Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which blood-sugar (glucose) levels are above normal—either the body doesn’t produce enough of the hormone insulin, which breaks down sugar in the blood, or it ca

To stay on top of all the latest nutrition news requires lots of reading, but also lots of sorting through the marketing hype of the latest super food or breakthrough study. 

I subscribe to many magazines, newsletters, web sites, and blogs to keep up with the latest and greatest so I can pass that information on to my clients.  I read what the people I agree with say and I read what the people I don’t agree with say – my form of spying! 

Dear Pharmacist,

My neighbor swears by apple cider vinegar and every time I complain about my health, she rants about the vinegar.  I haven’t tried it, but I have to say she looks fairly healthy and never gets sick.  Do you think there’s something to it? 

--P.B.,  Lodi, California

Dear Pharmacist,

I’ve been suffering with abdominal cramps, bloating, a yellow toenail and a white-coated tongue.  My doctor told me I have a candida infection and prescribed Diflucan.  This requires liver testing.  Even though my tongue and toenails are yucky, I’d rather deal with that than damage to my liver.  What other options will help me get rid of candida? 

--E.H.  Gainesville, Florida

Researchers have uncovered a link between a common diabetes drug and increased risk of heart failure. Their conclusion? It's hard to find a reason to keep patients on it.

Are you taking rosiglitazone for type 2 diabetes? After reading the results of a new study in the British Medical Journal on this common drug and heart failure, you're going to want to talk to your doctor about making a change.

On Monday, a friend sent me this link to an article about the role of exercise is weight loss. Basically, the article says it doesn’t work. I agree. I’m sure it may work for the odd individual, but overall, it’s a pretty hopeless.

I mentioned this to a patient yesterday who was seeking to shed some unwanted pounds. His reply was that while he was surprised that such a common notion (exercises helps weight loss) is wrong, it utterly mirrors his experience in real life – it doesn’t matter how much he exercises, his weight stays stubbornly the same.

Dear Pharmacist,

I really need your help because I am now up to 14 medications for the following problems:  High cholesterol, heart disease, pre-diabetes, cataracts, arrhythmias, allergies, memory problems and enlarged prostate (BPH).  The medications make me sick and sleepy.  The reason I am writing to you is because you always have a fresh perspective.  Can you help me get off these medications?  

-- C.P.  Kansas City, Kansas

Sugar has been blamed for nearly every known disease and even for the fall of several empires. While those accusations may sound like exaggerations, they probably are closer to the truth than you realize.

Breaking news!

Some newly discovered compounds have just been found to turn off all of the genes that cause diabetes.

Are these compounds found in a pill bottle? No!

Instead, you’ll find them on your dinner plate -- in rye bread and pasta.

Diabetes is not reversible and controlling your blood sugar with drugs or insulin will protect you from organ damage and death.

That is what the medical profession would have you believe, but medication and insulin can actually increase your risk getting a heart attack or dying.

The diabetes epidemic is accelerating along with the obesity epidemic, and what you are not hearing about is another way to treat it.