dLife Today

Recipes Revamped!

2008-05-15T16:27:58Z

Have you checked out the newly-redesigned dLife Recipe Finder? You can search thousands of recipes by category (including low-carb and very low-carb), and when you find a recipe you like, you can change the number of servings to meet your family's needs and Recipe Finder will recalculate the ingredient amounts on the spot.

Plus, we have a new tool, the Food Look-Up, which searches a database of more than 25,000 foods -- including many prepared and fast foods -- and gives you an exhaustive nutritional breakdown. Hungry yet? Check it out now!

Celebrate Mother's Day!

2008-05-05T15:18:43Z

From motherhood to the workplace to caring for your family, is there anything you don't do? You spend so much time taking care of others - today is all about you! Celebrate Mother's Day by taking some moments to yourself and reading about other inspirational mothers - like you - who are managing families and diabetes every day.

We Need Your Vote!

2008-04-21T16:27:44Z

dLife is thrilled to announce that we have been nominated for the “Best Health Website of 2008” People's Voice Webby Award! What's a Webby? Well, they are often referred to as the Oscars of the Internet, so we are honored by the recognition. Unlike the Oscars, however, this award is decided by popular vote from internet users just like you. Now we ask you, the dLife Community, to help us all win. Here's how to cast your vote:

Visit http://pv.webbyawards.com
Register to vote (we know it's a pain, but it only takes a minute)
Once you receive your email registration confirmation, click through on the provided link
Click on “Website vote now!”
Go to Living and select Health
Vote for dLife!

Voting ends April 30, so cast your vote today and ask everyone you know to vote! Thank you for being a part of the dLife Community!

Tune in to Ketones

2008-04-11T19:12:02Z

Do you know what ketones are? No, it's not a musical term. In fact there's nothing melodic about them. If prolonged high blood sugar plagues you, you should know about this common complication and take control.

Test Your 'Eye-Q'

2008-04-04T16:09:21Z

April is National Vision Month, and dLife wants to know your Eye-Q. According to the World Health Organization, after 15 years of diabetes, approximately 2 percent of all people with diabetes worldwide become blind, and about 10 percent develop severe visual impairment. Don't let this be you. Take control today by knowing the warning signs, and the risks, of vision problems related to your diabetes. Test your Eye-Q now!

Related: Vision Simulators

Kick Butts!

2008-04-02T16:25:01Z

Today, April 2, is Kick Butts Day 2008. Smoking is a habit that hurts everyone, smokers and non-smokers alike. Smokers are insulin resistant, show signs of insulin resistance syndrome, and are at an increased risk – 50% in men and women – for developing type 2 diabetes. Put your health first and commit to quit today!

Spring Clean Diabetes Challenge

2008-03-27T15:33:56Z

Think you're ready to face the challenge of freshening up your diabetes care routine? Take the dLife Spring Clean Challenge and see how you rate...and if it's time for a change!

Looking for the Latest Diabetes Info?

2008-03-18T18:50:48Z

Hey there, dLifers! Looking for the latest? Read about the first, large analysis of the research on cinnamon and decide for yourself — does it finally answer the question, "Does cinnamon work or not?" Also, watch the dLife chef whip up some low-carb chili that you can pair with a great recipe for cheese and basil scones. Also, you can talk about diabetes-friendly foods for a church buffet with other dLife members!

Get Your Green On!

2008-03-14T17:49:21Z

St. Patrick's Day is on Monday, so the celebrating starts this weekend for many Irish (and honorary Irish) Americans. Considering a tipple or two in honor of the day? Be sure to assess your alcohol IQ before ordering that green beer, so you stay safe while you get your Irish up.

March is National Kidney Month

2008-03-05T14:37:38Z

Diabetes is the number one cause of chronic kidney (or renal) failure in the U.S., and kidney disease among people with diabetes has more than doubled in the past decade. According to the National Kidney Foundation, approximately 30% of people with long-term type 1 diabetes (about one in three) will develop kidney disease. The good news is that with early detection and proper treatment, kidney disease can be slowed and, in some cases, reversed.

How much do you know about your kidneys and how they work? Take our quiz to find out! Also, learn more about the prevention and treatment of kidney disease.

Get Fit!

2008-02-20T16:02:38Z

When it comes to working out, are you a gym novice or master of your own domain? Whatever your level of fitness, our latest exercise information is like having your very own personal trainer. Get fit, starting today!

