Should We Feel Guilty About "Bad" Blood Sugars?

    Do you feel guilty when you get a "bad" blood sugar reading?   I know sometimes I do.  It makes you think you have done something wrong, like eat something you shouldn't have or not exercised as much as you are supposed to.  But according to Diabetes Daily, we shouldn't feel guilty.  Blood sugar readings are information to help you make a decision about what to do next.  They help you uncover patterns.  High and low blood sugar readings aren't mistakes that we are making.  Think of them as results in your ongoing diabetes experiment.  Maybe that approach will make us all feel better.  It's all in our attitude and how we choose to look at it.     

     I'm going to end this post with a quote, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind." ~ William James, 1842-1910,  US pragmatist, philosopher and psychologist

Cocoa Rich in Health Benefits

    More good news for all of us chocolate lovers out there!  Harvard researchers suggest cocoa may have significant health benefits which include:  improved blood vessel health ( very important for a diabetic ), cholesterol levels and blood pressure.  These benefits are from polyphenolic flavonoids that may prevent heart disease.  These antioxidants are commonly found in fruits, vegetables, tea, wine and coffee.  Flavonoid-rich cocoa consumption was also linked to reductions in diabetes risk factors, including insulin resistance.  Click below to read the rest of this very interesting article: 


     American Diabetes Association-Cocoa Rich In Health Benefits

The Ups and Downs of Blood Glucose

    This is a good article.  It shows a chart that gives you an idea of the range of blood glucose levels in people with no diabetes, people with Type 1 diabetes and with Type 2 diabetes.  The type 1 and type 2 are based on an A1C of 8%.  My last A1C was 7% and my blood glucose levels have been reading below 140.  According to the chart, that is close to the normal range for people without diabetes.  Thought it would be interesting if everyone could compare their levels with this chart.  If you like, share your results.  I would love some feedback.    

      Diabetes Forecast Magazine-The Ups and Downs of Blood Glucose

What's For Breakfast This Weekend?

     One of the best things about weekend mornings is you have time to make breakfast.  Well, if you are lucky enough not to have to work, that is.  I have to work tomorrow.  It's a great time to sit down with the whole family, have a good breakfast and plan your weekend. 

      I found some breakfast recipes for you to choose from this weekend.  There are wraps, muffins, fruit, and egg recipes.  Just click the photos to see or print the recipe:

      Diabetic Friendly Breakfast Recipes & Ideas-The Diabetic Skillet

Ten Years: A "Dia-versary"

    On the 10th anniversary of diagnosis, this blogger tells about the day they were told they had Type 1 Diabetes:

     Ten Years: A "Dia-versary"-Diabetes Stops Here             

     If you would like to share the story of the day you realized something was wrong or the day you were diagnosed with diabetes, please comment. 

Famous Faces of Diabetes

    Diabetes, strikes people of all walks of life.  This is a slideshow about some of the celebrities who have been diagnosed with diabetes:


     Famous Faces of Diabetes-Parade.com

Let's Try Again: PMS and Diabetes

    I am going to try again to post this.  Hopefully, whatever was wrong with my computer that was causing me to lose some saved material has been corrected.  Unfortunately, I can't guarantee that this will be word for word from the first attempt, but it will be consistent with the previous post on this issue.

     My question was-Does Diabetes cause a severity of PMS symptoms in women?  I have noticed since I first started experiencing the symptoms of diabetes, that PMS has become more severe, especially in the last several months.  This past week, however, has been the worst of all.  My emotions have been completely out of whack.  I can cry when I should be laughing and laugh when I should be crying.  It's been unreal!  A Facebook friend posted a video the other day that was hilarious.  I found it so funny, but yet instead of laughing I was crying.  My brain was recognizing the humor, but something wasn't registering right somewhere because I was crying real tears and not the laughing til you cry tears either; sad tears.  Not to mention this awful feeling of doom and despair I have been experiencing.  What is that?   I have never felt like this before and it has been an especially difficult week for me to handle.  I have also noticed that I become very angry, and very quickly sometimes too.  I know some friends of mine have experienced this in the last several months.  I have found myself apologizing quite a bit.

     I suppose I am really not in any condition to reason anything, but I am extremely stubborn and will try anyway.  LOL!  Here is my reasoning for thinking that Diabetes is causing my PMS symptoms to become more severe:  Insulin is a hormone and not only that, it is one of the most important hormones our body produces.  Type 2 Diabetes is the result when the insulin that is produced is not able to perform it's primary function-helping the body's cells use glucose for energy.  So if one of the most important hormones our body produces is out of whack, does it not stand to reason that it could affect the other hormones our body produces?  PMS, as we ladies know, is all about hormones.

     I have yet to speak to my physician about this and have not found any proof in any of the research I have done on this matter.  The only written material I have found so far is a blog post The Manual No One Gives Us-Menses.  In this post it does suggest that blood sugar levels can fluctuate during PMS and a woman's menstrual cycle and that hormones are to blame.  It says Estrogen and progesterone tend to influence blood sugar levels.                            

      If any of you ladies out there have noticed an increase in PMS symptoms since being diagnosed with diabetes or have spoken to your phycisian about this, please comment.  I think this is an important issue to ponder.  I will be discussing this with my phycisian on my next visit and will post his reply to this question.