Photo supplied, University of Utah Health

Registered dietician Theresa Dvorak helps the public during a food demonstration at the SunnyVale Farmers Market in Salt Lake City in 2019.

OGDEN Free, confidential health services and educational programs are coming to the Marshall N. White Community Center this Friday by way of the Wellness Bus.

The mobile health clinic comes to Ogden on the second and fourth Fridays of every month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., offering screening services and nutrition education. Insurance and identification are not required. A basic information form with approximately 30 questions is available for those who choose to voluntarily fill it out.

If someone does not feel comfortable, we do not want that to be a barrier for people to get tested, said Nancy Ortiz, Mobile Health Program operations manager.

If language is a barrier, interpretation services are available for over 240 languages and dialects.

While anyone can take advantage of services offered by the Wellness Bus, they are mainly focused on adults, 18 years and older, because children are generally healthy with access to pediatric care.

Photo supplied, University of Utah Health

A patient is screened inside the Wellness Bus in 2019.

That said, children who are overweight, obese or have other high risk factors associated with diabetes may be screened. The Wellness Bus focuses on preventing chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Health screenings are administered by health care workers from the community and include testing blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and body mass index. Registered dietitians provide nutrition counseling and lifestyle coaching.

Future health care workers from the University of Utah aid in wellness efforts in offering referrals to health and social service providers and programs.

Ortiz said there are many free or low-cost resources available with the help of local community organizations to address food and housing needs as well as dental care.

U of U Health launched the Wellness Bus in June 2018 in an effort to combat rising cases of diabetes and other chronic illnesses that are often preventable. As part of the Driving out Diabetes Initiative by Larry H. Miller Family Wellness, the Larry H. and Gail Miller Foundation donated $5 million to community outreach efforts by U of U Health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 out of 3 people will have diabetes by 2050.

According to the CDCs 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Utah adults have an age-adjusted rate of 8.6% being diagnosed with diabetes, compared to the U.S. age-adjusted rate of 10.0%.

Diabetes is said to be the leading cause of non-traumatic lower-extremity amputation and renal failure as well as blindness among adults younger than 75 years old and heart disease.

The Utah Department of Health estimates more than $1 billion is spent on direct and indirect medical costs in the state each year, placing an enormous burden on health care resources.

Communities that dont have enough access to medical services have a higher chance of developing diabetes because they are without regular access to screening, prevention and educational materials, Ortiz said.

While anyone can request the Wellness Bus at a community event, priority is given to events supporting the clinics mission in reducing the burden of diabetes and other chronic diseases in underserved areas by providing important preventative health services.

Ortiz said participants are encouraged to return as many times as they wish or feel necessary to do so.

(The Wellness Bus) hopes to empower our community members with the knowledge to make healthy lifestyle choices leading to improved health, she said.

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U of U Health's Wellness Bus helping drive out diabetes, other ailments in Ogden - Standard-Examiner

SINGAPORE: For many diabetic amputees, the fateful day may begin very much like any other - abump against the door, a small blister from walking a little too long or an ill-fitting pair of new shoes.

This unexpected occurrence soon leads to a fever, swelling and pain that wont go away or a wound that refuses to heal. And before the patient knows it, his doctor hasbad news: The limb must be amputated.

In Singapore, diabetes mellitus is on the rise. From 2019 to 2020, the crude prevalence of diabetes was 9.5 per cent, an increasefrom 8.8 per cent in 2017 (despite a five-year War on Diabetes).

According to the International Diabetes Federations 2021 report, Singapore continues to have a high prevalence of diabetes mellitus at 11.6 per cent, compared to the global average of 9.8 per cent, the Americanaverage of 10.7 per cent and Australian average of 6.4 per cent.

Commonly referred to as a lifestyle disease, diabetes can worsen if the patient doesnt change their diet, doesnt do regular exercise, has poor compliance with treatment or continues to smoke and drink.When the disease is not managed well, foot ulcers may develop and this can progress to lower limb amputations (defined as below knee or more proximal amputation).

Singapore has a fairly high rate of amputation according to data, up to four lower limb amputations were done in a day between 2015 and 2016.

At Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), 80 per cent of our patients who need amputationhave significant comorbidities like high blood pressure or heart disease. Add to that, a significant proportion lack awareness about how damaging untreated foot ulcers can be.

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Commentary: Losing a limb to diabetes is painful but not the end of the road - CNA

People with diabetes often hear about what they shouldn't eat, or to have all foods in small portions. But having diabetes doesn't mean you're reserved to a life of restriction. In fact, there are many foodsand drinksthat people diagnosed with diabetes can have regularly. Specifically, there is one beverage that someone with diabetes can have daily and plenty of it. What's that flowing beverage? It's water, of course. Here's a look at how much you can drink and the different forms of the beverage you can have.

