While talking about diabetes, you may be frightened from the idea that you may have it. Or maybe, you may have it in the future. You want to know if you are at risk to develop diabetes and anxiously you're looking to find if you have any diabetes symptom.
Diabetes affects the manner in which the body handles carbohydrates, fats and proteins. If neglected, diabetes can have serious complications. The diabetic people have high blood sugar level. The blood sugar level is regulated by insulin - a hormone produced by the pancreas, which depends on your eating habits.
Diabetes is a serious disease. But the startling truth is that diabetes is reversible. Diabetes is the number one cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). This disease is a condition where the body is unable to automatically regulate blood glucose levels, resulting in too much glucose (a sugar) in the blood. Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects as many as 16 million Americans.
Actually, there is no clear symptom for diabetes. The most common symptoms of diabetes are as follow:
- being all the time thirsty
- frequent urination
- increased hunger
- feeling all the time tired; having an excessive fatigue,
On the other hand, there are some other symptoms of diabetes that are prescribed as diabetes complications in fact. These symptoms are:
- vision changes;
- recurrent skin infections very difficult to heal;
- tingling or numbness you may feel in your extremities;
- gums disorders;
- Hair loss and many others.
There are two different types of diabetes.
Type I Diabetes (juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes): The reason for type I diabetes is due to pancreas unability to produce insulin.
Type II Diabetes (non insulin dependent diabetes or adult onset diabetes): This diabetes is a result of body tissues becoming resistant to insulin. It is usually hereditary.
Type 2 Diabetes is more common than Type 1 Diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a life-long disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. Conditions associated with type 2 diabetes include hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. Type 2 diabetes may account for about 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Up to two-thirds of people with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms. Obesity is the single most important risk factor for type 2 diabetes. An estimated 20% of all cases of new onset type 2 diabetes are in individuals between the ages of 9-19. The more you know about type 2 diabetes, the more you'll be able to take the right steps to take control of your condition.
If neglected, diabetes can lead to various complications such as damage to the kidneys, heart disease, nerve damage, hypoglycemia (drastic reduction in glucose levels). Diabetes is a serious disease and there is no treatment of it. However, it can be brought under control by proper diabet diet.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
5 Ways to Manage your Diet for Diabetes
Since my diagnosis with diabetes at the age of eleven, my own diet has changed dramatically. I maintain my current healthy weight with a great diet/eating plan. If you do plan on losing more than about a stone in weight then I would visit your doctor for more tips on how to do this without risk.
I've had diabetes for seven years now, but to tell you that how I maintain weight is perfect would be totally wrong of me. However, I can advise you to follow my steps because I know what works and what doesn't. Before I really begin I must also say that I have been brought up by great parents who taught me to eat everything, and so I do! If there is something that you don't like, there are loads of other diabetic recipes and ideas that you will eat and appreciate.
I am a university student and I like to buy fresh and organic produce from where I live. I believe that this is important because it can be the most good for your body and contain more nutrients and vitamins than most supermarket produce. I like to source food from my fortnightly farmers market in town, which sells amazing meat and dairy produce and fresh in season fruit and vegetables. This is another important thing to remember, that eating fruit and vegetables in their season means that they will taste better as well as doing you good. I have a lot of influence from Western European cuisine (mainly France and Italy) as you will tell, but I do not profess to be a chef and everything is easy to make and very convenient.
I have read countless diet books and diabetic recipe/diet books, and I came to a conclusion that I think really works. I fused all the good things from the diets (but not from every diet) and sort of put together my own one. I call this my Juvenile Diabetes Healthy Diet!
The "rules" that I would lay down are as follows:
1. Cut back on snacks and then change the type of snacks you eat.Certainly my biggest downfall although it wasn't really apparent to me. When I first started at University, I had little or no routine which meant that filling my day was difficult and popping into the kitchen for a snack, no matter how healthy it felt, was a regular occurence. This is one of the hardest things to do for some people, but establishing a great routine is essential to great diabetes care. The types of snacks to be eating are unsalted nuts, dried unsweetened fruit, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables (I love fresh red pepper and cucumber), dark chocolate (richer and nicer and you only want 2 squares usually).
