In 1550 BC, the famous Ebers Papyrus advised treating diabetes with high fiber wheat grains. Not much has changed since then. Plant foods are the drug of choice for treating diabetes. There are large numbers of scientific research findings to confirm the effectiveness of plant foods in managing this disease. Through the centuries, more than 400 plants have been identified, used, and prescribed as diabetic remedies.
Raw onions and garlic have been long been favorite anti-diabetic drugs in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The vegetable bitter gourd and the herb ginseng have been widely used for treating diabetes since the ancient time in India and China. Common mushroom is widely used in parts of Europe to lower blood sugar. Barely bread is a popular treatment for diabetes in Iraq. Other foods, used in different countries, in the treatment of diabetes include beans, cabbage, cinnamon, coriander seeds, cucumber, fenugreek seeds, Indian gooseberry and lettuce.
All these foods have anti-diabetic properties. Scientific research has confirmed that most of these foods, or their compounds, either lower blood sugar, or stimulate insulin production. Some of the more important foods that help to lower blood sugar or stimulate insulin production in diabetes patients are discussed here.
Artichoke is a tuberous root with a top like a sunflower. This vegetable contains good amounts of potassium, a fair amount of calcium and some iron and sulphur, all of which are needed by the body for maintaining good health.
Artichoke is beneficial in the treatment of diabetes because of its high insulin content. A fully ripe artichoke is said to contain more than two percent of insulin. Ripe artichokes are generally available only during autumn or fall. The insulin is converted into sugar in winter. Artichokes are most effective when eaten raw in salads. It cooking is required; they should be boiled, unpeeled, in a small quantity of water for about 10 minutes. Artichokes can be effectively combined with other vegetables.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Type II Diabetes
Those individuals who suffer from Type II diabetes deal with the fact that their blood sugar levels are above normal. This can be a very serious health issue, which has been known to lead to coronary heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, amputation, and blindness. In 2002, diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.
Type II diabetes is the most common type. More than 85 percent of those who suffer from Type II diabetes are overweight, which is why it is important for those who are already overweight to loose weight and for those who do not currently have a weight issue to maintain a healthy weight.
Losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight can help lower a person's risk of developing Type II diabetes in the first place or for those who already currently suffer from the disease it can help control blood sugar levels and prevent or delay other known complications associated with the disease.
Losing weight and exercising can also help a person with Type II diabetes to lower the amount of medication that they must take to control their diabetes. For those who need to loose weight it is so important that they do so. They can do this by striking a balance between blood glucose levels and levels of carbohydrates, fats and proteins eaten in their diet.
For a person with diabetes choosing healthy foods is not only important, it is a life or death decision. A diabetic diet is low in saturated fats, cholesterol and simple sugars. Diabetics are encouraged to eat green leafy vegetables, whole grains, and proteins but to limit fruit intake, which contains many natural sugars.
With diabetes becoming an epidemic and obesity one of the key factors in the majority of those who suffer from the disease it is extremely important for those at risk to maintain a healthy weight and for those who are already suffering to watch their weight and try to develop a healthier lifestyle through diet and exercise.
Type II diabetes is the most common type. More than 85 percent of those who suffer from Type II diabetes are overweight, which is why it is important for those who are already overweight to loose weight and for those who do not currently have a weight issue to maintain a healthy weight.
Losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight can help lower a person's risk of developing Type II diabetes in the first place or for those who already currently suffer from the disease it can help control blood sugar levels and prevent or delay other known complications associated with the disease.
Losing weight and exercising can also help a person with Type II diabetes to lower the amount of medication that they must take to control their diabetes. For those who need to loose weight it is so important that they do so. They can do this by striking a balance between blood glucose levels and levels of carbohydrates, fats and proteins eaten in their diet.
For a person with diabetes choosing healthy foods is not only important, it is a life or death decision. A diabetic diet is low in saturated fats, cholesterol and simple sugars. Diabetics are encouraged to eat green leafy vegetables, whole grains, and proteins but to limit fruit intake, which contains many natural sugars.
