Coffee Drinkers Have a Reduced Risk of Type 2 Diabetes!

Coffe Drinkers Rejoice!

December 23, 2009 — High intakes of coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and tea are associated with a reduced risk for type 2 diabetes, according to the results of a meta-analysis reported in the December 14/28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
"Coffee consumption has been reported to be inversely associated with risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus," write Rachel Huxley, DPhil, of the George Institute for International Health, University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues. "Similar associations have also been reported for decaffeinated coffee and tea. We report herein the findings of meta-analyses for the association between coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and tea consumption with risk of diabetes."

For full article click here.

Foot Padding, Foot Inserts and Foot Appliances Oh My!

Did you know the use of pads, inserts and other foot appliances are a great way to treat many foot problems? With a bit of research and help from your local Certified Pedorthist (C.Ped.), you just might find the right device to aid in resolving your foot issue.

Minor foot problems such as corns, calluses, blisters or other rubbing problems of the foot can easily be treated by an array of products available to you. The trick is to know what product to use and when to use it.

First ensure you know exactly what the issue is with your foot. For minor issues, meet with your local C. Ped. and bring a sampling of your existing shoes. Be prepared to discuss exactly what is happening, the area affected and when or how often the issue is occurring. Your C.Ped. can determine if your existing shoes are appropiate for your foot type and not a contributor to the issue along with recommending over the counter treatment options. If however, the issue is beyond a minor foot problem, you may be recommended to consult your local Podiatrist for further evaluation.

With minor foot issues, there are pads for relief of pressure sores from bunions or hammertoes, or for relief of a heel rubbing against the inside of the heel counter of your shoes. The item may be made of felt with an adhesive backing, but are also available in newer materials such as silicone or a soft, gel type material called viscoelastic polymer.

Some of the over the counter options available are:

Precut simple foam pads can help relieve certain forms of heel pain.
A rubber waffle pattern heel cup can help absorb the shock of heel strike.
Toe spaces, used to reduce symptoms caused by one toe touching another, such as soft corns: or to help maintain a corrected bunion.
Cushions can be used to relieve symptoms of a hammer toe or corns.
Toe caps are used to protect the toes from trauma or aid in the reduction of rubbing or blistering.
Forefoot pads to aid in the reduction of forefoot pain.
Orthotics or inserts to correct biomechanical issues – note, you should always see a professional to ensure you receive the appropiate amount of correction based on your foot type.

As you can see, there are many items to assist you in resolving your foot issue. At Healthy Steps, we provide many options for you to choose. Stop in and meet with our staff to help you step in the right direction this holiday season!

We would also like to thank you for your support and look forward to serving you in the upcoming new year. From the staff at Healthy Steps, we wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday season!

Healthy Steps…..for your feet…for your life!

So what exactly is a Diabetic ulcer and why is it so bad?

Those with diabetes and their friends and family members have at one point and time heard the term “diabetic ulcer”. And it is usually followed by “that’s why their foot was amputated”. So what is a diabetic ulcer?

An ulcer is any break in the skin that does not heal in a reasonable amount of time, usually a week to 10 days. This can occur anywhere, not just the feet. But for diabetics, the feet are the most common place for ulcerations to occur. This is due to 2 problems: neuropathy and pressure.

Neuropathy is the loss of sensation that can occur with long term or uncontrolled diabetes. Once you cannot feel things like heat, friction or pain, then any area of pressure can form a callus on the foot. When this callus is present for several days to weeks without being treated, the skin under the callus becomes soft and breaks down, resulting in an ulcer. This is now an all access pass for bacteria to enter the body and cause infection. That infection, if left untreated, can cause loss of part or all of the foot or leg.

I often have patients that tell me they attempted to treat the ulcer for several days to weeks before coming in the office. They applied Neosporin and washed it every day, but it just wasn’t getting better. To treat an ulcer effectively, several things need to occur. First and foremost, stop any infection that may be brewing or already started. No ulcer will heal if it is infected. This is done with topical ointments that are more effective at treating infection than Neosporin and antibiotics. Next, removing any tissue that may be harboring bacteria and also slowing down the healing progress of the ulcer. Lastly, take away the pressure. If an ulcer has constant pressure applied, then good healthy skin cannot grow over it to heal. So using special offloading boots or shoes to reduce the pressure is crucial in treating the wound.

Other factors in treating your ulcer include keeping your sugars in control and eating a well balanced diet. With high sugars, the body has a great deal of trouble healing any wound and it has a harder time fighting off infection. Remember….bacteria loves sugar!!

Once the ulcer is healed, the next step is preventing another one. If you haven’t seen a podiatrist and you are diabetic, now is the best time to have those feet checked for any signs that an ulcer could form. If you have had an ulcer in the past and have not seen your podiatrist in over a year, get on the phone and make an appointment! Prevention is the key to saving your feet!

Treating my toenail fungus…what about all my shoes?

A lot of patients with toenail fungus inquire on what they can do to save their shoes. After all, many patients have “multiple, can’t be without, spent a lot of money and hardly worn” shoes in thier closet!

Introducing Sterishoe. Accepted by the American Podiatric Medical Association, it looks like a shoe stretcher and is available based on your shoe size. The device contains a germicidal ultraviolet light (UVC). This technology is well known to hospitals and water treatment systems. UVC is clinically proven to destroy microorganisms. The Sterishoe is the first ultraviolet shoe sanitizer that utilizes UVC inside a shoe.

