by: Jessica Apple<\/a><\/p>\n When Mike enrolled in the Phase II trail of Diapep277, he was told it was a potential diabetes vaccine.\u00a0 This notion of vaccine was somewhat confusing.\u00a0 Mike, after all, had type 1 diabetes.\u00a0 Diapep277 wasn\u2019t going to prevent it like the chicken pox vaccine prevents chicken pox.\u00a0 But the notion of a vaccine is more complex than that.\u00a0 \u201cThe immune system, like the brain, learns from experience,\u201d said Cohen.\u00a0 \u201cA vaccine is a signal or set of signals that teaches the immune system how to respond to a particular situation.\u00a0 We could call Diapep a \u2018therapeutic vaccine\u2019 \u2013 probably it would be clearer to call it a specific modulator of the immune system \u2013 a signal that helps the immune system to make desirable \u00a0decisions in how it should relate to the body.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike\u2019s\u00a0Diapep277 trial<\/a>\u00a0took place in 2002-2003.\u00a0 The study coordinator told him the participants were divided into three groups \u2013 high dose recipients, low dose recipients, and a placebo group.\u00a0 Then, Mike did not know which group he was in.\u00a0 He now knows he did receive Diapep277.\u00a0 Throughout the study, doctors monitored Mike closely.\u00a0 They were checking for residual beta cell function by a measurement of C-peptide (C-peptide is a protein produced along with insulin, and its presence in the body is a sign of insulin secretion, or beta cell function.)\u00a0 In order to measure beta cell function, Mike was given glucagon injections and then blood was drawn to learn his body\u2019s response to the glucagon.\u00a0 The study also measured his HbA1c.\u00a0 \u201cWhat was most surprising was the lack of side effects,\u201d says Dr. Mariela Glandt who led a follow-up trial to Mike\u2019s under Prof. Itamar Raz at\u00a0Hadassah Hosptial\u00a0in Jerusalem. \u201cPatients had no complaints.\u201d Read more<\/a><\/p>\n by: Max Apple<\/p>\n When I began taking metformin, I felt as if I was like a teenager taking precautions against acne.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sick, and had only the beginnings of feeling tenderness beneath the skin.\u00a0 But after a few months of reading about diet and diabetes I\u2019m not only more certain of my decision to go on metformin, I am doing everything I can to purge carbs from my diet.<\/p>\n I\u2019m also trying to go back to my old ways of regular exercise.\u00a0 For many years I ran three miles at noon every day with the same friend.\u00a0 When I moved to a new job in a less friendly running climate I switched to a stationary bike and a treadmill.\u00a0 But even adding TV and books didn\u2019t make me look forward to exercise and, gradually, I realized that what for years was built into my schedule had become something I had to force myself to do.<\/p>\n I miss the outdoor experience of running, but even more, I miss my old friend.\u00a0 The camaraderie and friendship that developed over years was something that silent reading and passive TV watching couldn\u2019t replace.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing I can do about missing my friend on a daily basis, but recognizing that the problem is more emotional than physical has helped me go back to regular exercise.\u00a0 That realization, along with the rising A1c, has made even the treadmill look pretty good. Read more<\/a><\/p>\n by: Carolyn Ketchum<\/a><\/p>\n It is important to note that Oppenheimer\u2019s book was published five years prior to the discovery of insulin in 1922, at a time when type 1 diabetics died quickly from the disease, and type 2 diabetics had little to rely on for treatment.\u00a0\u00a0 Focusing on food that diabetics could ingest without taxing their precious beta cells too much, made Oppenheimer\u2019s diabetic cookbook somewhat revolutionary.<\/p>\n I was game for the challenge of trying out some of these old recipes, and Jess and I corresponded a bit about some of the funny ingredients listed.\u00a0 It seems that even back in Oppenheimer\u2019s day, almond flour was a standard low carb ingredient for many sweets and baked goods, so I was set there.\u00a0 But I was fairly certain I wasn\u2019t going to be able to get my hands on any Aleuronat Flour or Lyster\u2019s Prepared Casein Diabetic Flour, whatever those might be.\u00a0\u00a0 And although saccharin is still fairly common as an artificial sweetener, I hadn\u2019t a clue as to how much would be contained in a \u201csaccharin tablet\u201d.\u00a0 Still, I thought it would be fun to recreate a few of these old recipes and see how they compared to some of diabetic cookery around today. Read more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n by: Michael Aviad<\/a><\/p>\n I also discovered a parallel world of diabetes that I didn\u2019t know existed ten years ago.\u00a0 Then, I felt totally alone.\u00a0 Now I know there is a world full of inspiring people with diabetes, people I am lucky to work with, people I haven\u2019t met, but who inspire me to do better and to be stronger.\u00a0 I am part of a community based around a disease which somehow seems to be a healthier community than most.