What better topic is there to discuss after the gluttony most of us experience over the Thanksgiving and other fall/winter holidays than carbohydrate loading? (Actually, it probably should be excess calorie consumption in general, but you get the idea.) The following is excerpted from The Athlete’s Guide to Diabetes (2019) and gives you a better understanding of the topic from an exercise physiology (and diabetes) point of view. Most athletes can benefit from taking in enough

Adequate fluid intake is essential to living well at any age, and being dehydrated can impact your health and your athletic endeavors. While it is harder to stay hydrated when exercising in the heat, you can dehydrate under other conditions—even during exercise in cold temperatures if you wear lots of clothing and sweat underneath it. As people grow older, they also begin to lose some of their normal thirst sensations, thereby increasing the risk for dehydration unless they m

Many insulin users have chosen to go “low-carb” to better manage diabetes, which may or may not impact how well they perform in athletic events. How do many athletes with diabetes who swear by extreme low-carb diets that are either high in fat (like a keto diet) or higher protein (e.g., Dr. Bernstein) perform? How do their dietary choices impact both their blood glucose management and their ability to be active? Although I personally choose to follow a more balanced diet with

There has been a lot of interest recently in going “low-carb” to better manage diabetes, particularly type 1. At present, a large clinical study (1) is being undertaken in Scandinavia to examine the effects of very low-carb eating on blood glucose levels in adults with type 1 diabetes. For years, a very low-carb diet championed by Dr. Bernstein has been the main one followed by some with diabetes, until the last decade when fad weight loss plans like the LCHF (low-carb, high-

For many years, I have focused on aspects of lifestyle and health management that can enhance quality of life, especially when living with diabetes, rather than simply on living a long time (longevity). Much of my motivation is derived from watching my maternal grandmother suffer through six (long) years of severe disability related to cardiovascular complications of diabetes starting at the age of 70 that left her unable to feed herself or communicate, bed bound, and with al

A recent study in Obesity in May 2016 (1) reported very discouraging findings for a group of participants who had lost weight on “The Biggest Loser” (TBL) reality TV show: not only did almost all of them regain a significant amount of weight over the 6-year period afterwards, but they also had lower resting metabolic rates than expected for their body weights, even six years later. With media spin, it won't be a surprise if everyone just gives up staying thinner and blames ex

An updated position statement on the dangers of hyponatremia (also known as water intoxication) was just released (1). It once again highlights how drinking too much water or any fluids during physical activity in the hopes of preventing dehydration can be potentially fatal. Taking in too much fluid dilutes the sodium levels in your blood, and severely low sodium levels can lead to brain swelling, seizures, coma, and death. Less severe, symptoms of hyponatremia include nausea

There is more to managing diabetes and enjoying good health than just dropping a few pounds (although most of us could stand to do that). Realizing that has led me to try to pull together everything I know about exercise, nutrition, and lifestyle changes from working in the diabetes field for over 20 years and teaching nutrition and exercise physiology to a variety of audiences. To start with, when people ask me how important exercise is to longevity with diabetes, I tell the