This year's Team Blood Glucose Diabetes Grand Tour aims to continue what we started last year: to demonstrate what can be achieved by athletes with diabetes, setting an example for all people with diabetes, and encouraging them to join us for the next event. The research element of the ride will consist of tracking the riders’ performances using bicycle computers, and monitoring blood sugars using Dexcom CGMs. The research will be conducted by Imperial College London.
Category: Health
Not everyone realizes that Intense exercise can cause blood glucose levels to drop not only during and shortly after the activity, but even hours later. In fact, according to the American Diabetes Association, depending on the intensity and duration of your activity, you can burn glucose for up to 24 hours after exercise.
On June 28th, Erin Spineto, Renee Moreno, and I swam 12.5 miles around the island of Key West, FL. We were the first team of people with type 1 diabetes to swim the race, and we swam a significant portion against the current. The water was so shallow that we jammed our fingers into the coral, and they bled. We swam over the tops of sharks. We were impatient with each other and laughed about it later.
Living with diabetes is always an exercise in trying to create a rewarding, happy life while soaring and plummeting – and hopefully sometimes floating – between the rumble lines of our target ranges. When we encounter other people with diabetes, like skydiver Dennis Adair who pushes life out to the edges, it reminds us that our own dreams can soar higher than any meter can register.
Dr. Mariela Glandt, an endocrinologist and director of the Diabetes Medical Center in Tel Aviv uses a short course of intensive insulin therapy in order to "reset" beta cells and help them return to an earlier and more manageable stage of the disease.
Given that new tools to detect hypoglycemia, such as continuous glucose monitors, are now available, lead the authors to issue a target of 7.5% A1C for the entire pediatric population. It is important to note that despite the new lower recommendation, a recent study showed that only 32% of the Type 1 pediatric population met the previous ADA targets for their age group.
Other recipes I am eager to try are Scallion Pancakes with Soy Ginger Sauce, Cake Brownies, Garlic-Cauliflower Breadsticks, and Matzo Ball Soup. The pictures and Kerwien’s commentary entice. For these and all the recipes, she suggests additions (frosting for the brownies!), side dishes, and substitutions.
Jacobson was involved in the most comprehensive long-term study of whether hypoglycemia adversely impacts brain function. As part of a team Jacobson studied the effects of improved blood sugar control on type 1 diabetic patients who were participants in The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial—or DCCT.
If our group completes the 12.6 mile swim (distance divided evenly between three swimmers), we will be the first team made up entirely of athletes with type 1 diabetes to do so. But, Spineto’s goal is not just to complete the swim. Through this endeavor she wants to encourage people with diabetes to find their athletic passion and pursue it, and to develop and share protocols for managing blood sugars while in extreme conditions.
Lifebringer is a free, interactive web-based app for type 1 and 2 diabetics, as well as newly diagnosed diabetics, that goes beyond simply tracking blood sugars and organizing numbers input users. It also uses Meehan’s program, called Nagbot, to interact with the user. Nagbot sends encouraging emails to the user over their computer, tablet, or mobile device reminding them to test, or letting them know how they’re doing, and suggesting ways to improve their health. Nagbot, in other words, acts as a helpful companion.