BORDEAUX : CHÂTEAU COS D'ESTOURNEL

The Vineyard of Cos

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The vineyard of Cos spreads around the château on 91 hectares.

The Cabernet Sauvignon vines (60% of the vineyard) find the soil of their choice in the thin layers of gravely soil situated on the top and on the southern slopes of the hill.

On the other hand, the Merlot vines (40% of the vineyard) excel on the eastern slopes and on the slopes where the Saint-Estephe limestone bed shows on the surface.

The percentage of Cabernet and Merlot varies from one vintage to another according to the year weather conditions, benefiting successively to the one or the other.

Plantation is extremely dense (8000 to 10000 vines per hectare) and the average age of the vineyard is high (35 years old on the average) in order to enable the roots to extend excessively and to obtain a very slender yield per vine that will create the "Grand Goût"

Only the wines coming from over 20 years old vines will have the name of Château Cos d'Estournel.

- THE MANUAL LABOUR TRADITION -

Each vine grower is in charge of 45 000 vines on which they have got to undertake various labours every year. These cultural tasks are for most of them done manually.

The harvest is of course manually picked too. And it is by hand that the grapes, once collected in special wooden baskets, will be strictly selected.

DIY Handmade Seed Beads Bag

Healthy Whole Grains, Just as Healthy as Pepsi--One Reader Reports

As readers of this blog know, there's nothing I like better than data, and there's no data I like better than the blood sugar meter test results that tell an individual what foods they can eat without raising their blood sugar over the level that causes complications (which is roughly 140 mg/dl or 7.7 mmol/L).

So I was intrigued when a Richard Smith, a friend of the blog, sent me the following report on his personal study as to how what dietitians like to call "healthy whole grains" affected his blood sugar, using as a control a 12 ounce glass of regular Pepsi.

Richard gave me permission to share his data, so here it is:

The New Pepsi Challenge results (Pepsi vs. whole grains)

Food	Net carbs	BG before eating	BG at 1 hour	BG at 90 minutes	BG at 2 hours
12oz Pepsi	42g	89	156	127	101
Oatmeal and milk	40g	113	163	N/A	92
Whole wheat bread	48g	93	141	142	107
Whole wheat toast & milk	36g	103	173	143	94

Testing was done with a NovaMax meter over a two day period.

He adds: It is no surprise that meals with whole grain starches have about the same effect on my blood sugar as drinking a 12oz Pepsi.

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This was his brilliant counter-argument to the advice of ADA-associated nutritionist, Hope Warshaw, whose recommendations have been getting more attention on the interwebs than they deserve.

But rather than rage against the so called professionals who give toxic advice, I'd just like to remind everyone reading that your blood sugar meter is the most powerful diabetes-correction tool you own. Test your blood sugar after you eat a food you've been told is healthy to find out if it really is "diabetes friendly" for you.

There is solid research that points out that heart disease gets going when blood sugars rise over 155 mg/dl (8.6 mmol/L) one hour after meals. (DetailsHERE.)

Obviously the "healthy whole grains" beloved by doctors, nutritionists, and the American Diabetes Association failed to pass the "diabetes friendly" test for this experimenter.

So consider no food healthy unless your own one hour post-meal numbers after eating eating them in a meal comes in under 155 mg/dl (8.6 mmol/L) and, ideally, under the 140 mg/dl (7.7 mmol/L) level that, maintained over time, usually results in an A1c in the 5% range.

Type 2 Diabetes: What Is It?

Diabetes is a chronic condition that thwarts the body's ability to convert sugar into energy. This allows sugar levels to build up in the blood, which can lead to heart disease, blindness, and other serious complications. Type 2 diabetes strikes people of all ages, and early symptoms are subtle. In fact, a third of people with type 2 diabetes don't know they have it. Learn the warning signs in this slideshow.

Warning Sign: Thirst

One of the first symptoms of type 2 diabetes may be an increase in thirst. This is often accompanied by additional problems, including dry mouth, increased appetite, frequent urination ?sometimes as often as every hour -- and unusual weight loss or gain.

Warning Sign: Headaches

As blood sugar levels become more abnormal, additional symptoms may include headaches, blurred vision, and fatigue.

Warning Sign: Infections

In most cases, type 2 diabetes is not discovered until it takes a noticeable toll on health. One red flag is troubling infections, such as:
Cuts or sores that are slow to heal.
Frequent yeast infections.
Itchy skin, especially in the groin area.
Risk Factors You Can Control

Your habits and lifestyle can affect your odds of developing type 2 diabetes. Factors that boost your risk include:

Being overweight, defined as a body mass index (BMI) over 25.
Abnormal cholesterol and blood fats, such as good cholesterol (HDL) lower than 35 mg/dL or a triglyceride level over 250 mg/dL.
High blood pressure, greater than 140 /90 in adults.
Sedentary lifestyle.
Risk Factors You Can't Control

Other risk factors are out of your control, including:

Race or ethnicity: Hispanics, blacks, Native Americans, and Asians have a higher than average risk.
Family history of diabetes: Having a parent or sibling with diabetes boosts your risk.
Age: Being 45 and older increases your risk of type 2 diabetes.
The more risk factors your have, the greater your odds of developing type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes in Children

Although older people have a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes, the condition is striking more young people. A third of American children born in 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes, according to the CDC. The leading risk factor for kids is being overweight, often connected with an unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity. Once children are overweight, their chances of developing type 2 diabetes more than doubles.

Diagnosing Type 2 Diabetes

There's no need for guesswork in diagnosing type 2 diabetes. A simple blood test, called a fasting plasma glucose test, does the trick. The test measures the level of sugar in your blood after you have been fasting for at least 8 hours. Normal fasting blood glucose is between 70 and 100 mg/dL. If two separate blood tests show this level is greater than or equal to 126 mg/dL, type 2 diabetes is diagnosed.

Converting Glucose to Energy

In healthy people, after a meal, food is broken down into a sugar called glucose, which is carried by the blood to cells throughout the body. Cells use the hormone insulin, made in the pancreas, to help them process blood glucose into energy. People develop type 2 diabetes because the cells in the muscles, liver, and fat do not use insulin properly.

Long-Term Damage: Arteries

Over time, untreated type 2 diabetes can damage many of the body's systems. Two out of three people with diabetes die of heart disease. Having diabetes also puts you at risk for stroke. People with diabetes are likely to develop plaque in their arteries, which reduces blood flow and increases the risk of clots. This raises the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The longer you have diabetes, the greater the risk of developing kidney disease or kidney failure. Patients with kidney failure must get a kidney transplant or rely on dialysis to survive.

Long-Term Damage: Eyes

High blood sugar can damage the tiny blood vessels that bring oxygen and nutrients to the retina, a critical part of the eye. This is known as diabetic retinopathy, and it can cause progressive, irreversible vision loss. It is the leading cause of blindness in people between the ages of 20 and 60. Pools of blood, or hemorrhages, on the retina of an eye are visible in this image.

Long-Term Damage: Feet

People with diabetes often experience nerve damage that can make it more difficult to feel their feet. At the same time, hardening of the arteries results in poor blood flow to the feet. Foot sores and gangrene can occur. In severe cases, the foot or leg must be amputated.

Managing Diabetes: Diet

Fortunately, people with type 2 diabetes can significantly reduce the risk of damage to the heart, kidneys, eyes, and feet. The key is controlling blood sugar levels by changing diet. People with type 2 diabetes should carefully monitor carbohydrate consumption, as well as total fat and protein intake, and reduce calories.