Welcome to Diabetes | Diabetes Information | Diabetes Risks, Symptoms,Causes, Diagnosis,and Treatment


Thursday, May 31, 2007

Choose the Right Foods to Lower Your Blood Sugar Level

Diabetes is a condition that millions of people manage on a daily basis. People with diabetes must be mindful of the foods and beverages they consume. Whether or not you have had natural diabetes all of your life or have been recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, it is crucial that you engage in healthy food choices.

The majority of your food selections should be based on a whole foods approach. Whole foods are natural and organic foods. These foods are created with the highest standards and are tailored for people with conditions such as diabetes, gluten intolerance, and other conditions. Seek out whole food and organic supermarkets in your area.

What food choices should people with diabetes make to manage their diabetes glucose levels? First, think back to nature such as vegetables and fruits. Nature has provided a wealth of vegetables to keep your palate enticed. For example, have a spinach salad with broccoli and carrots at dinner.

To control your blood sugar levels you have to monitor your carbohydrate consumption. Breads and pastas can spike your blood sugar, but this can be minimized if you consume whole grain breads and pastas. These are easy to find at a whole foods organic market.

For your entrée keep the focus on fish, chicken and turkey. You can consume lean cuts of beef and pork in moderation. Make sure to remove the fatty skin and use healthy liquid oils, such as olive oil, when you cook foods. In addition, stick to non-fat dairy products. You can consume skim milk, non fat cheese, and non fat yogurt.

If you have diabetes you may feel that you have to miss out on the sweet taste of foods. This is not so. You can add cinnamon in moderation to foods to give them a sweet taste. Cinnamon may actually have a positive effect on your blood glucose levels, especially for people with Type 2 diabetes. Therefore, cinnamon is a great way to get the sweet fix you desire.

Another alternative natural sweetener is a herb called stevia. Stevia is 300 times sweeter than sugar and can be used as a natural sweetener to replace sugar. It is recommended to stay away from most artificial sweeteners – especially aspartame. Aspartame is a deadly toxin than does more harm to your body than good.

Lastly, don’t forget about what you drink! Beverages can be a roadblock to lowering blood sugar levels. Diabetes treatment should include drinking plenty of water and an occasional diet drink that has zero calories.

There are some foods that you should avoid like the plague. Avoid processed foods such as candy, chips, sodas, fruit punch, and cookies. These contain an excessive amount of sugar and carbohydrates that will have your blood glucose level soaring. Watch out for foods labeled as “sugar free” as well. This labeling is misleading and they can often raise your blood sugar levels as much as common sugar foods.

Remember that consuming healthy foods is not a free for all. If you eat too much of any type of food you will gain weight. Gaining weight is especially disastrous for people with diabetes. Stick to healthy portions and monitor your caloric intake.

Diabetics may have to spend more time analyzing what they eat and drink, but it is a manageable process. The number of whole food organic supermarkets is on the rise which is a major benefit for people with diabetes. Take advantage of their services to help you control your blood sugar levels and enjoy food at the same time.

Want To Lose That Belly Fat?

Like many of you, I don’t look or feel comfortable in my clothes carrying around excessive belly fat and it concerns me that there are many metabolic complications associated with abdominal fat. The build-up of fat results in abnormal fat and glucose metabolism in the tissues. To be more specific, accumulation of fat around the abdominal organs can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The long term effects of these conditions can lead to more dangerous consequences.

After consulting with a physician, we began the process of conditioning our mind to get started on this project. We have always heard that diet and exercise is recommended. Weight loss, whether with diet and/or exercise will reduce abdominal fat and improve insulin sensitivity. Exercise alone is also effective in reducing abdominal fat and improving insulin sensitivity.

It is important to know that for best results we need to improve the oxygen intake in our body. Greater improvements in oxygen intake along with diet and exercise are associated with significant reduction in abdominal fat. It is also important to realize that as your metabolic rate increases, you ability to metabolize toxins, move fluids through your body and eliminate waste also improves.

While diet alone may reduce abdominal fat, greater results can be achieved with the addition of aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise continues to be the most recommended exercise. Aerobic activities such as brisk walking are safe, easy and require little skill or equipment and can be performed anywhere. Aerobic exercise has been proven beneficial in the prevention and management of several chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine concluded that every U.S. adult should accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity on most, preferably all days of the week. Further, it is recommended that every 6-8 weeks, you need to modify your program in order to stimulate your body and progress to the next level. When choosing new exercises for your program, always begin your routine by placing your most challenging exercises at the beginning. New exercises can be the use of simple resistance bands, hand weights or circuit training. These exercises can increase lean body mass which have been associated with improved insulin sensitivity and improved resting metabolic rate.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Diabetes Mellitus - Signs Symptoms and Risks

How soon do you want discover if you have diabetes mellitus? My guess is the sooner the better. Taking diabetes mellitus lightly will not be in your best interest.