\u00a0 Our community transcends borders, age, race and gender (maybe John Lennon was writing about this world).<\/p>\n by: Karmel Allison<\/a><\/p>\n The hygiene hypothesis sounds plausible, especially in light of studies that have found increasing rates of diseases like type 1 diabetes in developed and developing countries. However, proving the hygiene hypothesis or finding the mechanisms by which it might operate has \u00a0been very difficult.<\/p>\n by: Catherine Price<\/a><\/p>\n Interestingly, in both mice and humans, BCG itself doesn\u2019t appear to be doing anything to the white blood cells \u2013 known as insulin-autoreactive T cells \u2014 that are responsible for destroying insulin-producing cells. Instead, BCG increases the body\u2019s production of a different type of molecule called Tumor Necrosis Factor \u2013 TNF for short. It\u2019s TNF, not BCG, that appears to kill the insulin-autoreactive T cells.<\/p>\n Faustman had originally hoped to administer TNF directly, but TNF is not approved as a drug; the approval process would have taken years, and no drug companies were interested in spending millions of dollars developing an experimental treatment that, if successful, would reduce the market for their other diabetes products. Instead, Faustman and her colleagues searched for an approved drug with a great safety profile that increased levels of TNF. BCG fit the bill.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting that this is not the first time BCG has been studied \u2013 several previous trials have failed\u00a0\u2014 and several members of the diabetes research community that I spoke with were extremely skeptical about BCG in general, as well as this particular trial. (Faustman believes previous trials failed because of a lack of knowledge about mechanism and incorrect dosing.) Read more<\/a><\/p>\n by: Alex O’Meara<\/a><\/p>\n People get diabetes because they\u2019re fat. They get diabetes because they don\u2019t exercise. They get it because they\u2019re lazy and they lack discipline in controlling their appetites. They get diabetes because they\u2019re out of shape slobs. People get diabetes because they\u00a0deserve<\/em>\u00a0it.<\/p>\n Most people won\u2019t say this to your face, but that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not thinking it. The extent to which people believe that diabetes is the fault of the diabetic became very apparent, recently, after a finger pointing exchange about blame for the condition by two celebrity chefs. And what that reveals is an underlying societal discrimination of diabetics\u00a0that could cost people their lives.<\/p>\n In January celebrity chef Paula Deen revealed she had type 2 diabetes. The creator of a hamburger featuring doughnuts in place of a bun was met with a backlash of blame. She was drawn into a kafuffle with fellow celeb chef Anthony Bourdain when he said he thought it was in \u201cbad taste\u201d for Deen to be dishing high fat Southern cuisine while she had diabetes and had not told the public about her condition. The implication was that Deen\u2019s recipe for loaded mashed potatoes was the food equivalent of a loaded gun because, clearly, eating such rich foods leads inevitably to diabetes. Read more<\/a><\/p>\n by: Scott Richard<\/p>\n On the day before the race, I put on a new Pod and moved placed it my lower back, \u00a0not on my stomach where the previous one had sat.\u00a0 Normally, I would used my arms next (I alternate sites systematically) but I skipped them on this rotation. I did this because I felt that the back was the most secure spot to place the pod.\u00a0 I hoped no one would bump into it there, and that other equipment wouldn\u2019t catch on it and rip it off.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had a few experiences in the gym where I was doing exercises and due to my negligence, my pod got caught on a piece of equipment and ripped off my arm.\u00a0 I wanted to avoid that.<\/p>\n For three full months I had nightmares about my pod coming off during the race.\u00a0 My wife said to me one morning at 3 a.m., \u201cWhat is the worst that happens? It comes off?\u00a0 Big Deal!\u00a0 You put another one on after you clean up post-race. Go to bed!\u201d Read more<\/a><\/p>\n by: Michael Aviad<\/a><\/p>\n The first thing that catches the eye when you see the Dario glucose meter is its size. The entire device including the strips and lancets is the size of a cigarette lighter.\u00a0 But as cool as the device looks (it\u2019s really cool) there are many other features which the creators of Dario are proud of. Read more<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Diapep277-logo.jpg\" "\\"Diapep277"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\nWhy I Chose Metformin<\/a><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Why-I-Chose-Metformin-300x188.jpg\" "\\"Why")
