and on: it fights inflammation, prevents stomach ulcers, boosts immunity, offers pain relief, has cardiovascular benefits, and helps clear congestion. Cayenne is also full of vitamin A.

Adding a bit of spice to your life may actually help you increase your lifespan!

By Robert S. Nelson

Having a sensible meal plan is one way that diabetics can help control their blood sugar. A specific meal plan for anyone with an illness is called Medical Nutrition Therapy or MNT and it involves eating nutritious meals at regular intervals.

A healthy diabetic meal plan should sound very familiar to everyone because it is based on eating the same nutritious foods that we are all supposed to be eating. This diet plan stresses eating vegetables, fruits and whole grains as well as meals that are low in calories as well as low in fat.

Your doctor should send you to a dietitian if it has been determined that you have diabetes. The dietitian can help you change any bad eating habits which will enable you to better manage your blood glucose and your weight.

When your body gets too many calories or too much fat it will not only have an impact on your weight but it will also raise your blood sugar level. Should your blood glucose get too high (hyperglycemia) it can result in some serious health issues involving your heart, kidneys and nervous system. Following a nutritious meal plan will help you maintain safe blood glucose levels.

Controlling your blood glucose is the main function of a healthy diet but the dietitian also wants to create a meal plan that you will follow and takes into account things like your lifestyle and your tastes in food. The amount of food that you eat is very important as is the quality of the food that is consumed.

The following list will give you an idea what foods are recommended for a diabetic meal plan:

* Carbs - yes, they are okay if they come from vegetables, whole grain food and fruits.
* High in Fiber - things like wheat bran, nuts, beans and of course fruits and veggies.
* Fish - it can't be fried or be swordfish or tilefish since they have high mercury levels.
* Good Fats - almonds, pecans, walnuts, olives and other foods containing polyunsaturated as well as monounsaturated fats.

You should avoid the following foods since diabetics are more susceptible to clogged arteries:

* Cholesterol - organ meats (liver), egg yolks and high fat dairy products.
* Saturated Fat - sausages, bacon, hot dogs, beef.
* Trans Fats - the fat contained in many snacks and baked goods as well as in margarine and shortening.

Following a healthy diet rich in nutrients and low in fat is the best way to stay away from serious medical complications which can ensue from high glucose levels. It will also help anyone who has to lose a few pounds.

Eating nutritious low-fat high fiber foods will benefit you in more ways than one. It is likely that your healthy eating habits will also help you in avoiding other serious medical conditions like heart disease and cancer.

A diabetic needs to speak with their dietitian and doctor to devise a meal plan that has the strongest chance of succeeding. By changing the way they eat and the types of food they eat they will be able to lower their high glucose levels and at the same time reduce their chances of having to deal with some major medical problems.