Insulin is not a cure for diabetes; it is a treatment. It enables the diabetic to burn sufficient carbohydrates, so that proteins and fats may be added to the diet in sufficient quantities to provide energy for the economic burdens of life – Frederick Banting

On this day in 1921, Banting and Charles Best at the University of Toronto isolated insulin, a hormone that helps the body absorb sugar from the blood. That paved the way for treatment of diabetes, then a fatal disease. Banting and U of T physiology professor J.J.R. Macleod were awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine.  

Researchers tracking the current growth in diabetes cite processed food as one factor. “Not only has added sugar found its way into virtually everything we eat, but worse still, the use of sugar as a means to pacify, entertain and reward children has become normalized to the point that questioning our current sugary status quo often inspires anger and outrage," says Yoni Freedhoff, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa. 

Parents like to talk about a “sugar high” when kids bounce off walls after inhaling candy even though actual evidence for the effect is thin. 

But the worldwide mania for bonds and real estate is due in large measure to syrupy low interest rates that central bankers, who seem to have run out of ideas, have been ladling on the economy for almost a decade.

At 2 p.m. ET today, we’ll hear from America’s chief teller, Janet Yellen, when the Fed’s Open Market Committee will announce its latest policy decision, which is not expected to include a rate increase.

“Stand by for the Federal Reserve to do nothing,” businessinsider.com says.

Investors, who have crowded into stocks after the Brits’ decision in June to abandon the European Union,  “are betting essentially that the central banks won’t dare raise interest rates for five years,” according to Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at Northern Trust.

We’ll be joined on BNN by Megan Greene, chief economist at Manulife Asset Management. She, by the way, is one of the market watchers wary of the mess in Italian banking. “Investors have good reason to worry about the performance of Italian banks,” Greene told the Wall Street Journal. “Productivity growth is elusive, investment is paltry, unemployment remains stubbornly high and Italy continues to suffer capital outflows.”

This writer has avoided getting any tattoos or piercings – they’re best suited for soccer hooligans, sailors and certified management accountants. But on Commodities at 11:50 a.m. ET, we’ll get a live demo of a temporary tattoo made from fruit-based ink. Toronto-based inkbox says its adornments last just two or three weeks because they “work by sinking our patented formula into the top layer of your skin, which then reacts with organic compounds to change your skin's colour dark blue/black… Traditional tattoos are permanent because they sit in your dermis. But inkbox tattoos sit in your epidermis and therefore only last 2-3 weeks, which is the natural regeneration time of your skin.”

Tyler Handley, co-founder of inkbox, will deposit one on my aging hide. His outfit is reported to have raised US$1 million in seed funding from investors who include actor Alison Sweeney (Days of Our Lives) and Survivor host Jeff Probst.

One of the angles attracting us to the story: Traditional tattoo inks can contain heavy metals such as lead and cadmium.

Finally, here’s a heartstring-tugger to go out on, spotted by www.fark.com. A six-year-old with cystic fibrosis in Sacramento, Calif., who is obsessed with garbage trucks got a special treat.

Ethan Dean - who plays with toy garbage trucks and has a garbage truck bedspread and pillow – was allowed to ride shotgun in a booster seat with the local rubbish collectors.

"He can't wipe that grin off his face," the vehicle’s driver said. "He looks like it's Christmas morning and he's unwrapping his first present."

Beats rotten old Disneyland any day. 

Every morning Commodities host Andrew Bell writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnn.ca/subscribe