Friday, January 28, 2011

Reversing diabetes is possible


By Val Willingham, CNN

January 28, 2011 10:02 a.m. EST
"It was a big wake-up call, that what I was doing and my current weight were not OK," Jonathan Legg said.
"It was a big wake-up call, that what I was doing and my current weight were not OK," Jonathan Legg said.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Jonathan Legg began to exercise every day, changed diet to reverse diabetes
  • Diabetes is caused when there is too much glucose or sugar in the body
  • Type 1 diabetes was once known as juvenile diabetes; it's usually diagnosed in children
For more information on diabetes watch this weekend's special edition of "SGMD": "Diabetes 20/20," Saturday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m. ET
Bethesda, Maryland (CNN) -- When Jonathan Legg of Bethesda, Maryland, got a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes at 39, he was shocked.
"I had always been pretty active," said Legg. "But it was a big wake-up call, that what I was doing and my current weight were not OK."
That was two years ago. Since that time, the Morgan Stanley executive decided to make some changes and reverse his diabetes. Although his doctor recommended he go on medication to control his illness, Legg took a different approach. Instead of meds, he began to exercise every day and changed his diet, cutting out alcohol, fatty foods and watching his carbs.
"I wanted to be able to know the changes I was making were making a difference, and it wasn't the drug," said Legg.
According to new statistics just out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25.8 million people, or 8.3% of the U.S. population, are affected by either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Most, like Legg, have type 2 diabetes, which in many people develops later in life. Caused primarily by genetic makeup, a sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits, type 2 diabetes can be reversed in some cases. By making changes to their lives such as adding exercise and improving their diets, many type 2 diabetics can drop their glucose or sugar numbers back to the normal range, reversing their condition.
Diabetes type-2 can be reversed
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"We have seen numerous people reverse their condition," says Dr. Michelle Magee, director of the MedStar Diabetes Institute in Washington. "But it takes a real dedication for the rest of their lives," she notes.
So why do exercise and diet help reverse diabetes? To answer that question, we first need to know why people get diabetes in the first place.
Diabetes is caused when there is too much glucose or sugar in the body. We get sugar from the things we eat. The body is designed to process sugar so it can enter our cells and provide energy. But glucose can't enter our cells without insulin, which is a hormone produced by the pancreas.
If you have diabetes, your body isn't making any or is not making enough insulin -- or it can't properly use the insulin it is producing. As a result, too much sugar stays in the blood. If this occurs for a long time, it can lead to serious problems.
Type 1 diabetes was once known as juvenile diabetes because it's usually diagnosed in children and young adults. About 5% to 10% of all people with diabetes have this type, which is not reversible because the person's pancreas is not producing insulin at all.
The remainder have type 2 diabetes. For these people, their body can no longer process insulin correctly. Although genetics plays a part, obesity is a major reason people develop type 2 diabetes.
"We know that excess body weight adversely affects every organ system in the body," says Dr. Gary Foster, director of Temple University's Center for Obesity Research and Education in Philadelphia. "So it shouldn't be surprising that as obesity increases, as it has over the past 30 years, that medical conditions, especially conditions like type 2 diabetes, will also increase."
People who carry excess weight, especially in their midsection, are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes because the fat in their tissues causes an imbalance of insulin in the body. The condition is called insulin resistance. If they can eliminate that fat by exercising and limiting carbohydrates and alcohol, then many can drop their glucose levels. And for some, they can drop them back into the normal range.
This is also true for people who are prediabetic. According to the CDC, 79 million Americans are prediabetic, which means their glucose readings fall between 100 and 125 while fasting. According to the American Diabetes Association, normal glucose readings are 100 and below when a person has not eaten anything. Numbers above 125 while fasting are considered to be in the diabetic range. So when you're prediabetic, it's easier to turn those numbers around. And that's important, because once you become a diabetic, even if you drop your numbers, you will always be classified as a diabetic, making it difficult to acquire good insurance.
"Once you fall into that glucose range, you are considered at high risk for developing the condition again," says Magee.
"That's why we are working on a program right now that goes into the community and reaches those who are at risk of being prediabetic or diabetic," Magee said. "The results have been so positive, the CDC is looking at the program as a possible protocol for other hospitals to follow."
As for Jonathan Legg, his numbers are no longer in the diabetic range. He's lost 40 pounds and watches everything he eats.
"I educated myself, I read the labels," said Legg. "I enjoy what I eat. I met with nutritionists, and they helped me build a game plan."
His physician, Dr. Lucy McBride says it's more than just diet; it's also the types of foods that Legg eats.
"He cut out significant amounts of sugar and carbs in his diet, really changed how he ate," says McBride. "He's increased fiber, increased protein, cut back on alcohol, which is really sugar."
But McBride notes Legg needs to be tenacious.
"I told him, encouraged as I was, and proud and pleased [but] he's got to keep up those lifestyle habits for things to stay in the right direction," McBride said. "Without exercise, without diet and without weight control, the diabetes will come back. It's something he will need to manage his whole life."
That's something Legg says he would rather do than live as a diabetic.
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Mother who put kids in wrong school released from jail early

