At nineteen, Dionne was leading a busy, happy life. She was living on her own for the first time, attending college, working part-time in a chiropractor’s office to earn part of her expenses, and enjoying parties and dates.
A routine urine test when she went to the doctor changed Dionne’s life forever. The test showed the presence of sugar—something that is not normally found in urine. A nurse pricked Dionne’s fingertip with a sharp lancet and tested the drop of blood that welled out. “Borderline,” she said, shaking her head. “Maybe we should schedule some more tests.”
The follow-up tests told an upsetting story. There was a little more than the normal amount of sugar in Dionne’s blood. After she drank a cup of sugary liquid there was a sharp rise; sugar had passed from Dionne’s stomach into her bloodstream. That was perfectly normal. But the later test results were not. A healthy person’s body quickly stores sugar away after a meal, but in Dionne’s case most of the sugar was still in her blood, even after three hours.
“You have diabetes,” the doctor said and then explained some of what that diagnosis meant. This wasn’t something like a cold or some other illness that makes you miserable for a while and then goes away. Dionne would have diabetes all her life. And she would have to change her life-style, keeping to a careful diet, testing her blood sugar level, and giving herself injections of insulin.
At a diabetes center Dionne was trained in all the routines of caring for herself, and she learned to apply them to her daily life. She takes insulin shots twice a day now, morning and evening, and she carefully watches her diet—at least, most of the time. “There are so many temptations,” she sighs. “Sometimes I splurge”—like the time she absent-mindedly snacked on raisins while she was cooking Thanksgiving dinner for her family—”and then I feel totally wiped out for two days.” Her busy life doesn’t always allow her to be as regular as she should be; it’s difficult to fit in her evening insulin shot at the right time if she is out with friends, and sometimes she forgets to eat on schedule. But, in general, her diabetes is fairly well controlled, and her friends have been understanding about her special routines. “It’s no big deal,” she says. “Actually, practically everybody is on some kind of diet of their own.”

In diabetes, which is sometimes called the “sugar disease,” the body either does not produce or doesn’t properly use insulin, a hormone that helps the body to get needed energy from sugar. Scientists have learned that diabetes actually is not a single disease. There are two main types. In Type I diabetes, which affects mainly children, teens, and young adults, the pancreas produces little or no insulin. From 90 to 95 percent of adults with diabetes have Type II, which develops most commonly in middle-aged and elderly people. In Type II diabetes, the body may be producing insulin, but it is unable to use the hormone effectively.
In both types of diabetes, the body can’t handle sugar properly; it accumulates in the blood, and excess sugar may spill over into the urine. “When diabetes is uncontrolled, serious complications may develop, including high blood pressure, kidney failure, blindness, and nerve damage.
At least 100 million people in the world have diabetes. This disease has been diagnosed in nearly seven million Americans, and medical specialists suspect that another seven million may have diabetes without knowing it. In addition to personal suffering, diabetes costs society over $40 billion each year in health care expenses, disability payments, and lost earnings.
Despite these statistics, we have means of treating the disease that permit many people with diabetes to live full, normal lives. Some exciting research now going on promises to reveal much more in the future. Many are hopeful that soon we may have a cure for this widespread disease.
*2\268\2*

Scientists also are seeking more efficient insulin-delivery methods.
The insulin pump, a small battery-powered machine that delivers insulin through a tube inserted under the skin, is an improvement over injections because the pump drips a steady flow of the hormone into the body all day long.
Adam Boroughs of Wallingford, Pennsylvania, was once taking up to six insulin injections a day, but his blood sugar was still out of control. Then his doctors prescribed the pump. “I feel a lot better,” says Mr. Boroughs. “I hang my pump on my belt, or else I wear a special T-shirt with a hole in the pocket so the tube is less noticeable. Sometimes, when I play sports, the pump gets in the way. But my friends don’t care at all.”
Patients who wear pumps, however, must do several blood tests every day to ensure that the right amount of insulin is being delivered. A study at the Mason Clinic in Seattle revealed that pump patients suffer more infections at the needle insertion site and more toxic reactions from too little insulin.
Scientists in Japan are working on a pump that works just like the pancreas. It measures the blood sugar and then releases precisely the right dose of insulin. This system has turned out to be more difficult than the developers first thought. There is still no foolproof way of measuring the sugar in the blood by a device.
At the University of Utah, researchers are infusing insulin safely, painlessly, and directly into the abdomen. They implant a small silicone rubber container just under the abdominal wall. The patient injects the insulin directly through the skin into the container, from which it flows into the abdominal cavity and is quickly absorbed.
*5/266/5*

What to make for dinner is the perennial question. When organising the ingredients in your mind for a main meal, think of them appearing in the following order.