With diabetes becoming an epidemic and obesity one of the key factors in the majority of those who suffer from the disease it is extremely important for those at risk to maintain a healthy weight and for those who are already suffering to watch their weight and try to develop a healthier lifestyle through diet and exercise.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
What the FDA Diet Does for Diabetes
In 1990, Dr. Diana Schwarzbein, M.D. joined a famous diabetic clinic in Santa Barbara, California. She found that the diabetics at this clinic were struggling to keep their blood sugar down and complained that they were often accused of cheating when they were not. She suspected that the FDA diet wasn’t having the desired results with her patients. “After listening to their stories I thought, My God, we are making diabetics worse!” she later wrote in her book, The Schwarzbein Principle.
Making Changes
Dr. Schwarzbein asked her patients to modify the clinic’s dietary recommendations slightly (still in keeping with FDA guidelines), and kept meticulous records of her findings. She found that the more her patients cut their carbohydrate intake, and the more oils and fats they ate, the lower their blood sugar fell and the better they felt. Many of her patients reported feeling better than they had in years, and they lost weight in the bargain!
This research contributes to much new thinking in the dietary world regarding the treatment of diabetes and obesity. Specialists are just beginning to discover that the FDA diet will actually prevent you from controlling your diabetes. You will have to relearn and rethink what you know about your diet if you want your diabetes under control and help with all the other health problems you have, including heart disease and obesity.
With recent strides in the understanding of the mechanisms of insulin in the body, the outlook has never been brighter. If you find this strange and new (or very old), remember that in the words of Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., "It takes approximately 40 years for innovative thought to be incorporated into mainstream thought." I’d say this is one area where you’d want to be ahead of the pack.
Amid all the controversy, preliminary research findings at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, have confirmed that the Atkins diet can lead to significant and sustained weight loss—in addition to lowering triglyceride levels, both of which will be beneficial to diabetics.
The Trouble With Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates put a tremendous amount of strain on the body’s ability to keep blood sugars low. In an attempt to right the situation, any carbohydrates not used for energy will be converted to fat and stored. To make matters worse, if quality fats and proteins are lacking, the body will be forced to break down body tissue—particularly muscle tissue and bone marrow—to meet supply needs for vital bodily functions. As the body makes vital hormones from the fats and proteins you eat, a low fat/low protein diet could possibly also lead to hormone imbalances and osteoporosis. Ironically, no matter how much nutrition you are lacking, you’ll still be gaining weight.
Another way in which FDA guidelines—for diabetics and others—can affect your health is that when you choose low-fat alternatives (any commercial cooking oil, margarine and butter alternatives), you are choosing oils that have been very highly processed, and which have a high level of trans fatty acids that cause abnormal cells called free radicals to be formed in the body.
Free radicals cause cellular aging in the body and are responsible for most of the visible signs of human aging as well as contributing to the onset of many diseases including diabetes. For more information on this aspect of diet, go to http://www.westonaprice.org/know_your_fats/guidelines.html to read what Mary G. Enig Ph.D. has to say about it. Dr Enig is Research Associate in the Lipids Research Group, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland and the nation's leading authority on the amounts of transfats in foods.
BREAD, RICE AND POTATOES SHOULD BE CUT TO AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM. SUGAR SHOULD BE CUT OUT OF YOUR DIET COMPLETELY. TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY FLOUR PRODUCTS YOU EAT, INCLUDING BREAD, ARE MADE FROM WHOLE-WHEAT FLOUR, AS THIS DOES NOT RAISE BLOOD SUGAR SO MUCH. BUT MAKE SURE YOU STAY AWAY FROM ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS, PARTICULARLY ASPARTAME MORE ABOUT THAT AT A LATER DATE. THE ONLY SWEETENER I WOULD RECOMMEND IS THE NATURAL HERB STEVIA.
