A study of more than 10,000 Australians pointed out how heart damage and disease begin even before diabetes sets in with many people. The obvious conclusion is that physicians and health care professionals should aggressively detect and treat pre-diabetes. This study published in the journal Circulation included some of the following findings:

• Diabetes and pre-diabetes accounted for 65 percent of all heart disease deaths in the group.
• Participants who were pre-diabetic had 2.5 times higher risk of death from heart problems than those who metabolized glucose normally.
• The risk of death for pre-diabetics and diabetics is similar.

CHICAGO - New research indicates that even small amounts of physical activity, approximately 75 minutes a week, can help improve the fitness levels for postmenopausal women who are sedentary and overweight or obese, according to a study in the May 16 issue of JAMA.

Higher dietary intake of fiber from grains, cereals, and magnesium, may each be associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a report and analysis in the May 14 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

We want to pass along some good diabetes wisdom from the highly regarded, Joslin Diabetes Center. As summer arrives, people with diabetes need to remember to take care of their eyes.

We are pleased that doctors and diabetes experts are thinking about the future, and pointing out where our medical establishment might be leading people to take pills instead of modifying their lifestyle. Writing in BMJ, three respected diabetes authorities make the argument that changing lifestyle should be the mainstay of preventing type 2 diabetes rather than prescribing medication to people with pre-diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance.

One problem with diabetes and most other diseases is that most bean counters agree that it costs more to prevent the disease than it does to treat it. Insurance companies have backed away from large preventative efforts with most diseases because they cannot tell their shareholders they have profited by preventing disease.

For most people with diabetes, their blood sugar rises as they sleep. It seems a little strange; but, your body is resting so it is using much less glucose for energy. So, natural metabolism keeps producing glucose, but there is little motion to use it up.

What would happen if a "typical" diabetic got up for a snack in the middle of the night? More often than not, his or her blood glucose levels would rise.

We've been preparing a newsletter article (we'll email it out in the next five days) about intensive diabetes therapy. For the last 14 years, it has been an indisputable way to win the average person with diabetes the following benefits:

One of the big problems with kidney disease is you don't know you have it until a lot of damage has been done. It is rare for a patient or physician to identify diabetic kidney disease, or nephropathy, early on. The urine test just does not pick up the proteins that indicate damage until a lot of damage is done.