All adults, including people with diabetes, need to stay hydrated. The best way to do so for a person with diabetes is to consume a calorie-free beverage. According to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans which were developed also for people with chronic diseases, like diabetes, "Beverages that are calorie-freeespecially water" is the primary beverage of choice.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Water won't affect blood sugar levelsand will keep you hydrated without adding anything else except good old H2O.

The dietary guidelines continue and say that you can also opt to have beverages that contribute beneficial nutrients, such as fat-free and low-fat milk, but that should be consumed keeping portions and grams of carbohydrates in mind. You can also opt to have sparkling water or zero-calorie flavored water, sparkling or still. As long as it's calorie-free, it will help keep you hydrated without having to worry about blood sugar levels.

RELATED: 25 Healthy, Low-Sugar Soda Alternatives

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, women should consume about 11.5 cups of water per day and men should consume about 15.5 cups per day. However, these are estimates that account for fluids consumed from both beverages and food. You typically get about 20% of the water you need from food, especially from vegetables and fruit. Taking that into account, it's estimated that women should take in about nine cups of fluids per day and men should take in about 12.5 cups of fluids per day.

These amounts of water aren't the same for everyone and can vary depending on someone's activity level, the environment (like hotter or more humid weather, you need more fluids), overall health, and if you're pregnant or breastfeeding.

Below are a few tips to make sure you're getting enough water throughout the day:

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The #1 Best Drink to Have Every Day for Diabetes, Says Dietitian Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., March 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has approved the expansion of reimbursement coverage for its FreeStyle Libre system to include all people with diabetes who use insulin at least once a day.

The expanded coverage will enable more people with diabetes to access the glucose data needed to manage their condition without the routine fingersticks1 associated with traditional blood glucose monitoring.

"The best healthcare solution is the one that helps the most people, which is why we designed our FreeStyle Libre system with access and affordability in mind from the very beginning," said Jared Watkin, senior vice president of Abbott's diabetes care business. "FreeStyle Libre systems provide a complete and comprehensive glucose picture without the need for routine fingersticks. The technology helps enable behavior change, which ultimately helps people live better, fuller lives."

The reimbursement expansion, which will go into effect April 1, 2022, was granted based on FreeStyle Libre's overall value proposition, which includes ease of use and scientific evidence that shows the clinical benefits of using the FreeStyle Libre system among all people who take self-injections of insulin.2,3,4

"With the expanded reimbursement coverage, healthcare professionals like me will be equipped with continuous glucose monitoring information and actionable insights for patients with diabetes, which has previously been available mainly to a limited population of people who require multiple daily injections of insulin. This will allow patients to have a better understanding and control of their diabetes based on glucose fluctuation through continuous monitoring," said Dr. Wataru Ogawa, professor, Division of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine. "I am expecting this will lead to better management of my patients' overall condition, as well as reduce the future risks of diabetes-related complications."

About AbbottAbbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 113,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Connect with us at http://www.abbott.com, on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/company/abbott-/, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews.

1 A fingerstick test using a blood glucose meter is required when there are questions on the accuracy of the interstitial fluid glucose levels or impending hypoglycaemia or hypoglycaemia as reported by the system or when symptoms do not match the system readings.2 Miller, Brandner et al. HbA1c Reduction After Initiation of the FreeStyle Libre System in Type 2 Diabetes Patients on Long-Acting Insulin or Non-Insulin Therapy.3 Miller et al. FreeStyle Libre System Use Associated with Reduction in Acute Diabetes Events and All-Cause Hospitalizations in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Without Bolus Insulin.4 Wright et al. HbA1c Reduction Associated with a FreeStyle Libre System in People with Type 2 Diabetes Not on Bolus Insulin Therapy.

SOURCE Abbott

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Abbott's FreeStyle Libre is First and Only CGM System to Gain Expanded Reimbursement in Japan to Include All People with Diabetes Who Use Insulin - PR...

Studies have tied the vaccine to lower rates of childhood mortality and stronger immunity against a host of infectious diseases. There are also signs the vaccine can calm the immune system, benefiting people with allergies and autoimmune diseases.

Around the world, trials are underway to research BCG in multiple sclerosis, Alzheimers, and COVID-19.

Faustmans lab, in partnership with NYU Langone Health, is recruiting 150 adolescents with Type 1 diabetes for pediatric clinical trials of the shots. All participants must be between the ages of 12 and 17 and have had the disease for at least two years.

The research builds on studies Faustman has conducted over the last decade.

A small phase 1 clinical trial, published in 2012, showed BCG prompted higher levels of insulin production than in placebo-treated subjects. In a long-term follow of the trial, published in 2018, Faustmans lab found that adult patients with diabetes treated with the vaccine experienced 10 to 18 percent reductions in blood sugar levels and were able to use less insulin. Diabetic patients in the same trial who were treated with a placebo showed almost no improvement.