RAISE YOUR INTAKE OF GOOD QUALITY PROTEIN, (YOU’LL BE INTERESTED TO KNOW THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO RELIABLE RESEARCH TO SHOW THAT RED MEAT RAISES CHOLESTEROL LEVELS—READ WHAT STEPHEN BYRNES PH.D. SAYS ON THE SUBJECT HERE: HTTP://WWW.RAVNSKOV.NU/BYRNES.HTM ), AND START EATING GOOD QUALITY OILS. YOU’LL START TO LOSE WEIGHT, YOUR BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS WILL STABILIZE, YOU’LL BE ABLE TO REDUCE—OR EVEN STOP—MEDICATION, AND PERHAPS, MOST AMAZING OF ALL, IF YOU KEEP CARBOHYDRATE LEVELS LOW ENOUGH TO LOSE WEIGHT, YOUR BODY WILL BE FORCED TO BURN FAT FOR ENERGY INSTEAD OF MUSCLE AND BONE. A BONUS IS THAT YOUR CARBOHYDRATE CRAVING WILL BE A THING OF THE PAST. SOUNDS REALLY GOOD, DOESN’T IT? BUT THESE ARE NOT THE ONLY BENEFITS. THERE’S MORE!
Diana Schwarzbein describes in her book how she discovered during the course of her research that following the low carbohydrate/high protein-vegetable-oil regime also lowered her patients’ cholesterol profiles and blood pressure. She went on to describe how making these simple changes offered many benefits as far as protecting oneself against heart disease—another problem often faced by long-term diabetics.
Charles Vega M.D. asserts that the Westman Study, which was another body of research into the pros/cons of a high protein diet, proves that even when they weren’t very good at sticking to their diets, patients put on a high protein/low carbohydrate diet lost significant amounts of weight with none of the side effects associated with other methods of losing weight—including the high carb diet!
There is a lot more information relevant to this subject—this is the tip of the iceberg.
Making Changes
Dr. Schwarzbein asked her patients to modify the clinic’s dietary recommendations slightly (still in keeping with FDA guidelines), and kept meticulous records of her findings. She found that the more her patients cut their carbohydrate intake, and the more oils and fats they ate, the lower their blood sugar fell and the better they felt. Many of her patients reported feeling better than they had in years, and they lost weight in the bargain!
This research contributes to much new thinking in the dietary world regarding the treatment of diabetes and obesity. Specialists are just beginning to discover that the FDA diet will actually prevent you from controlling your diabetes. You will have to relearn and rethink what you know about your diet if you want your diabetes under control and help with all the other health problems you have, including heart disease and obesity.
With recent strides in the understanding of the mechanisms of insulin in the body, the outlook has never been brighter. If you find this strange and new (or very old), remember that in the words of Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., "It takes approximately 40 years for innovative thought to be incorporated into mainstream thought." I’d say this is one area where you’d want to be ahead of the pack.
Amid all the controversy, preliminary research findings at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, have confirmed that the Atkins diet can lead to significant and sustained weight loss—in addition to lowering triglyceride levels, both of which will be beneficial to diabetics.
The Trouble With Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates put a tremendous amount of strain on the body’s ability to keep blood sugars low. In an attempt to right the situation, any carbohydrates not used for energy will be converted to fat and stored. To make matters worse, if quality fats and proteins are lacking, the body will be forced to break down body tissue—particularly muscle tissue and bone marrow—to meet supply needs for vital bodily functions. As the body makes vital hormones from the fats and proteins you eat, a low fat/low protein diet could possibly also lead to hormone imbalances and osteoporosis. Ironically, no matter how much nutrition you are lacking, you’ll still be gaining weight.
Another way in which FDA guidelines—for diabetics and others—can affect your health is that when you choose low-fat alternatives (any commercial cooking oil, margarine and butter alternatives), you are choosing oils that have been very highly processed, and which have a high level of trans fatty acids that cause abnormal cells called free radicals to be formed in the body.
Free radicals cause cellular aging in the body and are responsible for most of the visible signs of human aging as well as contributing to the onset of many diseases including diabetes. For more information on this aspect of diet, go to http://www.westonaprice.org/know_your_fats/guidelines.html to read what Mary G. Enig Ph.D. has to say about it. Dr Enig is Research Associate in the Lipids Research Group, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland and the nation's leading authority on the amounts of transfats in foods.