Related: Exercise Resources

dLife CEO Responds to the NY Times

2008-02-08T20:44:40Z

That clacking noise heard around the world yesterday was the sound of millions of people with diabetes putting their blood glucose monitors back on the shelf, relieved to know that the dogged pursuit of tight blood sugar control is no longer necessary. That is, if you read the first paragraph of Thursday’s front page New York Times article on the recently halted arm of the ACCORD study: "For decades, researchers believed that if people with diabetes lowered their blood sugar to normal levels, they would no longer be at high risk of dying from heart disease. But a major federal study …found that lowering blood sugar actually increased their risk of death." This is an exceedingly dangerous takeaway. The bigger story here is what the presentation of this news, not the news itself, tells patients about managing their diabetes appropriately.

Coverage from the Times and others implied that based on this development, you should rethink the pursuit of tight control – and that’s flat out wrong. Other long-term, large-scale studies, including the UKPDS and the DCCT, have conclusively demonstrated that tight control leads to a lower incidence of most diabetes complications. The portion of the ACCORD study the Times reported on looked at a very specific subset of people with type 2 diabetes who had pre-existing and severe cardiovascular risk factors. To extend those conclusions to a population of over 20 million Americans struggling with diabetes for the sake of a headline is a dangerous disservice to all.

Other media outlets didn’t fare much better. Take for example Wednesday’s NBC Nightly News, where Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic said “lowering blood sugar to a lower level may actually increase mortality for some patients.” That seemingly harmless sound bite, perhaps pulled out of context, provides an excuse for the millions struggling with diabetes management to pull back and rationalize that they may not need to be as diligent as they thought.

I have diabetes, and so do the millions of people dLife reaches through our TV show and website. All of us are extremely challenged by the daily, constant grind of managing our lives to maintain good control. Every day we face a physical, emotional, and psychological battle with the encroaching monster of complications – including heart and kidney disease, blindness, amputation, or death – and our only weapon is vigilant blood sugar management. Now the media’s simplistic reporting on the ACCORD study findings may result in adverse outcomes for many who are lead to believe that even this is not enough.

Let’s step back and take a dose of some common sense. If you can get your blood sugar closer to that of a non-diabetic, it must be better than being out of control with higher blood sugar. The collective and individual uphill struggle to get diabetes under control can’t pause for what is now simply an interesting and developing research story.

Howard Steinberg
CEO
dLife - For Your Diabetes Life

The Media Blows it Again

2008-02-07T19:09:39Z

Usually a trusted source of medical analysis, The New York Times has really blown it this morning in their analysis of yesterday's developments in the ACCORD trial. In one paragraph, health care writer Gina Kolata sets back diabetes education at least a decade by opening her NYT piece with the following sensationalized - and simplistic - analysis:

"For decades, researchers believed that if people with diabetes lowered their blood sugar to normal levels, they would no longer be at high risk of dying from heart disease. But a major federal study of more than 10,000 middle-aged and older people with Type 2 diabetes has found that lowering blood sugar actually increased their risk of death, researchers reported Wednesday." And the Times wasn't the only offender. Media outlets nationwide tried to grab consumer attention with the "tight control kills" message, in the process confusing and perhaps endangering millions of Americans. Let's look at the research and stay away from the sensationalism. Tight control of blood glucose levels is proven to DECREASE the risk of diabetic complications for the overwhelming majority of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Period. As reported yesterday, the ACCORD findings impacted only those study participants who were at a highly increased risk of heart disease in the first place, or who had a pre-existing heart condition, and the increased risk of mortality was very small. Kelly Close sums it up well over at Close Concerns. Take a few minutes to read her analysis - it's worth the investment.

ACCORD Trial Makes News

2008-02-06T18:48:38Z

Today, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a major change in the ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) study - a large-scale North American trial with over 10,000 participants. One arm of the trial, which examined the impact of intensively-controlled type 2 diabetes management (i.e., an A1C goal of less than 6%) in preventing cardiovascular complications, was stopped eighteen months early. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) found that type 2 ACCORD participants at high risk for heart attack and stroke who were placed in the intensive diabetes management group had an increased risk of death compared with their peers who were placed in a less-intensive standard treatment (i.e., A1C of 7 to 7.9%) group. It's important to note that the increased risk was slight, and was specific to only a subset of patients who had two or more risk factors for heart disease outside of diabetes or who had pre-existing heart disease upon entering the study.

Is Your Health Covered in 2008?

2008-01-25T20:51:44Z

The campaign trail is hot as the presidential candidates make their way from state to state, debate to debate, stumping for the almighty vote. The issues are the same but the plans are as varied as the many candidates that are all vying for the title of President of the United States. For people with diabetes, one of the issues of concern is health care – rising costs, research, insurance.

Who will be the one to garner your vote? Check out the dLife Election coverage for more on how the candidates stack up for PWDs. If you want to offer up your opinion, leave a comment and let your voice be heard!