Research has found that reducing levels of hemoglobin A1c, a measure of blood glucose, by even 10 percent can lower the risk of lifelong complications from diabetes.

A phase two clinical trial, begun in 2015 with 150 patients, is ongoing, with results expected in a year and a half.

Faustman said BCG appears to help patients with Type 1 diabetes by altering their immune system.

In individuals with the disease, the body produces abnormal white blood cells that attack insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas.

Faustmans research suggests BCG can turn on good white blood cells and destroy bad white blood cells prone to attacking the pancreas. Further, the vaccine fixes defects in the white blood cells of diabetes patients, allowing the cells to process sugar and draw more of it out of the blood, Faustman said.

Key to BCGs potency, Faustman and others believe, is the fact that it is a live vaccine. It uses a weakened form of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis, reintroducing a key microbe to the body that humans stopped interacting with as society became more hygienic.

Its amazing to think about how a bug could, over a period after vaccination, reprogram cells in permanent ways that result in immune responses, Faustman said.

Faustmans research, which is still in early stages, has met with controversy.

After she published her phase 1 research in 2018, JDRF, formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the American Diabetes Association issued a joint statement saying it wasnt clear that lowered insulin levels were a direct result of the vaccine, as levels tend to change over time, and said the small number of participants wasnt robust enough to be generalized to the larger population.

In a statement to the Globe, JDRF said its position on Faustmans research had not changed.

The ADA did not respond to a request for comment.

Other researchers also have been skeptical.

Its not something being pursued or taken seriously by the rest of the field, said Stephan Kissler, a Type 1 diabetes researcher at Joslin Diabetes Center.

Other more mainstream diabetes experts are pursuing avenues such as immunosuppression and creating insulin-producing cells out of stem cells that can be transplanted back into patients bodies. Kissler works to genetically alter transplanted cells so they dont require recipients to take immunosuppressants.

We want to change their disease, said Kissler.

Yet Faustman sees her work as a stepping stone to do just that. The pediatric clinical trial will focus on children who are at an early enough stage in the disease to still have some pancreas function.

When we go into older people, they have no pancreas reserve, Faustman said. So were only testing in them what does BCG do to become a better regulator of glucose metabolism. Now, when we go into kids, it tests the ability of BCG to possibly preserve the pancreas as well as change these sugar defects.

Its an exciting population to study. You get to see if you stop the immune response, can the pancreas recover or become more stable as well as getting white blood cells to behave.

Dr. Joseph Bellanti, a professor emeritus of pediatrics and microbiology-immunology at Georgetown University Medical Center, said the work is innovative and the clinical trials conducted so far were encouraging.

People are entitled to their opinions. My opinion is they are on to something. And its worthy of being pursued, he said.

Ultimately, Faustman hopes to begin another set of clinical trials by the end of this year in children who have just been diagnosed with diabetes, which could change the course of the disease even earlier.

She is undeterred by the skepticism, saying the number and scope of clinical trials involving BCG speaks to its promise.

When you see a global momentum to study these off-target effects in humans, you start to see the validity of reintroducing this microbe, Faustman said.

Jessica Bartlett can be reached at jessica.bartlett@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @ByJessBartlett.

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Could a 100-year-old vaccine treat Type 1 diabetes? MGH researchers are working to find out. - The Boston Globe

If you drink diet soda or add a little Equal to your coffee as a way to cut down on added sugar, heres some good news: Drinking no- or low-calorie beverages instead of sugar-sweetened drinks was linked with small decreases in weight, BMI, and diabetes risk in a new meta-analysis published on March 14 in JAMA Network Open.

Participants who consumed low and no-calorie beverages saw positive effects similar to those researchers would expect from water, says Tauseef Ahmad Khan, MBBS, PhD, a researcher at the University of Toronto department of nutritional sciences and a coauthor of the study.

Ideally, you would replace sugary beverages with water as much as possible, but our findings show that people have another choice a low-calorie or no-calorie beverage is a good option as well, says Dr. Khan.

The average American consumes 22 teaspoons (tsp) of added sugar a day, which translates into about 350 calories, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. One tsp of sugar is equal to 4 grams (g) of sugar.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that people cut back on added sugar to help reduce the risk of heart disease and obesity by limiting daily intake to about 6 tsp or 24 g of sugar for women and 9 tsp or 36 g of sugar for men.

Heres a sampling of how much sugar is found in a 12 ounce (oz) serving of some popular drinks, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health:

The overall effects of nonnutritive sweeteners (NNSs) the scientific name for sweeteners such as aspartame, stevia, and sucralose on metabolism and weight is unclear. Although artificially sweetened beverages may help save on calories, experts have been divided on whether they may cause unintended negative effects on metabolism and even impede weight loss efforts.