BREAD, RICE AND POTATOES SHOULD BE CUT TO AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM. SUGAR SHOULD BE CUT OUT OF YOUR DIET COMPLETELY. TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY FLOUR PRODUCTS YOU EAT, INCLUDING BREAD, ARE MADE FROM WHOLE-WHEAT FLOUR, AS THIS DOES NOT RAISE BLOOD SUGAR SO MUCH. BUT MAKE SURE YOU STAY AWAY FROM ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS, PARTICULARLY ASPARTAME MORE ABOUT THAT AT A LATER DATE. THE ONLY SWEETENER I WOULD RECOMMEND IS THE NATURAL HERB STEVIA.
RAISE YOUR INTAKE OF GOOD QUALITY PROTEIN, (YOU’LL BE INTERESTED TO KNOW THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO RELIABLE RESEARCH TO SHOW THAT RED MEAT RAISES CHOLESTEROL LEVELS—READ WHAT STEPHEN BYRNES PH.D. SAYS ON THE SUBJECT HERE: HTTP://WWW.RAVNSKOV.NU/BYRNES.HTM ), AND START EATING GOOD QUALITY OILS. YOU’LL START TO LOSE WEIGHT, YOUR BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS WILL STABILIZE, YOU’LL BE ABLE TO REDUCE—OR EVEN STOP—MEDICATION, AND PERHAPS, MOST AMAZING OF ALL, IF YOU KEEP CARBOHYDRATE LEVELS LOW ENOUGH TO LOSE WEIGHT, YOUR BODY WILL BE FORCED TO BURN FAT FOR ENERGY INSTEAD OF MUSCLE AND BONE. A BONUS IS THAT YOUR CARBOHYDRATE CRAVING WILL BE A THING OF THE PAST. SOUNDS REALLY GOOD, DOESN’T IT? BUT THESE ARE NOT THE ONLY BENEFITS. THERE’S MORE!
Diana Schwarzbein describes in her book how she discovered during the course of her research that following the low carbohydrate/high protein-vegetable-oil regime also lowered her patients’ cholesterol profiles and blood pressure. She went on to describe how making these simple changes offered many benefits as far as protecting oneself against heart disease—another problem often faced by long-term diabetics.
Charles Vega M.D. asserts that the Westman Study, which was another body of research into the pros/cons of a high protein diet, proves that even when they weren’t very good at sticking to their diets, patients put on a high protein/low carbohydrate diet lost significant amounts of weight with none of the side effects associated with other methods of losing weight—including the high carb diet!
There is a lot more information relevant to this subject—this is the tip of the iceberg.
Useful Fruits for Diabetes
Apple
This popular sub-acid fruit one of the most valuable of all fruits, has been found beneficial in the treatment of diabetes of its rich pectin content. Pectin is a natural therapeutic ingredient found in the inner portion of the rind and the pulp. It aids in detoxification of the body by supplying the galacturonic acid needed for the elimination of certain harmful substances. This food element reduces the body’s insulin requirements by approximately 35 percent.
The apple is also considered valuable in depression. The various chemical substances present in the fruit, such as Vitamin B1, phosphorous and potassium, help the synthesis of glutamic acid, which controls the wear and tear of nerve cell. This fruit acts as a very effective tonic and recharges the nerves with new energy and life.
Grapefruit
The grapefruit occupies a high place among citrus fruits because of its favor, its appetizing properties and its refreshing qualities. It is a well-known authority on nutrition, believes that it is a splendid food for diabetics and if this fruit were taken more liberally, there would be much less diabetes.
According to Dr. Riley, any person suffering from high blood sugar should take grapefruit three times a day. A person who does not have high blood sugar, but a tendency towards it, and wants to prevent it, should also use the fruit three times a day. Simultaneously, consumption of starches, sweets and fats should be reduced and diet made rich in fruits, vegetables and juices. Two weeks of this grapefruit rich diet will bring down sugar level in individuals not taking insulin. In those who take insulin regularly, it takes longer.
Jambul Fruit
The jambul fruit also known as rose apple is grown all over India. It too possesses anti-diabetic properties.