2. Cut back on white flour and embrace wholemeal carbs.This is the most essential part of your diet, and the thing that can show the biggest increase in loss of weight. Some diets in fact jsut focus on this point, and are very successful. Wholemeal (especially stoneground wholemeal) is so good for you and has so much more flavour in it that switching is much easier than you think. Most people are really surprised at the ranges you can get in you supermarket, again remember that the bread that is best for you is the one that is freshest with least perservatives or added ingredients. Also, brown or basmati rice is great with a lovely nutty texture. Wholemeal pasta is great and for your potatoes I would totally recommend the smaller new potatoes.
3. Stop drinking cocktails, start drinking wine. Cocktails are full of sugar, colourants and preservatives. As a student I have had loads of practice at going out and not drinking cocktails, so my drink of choice is Malibu and Diet Coke if I feel I have to drink something and I make it last all night. I can then top up with Diet Coke (which has almost no sugar in it) and it looks as though I am drinking Malibu, who is to know. If you are out at a restaurant, red wine is much better than anything else you can order, (except water of course!) and it has been proven that the anti-oxidants in red wine are great for keeping a healthy heart. The recommended amount is one glass a day with your evening meal.
4. Start cooking more fruit and vegetables.Fresh fruit and vegetables are a great way to get all the vitamins and minerals you need. And there are so many different ways in which to cook vegetables, but I find that raw is the best followed closely by steamed. Both of these ways preserve all their natural goodness as well. I will follow this post with another diabetes recipes post.
5. Drink more water.I know you have heard people say this many times before, but the benefits of drinking more water are endless. A few tips on how to get more water into your day are firstly to put bottles of water at all the places you go in the house or work. So keep one in your desk, on your desk, a glass in the kitchen, the bedroom, the sitting room, etc. Try and drink all these glasses up and you will be well on your way to 8 glasses a day. The trick is to add a glass every few days or so, if you try to drink all that water in one go you won't be so inclined to drink 8 glasses again, trust me! Have a go, it's amazing how great you will feel.
For further tips on living with diabetes, visit http://juvenile-diabetes.blogspot.com/">Juvenile Diabetes blogspot
This article was submitted by Alissa Carter, she is also owner & creator of the http://www.dressearch.com">Prom dresses website.
I've had diabetes for seven years now, but to tell you that how I maintain weight is perfect would be totally wrong of me. However, I can advise you to follow my steps because I know what works and what doesn't. Before I really begin I must also say that I have been brought up by great parents who taught me to eat everything, and so I do! If there is something that you don't like, there are loads of other diabetic recipes and ideas that you will eat and appreciate.
I am a university student and I like to buy fresh and organic produce from where I live. I believe that this is important because it can be the most good for your body and contain more nutrients and vitamins than most supermarket produce. I like to source food from my fortnightly farmers market in town, which sells amazing meat and dairy produce and fresh in season fruit and vegetables. This is another important thing to remember, that eating fruit and vegetables in their season means that they will taste better as well as doing you good. I have a lot of influence from Western European cuisine (mainly France and Italy) as you will tell, but I do not profess to be a chef and everything is easy to make and very convenient.
I have read countless diet books and diabetic recipe/diet books, and I came to a conclusion that I think really works. I fused all the good things from the diets (but not from every diet) and sort of put together my own one. I call this my Juvenile Diabetes Healthy Diet!
The "rules" that I would lay down are as follows:
1. Cut back on snacks and then change the type of snacks you eat.Certainly my biggest downfall although it wasn't really apparent to me. When I first started at University, I had little or no routine which meant that filling my day was difficult and popping into the kitchen for a snack, no matter how healthy it felt, was a regular occurence. This is one of the hardest things to do for some people, but establishing a great routine is essential to great diabetes care. The types of snacks to be eating are unsalted nuts, dried unsweetened fruit, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables (I love fresh red pepper and cucumber), dark chocolate (richer and nicer and you only want 2 squares usually).
2. Cut back on white flour and embrace wholemeal carbs.This is the most essential part of your diet, and the thing that can show the biggest increase in loss of weight. Some diets in fact jsut focus on this point, and are very successful. Wholemeal (especially stoneground wholemeal) is so good for you and has so much more flavour in it that switching is much easier than you think. Most people are really surprised at the ranges you can get in you supermarket, again remember that the bread that is best for you is the one that is freshest with least perservatives or added ingredients. Also, brown or basmati rice is great with a lovely nutty texture. Wholemeal pasta is great and for your potatoes I would totally recommend the smaller new potatoes.
