To quote the famous motivational speaker and author, Zig Ziglar, diabetics "need to get a check up from the neck up and get rid of that stinking thinking!"

In his recently published book, The Mind Body Diabetes Revolution: A Proven New Program for Better Blood Sugar Control, Richard S. Surwit, PhD, outlines the link between emotions and blood sugar levels.

Anger, frustration, depression and stress have been fingered as culprits in one of the nation's most insidious diseases - Type 2 diabetes.

While it's unknown how many people suffer from diabetes and the illnesses that it triggers (such as cancer, respiratory problems, blindness, amputations, etc.), estimates are that over 50,000,000 people in the U.S. alone, as young as 3 years old, suffer from this disease.

"The treatment of diabetes has changed little over the past 40 years" Surwit notes. Although many new medications have been developed, patients still watch their diets closely, exercise and take insulin." Yet they still struggle with blood sugar levels.

This can be verified by a casual reading of diabetic blog sites. Site owners and participants regularly write scorching diatribes, indicting a cabal of doctors, the pharmaceutical industry and big government, in a scam to provide marginally safe and effective remedies that go little beyond 'diet and exercise' advice.

Surwit reveals that the control of stress can have a huge impact on blood sugar levels, based on clinical research conducted on Type 2 sufferers.

"We've found that the effect of stress hormones on glucose metabolism is profound. So even relatively simple stress-management techniques can have clinically meaningful effects on glucose control in people with diabetes."

Surwit suggests a range of mind-body programs that Type 2 diabetics should use to counter rising blood sugar levels.

Muscle relaxation and cognitive behavior therapy are just two of the formal methods recommended by Surwit.

But less traditional approaches based on developing a wide social circle of significant others, friends, even pets, can also relieve stress and lower blood sugar.

Dr. Niing-Jiun Shen at the University of Southern California, has reached similar conclusions about stress generated blood sugar levels, citing a study of males, 52-66 years of age, and their related blood sugar health.

According to Dr. Shen, those male participants that were married had dramatically lower blood sugar levels than their single counterparts.

"We speculate", Dr. Shen notes, "that married men benefited from a spouse who helped them maintain a healthier lifestyle and curtail detrimental habits."

But Surwit states there are limitations to the effectiveness of a positive mental attitude, recommending that they be part of a "final ingredient to your blood sugar control arsenal."