Mary Tyler Moore is the International Chairman for JDRF

The American Diabetes Association adopted the following classification in 1979.

Type –1, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
Type-2, non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

There are two other kinds of diabetes, known as gestational diabetes and secondary diabetes. There is also a special kind of diabetes in India called malnutrition related diabetes.

Type-1 Insulin-Dependant Diabetes

This is the most severe form of diabetes. It develops when pancreas makes little or no insulin. Without insulin in the blood stream, sugar does not get into the cells, and remains in the blood. People with type-1 diabetes depend on injections of insulin to regulate their smaller metabolism. Type I diabetes, also known as adolescent diabetes, differs from Type 2 in that the body stops producing insulin altogether.  Type I diabetes is generally diagnosed in children or young adults.

Type-2 Non Insulin Dependent Diabetes

This type of diabetes is also known as adult onset diabetes. It seldom develops before the age of 40 years, although it may occur at any stage. Infect the incidence of type-2 diabetes in adolescents in on the rise. But because the symptoms are milk, these may not notice and the condition remains undetected for a long period and till later years. In Type 2 diabetes the pancreas either does not produce adequate levels of insulin or the body becomes resistant to its own insulin.

One common factor in both type-1 and type-2 diabetes is elevated blood sugar levels. However, unlike type-1 diabetes, type-2 is not a disease of the immune system. While people with type-1 diabetes must use insulin to live, most of those with type-2 diabetes are able to control the disease and even reverse it. This is possible by a combination of a diabetic meal plan, proper weight control and adequate exercise.

Beef Pot Roast

Whether this is your first date and you are just now getting to know each other, it’s your anniversary and you and your significant other are celebrating your long lasting love together, taking the time to plan a romantic meal, and pulling out all the stops, can create the ultimate ambience. You can make it easy on yourself by buying already prepared meals from MagicKitchen.com. If you serve delicious dishes like Beef Pot Roast followed by an incredible dessert like Chocolate Ganache Cake; how could you not have the beginnings of the perfect date?

Planning the menu for a perfect date doesn’t need to be about serving the most expensive wines and putting together complicated entrees, A romantic evening with your partner is all about showing them how much you care about them and since the beginning of time food has been a great way to set the mood. Arranging an intimate evening at home, away from the unwanted distractions of a busy restaurant lets you focus on yourselves as a couple. The most important thing to remember is to have fun and get to know each other over the carefully thought out menu you’ve planned for your perfect date.

The meal is the most important part of “The Perfect” date and you’ll want to plan a main course that is light enough to leave room for a delicious dessert, also keeping in mind your date’s likes and dislikes. You can’t lose if you make a hearty, flavorful Beef Pot Roast with gravy and maybe some fresh green beans and new potatoes as side dishes. Follow this wonderful meal with a rich and creamy, melt in your mouth Tiramisu and your irresistible treat is sure to get the reaction you’re looking for.

Chicken Parmigiana

Another great choice that should be considered as the mainstay on a menu for the perfect date is Beef Stroganoff with pasta, everybody’s favorite comfort food. If you and your date are more partial to chicken, luscious, rich Chicken Marsala is fantastic choice, covered with savory mushrooms and delightful wine sauce. Another favorite is Chicken Parmigiana, cooked to perfection, bathed in delectable tomato sauce, covered with Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

If you or your loved ones enjoy dessert, and who doesn’t, then you’ll want to try the Chocolate Lovers bundle, a wonderful collection of rich delicious chocolate desserts. For something different try the “Bada-Bing” cherry bread pudding which not only delivers a delightful taste, you’ll have fun with the name; a cute conversation piece. When it comes to desserts, cakes are always a great choice and can range from traditional carrot cake to a moist and delicious chocolate cake, to an assortment gourmet cupcakes. Perhaps you want something more along the lines of double fudge brownie or Dutch apple pie (topped off with ice cream maybe?); yum!

The best way to put together your menu for a perfect date is to make it a surprise and keep it simple. Over complicating things will just stress you out and make you feel anxious. This is supposed to be fun and exciting and by planning your menu with the choices mentioned above you can relax, enjoy a glass of wine and your date will appreciate all your efforts in putting together the perfect date.