3. Stop drinking cocktails, start drinking wine. Cocktails are full of sugar, colourants and preservatives. As a student I have had loads of practice at going out and not drinking cocktails, so my drink of choice is Malibu and Diet Coke if I feel I have to drink something and I make it last all night. I can then top up with Diet Coke (which has almost no sugar in it) and it looks as though I am drinking Malibu, who is to know. If you are out at a restaurant, red wine is much better than anything else you can order, (except water of course!) and it has been proven that the anti-oxidants in red wine are great for keeping a healthy heart. The recommended amount is one glass a day with your evening meal.
4. Start cooking more fruit and vegetables.Fresh fruit and vegetables are a great way to get all the vitamins and minerals you need. And there are so many different ways in which to cook vegetables, but I find that raw is the best followed closely by steamed. Both of these ways preserve all their natural goodness as well. I will follow this post with another diabetes recipes post.
5. Drink more water.I know you have heard people say this many times before, but the benefits of drinking more water are endless. A few tips on how to get more water into your day are firstly to put bottles of water at all the places you go in the house or work. So keep one in your desk, on your desk, a glass in the kitchen, the bedroom, the sitting room, etc. Try and drink all these glasses up and you will be well on your way to 8 glasses a day. The trick is to add a glass every few days or so, if you try to drink all that water in one go you won't be so inclined to drink 8 glasses again, trust me! Have a go, it's amazing how great you will feel.
For further tips on living with diabetes, visit http://juvenile-diabetes.blogspot.com/">Juvenile Diabetes blogspot
This article was submitted by Alissa Carter, she is also owner & creator of the http://www.dressearch.com">Prom dresses website.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Causes of diabetes
Certain factors that contribute to the development of diabetes are
Heredity
Heredity is a major factor. That diabetes can be inherited has been known for centuries. However, the pattern of inheritance is not fully understood. Statistic indicates that those with a family history of the disease have a higher risk of developing diabetes than those without such a background. The risk factor is 25 to 33 percent more.
One reason why diabetes, especially type-2 diabetes runs in the family is because of the diabetes gene. But even it is caused by genetic factors beyond your control; there is no reason to suffer from it. Diabetes mellitus cannot be cured in full sense of the term, but it can be effectively controlled so that you would not know the difference.
Diet
Diabetes has been described by most medical scientists as a prosperity’ disease, primarily caused by systematic overeating. Not only is eating too much sugar and refined carbohydrates harmful, but proteins and fats, which are transformed into sugar, may also result in diabetes if taken in excess.
It is interesting to note that diabetes is almost unknown in countries where people are poor and cannot afford to overeat.
The incidence of diabetes is directly linked with the consumption of processed foods rich in refined carbohydrates, like biscuits, bread, cakes chocolates, pudding and ice creams.
Obesity
Obesity is one of the main causes of diabetes. Studies show that 60 to 85 % of diabetics tend to be overweight. In the United States of America, about 80 percent of type –2 non-insulin dependent diabetics are reported to be overweight.
Excess fat prevents insulin from working properly. The more fatty tissue in the body, the more resistant the muscle and tissue cells become to body insulin. Insulin allows the sugar in the blood to enter the cells by acting on the receptor sites on the surface of the cells.
Older people often tend to gain weight, and the same time, many of them develop and mild form of diabetes because who are over weight can often improve their blood sugar simply by losing weight.
Stress and Tension
There is a known connection between stress and diabetes mellitus, those who are under stress and/or lead an irregular lifestyle, need to take adequate precautions and make necessary lifestyle adjustments.
Grief, worry and anxiety resulting from examinations, death of a close relative, loss of a joy, business failure and strained marital relationship, all a deep influence on the metabolism and may cause sugar to appear in the urine.
Smoking
Smoking is another important risk factor. Among men who smoke, the risk of developing diabetes is doubled. In women who smoke 25 or more cigarettes a day, the risk of developing diabetes is increased by 40 percent.
Lifestyle Risk
People who are less active have greater risk of developing diabetes. Modern conveniences have made work easier. Physical activity and exercise helps control weight, uses up a lot of glucose (sugar) present in the blood as energy and makes cells more sensitive to insulin. Consequently, the workload on the pancreas is reduced.
For complete information on causes of diabetes, diabetes supply, diabetes treatment, diabetes mellitus visit www.diabetesmellitus-information.com
Heredity
Heredity is a major factor. That diabetes can be inherited has been known for centuries. However, the pattern of inheritance is not fully understood. Statistic indicates that those with a family history of the disease have a higher risk of developing diabetes than those without such a background. The risk factor is 25 to 33 percent more.