How does it work? It’s simple. You insert the SteriShoe into your shoe. As slight compression is applied, the treatment begins as the UVC rays are activated. If compression is reduced, the light automatically turns off.

Since UVC can be harmful if you look at it too long or hold it close to your skin, Sterishoe provides two important safety measures to protect you. A compression sensor and an ambient light sensor. This way, if the shoe sanitizer is removed from the shoe, the compression sensor will automatically turn off the power to the lamp.

To treat open toe shoes or sandals, there are two shoe bags that are provided. If the ambient light sensor detects too much light, the sanitizer will turn off automatically.
The sanitizer should be applied after wearing the shoes. This way, microorganisms are eradicated and you have healthy feet!

For more information regarding Sterishoe, contact Healthy Steps.

Running With Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease that affects a person’s blood glucose levels which may lead to a large array of complications. According to the American Diabetes Association over 23.6 million Americans or 8% of the US population has Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes, also known as adult-onset, is the most common form of diabetes and most commonly occurs in adults who are overweight. One of the recommendations given to type 2 diabetes patients is to watch their diets and exercise in order to control their weight. Since running is a sport that does not require much coordination, is relatively inexpensive, and is accessible to everyone, it is a popular choice for diabetics to try and get their bodies into the healthiest shape they can.

If you have Type 1 diabetes then you rely on insulin injections in order to convert glucose into energy to get you through the day. Running with Type 1 Diabetes can be very tricky, but it is definitely do-able and beneficial. The trick to running with Type 1 Diabetes is making sure that you have enough energy, or insulin, to sustain you through the entire run. You will want to ask your physician how long of a run they advise.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes, then your body either does not have enough insulin or the cells do not recognize insulin properly. Therefore these people require that they regulate their diets so that they have the optimal amount of glucose in their systems. If you are a runner that has Type 2 Diabetes then you might have to bring extra little energy packs with you on long runs as well as your blood glucose meter to make sure that your blood glucose levels are being sustained throughout your run. Again, for the best advice on what levels of running are safe for you if you are suffering from type 2 diabetes, consult your physician.

Diabetes is a disease that is becoming an epidemic due to our increasing sedentary lifestyle and the increasing number of people who are acquiring this disease. Running is a great option for people with diabetes to get into the best shape they can to help manage their diabetes. The key thing to remember is that when you run, your body is working much harder than in your normal daily activity. Your blood glucose levels will have to be strictly monitored to ensure you stay as healthy as possible.

Exercise Encouraged With A Good Diet

Exercise has long been considered an important method to improve and prevent diabetes. It has been shown in multiple studies to improve blood sugars and it improves insulin sensitivity. The method of this improvement includes exercise inducing proliferation of glucose-transport molecules that then move to the cell membrane. In a recent study, however, vitamin supplements with vitamin C and vitamin E blunted this effect. It was found that with these supplements insulin sensitivity was not improved with exercise. Better than supplements, therefore, would be the diet rich in fruits and vegetables to continue to improve insulin sensitivity with exercise.

For more information: Ristow M et al. Antioxidants prevent health-promoting effects of physical exercise in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2009 May 26; 106:8665. [Free full-text online] [Medline® Abstract]

Dr Gibson also has an additional blog on Diabetes.

Save a Leg, Save a Life

One of the many complications associated with diabetes is the presence of diabetic foot ulcers. These ulcers are open wounds that are slow to heal, and affect roughly fifteen percent of all diabetic patients. Often the wound is explained by a loss of sensation in the foot, and the patient can not feel that there is an open sore on the bottom of their foot, and may not see it, either.

When the ulcers become infected, which is usually the case; the infection can quickly spread to the other tissues. This can lead to infections of the bone (osteomyelitis) or of the blood (sepsis). Complications due to diabetic foot ulcers will often lead to amputations or even death.

On average, a lower extremity amputation will cost close to $50,000 annually. This cost is mostly from hospital stays and aftercare related to the surgery. Of the patients that do have an amputation, less than 50% will be able to walk with a prosthesis following a below the knee amputation, and less than 25% will be able to walk with a prosthesis following an above the knee amputation. Without the ability to move around on their own, many patients become institutionalized, which can cost upwards of $100,000 per patient. With a 25% reduction in the amount of lower extremity amputations each year, over $4 billion would be saved annually.

Save a Leg, Save a Life is an organization that is devoted to educating doctors and the public on the ways to address these issues. The organization is an interprofessional team, made up of podiatrists, vascular surgeons, nurses, and many other types of doctors with an interest in wound care. The organization seeks to provide information about the advanced methods of treating wounds, including new materials and technologies used in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.

Health care providers and health insurance companies are becoming more and more dependent on evidence based medicine as a foundation for treatment. Through Save a Leg, Save a Life, that information is being dispersed through the medical community. Products that are designed to help regenerate healthy tissue and promote healing are replacing the old methods of washing the wound with saline solution. However, these old methods are all that many doctors know, and so they become the standard in wound care. Through programs like Save a Leg, Save a Life, as well as the American Academy of Wound Management and the College of Certified Wound Specialists, hopefully the more advanced methods will become the new standard.