I recently read an article about the effects of Green Tea in Diabetics. It's said to reduce the risk of blood sugar spikes. So I decided to do a little research into it & here is what I found.

Tests were conducted at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to determine if tea had insulin enhancing activity. They found that tea did in fact have an effect on fat cells taken from rats. That it did increase the insulin activity by more than 15 times. But, if you add any type of dairy product to the tea it showed to reduce the effect by 90%. Adding lemon though did not reduce the effects at all. So having some lemon in your tea was quite all right but, forget about the creamer or milk.

Enhanced insulin activity means you can have better control over your blood glucose level. I'm sure you can appreciate how important enhanced insulin activity can be to you. Especially if your body is no longer making normal amounts of insulin & your struggling for that happy medium.

The polyphenol group of green tea catechins have been shown to lower blood sugars. Polysaccharides in green tea have also been shown to lower blood sugar offering green tea a 1-2 punch. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently reported that the green tea catechin epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), could enhance the action of insulin. In fact, researchers have found that EGCG influences the primary way glucose is absorbed. EGCG may also help diabetics by mimicking the actions of insulin and inhibiting the liver's production of glucose, thus lowering blood sugar. The liver produces some glucose but the most common sugar spikes occur from the food we eat. Recent studies suggest green tea catechins may reduce the amount of glucose that passes through the intestine and into the bloodstream. This will benefits diabetics by preventing blood-sugar spikes when tea is taken with meals.

In the USDA study researchers tried over 40 true teas. These were teas that were made from leaves of the tea tree, Camellia sinensis, which is native to China. All of them showed significant insulin enhancing activity. Instant teas, however, did not, except for one brand. Herbal teas and commercially prepared iced teas showed only minimal activity. The presence or absence of caffeine in the teas made no significant difference, and caffeine alone had no insulin-enhancing activity.
The reason for the differences between true teas and herbal teas is that only true teas contain significant amounts of the chemical compounds primarily responsible for the insulin-enhancing effect. These compounds, called catechins, belong to a larger group called polyphenols, which are members of a still larger group called flavonoids. All these compounds are known for their potent antioxidant properties and a host of documented benefits against cancer, heart disease, vision disorders, allergies, viral infections, and more.

Here is what I read on the USDA website:
"Metabolic syndrome, a leading cause of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, is characterized by insulin resistance, atherogenic dyslipidemia and increased oxidative stress. Tea polyphenols, as both insulin potentiating factors and antioxidants, might act in preventing the metabolic syndrome. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the beneficial effects of green tea consumption on insulin sensitivity and oxidative stress using an animal model of the metabolic syndrome. Wistar rats, 10 per group, received a high fructose diet for six weeks to induce the metabolic syndrome or the same high fructose diet plus either 1 or 2 g of green tea solid extracts/kg diet. In rats receiving tea solids, there were significant decreases in plasma lipid peroxidation, sulfhydryl group oxidation and DNA oxidative damage. The antioxidant metalloenzymes, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase, were significantly lower. There were also significant improvements in glucose, insulin, cholesterol and triglycerides in animals receiving the diets containing the tea solids. Beneficial effects tended to be greater in animals consuming the lower level of tea solids. Changes in adiponectin, leptin and corticosterone were not significant. In summary, our data demonstrate that green tea solids act in preventing the metabolic syndrome as insulin sensitizers and through their antioxidant functions. This study suggests that green tea may be of benefit for people at high risk of the metabolic syndrome and diabetes."

So in closing it looks like a nice cup of tea can do much more than just relax you after a long hard day. So sit back, put your feet up & have a nice hot cup of tea.

Product Review

Alana-Mireille Apparel We are dedicated to providing children with Type 1 diabetes, using an insulin pump, clothing that will let them be cute, fun loving and fashionable! Our Daughter was diagnosed with Diabetes December 8, 2004. She is like every other little girl. She wants to wear cute dresses, but wasn't able to because there was no place to put her pump unless it was attached to some sort of belt. It was then when we decided to make our first dress with pockets specifically made for insulin pumps. There are insulin pump pockets on both sides of the dress. Each pocket can be accessed either underneath the dress or the side pocket. You use the side pocket to pull out the insulin pump to deliver the insulin and you use the underneath pocket to hold the pump and the tubing. Therefore the pump isn't going to come out while jumping and playing and the tubing is concealed so it won't snag. We believe in our product and we believe in the need to cure diabetes. A percentage of the profits will be donated each year to find a cure for diabetes. Check it out on Alana-Mireille Apparel

Redefining death: Conservatives and embryonic stem cell research Sunday, February 4, 2007, 06:00 PM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A scenario is building in Washington that, sometime soon, could require conservative Christians who form the Republican base to reconsider embryonic stem cell research.

It's even possible that President Bush, who vetoed one bill on the topic last year and may soon veto another, will be the one to ask them to adjust their attitudes.

The terms won't go down well with America's scientific community, or with the organizations demanding federal funding to wipe out Alzheimer's or Parkinson's or diabetes.