One reason why diabetes, especially type-2 diabetes runs in the family is because of the diabetes gene. But even it is caused by genetic factors beyond your control; there is no reason to suffer from it. Diabetes mellitus cannot be cured in full sense of the term, but it can be effectively controlled so that you would not know the difference.
Diet
Diabetes has been described by most medical scientists as a prosperity’ disease, primarily caused by systematic overeating. Not only is eating too much sugar and refined carbohydrates harmful, but proteins and fats, which are transformed into sugar, may also result in diabetes if taken in excess.
It is interesting to note that diabetes is almost unknown in countries where people are poor and cannot afford to overeat.
The incidence of diabetes is directly linked with the consumption of processed foods rich in refined carbohydrates, like biscuits, bread, cakes chocolates, pudding and ice creams.
Obesity
Obesity is one of the main causes of diabetes. Studies show that 60 to 85 % of diabetics tend to be overweight. In the United States of America, about 80 percent of type –2 non-insulin dependent diabetics are reported to be overweight.
Excess fat prevents insulin from working properly. The more fatty tissue in the body, the more resistant the muscle and tissue cells become to body insulin. Insulin allows the sugar in the blood to enter the cells by acting on the receptor sites on the surface of the cells.
Older people often tend to gain weight, and the same time, many of them develop and mild form of diabetes because who are over weight can often improve their blood sugar simply by losing weight.
Stress and Tension
There is a known connection between stress and diabetes mellitus, those who are under stress and/or lead an irregular lifestyle, need to take adequate precautions and make necessary lifestyle adjustments.
Grief, worry and anxiety resulting from examinations, death of a close relative, loss of a joy, business failure and strained marital relationship, all a deep influence on the metabolism and may cause sugar to appear in the urine.
Smoking
Smoking is another important risk factor. Among men who smoke, the risk of developing diabetes is doubled. In women who smoke 25 or more cigarettes a day, the risk of developing diabetes is increased by 40 percent.
Lifestyle Risk
People who are less active have greater risk of developing diabetes. Modern conveniences have made work easier. Physical activity and exercise helps control weight, uses up a lot of glucose (sugar) present in the blood as energy and makes cells more sensitive to insulin. Consequently, the workload on the pancreas is reduced.
For complete information on causes of diabetes, diabetes supply, diabetes treatment, diabetes mellitus visit www.diabetesmellitus-information.com
A Short Tutorial About Various Diabetic Supplies
Diabetes is a chronic disease with no cure but the good news is that proper care and treatment a person can live a log and healthy life. Nearly 2,000 people are diagnosed with diabetes everyday.
It is estimated that there are 17 million people with diabetes in the U.S and another 16 million have pre-diabetes or higher blood-sugar levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
Buying diabetes supplies online can save time and money. In this article you will find the most used supplies and tools to achieve a good diabetes control and aid in everyday self-care.
For those who have been diagnosed with a diabetic condition, diabetes supplies are a fact of life.
In order to maintain good health, diabetics must rely on various tools to help them monitor their conditions. Still, diabetes patients need to exercise caution when buying diabetes supplies.
The company that you buy your diabetes supplies from should have a phone number in case you need to contact the business because of a problem with the order. In fact, it’s best if the company has a toll-free hotline number that you can reach 24 hours a day. It is much better to register a complaint by phone than by e-mail.
Also, the company should have a pharmacist available to answer your questions. Having a pharmacist on staff indicates that the company is legitimate and is determined to provide excellent service to its customers. When ordering diabetes supplies, you’ll want to pay close attention to shipping charges so that you don’t experience sticker shock when you receive your final bill.
Typically, a diabetic pays a substantial sum each month for diabetes supplies, including pills, insulin, syringes, alcohol pads, lancets, ointments, salves, and special foods. Because competition for business is so great, the prices of items such as testing strips and glucose monitors are often competitive.
This competition can help to keep the diabetes patient’s expenses in check. However, there is no question that a diabetic must devote a portion of his or her income or insurance costs to diabetes supplies. In order to control glucose, blood sugar levels must be monitored closely—at least once a day.
Insulin Cases: Environmental factors such as excessive heat and freezing will have major affect on type of insulin. So, there is a need to keep insulin safe by using special cases while traveling and going out.
Blood Glucose Monitors: It is used to examine blood glucose level. Blood glucose levels below 120 mg/dL before meals, and below 180 mg/dL after meals, is the goal to stay healthy and prevent or delay the development of diabetes complications.
