Waiting to exhale One of the many unpleasant realities of diabetes is the continual need to monitor your blood sugar levels. And for a lot of diabetics, that involves pricking their finger up to four times a day to draw blood which can then be tested for glucose. Making sure those levels are just right is a critical part of diabetes maintenance, which leaves little room for sqeamishness or fear of needles. Recently, though, researchers from the University of Irvine in California discovered that there may be a less barbaric way to test blood sugar levels. In fact, if their findings pan out, it may eliminate the need for diabetics to face numerous daily blood tests -- and needles -- altogether. They found that people with diabetes have higher amounts of chemicals called methyl nitates in their system when their blood sugar levels are elevated. And methyl nitrates are easily measured by a simple breath test. This research is still in the early stages: So far this is the only study suggesting this link, and it was only conducted on 10 subjects. In addition, those subjects all suffered from Type 1 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, also known as adult-onset diabetes, is the form of the disease more and more Americans are being diagnosed with. And, as yet, there is no definitive information on whether people suffering from this form also have elevated levels of methyl nitrates in their breath. So it might be awhile before you can escape the needle with a breath test. But, in the meantime, Dr. Wright may have another escape route for you: Eliminating your risk of developing Type 2 in the first place. Refer back to the July and August 2001 issues of Nutrition & Healing for details on how to determine your risk for the disease and deal with it naturally, before it becomes a reality. (Subscribers can download these issues for free by visiting the archives section of the Nutrition & Healing website, www.wrightnewsletter.com, and logging on with the username and password listed on page 8 of your most recent newsletter.) Even if you've already been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the information in these articles can help you take control of your condition once and for all -- without potentially dangerous prescription drugs. Source:
"Simple diabetes breath test hope," BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk), 9/28/07 | 
