Rising blood sugar is an insidious enemy, stealthly creeping on you and quietly damaging your organs before you know you are being hurt. If you have a family history, or a genetic disposition (African American and Hispanics), you need to aware of this quiet killer and how you can keep it under control.

I posted last week about how broccoli is a natural fighter of blood sugar. Take a look at what weight resistance exercise and some extra protein can do for you. http://www.realage.com/ct/eat-smart/food-and-nutrition/tip/7373

Just 12 weeks of resistance training -- along with a significant bump in protein intake -- lowered blood sugar levels by about 25 percent in a study of healthy older adults. Strength training may be particularly valuable because it boosts a muscle protein that helps regulate blood sugar.

25%!!! Holy cow! A 25% difference could mean the difference between using insulin shots to manage the type 2 diabetes. If you have type 2 diabetes, think about that for a second or two...you could possibly live without having to carry an insulin "pen", not having to worry about forgetting your shot, the time and expense of having to buy those shots or "pens", the time for testing, the worry of later in life of losing a toe, toes, feet, or the bottom half of your leg. The relief of escaping the killing. The power is within you to make that difference, yet have to decide if you want to use that power of give in to the killer.

Please forgive me if I sound dramatic. I see people people who are active and full of life being struck down by cancer, a disease out of their control, and they are desperate for a cure. And then I hear about folks who have the chance to manage their type 2 diabetes, and instead they would rather stick themselves with an insulin shot instead of doing a little exercise and being smart with what they eat, and it starts to bother me that to these folks, life is so cheap. Life is a gift to be treasured, because once it is gone, there is no turning back, so when I see those who are throwing away their lives because they perform some basic prevention, and others who would nearly give anything for the chance to live, it bothers me. Yes, you have the right to live in the manner you want. Please do not make me care if you decide to slowly kill yourself. If you have diabetes and insulin is the only way you can live, then I'm not talking to you. If you are in that situation, typically this is type 1 diabetes, my prayers go out to you. A childhood friend of mine was diagnosed with type 1 when we were kids, and while I haven't talked to him in so many years that I'm embarassed to admit it, I still think of him today and worry about his health. Type 1 has its hold, you are merely keeping it from straggling you. Again, you have my prayers.