By Staff Reports
(DGIwire) — Each year, the holiday season seems to start earlier and earlier. Halloween candy hits the shelves in late August and Christmas decorations appear in stores before Thanksgiving. Between sugary Halloween treats, enormous Thanksgiving feasts and Christmas candy canes—not to mention the chocolate overload on Valentine’s Day—it’s easy to feel as if we’re eating enough to sustain ourselves through next year’s holiday season.
Amid the food-filled festivities, people with Type 2 diabetes face a particular problem. Managing their blood sugar levels can be tricky all year round, but with so many sweets dancing in front of their eyes during the holidays, it can seem like a Sisyphean task.
The key to controlling Type 2 diabetes is ensuring that the proper ratio of insulin enters the bloodstream at the right time to assist the digestion of food. If this doesn’t happen, the consequences can range from uncomfortable to debilitating, and even life-threatening in some severe cases. Drastic spikes of highs and lows in blood sugar levels can cause mood swings, dizziness or fainting, lethargy, nausea and blurred vision. Living with someone who has diabetes and experiences these symptoms can be a challenge unto itself, but if help and support can be given to family members with diabetes, a healthy lifestyle can be established for all.
Managing blood sugar levels takes persistent care and vigilance. Those with diabetes must constantly monitor themselves for this and other symptoms. It’s a juggling act that is time-consuming and nerve-wracking.
Boston Therapeutics, Inc. is working to help people concerned about blood sugar address these issues. It is currently in clinical trials testing a treatment that aims to reduce post-meal blood sugar spikes by reducing the glucose available to be absorbed into the bloodstream. The product, called BTI-320, blocks enzymes that break down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars, which helps to avoid dramatic spikes.
David Platt, CEO of Boston Therapeutics, says, “When someone is diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, their whole family is effected. In making his or her life more manageable, we hope one day to make their family’s lives easier too. It would be wonderful to one day help these patients and their families.”