Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - University of Virginia - (Page 6)

BY MELANIE DICK Taming Diabetes Without Drugs In the ﬁrst six months of It seems gravely ill to be true: 2013, sixalmost too goodchildren managing diabetes with diet and exer- received new hearts at UVA. cise alone-no pills or insulin injections? And yet, that is exactly what a UVA The youngest were infants. Health System research team is ﬁnding The second oldest was an to be possible. Four years ago, UVA behavioral scientist Daniel Cox, PhD, had an unsettling feeling. Despite a clean bill of health from his primary care doctor, he still felt like something was off. Symptoms such as blurry vision, constant thirst and frequent urination throughout the night pointed toward something he wasn't expecting: type 2 diabetes. With no family history of diabetes, the diagnosis came as a shock. But the truth was in the numbers: His fasting blood glucose (blood sugar) level had reached 179, signiﬁcantly higher than a healthy 100 to 140 range. He was immediately referred to an endocrinologist, who recommended he start on BY KELLY CASEY diabetes medication. But Cox, who has spent more than 30 years in the medical research ﬁeld, had something else in mind. athletic 11-year-old whose mom shares his story. A MORE NATURAL APPROACH "I didn't want to rely on medication to manage my diabetes," he says. "Something about my lifestyle had elevated my blood sugar to an unhealthy level, and I wanted to see if changing my lifestyle could lower it back down." 6 SPRING 2 014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - University of Virginia

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - University of Virginia
Contents
Life in Balance
Healthy Dose
Humble Yet World Famous
Taming Diabetes Without Drugs
Occupational Hazards
The New Rules of Play
Shopping for Two
Back to Basics
Burn, Baby, Burn
Angelina Jolie
Rock Your Health
Breaking Up with Salt
Disgusting! (or Not?)
Virtual Health
Make an Informed Decision
Hitting the Jackpot
Caring for an Aging Parent?

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - University of Virginia