A study published in Naturefound that artificial sweeteners induced glucose intolerance and weight gain in mice. Glucose intolerance increases the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to StatPearls.

Its also been found that drinks containing sucralose (which goes by the brand name Splenda) may increase food cravings and appetite in women and people with obesity, according to a study published in JAMA Network OpeninSeptember 2021.

Some observational studies have suggested that the use of NNSs, such as sucralose and aspartame, is associated with higher body weight and type 2 diabetes, according to a review published in Obesityin March 2018.Because those studies were not interventions researchers simply observed and compared what people were already doing, its unclear whether the alternative sweeteners were actually contributing to those issues or if people were drinking low calorie drinks in response to already having overweight or diabetes.

But the same review found that when researchers looked at prospective randomized controlled trials, NNSs actually helped with weight loss, especially when used with behavioral weight loss support.

Because health experts and organizations have been instructing people to reduce their consumption of sugary drinks, we wanted to find out if people who want to switch from sugar-sweetened beverages to water or low-calorie sweetened beverages would see any benefit, explains Khan.

Researchers analyzed 17 randomized trials that investigated how drinking water, no or low-calorie drinks, or sugar-sweetened drinks impacted body weight, other measures of fat, and cardiometabolic risk. The trials included a total of 1,733 adults with overweight or obesity who were at risk for or already had diabetes. Participants were 77.4 percent women and 22.6 percent men, with an average age of 33.

The included studies lasted anywhere from just three weeks to a year, with the average trial lasting 12 weeks.

The effects were modest, but overall beneficial, according to the findings. On average, switching to the sugar-free drinks reduced body weight by about 2 pounds (lb), lowered BMI by .2 points, and reduced body fat by about half a percent.

Water or alternatively sweetened drinks were also linked to a reduction in intrahepatocellular lipid (IHL). IHL accumulation (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease) is associated with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Our analysis is unique in that in addition to comparing sugary drinks to alternatively sweetened drinks, we also included water in our study. We found the benefits of switching from sugary drinks to either no- or low-calorie beverages or water were very similar, says Khan.

There are a few limitations to the findings, he says. Our analysis grouped all no- and low-calorie sweetened drinks together it didnt separate and compare according to what was used to sweeten them, says Khan.

For example, if you are wondering about the difference between drinking Diet Coke (which uses aspartame as its sweetening agent) or Coke Zero (which uses both aspartame and acesulfame potassium), these findings wont help you figure that out, he says.

Any questions about long-term impact positive or negative of drinking no- or low-calorie drinks are still unanswered, says Khan. The longest study included in our analysis lasted one year, and so further study is needed to look at what the health impacts might be 5 or 10 years down the line, he says.

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Sugar-Free Drinks Linked to Weight Loss and Lower Diabetes Risk - Everyday Health

If you have diabetes , eating more carbs in the morning and leafy greens at night may help you live longer, according to new researchpublished March 15 in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Researchers from Harbin Medical University in China looked at data from 4642 Americans with diabetes over 11 years of follow up as part of the NHANES study. They compared eating habits, based on 24-hour food questionnaires, with levels of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality over time.

The researchers found participants who ate carbs-rich veggies like potatoes earlier in the day were less likely to die of heart disease . The same was true of participants who ate whole grains in the afternoon, and those who ate dark, leafy vegetables at night.

In contrast, eating a lot of processed meat in the evening was linked to higher risk of dying of heart disease, according to data.

The researchers' data modeling suggested that switching even a tenth of a serving to a more ideal meal time was linked to a significant risk reduction for instance, swapping a portion of potatoes from dinner to breakfast, or whole grains from breakfast to lunch.

The results suggest nutrient timing could help people with diabetes match their meals to natural biological rhythms of insulin sensitivity to improve their longevity.

"Nutritional guidelines and intervention strategies for diabetes should integrate the optimal consumption times for foods in the future," Dr.Qingrao Son, co-author of the study and researcher at Harbin Medical University, said in a press release.

The study is supported by previous research from the same authors which found people with diabetes had better survival rates if they regularly ate a bigger breakfast than dinner.

Meal timing may matter whether or not you have diabetes, too. Skipping breakfast isn't always deal breaker for a healthy diet, but it is associated with more variable blood sugar levels and possibly dips in performance at work, school, and the gym, experts previously told Insider.

Eating more early in the day and less at night is also linked to a healthy weight, possibly because it helps you avoid late-night snack attacks tending toward calorie-dense, less nutritious foods like chips, alcohol, and the like.

While more research is needed on meal timing,what you eat overall may still be more important than when you eat, studies suggest.

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Eat carbs in the morning to live longer with diabetes, study says - Insider