An Olympian with Diabetes

At the age of 29, Cross-country skier Kris Freeman will be heading to his third consecutive Winter Olympics. Kris is believed to be the first athlete with Type 1 diabetes to compete at a world-class level, as well as in an endurance sport. Diabetes Forecast Magazine caught up with Kris before the games to talk about everything from: his race for the gold medal, living with diabetes and how he manages diabetes while competing in an endurance sport.

Check out the inspirational article about Kris Freeman by clicking on his picture.

Oprah Winfrey Dedicates Today’s Show to Diabetes

Host Oprah Winfrey — together with celebrity physician Dr. Mehmet Oz, and exercise physiologist Bob Greene — will emphasize that diabetes is a ticking time bomb and a silent killer, urging viewers to find out if they are at risk for type 2 diabetes.

Covering a wide spectrum of diabetes-related topics, from making healthy lifestyle choices to avoiding diabetes-related complications, Oprah and her health team will talk about diabetes testing and healthy foods, while also introducing viewers to a woman with diabetes on dialysis, who is a double amputee.

As stated by Richard M. Bergenstal, MD, President, Medicine & Science, “We hope that the show will convey the seriousness of diabetes. We also hope the show will empower people and provide hope. Many of the devastating complications of diabetes can be prevented or lessened.”

For details regarding where and when to see today’s The Oprah Winfrey Show in your area, please check your local listings.

Highlights of 2009 Achievements

Your help made these and many more successes possible!

• Funding Diabetes Research to save lives. Your support helped the Association provide more than $33,500,000 to support vital research to discover better treatment and- one day soon– a cure for this deadly disease!
• Walking and Riding to Stop Diabetes — together. More than 163,000 people took part in our Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes and Tour de Cure bicycling events combined, helping us raise awareness and supporting our research, education and advocacy efforts.
• Launching a Movement to STOP DIABETES and inspire millions of Americans. With your help, we undertook our most ambitious public outreach and awareness effort ever — encouraging millions of people to take action to help stop the diabetes epidemic. Our new stopdiabetes.com web site and a more user-friendly diabetes.org deliver life-changing and life-saving information and share real life stories of inspiration and hope every day!
• Reaching Children and Families — to provide much-needed support. With your support, our family and youth outreach programs were enhanced and expanded through our new program called Family Link, which helps connect families, offers peer support and much more. Camperships (scholarships) helped kids attend our life-changing Diabetes Camps, and so much more.
• Advocating and Reforming Health Care — ensuring a brighter future. You helped us continue to be a strong voice for health care reform in 2009. We took a lead role in ensuring that pending legislation meets the needs of people with, and at risk for, diabetes, including wellness and prevention provisions.

Through your help and support all these achievements were made possible. Together we can STOP diabetes.

 

 

Parental Carb Counting with Type 1 children is key

 We have learned from so many of our friends that parental control is both nightmarish and necessary to improving the lives of children affected by Type 1 diabetes.  I found an interesting study published byDiabetes Care, June 2009. Copyright � 2006 Reuters Limited. Please see the information below posted on our national web site from Reuters.
“Parental precision at carbohydrate counting is associated with improved blood sugar (glycemic) control in children with type 1 diabetes, according to a study published in the current issue of Diabetes Care. Dr. Sanjeev N. Mehta of Harvard Medical School in Boston and colleagues interviewed the parents of 67 children with type 1 diabetes. The children were between 4 and 12 years old (average age, 9.1 years) with diabetes duration of at least 1 year (average duration, 4.1 years). Parents were asked to estimate the carbohydrate content of their child’s meals during the previous 24 hours. Overall, based on 182 parent interviews, the estimates of their children’s carbohydrate consumption was 120 percent of the amount calculated using Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR) software. With accuracy defined as estimates within 20 percent of the actual carbohydrate intake, and precision defined as standard deviation values less than the 75th percentile, further analysis showed that lower A1C levels were significantly associated with precision and more frequent blood glucose monitoring, but not with accuracy, the researchers report. A1C was 0.8 percent lower in children “whose parents demonstrated precision,” according to the report.”

 

 As you probably know, A1C is a necessary test to measures how much glucose binds with hemoglobin, the substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen to the cells of the body, over a period of 3-4 months. The article in Diabetes Care went on to say “The A1C test is used as long-term measure of blood glucose control, which is associated with a lower risk of diabetes-related complications. “Over the last 10 to 15 years, the adoption of new insulins and methods for insulin delivery (e.g., insulin pens and pump therapy) has facilitated diabetes care for youth with type 1 diabetes,” Mehta said in an interview. “Our findings suggest, however, that careful attention to meal-planning remains important for diabetes management… I hope that these findings highlight the importance of ensuring that families living with type 1 diabetes are properly educated in this area.”

We hope this helps you understand what parents go through as they strive to care for their children!  All the more reason that we MUST find a cure for this deadly disease.  Please join us in the fight against diabetes today!!

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, June 2009. Copyright � 2006 Reuters Limited.