Avandia Meeting Monday

An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration will meet Monday to discuss Avandia a diabetes medication. They will also discuss the safety of Actos a diabetes drug, reported the USA Today.

They will hear from Steven Nissen of Cleveland Clinic whose study touched off a firestorm about the safety of the two drugs. The panel could recommend no change up to withdrawal of the drugs from the market. Glaxo-Kline continues to hold steadfast their drugs are safe.

Cornell U Study Says Selenium Could Promote Diabetes

Researchers at Cornell University have found that, "higher than normal amounts of selenium, an antioxidant, could promote type 2 diabetes. Mice administered the selenium enzyme developed the precursors of diabetes at a much higher rate than did control mice.

Selenium could damage cell membranes and genetic material and lead to the development of cancer and heart disease.

Xingen Lei, associate professor of animal science at Cornell, said,"Although antioxidants are beneficial for health, too many may be harmful and we need to be more cautious in making recommendations to supplement the diet with them". Lei said more research is needed before people blindly supplement their diets with antioxidants like selenium.

You can read the full report in the June 15 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences or the Cornell, or a report on the Cornell study at:
http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/04/6.17.04/selenium_diabetes.html

Water, Water Everywhere!

The risk of dehydration is higher for diabetics, and even greater when running high blood sugars on a hot summer day. High glucose levels trigger the body to draw extra water from the cells to flush out the glucose, which is then excreted in urine. This process requires the body to use its stored fluid. High blood sugars combined with sweating and inadequate fluid intake can quickly lead to dehydration or even severe hydration (dangerous).
As the dog days of July are upon us, here are a few reminders on staying hydrated:
Try for eight cups of fluid per day, even more when hot and sweaty.
Any non-caffeinated fluid counts. Water is terrific, but you won't get busted by the Dehydration Police if you sip on decaf iced tea or another sugar-free favorite.

From the Diabetes Blog http://thediabetesbolg.com/

Avandia Linked to Bone Fractures in Men

This from medtrackalert.com:


"A small clinical study suggests that the diabetes med Avandia may increase the risk of bone fractures in men as well as women. This analysis of 32 patients' data follows a 2006 study that suggested Avandia was linked to fractures in older female diabetics. Critics of the study say that the study group is too small and the data too old to be accurate. (The Times) UPDATED 2007-07-03"

Soda Not Good For Diabetes

Qualityhealth.com reports that some scientists believe that the unceasing demands a soda habit places on the pancreas may ultimately leave it unable to keep up with the body's need for insulin – eventually leading to diabetes. While no studies have definitively proved this, the daily consumption of soda does contribute to other problems, such as obesity – a leading cause of diabetes.

Almonds Can Be Beneficial for Diabetes

Almonds are a great all around health food. They are low in carbohydrates and high in heart-healthy unsaturated fats. The skin of almonds contains a lot of antioxidants which protect from the ravishes of free radical damage that people with diabetes might be more subject to.

Studies have found that almonds may play a role in mediating blood sugar spikes after high carbohydrate meals.

Additionally almonds are rich in protein, calcium, vitamin E, arginine (an amino acid that aids blood flow), iron and zinc.

There are many ways to prepare and eat almonds. Carry a few in your lunch and use as an after dinner snack. Enjoy.

Fiber Facts - by Anne Ehmer

Summary: Fiber plays a very important role in a healthy diet. Fiber is found in plants, and dietary fiber –the kind of fiber we eat- comes to us inside the fruits, vegetables and grains we eat

Fiber plays a very important role in a healthy diet. Fiber is found in plants, and dietary fiber –the kind of fiber wheat- comes to us inside the fruits, vegetables and grains wheat. Fiber provides no calories, as it cannot be digested by humans. Why is it so important then?Fiber adds bulk to the diet. This bulk aids digestion by making food move faster through the system; not only preventing constipation but preventing the absorption of unhealthy substances as well. Fiber also protects the intestinal wall. With this function in mind, fiber helps to prevent diabetes, heart disease and diverticulitis, which sometimes develops into colon cancer.