In the indigenous system of medicine this fruits is regarded as specific remedy against diabetes because of its effect on the pancreas. The fruit, the seeds and fruits juice are beneficial in treatment of this disease. The jamboline’ contained in the seeds in believed to check the pathological conversion of starch into sugar in case of increase production of glucose. The seeds are dried and powdered. This powder mixed with water, taken three or four times daily reduces sugar in the urine and allays thirst.
In Ayurveda, the inner bark of the jambul tree is considered valuable in the treatment of diabetes. The bark is dried and burnt, to produce a white colored ash. This ash is pestle in the mortar, strained and bottled. The diabetes patient should be given. The diabetes patients should be given about two grams of this ash in the morning on an empty stomach and two grams each in the afternoon and in the evening and hour after meals.
The seeds of the jambul fruits are considered beneficial in the treatment of excessive urination. The powder of these seeds in doses of one gram each, in the morning and evening is effective in controlling this condition.
This popular sub-acid fruit one of the most valuable of all fruits, has been found beneficial in the treatment of diabetes of its rich pectin content. Pectin is a natural therapeutic ingredient found in the inner portion of the rind and the pulp. It aids in detoxification of the body by supplying the galacturonic acid needed for the elimination of certain harmful substances. This food element reduces the body’s insulin requirements by approximately 35 percent.
The apple is also considered valuable in depression. The various chemical substances present in the fruit, such as Vitamin B1, phosphorous and potassium, help the synthesis of glutamic acid, which controls the wear and tear of nerve cell. This fruit acts as a very effective tonic and recharges the nerves with new energy and life.
Grapefruit
The grapefruit occupies a high place among citrus fruits because of its favor, its appetizing properties and its refreshing qualities. It is a well-known authority on nutrition, believes that it is a splendid food for diabetics and if this fruit were taken more liberally, there would be much less diabetes.
According to Dr. Riley, any person suffering from high blood sugar should take grapefruit three times a day. A person who does not have high blood sugar, but a tendency towards it, and wants to prevent it, should also use the fruit three times a day. Simultaneously, consumption of starches, sweets and fats should be reduced and diet made rich in fruits, vegetables and juices. Two weeks of this grapefruit rich diet will bring down sugar level in individuals not taking insulin. In those who take insulin regularly, it takes longer.
Jambul Fruit
The jambul fruit also known as rose apple is grown all over India. It too possesses anti-diabetic properties.
In the indigenous system of medicine this fruits is regarded as specific remedy against diabetes because of its effect on the pancreas. The fruit, the seeds and fruits juice are beneficial in treatment of this disease. The jamboline’ contained in the seeds in believed to check the pathological conversion of starch into sugar in case of increase production of glucose. The seeds are dried and powdered. This powder mixed with water, taken three or four times daily reduces sugar in the urine and allays thirst.
In Ayurveda, the inner bark of the jambul tree is considered valuable in the treatment of diabetes. The bark is dried and burnt, to produce a white colored ash. This ash is pestle in the mortar, strained and bottled. The diabetes patient should be given. The diabetes patients should be given about two grams of this ash in the morning on an empty stomach and two grams each in the afternoon and in the evening and hour after meals.
The seeds of the jambul fruits are considered beneficial in the treatment of excessive urination. The powder of these seeds in doses of one gram each, in the morning and evening is effective in controlling this condition.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Fundamentals Of Diabetes Control And Diagnosis
When a person is diagnosed with diabetes one of the first things that he or she learns that proper diet is fundamental to keeping your sugar levels under control. Seeing to it that you maintain a healthy, balanced diet is the most beneficial path to controlling your diabetes and staying healthy. Just because you have diabetes does not mean that meals have to be uninteresting and, despite what most believe, the diabetic can usually consume just about anything but they do need to watch portion sizes closely. The all important point that the diabetic must remember is scheduling mealtimes in a way that they eat less and at the same time daily.
Meals must include plenty of whole grain, vegetables, and fruits in place of simple sugars, starches, and fats. As a matter of fact, these dietary guidelines should be practiced by anyone who wishes to enjoy a more wholesome lifestyle, especially those wanting to slim down.