Mother who put kids in wrong school released from jail early


CNN Homepage
An Ohio woman who was jailed for tampering with records to get her children into a better school district has been released from jail a day early, according to a local newspaper.
Kelley Williams-Bolar left the Summit County Jail on Wednesday, having served nine days of her 10-day sentence, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
Williams-Bolar, a single mother living in subsidized housing in Akron, used her father's address to register her two daughters in the high-achieving suburban Copley-Fairlawn school district.
Copley-Fairlawn said the improper registration cost it $30,000 in lost tuition and $6,000 in investigative costs.
The case has drawn national media attention and outrage, much of it due to its racial undertones: Williams-Bolar is black, while the Copley-Fairlawn schools are predominantly white.
A Google search for Williams-Bolar's name turns up 131,000 results.
Williams-Bolar told CNN affiliate WEWS-TV in Cleveland that she plans to appeal her conviction. The local chapter of the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network is trying to raise money to fund the appeal, the Beacon Journal reported.
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Storied Poet, Author, Educator & Activist Debuts Show February 2011 on Public Radio



PR Newswire: news distribution, targeting and monitoring

CHICAGO, Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- This February as Maya Angelou receives the President's Medal of Freedom, she will host her first-ever public radio program, available to all PRI, Public Radio International, affiliated stations and African American Consortium stations free of charge. Intimate and provocative stories, poems and conversations will illuminate African American history including comedy, film and family life, rounding out the hour with memories of "mother and sister friend," the late civil rights activist Dorothy Height.

On comedy Maya Angelou observes, "Often in the black culture it is said, we laughed to keep from crying." Joined by comedianChris Rock, they discuss Rock's childhood in Brooklyn, rise to Saturday Night Live and his view on comedy. As Rock defines the comic currents of our time, Maya Angelou offers historical perspective, reflecting on the 1930's and 1940's including Dusty Fletcher's "Open the Door Richard" and the brilliance of early comedians who literally set the stage for African American comedy.
A film director in her own right, Down in the Delta (1988), Angelou explores African American films with a focus on the work of director Lee Daniels. Daniels and Angelou discuss the success of his movie "Precious" and how work from this filmmaker can impact and change dialogue in American Culture.
From the stage of the Urban League's 100th Anniversary Celebration, the esteemed poet and the rapper Common perform a glittering "Old School/New School" call and response. Maya Angelou recites each stanza of "Songs of the Old Ones," as Common interprets in what Angelou observes as "his preferred language of hip hop."
Recalling their relationship in the 1960's, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. appointed Maya Angelou as the Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Maya Angelou honors the memory of civil rights activist Dorothy Heightending with a poetic tribute.
Maya Angelou's Black History Month Special is underwritten by AT&T. More information and a list of public radio stations currently airing the program can be found at mayaangelouonpublicradio.com. Articles featuring additional content on Black History Month with guest introductions will reside on www.att.com/thebridge. Maya Angelou will post onhttp://www.facebook.com/MayaAngelou with 1.9 million fans and tweets on Twitter.
From RCW Media Productions Inc.
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Thursday, January 27, 2011

School experiments with all-black homerooms






McCaskey tries new mentoring program
School experiments with all-black homerooms
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Updated Jan 23, 2011 21:17
Lancaster
By BRIAN WALLACE, Staff Writer
Media Center
Math teacher Michael Mitchell speaks to his homeroom class at McCaskey East. McCaskey East has a new homeroom program that involves students to inspire to do better in school and persue college and careers.