Cheryl, MagicKitchen.com blogger

What do you do?

Many of us would be reaching for that coffee, tea, or other beverage to perk us up and give us that much-needed energy boost to get through the next few hours. Both full-sized energy drinks – like Red Bull and Monster Energy – and energy shots, like Living Essentials’ 5-Hour Energy are popular pick-me-ups among tired college students and daily grind workers alike. Although these kinds of drinks can be handy when you need a quick energy boost – like when driving a long distance and you need to be alert, or before a big exam you were cramming for the night before – caffeinated drinks, like many things, should be consumed and used in moderation.

There’s tons of other healthy ways to ensure you’re awake, alert, and aware during the day, most days – here’s some of our favorite tricks.

Eat a good breakfast

Breakfast is often called the most important meal of the day, and there’s a reason why. Right when you awake, your body has been going without food during the hours you were sleeping, and your brain needs nutrients to get you going. Starting the day right means you’ll have more energy throughout the day.

Ensure your meals are healthy and balanced

Eating a healthy meal is always a good idea, but making sure healthy eating is a part of your everyday lifestyle will help you become more awake and energized long term. And, if you’re looking for a sweet treat, dark chocolate can be a healthier pick-me-up, thanks to the antioxidants found in it.

Get a good night’s sleep

This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people routinely get less sleep than recommended by professionals. The Mayo Clinicsuggests adults get 7-9 hours of sleep a night – if you routinely are getting less than that, it can contribute to a lack of mental awareness and sharpness during the day.

Eat smaller, healthy meals or snacks throughout the day

Croissant and Jam from MagicKitchen.com

Eating small, healthy meals or snacks throughout the day, on a regular basis, can help you maintain your energy levels as well. Frequent, smaller portions help maintain your blood sugar levels and avoid the dreaded sugar “crash”, which makes you feel tired, sluggish, and slow.

Take multivitamins

Ensuring our bodies are getting the right vitamins and minerals is paramount to how we feel throughout the day and week. Something as simple as taking a multivitamin can help us get those much-needed nutrients, and will often help when it comes to energy level and mood.

By maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you’ll feel more energized and awake on a regular basis. Of course, on those one-off occurrences when you’re exhausted and need to stay alert after a long day, it’s fine to indulge in an energy drink or coffee – but, again, moderation is key.

We knew that as people scrolled down, they no longer could see the navigation menu on the left. So we fixed it!

Now it’s one thing to drink in college and pop up the next day for class or part time work, however adult life isn’t always as easy. I’m going to give you some tips to help you go out for the office birthday at the club then be fine come Thursday mornings meeting.

First and foremost preventative measures will help to prevent those terrible, mind numbing, don’t turn on the lights yet hangovers. Often times dehydration is a big issue in the anatomy of a hangover. If you make sure to drink a glass of water to every five beers, or two shots of spirits and harder liquor you can ease most effects you’ll end up feeling the next morning.

Before going to sleep, or err.. should I say passing out depending on how hard you party, make sure you have a dollar water gallon container and chug as much as you can. The sooner you imbibe water after alcohol the sooner the chemical support can occur.

Alright the worst has happened; you wake up to the sound of your alarm clock, but this morning it sounds like the screaming of women and children and slaughter of pigs. Your head is pounding, your mouth tastes like batteries, you still have yesterdays clothes on with a stain down the front of your chest, and the sight of morning sunlight feels like getting eye surgery done with a fork.

You don’t understand why this is happening and your iPhone has about 40 texts about how you were “Nearly a god king among men” from around 5 hours ago. We’ve all been there right? Now for the hard part you still need to get to work within 50 minutes, what can you eat for breakfast to help from dying all day in the office? Have no fear, if you didn’t drink the water the night before the first thing is drink about 5 glasses of water.

Protein synthesizes with alcohol in both the bloodstream and liver so if you have that “I woke up drunk” hangover a good move is making eggs.

Some scrambled eggs with cheese are quick and easy with either a stove or microwave to let you spend time on showering and preparing for a day of finding out “What exactly did I do last night?”