An additional dietary modification that a lot of diabetics might want to implement is calorie counting. Counting calories is particularly useful for diabetics who take medicine to maintain their optimum blood sugar level. Those new to calorie counting should seek the aid of a dietician or nutritionist to learn how to do this correctly and the compile most beneficial combination of foods for every meal.
Learning how to eat properly for diabetes control can make a diabetic feel restricted and forced to eat in a way that is not to their liking. A diabetic should consume certain foods and refrain from others, but getting used to this can be challenging. However, by using the exchange-system diet plan, meals can be more interesting. This plan allows for the substitution of one food in a certain group for another of similar nutrients from the same group. This can liven things up a bit.
The diabetic must establish a schedule that includes specific times of the day that a meal or snack will be eaten and always consuming the proper portion size with an emphasis on smaller portions and cutting back on sugar and fats. The meals should be well balanced, and include items from all of the food groups of the diabetic food pyramid. The diabetic food pyramid, as opposed to the regular pyramid, groups foods in concert based on their starch and fat content. Such as, starchy vegetables are grouped with starches versus being grouped with other vegetables.
Maintaining a healthy body and keeping blood sugar levels steady, the diabetic is required to stick with their meal plan guaranteeing that they consume a nutritionally-balanced meal. The diabetic food pyramid is an excellent guide to employ in ascertaining what food groups to eat from and in what proportion. Diabetics must as well eat more modest meals than they would usually, while guaranteeing that their caloric intake is sufficient.
Meals must include plenty of whole grain, vegetables, and fruits in place of simple sugars, starches, and fats. As a matter of fact, these dietary guidelines should be practiced by anyone who wishes to enjoy a more wholesome lifestyle, especially those wanting to slim down.
An additional dietary modification that a lot of diabetics might want to implement is calorie counting. Counting calories is particularly useful for diabetics who take medicine to maintain their optimum blood sugar level. Those new to calorie counting should seek the aid of a dietician or nutritionist to learn how to do this correctly and the compile most beneficial combination of foods for every meal.
Learning how to eat properly for diabetes control can make a diabetic feel restricted and forced to eat in a way that is not to their liking. A diabetic should consume certain foods and refrain from others, but getting used to this can be challenging. However, by using the exchange-system diet plan, meals can be more interesting. This plan allows for the substitution of one food in a certain group for another of similar nutrients from the same group. This can liven things up a bit.
The diabetic must establish a schedule that includes specific times of the day that a meal or snack will be eaten and always consuming the proper portion size with an emphasis on smaller portions and cutting back on sugar and fats. The meals should be well balanced, and include items from all of the food groups of the diabetic food pyramid. The diabetic food pyramid, as opposed to the regular pyramid, groups foods in concert based on their starch and fat content. Such as, starchy vegetables are grouped with starches versus being grouped with other vegetables.
Maintaining a healthy body and keeping blood sugar levels steady, the diabetic is required to stick with their meal plan guaranteeing that they consume a nutritionally-balanced meal. The diabetic food pyramid is an excellent guide to employ in ascertaining what food groups to eat from and in what proportion. Diabetics must as well eat more modest meals than they would usually, while guaranteeing that their caloric intake is sufficient.
Importance Of Controlling Diabetes In Life
Controlling diabetes is nothing that should be undertaken by an amateur. Your diabetes treatment should always be supervised by a licensed physician. The plan is typically to keep your glucose from extremes of highs and lows. In order to do this many lifestyle changes are necessary.
Controlling your diet is the first plan of attack
One very important part of controlling your diabetes is eating a proper diet. While it is true that diet, exercise, and medications are always central, proper diet is possibly the most important key. Diabetics must begin the healthy habits now that probably would have helped them avoid becoming diabetics in the first place.
Exercise is always an important part of controlling diabetes.
Everyone will benefit from having a lifestyle that is healthy but for diabetics it is critically important. Regular exercise will help the body work much more efficiently by, among other things, speeding glucose into cells where it belongs and helping to dispose of excess glucose within the body.