Fiber makes you feel full faster and keeps you satisfied for longer, a priceless function when you are trying to control your weight.

DAILY RECOMMENDED AMOUNT OF FIBER -
Older children, teenagers and adults should aim to have 20-35 grams fiber per day. Fresh fruit, vegetables and cereals should be introduced to younger children, but without counting grams. The amount of food young children should eat in a day doesn’t allow to reach this level of fiber in their diet.

WAYS WITH FIBER
The way to ensure adequate fiber intake is to eat a variety of foods, including more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, cereals, and dried beans and peas. If you are not having enough, add fiber to your diet gradually. Water aids the passage of fiber through the digestive system, so drink plenty of fluids. Take a few weeks to build up the amount of fiber in your diet to avoid discomfort. When you don’t peel fruits and vegetables, you are actually getting some more fiber. Cooked food may actually increase your fiber intake by decreasing the volume of the food that you eat. Eating fiber rich food is beneficial, no matter if it is cooked or raw.

HOW TO GET FIBER
There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber attracts water and turns to gel during digestion, slowing it. Soluble fiber is found in oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, and some fruits and vegetables. Soluble fiber has been scientifically proven to lower cholesterol, which can help prevent heart disease. Insoluble fiber is found in foods such as wheat bran, vegetables, and whole grains. Insoluble fiber seems to speed the passage of foods through the stomach and intestines.

THE DARK SIDE OF FIBER
Eating too much fiber in a short period of time can cause bloating and cramps. This usually goes away once the natural bacteria in the digestive system get used to the increase in fiber in the diet. This is the reason to take some weeks to reach the recommended amount of fiber. It has been mentioned that too much fiber may interfere with the absorption of minerals such as iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium. As high fiber foods are usually also rich in minerals, this should not take your sleep away. However, consider this effect in the case of young children.

TIP
If you swallow a sharp object by accident –a little piece of broken glass, for instance- eat artichokes and asparagus -bread also helps. Their bulky fiber will wrap the object helping it to go through without causing injure.

--- Anne Ehmer is passionate about food. Her stimulating ideas and recipes are registered in the web site All FoodsNatural.=============================================For food and cooking tips or delicious, healthy recipes click here now => http://www.all-foods-natural.com/dossier/topics.html =============================================

Avandia Dangers Exposer Takes the Hit

This excerpt is from a report on the Weblo Do Fraga blog http://weblogdofraga.blogspot.com/2007/06/potentially-incompatible-goals-at-fda.html

A series of drug-safety scandals has led many on Capitol Hill to question whether the Food and Drug Administration has failed to strike the right balance between speed and safety. A clear sign of this imbalance, these critics say, is the increasing number of F.D.A. drug-safety officers who say they have been punished or ignored after uncovering dangers of popular medicines.
The latest to suffer this fate is Dr. Rosemary Johann-Liang, 42, who recommended more than a year ago that the diabetes drug Avandia carry the agency's strongest possible safety warning for its effects on the heart.

Dr. Johann-Liang spent Friday sadly winding down her nearly seven-year career at the F.D.A. She turned in her BlackBerry, laptop and office key, and she went to the agency library to make sure she had no overdue books. She wished her colleagues well.
A pediatrician and expert in infectious diseases, Dr. Johann-Liang joined the agency in December 2000 and rose through the ranks. For four years, she reviewed drug applications as a medical officer and then team leader.
Two years ago she became a deputy division director in the agency's office of surveillance and epidemiology, the group that examines the safety of already-marketed drugs.