Brett, MagicKitchen.com blogger

Chocolate Cake

Packing the perfect picnic hamper for your picnic is crucial to having a great picnic. You can pack gourmet meals in your picnic hamper, but you have to know what all you need to pack and how you need to pack it in order for the picnic to go off without a hitch. The last thing you want to do is plan that perfect picnic with that special someone in your life or with family and it all fall apart because of your picnic hamper was not packed correctly. Packing it right will ensure you have the perfect meal delivery. Here are some tips to help you pack the perfect picnic hamper for that special picnic.

Plan Ahead

For starters, you will need to plan ahead. Make yourself a little plan of the meal and drinks you want to take to the picnic. Ready made meals are the best, that way you don’t have to make your meals once you get to the location of the picnic. By planning ahead, you will know what you will need in order to fix the pre-made meal and also what type of containers you will need.

Purchase Different Containers

A very important part to packing the perfect picnic hamper is packing the pre-made meals so that it doesn’t spill out, get crushed, or spoil. This can be accomplished by buying different types of containers for the food. So, once you have planned out the pre-made meal you are going to fix, you will know the type of containers you will need.

Don’t Forget Your Supplies

When you are planning, don’t forget to add your supplies to the list of things to get. You will need to pack your utensils, plates, cups, and whatever else you are going to need in the picnic hamper.

Grab Your Cloth

To top the perfect picnic hamper off, grab your cloth or cover that you are going to sit on at the picnic. You can fold this neatly and place it on top of the picnic hamper

There you have a few tips that will help you pack the perfect picnic hamper for your perfect picnic. You can also throw in extra things like flowers and a vase or candles. Try not to pack anything that you don’t need though, it will only weigh you down!

Amanda, MagicKitchen.com blogger

1. Shrimp Scampi

Just as delicious as it sounds, shrimp scampi is a dish consisting of buttered shrimp prepared with garlic, onions, white wine, and lemon juice.

2. Fried Shrimp

While there are many ways to fry shrimp, this dish often refers to deep fried shrimp that have been breaded in flour and/or cornmeal. Cocktail sauce makes a great side dip.

3. Shrimp Fettucine Alfredo

Shrimp fettucine alfredo consists of pasta and shrimp served in a thick, creamy parmesan sauce, often with broccoli.

4. Shrimp Rangoon

An alternative to crab rangoon, shrimp rangoon are made in the same way: combining the shredded meat with cream cheese, folding it into wonton wrappers, and deep frying it.

5. Shrimp Burrito

Hey, why not? You can use all the same ingredients found in a chicken burrito to make a shrimp burrito—just hold the chicken and add shrimp.

We hope some of these shrimp meals have made your mouth water, or at least given you a new look at an old seafood favorite. Bon appétit!

We need to accompany this article with some serious news (come on, you know we’re never serious!):

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Steve, MagicKitchen.com blogger

Red Snapper in Mediterranean Sauce

Mediterranean meals are some of my favorite to eat. I love gyros (pronounced yee-rohs) and they are relatively easy to customize into different meal ideas. Home prepared meals tend to provide me with a superior dining experience than I can get from any restaurant. The meal ideas can come from southern France, Greece, southern Italy, Morocco, Spain or Tunisia. Mediterranean meals overall can help combat diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer and heart disease. The overall health of someone who eats a lot of Mediterranean meals improves drastically since most of the meals include extra virgin olive oil, fruits, nuts, vegetables and whole grains. Lean protein is also included (especially fish) as well as low fat dairy, even a glass of wine with dinner.

What’s more, regular Mediterranean meals can help lower the risk for depression. Depression is alleviated through the combination of polyunsaturated fats that are found in extra virgin olive oil and nuts. Antioxidants found in fruits also contribute to the fight against depression. The vegetables and wine provide B Vitamins, flavonoids and natural folate, all of which combat depression. I know it certainly helps me combat my own depression. I have noticed a lot more up days than down days when I have been eating Mediterranean meals. The up days are compounded by the delicious food I’ve been eating all from the meal ideas I draw from the internet or cook books.

