We’re not the only ones facing an epidemic of diabetes.

Pets have been getting the disease at a shocking rate — and your own animal friend could be at risk next, especially if your cat or dog looks more like a piglet these days.

Researchers from the Banfield Pet Hospital chain combed through records on 2.5 million cats and dogs that were seen at the company’s 770 locations. They found that in the past five years, there’s been a 32-percent jump in doggie diabetes and a 16-percent increase for cats.

Cats and dogs get diabetes for the same reasons humans do: They move too little and eat too much, especially the processed pet treats they’ll beg, roll over, and play dead for (ironic, don’t you think?).

Dogs are more likely to get type 1 diabetes, and it’s almost never reversible. Cats, on the other hand, tend to get type 2 diabetes — but with a little hard work and the help of a good vet, it’s possible to get kitty back on track and producing her own insulin again.

Once your pet has a diagnosis, you can expect some big bills and bigger headaches. Meds can run $800 a year or more, and you have to inject your pet with insulin up to twice a day.

And believe me, that could drive you barking mad.

Instead of treating the disease, help Fido and Fluffy avoid it in the first place — and that means making sure they’re not among the 90 million obese cats and dogs in the country today.

I recently wrote about the pet obesity epidemic and the hundreds of millions of dollars in annual medical expenses that come with it.

More importantly, I had some tips on how to check your pets for pudge, and help them to lose weight and have fun at the same time.

And if you could lose a few pounds yourself, you and your pet could even get fit together — because in many ways, a dog is the ultimate workout buddy: they’re always ready, and they never complain.

Especially if there are a few favorite fire hydrants along the way.

Since the explosion of the Avandia scandal, there’s been a massive rush to switch diabetics over to Actos, the other major diabetes drug.

But the “other” drug comes with “other” risks — and a new report shows again how there’s just no such thing as a safe diabetes med.

When researchers tracked more than half a million diabetes drug reactions reported to the FDA between 2004 and 2009, they found 138 cases of bladder cancer among patients who took one or more of 15 different meds.

Actos was just one of those 15 meds… but it was linked to more than a fifth of the reports, according to the study in Diabetes Care.

Now, I know that 20 percent of 138 cases of bladder cancer over 5 years doesn’t sound like a lot… and it’s probably not going to scare anyone away from Actos.

But it’s not the first time we’ve seen a link between Actos and bladder cancer.

• Last year, data from the midpoint of a 10-year trial found that patients who took the highest doses of Actos, and those who took the drug for the longest periods had an increased risk of bladder cancer.
• Two earlier studies — both three-year clinical trials — found a higher risk of bladder cancer in Actos patients.
• A study on rats found bladder tumors in males that were given the rodent equivalent of a human dose.

And if you’re still not scared, consider this: Actos has been linked to its own Avandia-style heart risks.

In one study, Actos patients actually suffered more heart attacks than patients who took Avandia — and both drugs had similar rates of heart failure and death.

Despite these and other risks, the mainstream isn’t just switching former Avandia patients over to Actos — they’re actually trying to get people who don’t even have diabetes to take it.

As I told you recently, the drug’s manufacturer has been touting a company-funded study that claims Actos can prevent diabetes in prediabetics — despite the fact that the study was way too short to reach any such conclusion.

There’s really only one thing you need to know here, whether you’re trying to control diabetes or just trying to avoid it: lifestyle changes will beat drugs — and they’ll beat them every single time.

Tens of millions of Americans are battling thyroid problems – but most of them are losing the war, and they might not even know it.

A new study finds that one of the main drugs used to treat hypothyroidism, aka underactive thyroid, can more than triple the risk of fractures in seniors – and the higher the dose, the greater that risk.

And that means even if your drug is “working,” it could be quietly laying the groundwork for a potentially life-wrecking bone break down the road.

The researchers looked at data on more than 200,000 seniors – mostly women – who were at least 70 years old when they were given levothyroxin, a synthetic version of the thyroid hormone, between April 2002 and March 2007.

Ten percent suffered at least one fracture, and researchers say those on the highest dose of the drug had 3.5 times the risk of those on the lowest, according to the study in BMJ Online First.

And that’s just frightening, because not many conditions can ruin a senior’s life more quickly and completely than a bone break. One recent study even found that hip fractures double the five-year death risk in women and triple it in men.

The researchers behind the new study say docs need to pay careful attention to dosages – and lower the dose, if possible, as time goes on to lower the risk of bone breaks.

But there’s a much easier way, and that’s with natural thyroid hormone – or what should be more accurately called “thyroid hormones,” because there are two: T3 and T4.

The synthetic stuff contains only T4, which has to be converted to T3 by the body – but for many patients, that’s actually part of the problem. They can’t do it, and that makes the synthetic hormone practically useless.

The natural stuff, called desiccated thyroid, contains both T3 and T4 – and that’s why many seniors who make the switch can feel the difference almost immediately.

Don’t expect your typical mainstream doctor to understand or appreciate the difference – to him, thyroid is thyroid.

See an experienced naturopathic physician instead.

Inflammation has gone from a condition you should worry about to a marketing buzzword used to sell everything from drugs to juice to cereal.

Well, at least they got it half right: You should worry about inflammation, and do what you can to bring your own levels down.

But forget the drugs, juice and cereal – because none of those things will ever beat the anti-inflammatory powers of plain old fish oil, and the latest research proves it again.

A new look at data on 702 patients who took part in one of 11 clinical trials finds that people who take fish oil supplements have lower blood levels of homocysteine, an inflammation marker linked to everything from heart risk to dementia to bone breaks, according to the study in Nutrition.

Other studies have also found that fish oil can put the hurtin’ on homocysteine.

One published in 2009 found that omega-3 supplements reduced levels of the inflammation marker by 22 percent in diabetics – versus just one percent among those who took a placebo.

And that’s really only the beginning of the benefits.

Studies have found that healthy omega-3 fatty acids can help protect your heart, eyes, and gums while raising levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol and lowering levels of deadly triglycerides.

Fish oil can also help boost the mood and beat depression – especially among seniors. (Read more here.)

The best sources of these omega-3s are fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, trout and herring – and the highest concentrations are often in the one part of the fish you’re probably not eating: the liver.

Researchers looked at a dozen fish commonly eaten in Spain and found all had livers rich in the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids you need for good health.

And if you like anchovies, good news: The livers of these famously oily little fish had some of the highest omega-3 levels of all.

But why stick to the liver when you can eat anchovies whole?

OK, I know that’s not for everyone – but if you don’t like anchovies, fish livers or even fish itself, there’s a simple solution: a high-quality fish oil supplement from a company you trust.

Some can leave a fishy aftertaste or, even worse, a case of the “fish burps,” but don’t give up – refrigerate your capsules instead.

And if that doesn’t work, try a different brand until you find one that leaves you with all the benefits… but none of the burps.