In February 2006, one of her safety reviewers, Lanh Green, went to her with a problem. The agency's Office of New Drugs had asked Ms. Green to determine whether eye problems that sometimes resulted from taking Avandia and a similar drug, Actos, were a serious issue. But Ms. Green noted that visual deficits were just one part of a drug-induced swelling problem that could lead to weight gain, ankle swelling and, if left untreated, heart failure.
Alerts about some of these problems were scattered throughout the two drug's labels. Ms. Green suggested consolidating them and highlighting the heart risks with a boxed warning, the agency's most severe. After a week long review, Dr. Johann-Liang agreed.
There's no doubt these problems are caused by these drugs, and there's no doubt that patients are continuing to suffer bad outcomes, Dr. Johann-Liang said.
A week later, top officials from the new drug office walked by Dr. Johann-Liang's office and into the office of her boss, Dr. Mark Avigan, she said. Nearly an hour later, she said, the door opened, the officials left and Dr. Avigan called her in.

"Mark told me that they were upset with our recommendation," Dr. Johann-Liang recalled. "They decided to act like the review never happened."
Dr. Avigan took over the supervision of the safety review of Avandia and Actos and told Dr. Johann-Liang that she could no longer approve strong safety recommendations without his say-so, she said. Over the next year, she was increasingly excluded from crucial safety reviews and meetings, which contributed to her decision to leave the agency on Friday, she said.
In an interview, Dr. Avigan said that he did not intend to punish Dr. Johann-Liang.
"My view was simply that when there were conversations going on about important safety issues that were likely to garner a lot of attention, that I needed to be in the loop," he said.
On Wednesday, the F.D.A. commissioner, Andrew C. von Eschenbach, announced that the agency had asked for boxed warnings on Avandia and Actos, more than a year after Dr. Johann-Liang's recommendation.

Health Benefits of Cinnamon - Cinnamon and Diabetes

Health benefits of Cinnamon – Cinnamon and Diabetes

Cinnamon is one of the oldest remedies used in traditional Chinese herbalism. It was traditionally used for many health conditions. Cinnamon and diabetes prevention has a longstanding connection.

Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of the shoots of a tree (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum) that grows predominantly in India, China, and Ceylon.

Cinnamons unique healing abilities come from three basic types of components in the essential oils found in its bark. Cinnamon is so powerful an antioxidant that, when compared to six other antioxidant spices (anise, ginger, licorice, mint, nutmeg and vanilla, cinnamon prevented oxidation more effectively than all the other spices (except mint) and the chemical antioxidants.

Cinnamon can help normalize blood sugar by making insulin more sensitive. The cinnamon and diabetes connection with blood sugar balance have in the past been overlooked until recently.

You can add the cinnamon to your coffee before brewing, tea, orange juice, oatmeal, cereal or just about anything you eat. Cinnamon pills are also available, and can be found easily via an online search.

If you decide to use cinnamon and are diabetic, I would advise notifying your physician and monitoring your blood sugar levels. To get the maximum health benefits of cinnamon, you want to make sure you only use the Cinnamomun cassia form of cinnamon.

Based on past studies, it seems that cinnamon may lower blood glucose, triglycerides and LDL cholesterol in people with Type 2 diabetes.

In the future, you are likely to see more research about cinnamon and diabetes.

Go to Wonder Laboratories and enter "cinnamon" in the search box to receive up to a 75% discount for a limited time period.

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FDA Knew About Avandia Dangers 5 Years Ago

???

Public Citizen, (http://www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm?ID=7523), a national non-profit public interest organization reported today that the US Government as far back as 2002, knew about the potential of Avandia to lead to heart failure.

Public Citizen was able to secure a FDA memorandum, (http://www.citizen.org/documents/AvandiaMemo.pdf), from Health and Human Services Team Leader and Drug Safety Evaluator, Lahn Green to David Orloff, Director of Metabolic and Endocrine Drug Products at HHS that warned of the connection between rosiglitazone, commonly known as Avandia(registered trademark) and congestive heart failure.

Yet we the public (victims?) are just finding out about the dangers of the drug today. In a war, the fatalities that one comes to expect is known as an, "acceptable risk". Apparently, the government was willing to wait five years and create an acceptable risk of death by not fully advising patients of the potential risks of Avandia. What other chemicals approved by the FDA are killing us today with their full knowledge and acquiescence. Is the profit and kickback motive that strong?

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