Very Interesting topic reported by the BBC. Interestingly I had read reports that indicated that a lower blood glucose level was target to achieve. I think that this adds a bit od 'sense' - the right blood sugar level is what we should aim for. I aim for around 7, but achieve around 7.5


Diabetes sugar 'can go too low'

Diabetes disrupts blood sugar levels
Intense treatment to lower blood sugar in patients with diabetes could prove nearly as harmful as allowing glucose levels to remain high, a study says.
Cardiff researchers looked at nearly 50,000 patients with type 2 diabetes and found the lowest glucose levels linked to a heightened risk of death.
Significant differences in death rates between patients on insulin and those taking tablets are also flagged up.
But there could be various explanations for this, experts noted.
Patients taking insulin-based treatments have been urged not to stop taking their medication as a result of the Cardiff University study, which is published in The Lancet.
Changing treatments
Using data from GPs, the team identified 27,965 patients with type 2 diabetes whose treatment had been intensified to include two oral blood glucose lowering agents - metformin and sulphonylurea.
It is crucial to remember that blood glucose targets should always be agreed by the person with diabetes and their healthcare team according to individual needs and not according to a blanket set of rules
Dr Iain FrameDiabetes UK
A further 20,005 patients who had been moved on to treatment which included insulin were added to the study.
Patients whose HbA1c levels - the proportion of red blood cells with glucose attached to them - were around 7.5%, ran the lowest risk of dying from any cause.
For both groups this risk went up by more than half if levels dropped to 6.4%, the lowest levels recorded. For those with the highest levels the risk of death increased by nearly 80%.
But the risks appeared to be particularly pronounced among those on the insulin-based regimen than those on the combined treatment.
Irrespective of whether their HbA1c levels were low or high, there were 2,834 deaths in the insulin-taking group between 1986 and 2008, nearly 50% more than in the combined group.
'Don't stop'
The authors acknowledged there could be various factors associated with this, such as these being older patients with more health problems, who perhaps had had diabetes for a longer period of time. They also make reference to a possible link between use of insulin and cancer progression that had been reported in a different study.
"Whether intensification of glucose control with insulin therapy alone further heightens risk of death in patients with diabetes needs further investigation and assessment of the overall risk balance," wrote lead author Dr Craig Currie.
"Low and high mean HbA1c values were associated with increased all-cause mortality and cardiac events. If confirmed, diabetes guidelines might need revision to include a minimum HbA1c value."
Dr Iain Frame, head of research at Diabetes UK, described the study as "potentially important" but stressed it had limitations.
"It is not clear what the causes of death were from the results reported. Furthermore, when it comes to the suggestion made in this research that insulin could increase the risk of death, we must consider important factors such as age, the duration of their diabetes and how the participants managed their condition.
"It is crucial to remember that blood glucose targets should always be agreed by the person with diabetes and their healthcare team according to individual needs and not according to a blanket set of rules."
While people would be able to manage their condition for a period with diet, exercise and even tablets, many would eventually have to move on to insulin, he noted.
"We would advise people with type 2 diabetes who use insulin not to stop taking their medication. However, if they are worried about blood glucose targets, they should discuss this with their healthcare team."

Okay, so I have switched to Sainsbury Cola, it contains no benzoates and no aspartme. It uses sucralose (originally invented / discovered by Tate & Lyle)

Here are a couple of statements on sucralose that I found after a quick google:

The Sucralose Toxicity Information Centerconcludes that:

While it is unlikely that sucralose is as toxic as the poisoning people are experiencing from Monsanato's aspartame, it is clear from the hazards seen in pre-approval research and from its chemical structure that years or decades of use may contribute to serious chronic immunological or neurological disorders.

Well I think that is reassuring - slightly!

According to Dr Joseph Mercola One small study of diabetic patients using the sweetener showed a statistically significant increase in glycosylated hemoglobin (Hba1C), which is a marker of long-term blood glucose levels and is used to assess glycemic control in diabetic patients. According to the FDA, "increases in glycosolation in hemoglobin imply lessening of control of diabetes.

Well that is 'less' reassuring, we will have to see what my Hba1C is next month when it is checked.


Is there no safe cola to drink???

Interesting read article here about how the Americans are making slow progress towards lowering their HbA1C levels, and how it gets worse over winter. I expect it is probably similar in the UK, but we don't start the festival of eating until Christmas, some 5 weeks after thanksgiving, so I guess it will probably not be quite so bad, we have 5 less weeks of gorging ourselves on Turkey and trimmings. I am probably being judgmental and jingoistic and nationist, but what the hell does it matter? What we all need to do is just eat less and exercise more and late onset diabetes will be a thing of the past, that is what nearly every article seems to say.
Yeah right. Me? I think that there may be a link to contaminants as well as the usual suspects of obesity and languorous behavior.
Any one ever considered the number of toxins in the food chain? So much food is fed antibiotics or sprayed in pesticides, and the air is so contaminated that eating purely organic is virtually impossible. I have no evidence, but I do worry about the effect of all these unintentionally ingested drugs and chemicals and things on the human body. Link? Maybe.

Also spotted this link about the pregnant women with high blood sugar. Everything just seems to be interlinked. Cause and Effect?