<\/a>I began taking metformin 500 mg twice a day and I started reading even more about the effects of carbohydrates on a body like mine that was becoming more insulin resistant by the year.\u00a0 My reading influenced above all by Gary Taubes,\u00a0Good Calories Bad Calories<\/a>\u00a0and other works promoting fats over carbs has been pretty convincing.<\/p>\nA\u00a0Baker Resurrects a Diabetic Cookbook From 1917 (Sort of\u2026)<\/a><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Chocolate-Giger-Cookies-Diabetic-Cookery-1-300x200.jpg\" "\\"Chocolate-Giger-Cookies-Diabetic-Cookery-1\\"")
<\/a>My friend, Jessica Apple, editor of A Sweet Life Diabetes Magazine, came across an old diabetic cookbook and thought it might make good story material.\u00a0 And by old cookbook, I mean really old.\u00a0 As in written almost 100 years ago. \u00a0Diabetic Cookery<\/a><\/em>, by Rebecca W. Oppenheimer, was published in 1917, at a time when such cookbooks didn\u2019t \u00a0really exist for diabetics in need of carbohydrate restriction.\u00a0 In fact the preface begins like this, \u201cThe author would feel diffidence in publishing a cook book when so many other excellent ones already exist, if it were not that she is treating a special field.\u201d<\/p>\nCelebrating My Ten Year Anniversary of Life with Type 1 Diabetes<\/a><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Celebrating-life-with-type-1-diabetes-Confetti-300x199.jpg\" "\\"Celebrating-life-with-type-1-diabetes-Confetti\\"")
<\/a>Having diabetes has changed the way I eat and exercise. \u00a0It has motivated me to do things I never thought I could do (and continues to do so). \u00a0I\u2019ve run six marathaons, and I\u2019ve signed up for my seventh.\u00a0 Diabetes has also made me reevaluate my life.\u00a0 I look at things in a different way. I don\u2019t measure success by a job position or a salary.\u00a0 I have an entirely new sense of what\u2019s important. Diabetes helped me put family first and made me appreciate life, not just as a whole, but in the minute by minute.\u00a0 It\u2019s a kind of appreciation that may only come when you know the chance of death is, if I may quote the Rolling Stones, \u201cjust a shot away.\u201d Read more<\/a><\/p>\nProving the Hygiene Hypothesis?<\/a><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/HygieneHpothesis-Child-in-Mud-300x201.jpg\" "\\"HygieneHpothesis-Child-in-Mud\\"")
<\/a>The hygiene hypothesis, first put forth by the British epidemiologist David Strachan in 1989, suggests that the cleaner our environment becomes, the more common allergic illnesses become. Under normal circumstances, cells of the immune system circulate throughout the body and recognize antigens, small fragments of microbes or parts of your body (so-called self). A correctly developed immune system is trained to distinguish self-antigen\u2014molecules made by the body that are supposed to be there\u2014from pathogens\u2014foreign invaders that present a threat to the body. According to the hygiene hypothesis, a crucial part of this training process is exposure early in life to germs and bacteria that help the body recognize what outsider molecules really look like. Without this early exposure to pathogens, the immune cells skew towards an auto-reactive or over-reactive response, getting worked up when they see self-antigen or other non-threatening antigen.\u00a0 This overreaction can lead to allergies, asthma, and perhaps also autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes. \u00a0Read more<\/a><\/p>\nFaustman Lab Research: How Excited Should You Be?<\/a><\/h2>\n
![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Faustman-Denise-200x300.jpg\" "\\"Faustman,")
<\/p>\nLaying Blame: Why Do People Get Diabetes?<\/a><\/h2>\n
Omnipod Put to the Test<\/a><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Omnipod-Test-1-300x200.jpg\" "\\"Omnipod")
<\/a>The Rugged Maniac took place on July 15th<\/sup>, so I had a few months to prepare with the Omnipod.\u00a0 Some people train for this type of event in terms of \u201cWill I finish?\u201d or \u201cWill I have the strength or stamina to complete the obstacles?\u201d\u00a0 I approached my training much differently.\u00a0 I knew the distance was manageable.\u00a0 I knew the obstacles were going to be challenging, but doable.\u00a0 The wild card for me was, Would my pod be able to handle\u00a0the mud<\/em>?<\/p>\nDario: Turning Your Smartphone into an All-In-One Glucose Meter<\/a><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/The-Dario-Glucose-Meter.jpg\" "\\"The")
<\/a>The Dario is an integrated unit that includes a basic adapter designed to connect to the audio jack of a smartphone. When the adapter is connected, a measurement is transmitted to the smartphone, turning the phone into a glucose monitor. The Dario also includes a built in lancing device loaded with disposable lancets and an integrated cartridge holding and dispensing 25 test strips.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Smartphone-Display-Dario-App.jpg\" "\\"Smartphone")
<\/a>The adapter can be used on all iOS devices (including iPhone 5 and iPads) as well as on Android phones. There\u2019s no battery because the device harvests its power from the phone. The data collected is communicated back to the smartphone and is captured by Dario\u2019s data management system.<\/p>\nGrief, A Necessary Part of Accepting Diabetes<\/a><\/h2>\n