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During a recent class period at McCaskey East High School, T'onna Johnson's class discussed a film, learned about a college-visit trip, talked about designing a class T-shirt and was encouraged to sign up for a seminar on the importance of a good education.
This all happened during homeroom  — that fleeting period when teachers take attendance, principals make announcements and students, usually, don't do much of anything.
Not at McCaskey East.
Every junior at the school has been paired with an adult homeroom mentor who tries to squeeze as much information and activities as possible into six minutes each day and 20 minutes twice a month.
The intent of the program, implemented in mid-December, is simple, principal Bill Jimanez said: "Let's make these guys think for six minutes about their future."
Every junior — the class that will take PSSA tests this year — was matched with a teacher who already had a relationship with that pupil.
But in the case of T'onna's class, there are other ties that bind the homeroom.
Every pupil is a black female. And their mentors are both female African-Americans. Across the hall, two homerooms of black male students are led by black men.
The all-black homerooms are part of an experiment to determine if grouping students homogeneously for a brief period each day will help them socially and academically.
"At first I was kind of like iffy because why would we be in homeroom together?" T'onna recalled. "But we work together and we do problems together, so I like it.
"Here we learn about how we can basically make a difference and how we don't have to settle for less."
•
The idea originated with Angela Tilghman, a McCaskey East instructional coach who was alarmed at the poor academic performance of the school's black students.
Only about a third of McCaskey's African-Americans scored proficient or advanced in reading on last year's PSSAs, compared with 60 percent of white students and 42 percent of all students.
Math scores were even worse, with just 27 percent of black pupils scoring proficient or advanced.
Research has shown, Tilghman said, that grouping black students by gender with a strong role model can help boost their academic achievement and self-esteem.
She and fellow instructional coach Rhauni Gregory volunteered to mentor the African-American girls, and Michael Mitchell and Willie Thedford each took a homeroom of black males.
No other students were divided by race, Jimanez said, although pupils enrolled in the school's English language learners program were paired with ELL teachers.
Initially, some McCaskey East students and staff objected to separating out black students. Some juniors asked to go back to their old homerooms. Others complained that the experiment ran counter to the culture of McCaskey, long a melting pot of students and staff from many diverse backgrounds.
But Jimanez said the academic data dictated the school take a different approach with its black students.
"One of the things we said when we did this was, 'Let's look at the data, let's not run from it,' " he said. "Let's confront it and see what we can do about it."
In all homerooms, teachers are tracking their students' grades, test scores and attendance and encouraging them to engage in discussions around "goal setting and self-actualization," Jimanez said.
In Thedford's class, for instance, students weren't assigned seats but were asked to sit at desks at which he had placed such name tags as "doctor," "friend," "lawyer" and "father."
When his pupils arrived, Thedford asked them to sit at the name tag that applied to them, and the class spent several days talking about what it takes to be those people.
"Once they said it, they were put to the task to aspire to be that person on the card," Thedford said. "Believe it or not, those kids got a sense of ownership.
"If you can get a bunch of kids, no matter what nationality or ethnicity, to buy into something that nobody ever said they could do, that's a good thing."
•
Tilghman and Gregory's homeroom, dubbed the Black Diamonds, has discussed books and movies that emphasize strong relationships between black women. Last week, the students hosted a group of female black professionals who talked about the importance of getting a good education.
"This isn't something we're just trying to preach to you about," Tilghman told the class. "This is the reality. Black women today need education."
The mentors also have talked about common stereotypes about black girls — that they're aggressive, combative, "cackling and confrontational" and more interested in pursuing relationships than academics, Tilghman said.
According to research, black students tend to feel disengaged and alienated in school and "act out behaviorally because they don't perform," she said.
"Our first theme was sisterhood so we can get them to see that we're here for each other and they have people they can rely on," Tilghman said.
The mentors also shared with students a detailed analysis of their test scores and grades.
The feedback "has had a very good impact on me because it shows where we have our weaknesses and strengths," junior Hilarie Gbote said. "It makes me want to go to college and be one of those people who become successful in life."

  

•
Mitchell, a math teacher, incorporates algebra problems into many of his homerooms, focusing on the skills students have struggled with on the 4Sight, a test that predicts a pupil's performance on the PSSA.
He often cites to his students a quote by the Rev. Martin Luther King: "Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
Mitchell recently used the quote when he reviewed his students' progress reports and noticed a couple of them were failing gym class.
"They're all young. They're all strong. They're all athletic. But they're failing because they chose not to participate," he said.
"That's an example of conscientious stupidity. You can do but you choose not to do. These are the things we need to get away from."
Mitchell, who graduated from McCaskey in 1983 and "bounced around" the city's 7th Ward while growing up, said he has a lot in common with many of his students.
"There are things I can say to these young men specifically to get them to do things that maybe some of our other fine educators can't reach or touch," he said.
Mitchell doesn't agree with those who criticize grouping black students together.
"I would have a problem if every class period was like that, but it's six minutes most days and 20 minutes other days," he said.
"In that amount of time, I don't think there's anti-anything going on in that classroom that's negative and takes away from any other group or that makes students feel like they're not part of the school."
But, at the same time, he said, it's important for adults to address the issues that are unique to blacks.
He has discussed with his students how the city's unemployment rate is higher for African-Americans than for other ethnic groups, and Tilghman has talked about how statistics indicate that black males are three times as likely to spend time in jail as to earn a college degree.
All of the discussions point to the need for a good education.
"Part of my job is to hammer home the importance of taking seriously anything that's put in front of you," Mitchell said.
"I see all too often when students give up far too easily these days, and parents will allow this to perpetuate itself, and then students think they don't have to complete anything."

 

•
In the few weeks the homerooms have been meeting together, the mentors said, they've seen a change in their students.
"You notice the level of interaction is different, the way they talk is different," Thedford said.
"One of the simplest things you notice right away is, before, the pants were hanging down; now, they are up. The shirt is tucked in, where before, it was hanging out. That's tangible."
It remains to be seen whether the homogeneous groupings boost students' test scores. Pupils will take PSSA tests in March.
But junior Mikeos Ango said his new homeroom has already made a difference.
"It definitely makes you think about stuff more," he said. "We have great role models as our teachers right now. They've been in our shoes before, and so we learn something from them every day."
His classmate, Dominique Miller, said the homeroom has helped combat the common stereotypes about black males — "the same old kids who don't do any work, think school is a waste of time and just come here to see their friends."
"Now I'm happy that other people can see my brothers, the people I'm associated with in this homeroom, are hoping to better themselves, and the teachers are hoping to better themselves," he said.
"It's about empowering who you really are.
"It kind of makes me think that, instead of just being successful, I'm being a successful black male."


Read more: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/341937#ixzz1CH5bBVwM
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