Dr. Davis,
would you please explain, in layman's terms, why chiceking blood glucose can be so important for not only keeping track of blood sugar but for weight loss? I think I get it, but my mother, who was recently diagnosed as "pre-diabetic", says she is going to return the glucosometer she based bought upon my suggestion, as she is going to eat low-carb and track calories, etc.  Help me help my mom out!  Thanks so much,
emily

Dr Davis, thanks for the site.

There's a history of Diabetes in my family.
My dad and his father were both Diabetics and they both died of Pancreatic Cancer in later years.
They never watched any of their habits though.
My dad's doctor used to call him a "food and lifestyle" liar. Dad shrugged it off.. and kept on lying.

Yes, I know about the genetic odds here.
I do watch what I eat, Vit D3, no cigarettes and I exercise and live life.

I've never seen a conclusive study relating Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer.
Any thoughts on that ?
I'm not Diabetic. FBG today of 89.
But I still watch myself and I have started to use a BG monitor to watch post-prandial numbers.
It's interesting how different foods affect everyones's BG differently.
I'm continually learning.
Thanks again for the site.

I'm new to all this but have a question if anyone is willing to indulge me an answer...

I frequently fall to sleep after lunch and/or after dinner, just "nod off" type of thing.  Is this a result of high BG and then the insulin response driving sugar low?

I am not diabetic and try to eat reasonable healthy meals, moderates amount of lean meat, vegetable and starch like rice or potato.  I wonder if I have insulin insensitivity...guess I need a meter. Thanks

Thanks for explaining why.

Could you maybe elaborate a little?

Carbs cause blood sugar to rise. Indulge in excess carbs, and you can walk, run and bike till you drop and not lose an ounce.

Awesome post Dr. Davis. I check my post-prandial BG constantly and have eliminated many so called low glycemic foods. ALso, nice simple explanation Lori.

@ Larry said...
I've never seen a conclusive study relating Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer.
Any thoughts on that ?
It's not a straightforward connection, they are still arguing about it.
This abstract suggests  
the development of diabetes in subjects prone to pancreatic cancer could be a red flag for malignancy.

And this full text article
Is Type 2 Diabetes a Risk Factor for Pancreatic Cancer? explains why it's difficult to definitively identify type 2 diabetes mellitus as a risk factor for pancreatic cancer.

Worth pointing out for those with Diabetes who are concerned about the threat of Pancreatic cancer that Metformin monotherapy carried the lowest risk of cancer. However that was comparing medical diabetes treatments, so didn't include people using Dr Bernstein's or similar approaches to controlling diabetes through diet, exercise.

I found this paper Cancer as a metabolic disease worth studying. It's not specifically about pancreatic cancer. It makes the point that Reduced glucose availability will target aerobic glycolysis and the pentose phosphate shunt; pathways  required  for  the  survival  and  proliferation  of many  types  of  tumor  cells.
Maybe it isn't just the risk of heart disease that is reduced by lowering circulating  glucose levels.

@  Emily
Please try to persuade your mum the glucose meter is an essential tool to understand which foods really raise BG levels.
I thought, a bit like your mum, that because I followed a Low carb eating plan I wouldn't have a problem with high glucose.
Only after readingTo get low-carb right, you need to check blood sugars did I get a meter and start checking.
Despite eating almost exclusively low carb I was regularly spiking up to 199.8 ~ 11.1.
Adding into my diet a variety of things to slow gastric emptying has reduced the height of 1hr after meal spikes and I've now gone a week under 133.2 ~ 7.4 and the trend is towards lower numbers mostly under 108 ~ 6

I've not restricted my calorie intake nor am I able to exercise much but I have, unintentionally, lost weight. A month ago I was 168lbs and am now 163 lbs.

I went out and bought a glucose meter yesterday.  I bought the one Dr. Davis recommended, the OneTouch mini purchased at Walgreens.

In hindsight though, it turned out to be an expensive choice.  I had to buy the OneTouch test strips as well, and they are fairly pricey.

For anyone considering buying a glucometer, buy the Walgreen's version.  I think it had a mail-in rebate, cost a bit less than the one touch, and also, the generic Walgreen's test strips are half as much as the One Touch.

And thank you Dr. Davis for this great blog.

Consumer Reports magazine recommended the ReliOn Ultima and their strips. The meter is, like, $9 and the strips are very inexpensive (compared to "branded" ones). (I'm pre-diabetic.) I don't have any hesitation checking my b.g. anytime, because the strips are cheap.  (No insurance, I have to pay for all my supplies.)  If you have insurance but they limit your strips (as with my nephew, a Type 1), you can use the  cheap one to fill-in your testing.

From my research and experimentation, the Accuchek Aviva shown in picture is the most accurate and precise meter currently available.  Over the long run, an accurate and precise meter will save you money and a lot of trouble, versus one whose results are not as reliable, and which forces you to test more.

btw, most precision issues are due to the strips, and cheap strips will simply result in lots of unnecessary holes in your fingers if you're serious about knowing what's going on with BGs.

thanks

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I wish that I can have all those weight loss tool. I am sure if I have all those my weight loss program is going to be more effective.

