The makers of Airborne have agreed to refund money to consumers as part of a $23.3 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit for false advertising. It does not admit wrongdoing or illegal conduct.

Products included are the Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Airborne On-the-Go, Airborne Power Pixies, Airborne Nighttime, Airborne Jr., Airborne Gummi, and Airborne Seasonal (formerly sold as Airborne Seasonal Relief).

The evidence is compelling that when insulin levels are high, certain tissues are overloaded with fatty molecules, which leads to insulin resistance. And yet, the high blood glucose levels of many obese patients with insulin-resistant type 2 diabetes are being treated with increasing amounts of insulin in an attempt to overpower that resistance. While high doses of insulin may lower glucose levels, it will also increase the fatty molecules and may cause organ damage.

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Sleep only when sleepy

Don't oversleep or nap during the day.

Have a light snack before bed

Laugh a little. What a comedy, joke with a friend and drop your stress hormones.

Put your work in perspective and get a hobby. A joint study of 314 workers conducted by the University of South Australia and the University of Rotterdam found that workers with higher levels of active leisurely activities, such as exercise, hobbies, and social activity, were able not only to bounce back from workplace stress better than their always-on-the-job coworkers but also sleep significantly better than others.

Use sunlight to set your biological clock

Connect. Studies at UCLA reveal that women's friendships and relationships with their children can block stress hormones.

Stay away from caffeine, nicotine and alcohol at least 4-6 hours before bed. (Nicotine is a stimulant)

Stretch and relaxation - Some people find that a gentle stretching routine for several minutes just before getting into bed helps induce sleep. Others practice relaxation techniques. Libraries or bookstores have books on developing stretching or relaxation routines.

Put yourself on a regular schedule, going to bed and getting up at the same time each day.

Forgive others and let go of the past.

Be realistic. Rather than worrying about what you want to do match your expectations with what can actually be done.

Create a pre-sleep ritual. Ideally, nights should be as relaxing as possible, but try telling this to a working mom who needs to get a million things done.

Wind down for the night at least 30 to 60 minutes before bed.

Exercise early in the day.

Avoid drinking large amounts of fluid late in the day. A full bladder doesn't make for a good nights sleep.

Cut down on alcohol. Alcohol might help you get to sleep, but it results in shallow and disturbed sleep, abnormal dream periods, and frequent early morning awakening.

Check your iron level. Iron deficient women tend to have more problems sleeping, so if your blood is iron poor, a supplement might help your health and your ability to sleep.

Change your lifestyle expectations. According to a poll by the American Psychological Association, 4 of the top 10 stressors we experience are related to money. Do with less, be healthy and be happy.

A good sleep environment can help:

• Make sure your bed is large enough, and comfortable. If you are disturbed by a restless bedmate, switch to a queen- or king-size bed. Test different types of mattresses. Try therapeutic shaped foam pillows that cradle your neck or extra pillows that help you sleep on your side. Get comfortable cotton sheets.


• Make your bedroom primarily a place for sleeping. It is not a good idea to use your bed for paying bills, doing work, etc. Help your body recognize that this is a place for rest or intimacy.


• Keep your bedroom peaceful and comfortable. Make sure your room is well ventilated and the temperature consistent. And try to keep it quiet. You could use a fan or a "white noise" machine to help block outside noises.


• Hide your clock. A big, illuminated digital clock may cause you to focus on the time and make you feel stressed and anxious. Place your clock so you can't see the time when you are in bed.

Gastric bypass surgery can lead to diabetes remission independent of weight loss even in subjects who are are not obese, which points to the small bowel as the possible site of critical mechanisms for the development of diabetes.

Women with type 1 diabetes who take less insulin than they should to try to lose weight triple their risk of dying compared to women who do not skip insulin doses, a new study finds.

University of Minnesota School of Public Health Project Eating Among Teens (EAT) researchers have found further evidence to support the importance of encouraging youth to eat breakfast regularly. Researchers examined the association between breakfast frequency and five-year body weight change in more than 2,200 adolescents, and the results indicate that daily breakfast eaters consumed a healthier diet and were more physically active than breakfast skippers during adolescence. Five years later, the daily breakfast eaters also tended to gain less weight and have lower body mass index levels an indicator of obesity risk compared with those who had skipped breakfast as adolescents.

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More Non-invasive hype? Researchers at Baylor University, in Waco, TX, have engineered a thumb-pad sensor that measures glucose levels via electromagnetic waves--no finger pricking required. "The sensor is still in the early stages of development." - more

Gene Discovery - The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has developed a large-scale effort to identify the genes responsible for common childhood diseases. The Center for Applied Genomics aims to improve understanding of the genetic causes of the most prevalent diseases of childhood, including ADHD, asthma, allergies, obesity, diabetes and cancer -- all of which are thought be caused by the complex interactions of multiple genes within our bodies. - more

Beta Cells - treatments for diabetes that will restore of preserve insulin secretion in order to delay or prevent long-term complications from the disease. - more

Prevent Type 1 - Researchers have begun a clinical study of oral insulin to prevent or delay type 1 diabetes in at-risk people - more

Why Low-Carb may be better: A diet low in carbohydrates but high in animal fat and protein doesn't seem to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes in women, a new study claims. - more

Dexcom Testimonial: not research but looks good!

Embryonic Defects: linked to diabetes.

Exercise can help: A few good workouts might be the first steps toward better diabetes control - more

Note: except in cases in which research contradicts "conventional wisdom", no peer review or technical assessments are reported. Why?

For the study, nine volunteers spent two or three nights at a sleep lab on two visits. On the shorter visit, they were allowed to sleep undisturbed. On the longer, whenever they went into slow-wave sleep, they heard sounds loud enough to interrupt the sleep stage but not wake them.

Afterward, the volunteers were found to be less sensitive to the insulin the body produces to regulate sugar levels. And they did not produce more insulin to make up for it.

People with weight problems often do not sleep well, the researchers said. The same is true for many people as they age. The findings suggest that if sleep can be improved, perhaps the risk of diabetes may be lowered.

University of NSW PhD student Roderick Sih and his supervisor, Professor Neil Foster, are developing technology to deliver insulin orally and hope it could go on the market within two years.

A global patent for ARISE insulin has been filed by New South Innovations, the commercial arm of the UNSW. Mr Sih said it could undergo clinical trials within six months.

Successive nights of disturbed sleep appear to put people at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to research in which scientists interfered with volunteers' sleep patterns.

The research is the first to show that disturbed sleep can affect the production of insulin, and consequently a person's ability to metabolise glucose. It could have huge implications for understanding and tackling the diabetes epidemic that is predicted to grip western countries due to increasingly obese populations.

According to the leading charity Diabetes UK, there are more than 2.3 million people with diabetes in the UK, and up to 750,000 more who have the condition but do not know it.

Between 85% and 95% of diabetes cases are type 2, which typically develops later in life and is linked to obesity.

A causal relationship between hyperglycaemia and oxidative stress leading to vasoconstriction (a narrowing of the blood vessels) and thus high blood pressure. Acute glycaemic variability appear to play particular important roles in this mechanism.