Diabetics need to exercise every day. For some lucky individuals this is all that is necessary. For the majority of diabetics however, a balanced approach of exercise, diet, and medication is needed. But even for a diabetic, regular exercise will help one to have a stronger healthier heart and body. Exercise is something that a diabetic must learn to do consistently.
Uncontrolled diabetes will destroy your body.
Controlling diabetes means that you will be less likely to suffer from many of diabetes serious complications such as infections that would otherwise be minor becoming major infections, kidney damage, and eye damage. And then there is the issue of amputations of the feet and legs that are also quite often caused by uncontrolled diabetes.
There is some evidence that increasing soy protein in your diet may help to avoid many of the diabetic complications such as blockage of the arteries and kidney disease. While other of the complications of uncontrolled diabetes may not be helped by the addition of soy protein to one's diet, if it helps diabetics to avoid only two of the possible complications it is worth incorporating into one's diet. Diabetics should discuss this possibility with their doctors.
Controlling diabetes requires a major change in your lifestyle but the effort will be rewarded with a much healthier and longer life span. Medications that have been developed over the last 10 years also makes it a lot easier to control one's diabetes. However, a diabetic should never relax when their lifestyle changes or they may find that the diabetes creeps silently back into their life becoming an enormous health problem again. It is important for diabetics to remember this: Once a Diabetic Always a diabetic.
Controlling your diet is the first plan of attack
One very important part of controlling your diabetes is eating a proper diet. While it is true that diet, exercise, and medications are always central, proper diet is possibly the most important key. Diabetics must begin the healthy habits now that probably would have helped them avoid becoming diabetics in the first place.
Exercise is always an important part of controlling diabetes.
Everyone will benefit from having a lifestyle that is healthy but for diabetics it is critically important. Regular exercise will help the body work much more efficiently by, among other things, speeding glucose into cells where it belongs and helping to dispose of excess glucose within the body.
Diabetics need to exercise every day. For some lucky individuals this is all that is necessary. For the majority of diabetics however, a balanced approach of exercise, diet, and medication is needed. But even for a diabetic, regular exercise will help one to have a stronger healthier heart and body. Exercise is something that a diabetic must learn to do consistently.
Uncontrolled diabetes will destroy your body.
Controlling diabetes means that you will be less likely to suffer from many of diabetes serious complications such as infections that would otherwise be minor becoming major infections, kidney damage, and eye damage. And then there is the issue of amputations of the feet and legs that are also quite often caused by uncontrolled diabetes.
There is some evidence that increasing soy protein in your diet may help to avoid many of the diabetic complications such as blockage of the arteries and kidney disease. While other of the complications of uncontrolled diabetes may not be helped by the addition of soy protein to one's diet, if it helps diabetics to avoid only two of the possible complications it is worth incorporating into one's diet. Diabetics should discuss this possibility with their doctors.
Controlling diabetes requires a major change in your lifestyle but the effort will be rewarded with a much healthier and longer life span. Medications that have been developed over the last 10 years also makes it a lot easier to control one's diabetes. However, a diabetic should never relax when their lifestyle changes or they may find that the diabetes creeps silently back into their life becoming an enormous health problem again. It is important for diabetics to remember this: Once a Diabetic Always a diabetic.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Complications Of Diabetes And Symptoms
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a defect in the body’s ability to convert glucose to energy. It is caused due to insufficient production of glucose by the pancreas. In diabetes patients, the production of glucose is impaired.
What are the symptoms of Diabetes?
Patients with Type-1 diabetes usually develop symptoms over a short period of time, and the condition is often diagnosed in an emergency setting.
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes:
- Increased thirst
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Increased urination
- Weight loss in spite of increased appetite
- Vomiting
However, because Type-2 diabetes develops slowly, some people with high blood sugar experience no symptoms at all.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes:
- Increased thirst
- Impotence in men
- Increased appetite
- Increased urination
- Blurred vision
- Fatigue
- Slow-healing infections
How to diagnose diabetes?