I would just love to drink my tap water for necessary minerals but my city has deemed it necessary to forcefully medicate it's inhabitants by adding fluoride to it so I go to my local water store and get my drinking water.

I have hashi's so I must avoid flouride (except for having to bathe in the citywater)as much as possible.  Sometimes I get distilled and sometimes I get the reverse osmosis for my drinking water.  I add Himalayan 'sea' salt to the water to add back in the minerals but I really have no clue if that is adequatly providing the minerals my body needs so I also take vit/min supplement and additional magnesium(sometimes before going to bed - it seems to allow a more restful sleep and makes me calmer overall).

Some of the proponents of distilled water drinking say that absorption of minerals from water is negligible.  I don't know if there are any studies out there to prove if this is so.  My guess is that it would depend on the gut health of the individual.

I also give my pets the bottled water with the sea salt added to it.  they don't need no steenkin fluoridated tap water either.

Growing up we had well water and it was delicious.  I don't know if anyone ever tested the water for it's mineral content, though.  

Nancy

Most people would do well to take a vitamin/mineral supplement each day. It's simple to do, and relatively inexpensive. Relying on our diets to provide us with the right nutrients can leave out important ones.

Fortunately, I live in Hot Springs, Arkansas where I have free access to 140° thermal spring water, with 4.9 ppm Mg.  Don't know if that's sufficient but that's all I drink.

There are many types of magnesium available in vitamin stores. Which is the best type to buy? I am curious about absorption by the body and not including a lot of potentially unhealthy ingredients?.

Does Wheat actually contain the amount of magnesium claimed?
Evidence of decreasing mineral density in wheat grain over the last 160 years.
Is the magnesium in wheat absorbed ?
New data on the bioavailability of bread magnesium.
Is it possible the drive to include Whole grain into the diet is counterproductive and simply results in further magnesium depletion resulting in negative balances ?
Zinc, copper and magnesium absorption from a fibre-rich diet.

KRISPIN has some interesting suggestions regarding an appropriate magnesium intake

Magnesium oxide has been shown to be poorly absorbed, while magnesium aspartate releases aspartate, which *might* cause some excitotoxicity. Your best bet is probably magnesium citrate or malate.

Jeremy Fox,

Read the first comment from this post by Dr. Eades for what kind to buy:
Link

@Ares
Actually, no one should take a multi vitamin (= the shotgun approach) without talking to a knowledgable doctor and/or doing a lot of research.

And NO ONE should take a cheap generic multi. That's suicidal and I'm serious.
The evidence conclusively proves that generic multis (badly formulated, over-/underdosed, etc) are a waste of money at best and dangerous at worst. (1, 2)

There are two *vastly* superior approaches:
A. fix your diet (check nutrient intake using CRON-o-meter) and supplement whatever you are lacking (i.e. single nutrients).
B. take a well-formulated *low dose* multi á la AOR orthocore (although, it's too high in folic acid in my opinion)

(1) Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 Apr 16;(2):CD007176.
Antioxidant supplements for prevention of mortality in healthy participants and patients with various diseases. Bjelakovic G, Nikolova D, Gluud LL, Simonetti RG, Gluud C.
(2) Multivitamin use and risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease in the Women's Health Initiative cohorts.
Neuhouser ML, Wassertheil-Smoller S, Thomson C, Aragaki A, Anderson GL, Manson JE, Patterson RE, Rohan TE, van Horn L, Shikany JM, Thomas A, LaCroix A, Prentice RL.

I'm curious what Dr. Davis recommends regarding magnesium intake and what specific form.

Magnesium glycinate (Albion), orotate or a taurate may be preferred. The Albion's have good absorption studies. And for orotate there is little bit of evidence is can reduce cholesterol (maybe), and some decent studies on improving heart health.

I enjoyed two books on magnesium, The Magnesium Factor and The Magnesium Miracle.  They complement each other well, as the first one is more about magnesium's role and the second has more practical info about supplementing.

We used to take magnesium oxide, but it is the magnesium salt with the lowest absorbability (only 4% I think), so the dose must be higher.  Consequently it also has more of a laxative effect than some other magnesium preparations.  We're taking a magnesium complex (oxide, aspartate, citrate, and taurate) or magnesium taurate now, though I do keep the magensium oxide around for the times when a mild laxative is useful (esp with travel).

The Magnesium Miracle frequently mentions magnesium oil (magnesium chloride?) which isn't really an oil, but feels like one when applied topically.  I haven't found it in local stores (no one has heard of it), but it is available online.  Has anyone used magnesium oil?

I have bought on line and used used Swanson's magnesium oil topically-5 short sprays on each arm prior to bedtime on a daily basis.  I have used about 40% of 8fluid ounces and I just got my blood test results.  normal range 1.5 to 2.5.  My result was slightly high at 2.7.  By applying it topically, you get full absorption.  Dr. T from "nephropal.blogspot.com put me on this system.

Congratulations Amy!

And here I thought that plaque was in your arteries for life... and then tonight I find this blog.

Amy (and Neal) give all of us inspiration to truly modify our lifestyle.

I'm also especially gratified that a woman now holds our record. I'm uncertain why, but the ladies have been shy and the men remain the dominant and vocal participants in our program. Speak up, ladies!