Blood Pressure Monitors: It helps to check blood pressure level of a person. High blood pressure affects 20-60% of people with diabetes and results in causing eye disease, kidney disease and heart disease.
Diabetes Software: This software can be used in your computer to help you to share the information with your Health Care Team to make the best choices in your treatment. Diabetes software includes OneTouch diabetes management software, OneTouch diabetes management software kit.
Glucose Tablets: Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar levels can occur very quickly and is a sharp complication of diabetes, especially if you use insulin. People with diabetes must always carry glucose tablets.
Glucose Gels: Glucose gel is absorbed more rapidly than tablets. In case of severe hypoglycemia 15 g of glucose in the form of glucose gel must be administered immediately orally.
Experts recommend that you deal only with those Internet companies that offer a return address rather than a post office box. If you want to make sure that you are buying diabetes supplies from reputable businesses that have their own offices, rather than an individual who is simply buying diabetes supplies from an Internet auction site and re-selling them to new customers.
It is estimated that there are 17 million people with diabetes in the U.S and another 16 million have pre-diabetes or higher blood-sugar levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
Buying diabetes supplies online can save time and money. In this article you will find the most used supplies and tools to achieve a good diabetes control and aid in everyday self-care.
For those who have been diagnosed with a diabetic condition, diabetes supplies are a fact of life.
In order to maintain good health, diabetics must rely on various tools to help them monitor their conditions. Still, diabetes patients need to exercise caution when buying diabetes supplies.
The company that you buy your diabetes supplies from should have a phone number in case you need to contact the business because of a problem with the order. In fact, it’s best if the company has a toll-free hotline number that you can reach 24 hours a day. It is much better to register a complaint by phone than by e-mail.
Also, the company should have a pharmacist available to answer your questions. Having a pharmacist on staff indicates that the company is legitimate and is determined to provide excellent service to its customers. When ordering diabetes supplies, you’ll want to pay close attention to shipping charges so that you don’t experience sticker shock when you receive your final bill.
Typically, a diabetic pays a substantial sum each month for diabetes supplies, including pills, insulin, syringes, alcohol pads, lancets, ointments, salves, and special foods. Because competition for business is so great, the prices of items such as testing strips and glucose monitors are often competitive.
This competition can help to keep the diabetes patient’s expenses in check. However, there is no question that a diabetic must devote a portion of his or her income or insurance costs to diabetes supplies. In order to control glucose, blood sugar levels must be monitored closely—at least once a day.
Insulin Cases: Environmental factors such as excessive heat and freezing will have major affect on type of insulin. So, there is a need to keep insulin safe by using special cases while traveling and going out.
Blood Glucose Monitors: It is used to examine blood glucose level. Blood glucose levels below 120 mg/dL before meals, and below 180 mg/dL after meals, is the goal to stay healthy and prevent or delay the development of diabetes complications.
Blood Pressure Monitors: It helps to check blood pressure level of a person. High blood pressure affects 20-60% of people with diabetes and results in causing eye disease, kidney disease and heart disease.
Diabetes Software: This software can be used in your computer to help you to share the information with your Health Care Team to make the best choices in your treatment. Diabetes software includes OneTouch diabetes management software, OneTouch diabetes management software kit.
Glucose Tablets: Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar levels can occur very quickly and is a sharp complication of diabetes, especially if you use insulin. People with diabetes must always carry glucose tablets.
Glucose Gels: Glucose gel is absorbed more rapidly than tablets. In case of severe hypoglycemia 15 g of glucose in the form of glucose gel must be administered immediately orally.
Experts recommend that you deal only with those Internet companies that offer a return address rather than a post office box. If you want to make sure that you are buying diabetes supplies from reputable businesses that have their own offices, rather than an individual who is simply buying diabetes supplies from an Internet auction site and re-selling them to new customers.
Welcome To My New World
Hi Guys
Happy to see you here. I like to share with you some good articles about diabetes here. Hope you all enjoy reading these articles.
I used this opportunities to improve my English, in the same time sharing and caring with you the knowledge.
The Internet is growing very fast nowadays, and only the who ready to take the challenge will survive. Hope we all survive in this world without border...
Happy to see you here. I like to share with you some good articles about diabetes here. Hope you all enjoy reading these articles.
I used this opportunities to improve my English, in the same time sharing and caring with you the knowledge.
The Internet is growing very fast nowadays, and only the who ready to take the challenge will survive. Hope we all survive in this world without border...
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