But it might be something all sides in the stem cell debate will have to live with, at least through the end of the Bush presidency.

The operating thought was voiced two years ago by Donald Landry, a professor of medicine at Columbia University, when he testified before Bush's panel on bioethics.

"We're proposing a new definition for human death," he said.

If you've tracked politics, you know the history.

Human stem cells are those do-anything, be-everything bits from fertilized eggs that scientists discovered not too long ago. Because they can be coaxed into developing into virtually any kind of tissue, they're believed to hold the key to all manners of cures - even spinal cord injuries.

The embryos in question, mere pinpricks of existence, are spares discarded by pregnancy clinics, with the permission of parental donors. But because the embryos are destroyed when the stem cells are removed, some - though not all - religious conservatives equate the process with abortion.

That has made the politics of embryonic stem cell research a simple matter. Democrats favor it, as do most Americans, polls show. Republicans are split.

Congressional elections in November did not change those dynamics significantly. Last month, the U.S. House passed a measure nearly identical to the one a Republican Congress approved in July, permitting federal funds to be spent for research using any donated embryo.

But as in July, the January margin was not veto-proof.

That said, Bush still faces the prospect a Democratic-controlled Congress pounding at his door with measure after measure on stem cell research.

The `08 elections already loom, and relentless progress by science has added to the pressure. A University of Georgia researcher recently announced he has developed a process to produce stem cells for brain and nerve tissue by the billions.

Three Republican-backed bills are now before Congress. Each one has been built in consultation with the White House. U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) is a lead sponsor of one. U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, also of Georgia, has introduced another.

All three measures have one feature in common: They would restrict federally funded researchers to "organismically dead" embryos. It's a hair-splitting term to most scientists, but one that could become essential to Republicans.

Quick science lesson: When a human being is legally dead, when the brain ceases to function, that does not mean the dearly departed is thoroughly and completely dead.

Organs can still function. Cells can still absorb and divide. That's how transplants are possible.

Embryos are multi-celled organisms that have not yet developed a nervous system. At least some scientists, among them Landry, say there is a window of time in which an expiring, discarded embryo, if not exactly brain dead, is "organismically dead."

But like a fully grown human corpse, its body remains temporarily vital. Stem cells can be ethically removed.

The moral metaphor becomes the organ transplant, rather than abortion.

The question is now whether Republicans in Congress can put that new definition for death into words that will satisfy religious conservatives.

"It could well be a hard sell," said Nigel Cameron, president of the Chicago-based Institute of Biotechnology and the Human Future.

The institute's members have been involved in some of the discussions. "A lot depends on how this is framed. If this is framed as a bona fide middle way, then it could be found to be acceptable," Cameron said. If the GOP effort is viewed as a legal sleight-of-hand, to circumvent a sticky political situation, then it's doomed.

How does Bush fit into this? If religious conservatives buy in, and if Republican stem cell bills stall - as is highly possible in a Democratic Congress - there's talk that Bush could implement portions of the GOP legislation administratively.

Including the new definition for human death.

Stem Cell updates come from The Stem Cell Information Newsletter run by Steve Meyer.

Apple Cheddar PopOvers

butter-flavored cooking spray
1 tart apple, such as Pippin, Granny Smith, or Fuji, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/3 cup shredded 2% sharp cheddar cheese
2 large eggs
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup low fat (1%) milk
1 tablespoon reduced-fat margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 450F. Lightly coat 8 popover cups with cooking spray. Place 1 tablespoon each of the apple and cheese at the bottom of each popover cup. In a food processor or blender, combine eggs, flour, and salt. Process until well blended. With the machine running, add milk and margarine through the feed tube. Process until smooth. Fill the cups two-thirds full with the batter. Bake for 15 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 350F, and continue to bake for another 20 minutes until popovers are puffed and golden brown. Let cool at least 15 minutes, then remove from pan. Makes 8 servings.

Per serving: 111 calories (28% calories from fat), 5 g protein, 4 g total fat (1.4 g saturated fat), 15 g carbohydrates, 1 g dietary fiber, 58 mg cholesterol, 160 mg sodium Diabetic exchanges: 1 carbohydrate (bread/starch), 1/2 fat

Recipe brought to you by E-Cookbooks library

Links to Web sites for Kids!! And Teens!! If there is anything special you would like to see in this area don't hesitate to write to Kimberly.

Pot Luck Puzzles. Puzzles related to diabetes.

JDRF. Juvenile Diabetes Resource Foundation.

Annie's Unite for Site Website.

Grandma Sandy's Diabetes Website.

Diabetes can be licked says Eddie the Dawg.

Kidz are Pumping..

Pump Packs.

Meter Skins Stylish covers for your glucometer.

Parent's of Diabetic Teen's Mailing list on Yahoo Groups.
If you are a Parent of a Diabetic Teen you will love this group. Get support & provide support for others. Join now.
Click to join parentsofdiabeticteens

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Kimberly Advent
Ashley's Diabetes Information Center
kimberly@elviradarknight.com
Copyright 2005 Kimberly Advent