The great thing about Mediterranean meals is anyone can make them. You probably have the right ingredients in your pantry as we speak and anything you do not already have in your pantry you will want to get from the grocery store (usually there is an ethnic section with Mediterranean style additions). At the very least you can get extra virgin olive oil and find a recipe online for really great gyros or other pita dips. Fresh vegetables are the best for cooking, but frozen will work if necessary. Canned vegetables are the lowest choice, but they will work if necessary. Likewise using fresh fruits will work the best, but frozen fruits will suffice. Stay away from canned fruits that are marinated in syrup, but those in their own juices or water can be used for Mediterranean meals.

Ned, MagicKitchen.com blogger

But don’t trust us, have a look at what Katie has to say about wine:

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For example, if you are cooking Chicken Marsala, you should use Marsala wine and Sherry. If you are cooking Beef Bordelaise, you should use Red wine or Drycabernet Sauvignon wine. So, it really depends on what you are cooking. Another thing you will want to consider when cooking with wine, is what type of meal you will be using the wine with. Will you be making a sauce with wine, a desert with wine, or a meat with wine? This will help determine the best wine for cooking stuff. Here are some of the best wines for cooking stuff.

Red wine is the most used wine for cooking. Red wine is often used for meats and sauces when cooking. Under the Red wine category is the Dry Red wine and it is often used for meats as well. Red wine is the recommended wine for Beef Bordelaise too. So, many dishes call for Red wine and will make the dish so much better!

White wine is another wine that is used with a lot of dishes. White wine and Marsala wine is pretty similar, so if you are cooking something like Chicken Marsala, you will want to go with the White wine or the Marsala wine.

Red wine and White wine are the two main categories for wine most used to cook with. Under these categories, you will find wines such as Marsala, Sherry,  Drycabernet Sauvignon, and so on.

Keep in mind when choosing a wine to cook with, you should only use wines that you would actually drink. If a recipe calls for a wine you wouldn’t dare drink, don’t use it. That is a rule of thumb to always go by. Cooking wines are the worse and should never be used. Instead, substitute it for wines that you would drink.

Dark and Stormy

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This drink, very popular in Bermuda, is one for the rum fans, pairing the intense complexities and natural spice of a dark rum with the fiery taste of ginger beer. It packs a punch, but it’s still very refreshing. Simply combine one part dark rum with five parts ginger beer. You can shake things up by either adding some fresh lime juice, or by trading the dark rum for white rum to create a ‘light and stormy’.

Lynchburg Lemonade

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This is such a refreshing drink that even those who don’t normally find whisky to be to their taste may want to give it a go. You’ll need a bourbon or sour mash whiskey, triple sec, and sour mix, all of which are used as one part each against four parts of bitter lemonade. Add the lemonade last and stir well. Serve with crushed ice, garnished with a few maraschino cherries.

Mojito

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This Cuban cocktail combines a number of ingredients which come together to perfectly compliment the rum base. White rum is used, along with sugar, mint, lime juice and soda water.

The exact method to follow (and even the exact ingredients that should be used) to make an authentic mojito are subject to much debate, but the following steps should do the trick;

Place four mint leaves in a tall glass and then squeeze in the juice from your lime. Add a tea spoon of sugar and use the back of the spoon to mash the leaves, juice and sugar together. Next, add your rum before topping off with soda water.

Michelada

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This Mexican concoction is something of an acquired taste, but for those who enjoy a bit of spice, it’s the ideal refresher. In some parts of Latin America it’s even used as a hangover cure!

Take a glass, rim it with salt by running lime around the edge of the glass and placing it upside down on a plate with salt spread across it. Squeeze in the juice of a lime, then add a dash of Tabasco, a dash of Worcestershire sauce and a dash of soy sauce, before filling to the top with your Mexican larger of choice.

Vodka and Cranberry Juice

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Okay, so this isn’t so much a cocktail as a single spirit with a single mixer, but then it’s so good, why add anything else? Of course, there are a number of ways you can build on this drink. Pineapple, orange, lime and grapefruit juice can all agreeably enter into the equation, and if you want to throw in something a bit weightier, try using peach schnapps as well as vodka.

Will Kerr uses his experience of student life to write on a number of topics, from having a good time on a budget, to revision tips.