I. First choose the carbohydrate. Which will it be? Potato, rice, pasta, grains, legumes or a combination? Could you add some bread or corn?

2. Add vegetables—and lots of them.

Fresh, frozen, canned—whatever you have, the more the merrier. Refer to the vegetables list under lunches for inspiration, or use your favourites. Think of a bowl of crisp salad with a sprinkling of chopped sun-dried tomatoes plus 1 tablespoon Vinaigrette dressing.

3. Just a little protein for flavour and texture. Remember, we don’t need much—some slivers of beef to stir-fry, a sprinkle of tasty cheese, strips of ham, a dollop of ricotta, a tender chicken breast, slices of salmon, a couple of eggs, a handful of nuts, or use the protein found in your grains and legumes.

4. Hunk twice about using any fat. Check that you are using a healthy type (a monounsaturated or a polyunsaturated) and reduce the quantity if you can.

*151\33\4*

1. Quick Thai Noodle Curry. Stir-fry some strips of onion, red capsicum, baby corn and snow peas (or any stir-fry vegetable mix) in a large pan or wok. Add a tablespoon of red curry paste. Prepare a packet of instant noodles according to directions. Add the noodles to the vegetables with enough of the liquid to make a sauce. Stir in a tablespoon of coconut milk, heat through and it’s ready to serve.

Tip Canned coconut milk or cream, can be poured into ice-block trays, frozen and then kept in a plastic bag, making it easy to add just a tablespoon to a dish. Alternatively coconut milk powder can be kept in the pantry and mixed as needed.

2. Speedy Spaghetti. Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add the spaghetti and cook according to the directions on the packet. Meanwhile, open a jar of chunky tomato pasta sauce and heat. Make a green salad with lettuce, spring onions and cucumber or a bag of mixed lettuce. Serve the spaghetti, topped with the pasta sauce, a good sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and a green salad with vinaigrette alongside.

3. Fast Fish and Tiny Taters. Take a boneless fillet of fresh fish. Dust it with seasoned flour. Heat a non-stick pan with a film of oil and pop the fish in to fry. Wash a handful of tiny new potatoes and microwave or steam them until tender. Squeeze lemon juice over the fish once you have cooked both sides and sprinkle with pepper. Serve immediately with the potatoes and a salad or mixed vegetables.

4. Quick Pita Pizza. Spread a round of pita bread with pesto or tomato paste. Top with sliced tomato, mushrooms, roasted capsicum, black olives, chopped spring onions and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Heat through under the grill or in a hot oven.

5. Oriental Noodle and Vegetable Stir-Fry. Stir-fry 2 rashers of diced bacon (all fat removed) or ham. Add a packet of oriental stir-fry frozen vegetable mix, cooking according to the directions on the bag. Mix in some fresh egg noodles or prepared instant noodles a few minutes before the end of cooking time and heat through before serving.

Tip Look for the packets of frozen stir-fry vegetable mixes that have noodles and a sauce sachet included.

6. Time-saving Tortellini. Boil a packet of spinach and cheese (or your favourite filling) tortellini according to packet directions. Heat some bottled tomato pasta sauce and serve this on top of the tortellini with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Add a salad and vinaigrette alongside.

7. Racey Rice and Lentils. Put some Basmati rice on to cook. Heat a heavy-based frypan with a little oil. Add a finely diced onion, crushed garlic and a couple of teaspoons of minced chilli. Saute until the onion is soft. Meanwhile dice a tomato. Open a packet of Quickpulse™ ready-to-eat lentils and add to onion with the tomato. Add ground cumin, salt and pepper to sea-con, heat through and serve alongside the rice.

8. Easy Chicken Pasta. Set half a packet (125 g) of shell pasta on to boil. Meanwhile, thinly slice half a red capsicum, a handful of button mushrooms and a stick of celery. Chop some leftover barbeque chicken into bite-size pieces. Drain the pasta, add the capsicum, mushrooms, celery and chicken and pour over some ‘low oil’ creamy salad dressing. Top with chopped spring onions and serve.

9. Tomato and Tuna Pasta. Set some pasta on to boil. In a small pan saute some chopped parsley, garlic and chilli (optional) in a little oil until aromatic. Add a can of chopped tomatoes (undrained) and small can of flaked tuna. Season with pepper and heat through. Serve the tuna and tomato sauce over pasta.

10. Mexican in Minutes. Brown a handful of lean minced meat and a finely diced onion in a pan. Add a small can of Heinz Mexi Beans™ and taco seasoning if desired. Heat through. Serve with tomato salsa, shredded lettuce, avocado and grated cheese in taco shells or pita bread.

*149\33\4*