The diagnosis of diabetes is made by a simple blood test measuring blood glucose level. Usually blood glucose level tests are repeated on a subsequent day to confirm the diagnosis. Your health care team may also request that you have a glucose tolerance test. If two hours after taking the glucose drink your glucose level is 200 or above, you will be diagnosed as having diabetes.
How can I control diabetes?
- Gather all the information about diabetes, its symptoms and causes
- Check your blood glucose level regularly
- If find any symptom of diabetes, visit your health care team for diagnosis of diabetes
- Ask your health care team about how to check blood glucose level at home
- Stop smoking
- Exercise daily
- Follow a healthy meal plan
- Check your vision at regular intervals, If found blurred visit your health care team
- Check your feet regularly for checking the occurrence of diabetes
- If you are diabetic, monitor you diabetes regularly
- Follow instructions of health care team strictly
- Avoid sweet ingredients, use sugar free food
Can diabetes be cured?
As yet, there is no treatment for either type of diabetes, although there are many ways of keeping diabetes in control. Studies have shown that good control of blood glucose (blood sugar) is the key to avoid diabetic complications later.
What are the treatment options to cure diabetes?
Diabetes is incurable. The only option is to prevent ourselves from diabetes or to keep diabetes under control.
Is diabetes a hereditary disease?
You are at higher risk of Type 2 diabetes if you have a parent, brother or sister with diabetes.
Complications of Diabetes
If you have diabetes, you are much more likely to have a risk of stroke, heart disease, or a heart attack. In fact, 2 out of 3 people with diabetes die from stroke or heart disease. There are three conditions that make people with diabetes vulnerable to foot problems. These are vascular disease and foot deformities. About 30 percent of patients with Type 1 diabetes and 10 to 40 percent of those with Type 2 diabetes eventually will suffer from kidney failure. Diabetes also may cause damage to nerves in your body.
Fundamentals Of Diabetes Control And Diagnosis
When a person is diagnosed with diabetes one of the first things that he or she learns that proper diet is fundamental to keeping your sugar levels under control. Seeing to it that you maintain a healthy, balanced diet is the most beneficial path to controlling your diabetes and staying healthy. Just because you have diabetes does not mean that meals have to be uninteresting and, despite what most believe, the diabetic can usually consume just about anything but they do need to watch portion sizes closely. The all important point that the diabetic must remember is scheduling mealtimes in a way that they eat less and at the same time daily.
Meals must include plenty of whole grain, vegetables, and fruits in place of simple sugars, starches, and fats. As a matter of fact, these dietary guidelines should be practiced by anyone who wishes to enjoy a more wholesome lifestyle, especially those wanting to slim down.
An additional dietary modification that a lot of diabetics might want to implement is calorie counting. Counting calories is particularly useful for diabetics who take medicine to maintain their optimum blood sugar level. Those new to calorie counting should seek the aid of a dietician or nutritionist to learn how to do this correctly and the compile most beneficial combination of foods for every meal.
Learning how to eat properly for diabetes control can make a diabetic feel restricted and forced to eat in a way that is not to their liking. A diabetic should consume certain foods and refrain from others, but getting used to this can be challenging. However, by using the exchange-system diet plan, meals can be more interesting. This plan allows for the substitution of one food in a certain group for another of similar nutrients from the same group. This can liven things up a bit.
The diabetic must establish a schedule that includes specific times of the day that a meal or snack will be eaten and always consuming the proper portion size with an emphasis on smaller portions and cutting back on sugar and fats. The meals should be well balanced, and include items from all of the food groups of the diabetic food pyramid. The diabetic food pyramid, as opposed to the regular pyramid, groups foods in concert based on their starch and fat content. Such as, starchy vegetables are grouped with starches versus being grouped with other vegetables.
Maintaining a healthy body and keeping blood sugar levels steady, the diabetic is required to stick with their meal plan guaranteeing that they consume a nutritionally-balanced meal. The diabetic food pyramid is an excellent guide to employ in ascertaining what food groups to eat from and in what proportion. Diabetics must as well eat more modest meals than they would usually, while guaranteeing that their caloric intake is sufficient.
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