Malcolm Gladwell is an excellent storyteller. I’ve read three of his books and recently started listening to his podcast series Revisionist History. During season 2, there’s a thought-provoking episode called McDonald’s Broke My Heart. It tells the story of multi-millionaire businessman Phil Sokolof. In the 1960s, at the age of 43, he had a heart…
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When you’re diagnosed with diabetes, there’s a lot of new terminology. What’s the difference between basal and bolus insulin? Why do we need continuous glucose monitoring? Which is the best app for carb counting? You end up with more questions than answers. For me, the most confusing thing was HbA1c. When I went for my…
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When I first asked my endocrinologist for regular insulin, she wondered if it wouldn’t be inconvenient for me to pre-bolus before meals. We’re obsessed with the idea that diabetics should eat a standard diet. There’s a race to come up with faster-acting insulin to make this possible. Few people address the elephant in the room,…
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Scientists believe that the liver could hold the key to preventing and treating type 2 diabetes. With 95 percent of diabetics diagnosed with type 2, it’s a lot more prevalent than type 1. All current therapies for type 2 diabetes primarily aim to decrease blood glucose. It’s treating a symptom, much like decreasing the fever…
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Walmart’s sold regular insulin under the ReliOn brand for some time. It’s a lifesaver for diabetics in the US who can’t afford the insane list prices from pharmaceutical companies. Regular insulin follows the slow glucose release from protein, so it works well on the Bernstein diet. On the other hand, it’s not so good for…
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Three weeks ago I started jogging. It was humiliating as people ran past me all the time. Since then, I got a bit faster and more resilient. Beginnings are always the worst. It’s been interesting to see the difference it’s made to my blood glucose. My insulin sensitivity changed quite a bit, and there were…
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A few days ago I wrote a post about the four T’s in diabetes – toilet, thirsty, thinner, tired – which are the typical symptoms of diabetes. By recognizing the four T’s you can save somebody’s life. I once again got reminded of how lucky I am to be alive when I read the story…
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One of the things that comes up when you tell people that you’re on a ketogenic diet is the question of whether you don’t feel deprived. Most people can’t envision their life without pizza and pasta. As with everything, you get used to it. There are many substitute foods, like protein bread, zoodles, and dark…
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There is something called the Somogyi effect or phenomenon which comes up when you treat diabetes. It supposedly happens when you take insulin before you go to bed and wake up with high blood sugar levels. According to the theory of the Somogyi effect, when insulin lowers your blood sugar too much, it triggers a…
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One of the disadvantages to using the ultra-long-acting Tresiba as your background insulin is that it takes several days for any changes you make to show up. I started jogging and got tormented with lows, especially during the nighttime. There are few things as unpleasant as waking up sweating at 3 am to find your…
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