Occasionally the signs and symptoms of diabetes mellitus have been undiagnosed because there have been no great changes seen by the individual. Many people are amazed at the physician's diagnosis. While you may not have the symbols that cause pain, diabetes mellitus is a disease that is working in the background. Serious consequences can erupt if left undetected.

Diabetes is not a disease you want to take lightly. If any of the signs or symptoms of diabetes mellitus show up you should see a doctor immediately. Heart and kidney disease may follow if you do not take care of your ailment. Blindness may also occur.

Insulin, a hormone released from the pancreas, controls the amount of sugar in the blood. When a person eats or drinks, food is broken down into materials, including sugar that the body needs to function. Sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream and stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin allows sugar to move from the blood into the cells. Once inside the cells, sugar is converted to energy, which is either used immediately or stored until it is needed.

If the body does not produce enough insulin to move the sugar into the cells, the resulting high levels of sugar in the blood and the inadequate amount of sugar in the cells together produce the symptoms and complications of diabetes.

Here are some of the signs and symptoms of diabetes mellitus. Your stomach size is over 102 cm (men) and 88 cm (women). That's 40 inches (man) and 34.5 inches (woman). You do not exercise more than half an hour daily. Like walking or dancing. The key is cardiovascular workouts. You are using medicine for high blood pressure - some medicines do not mix well with other medicines. In the past you have been diagnosed at least once for a high blood sugar level. Possibly during some illness you contacted. Diabetes type 1 ("juvenile diabetes") or type 2 ("adult onset diabetes") occurs or was in your family at one time. You are over 45 years of age. You are tired more often than you would like to be.

Most important if you have any questions or any doubt about your own health situation or the health of your loved ones please consult with a doctor. Their expertise when looking at your signs and symptoms of diabetes mellitus will help you determine which area of treatment best fits your needs.

How The Pancreas Produces Insulin

The pancreas is an organ located below the breastbone, close to the stomach and duodenum. It's principle responsibility is to create digestive enzymes and hormones, one of which is insulin. This article will describe how insulin is created in the pancreas and the other hormones that help to modify the blood sugar levels of the body.

The pancreas is made up of exocrine and endocrine cells. Exocrine cells create the digestive enzymes that are passed into the stomach to help break down food.

Endocrine cells are responsible for creating and secreting insulin and it's counterpart glucagon. These hormones are responsible for controlling the level of glucose in the blood at any one time.

Glucose is effectively the energy that keeps the cells in the body functioning. Without glucose the body would starve. Glucose is absorbed from food via the stomach. The bloodstream passes glucose to all the cells in the body.

Endocrine cells are made up of pancreatic islets or Islets of Langerhans (after Paul Langerhans, who discovered them in 1869). Within the pancreatic islets are many smaller cells. Two of these cells produce the hormones insulin and glucagon.

The beta cells create and secrete insulin.

The alpha cells create and secrete glucagon.

These two hormones are responsible for maintaining the glucose level in blood at a constant rate so that all the cells have the required energy to perform their functions. They tend to work in an on/off relationship. When insulin is being secreted, glucagon is absent and vice versa.

The process starts when someone has eaten food. As the food is digested, glucose is passed into the bloodstream and distributed throughout the body. This glucose is used by the body to function normally but if there is any glucose left over or too much glucose in the bloodstream, the pancreas secretes insulin.

Insulin has the effect of acting on many cells in the body to create glycogen. Glycogen is a form of storage for glucose in cells. It is an emergency reserve of glucose in cellular form should the body need it. The principal cells that insulin works on are the liver, fat and muscle cells. Thus glycogen is stored in these cells. This has the effect of keeping the glucose level in the blood to a constant and normal level.

As the food has been absorbed and energy is used by the cells there will come a time when the blood sugar levels get low. This means the cells could be starved of energy and not work effectively. This might occur when somebody is sleeping or dieting.

When the blood sugar level is low, glucagon is created and secreted. It acts on the same cells that insulin works on, notably the liver, fat and muscle cells but instead of creating glycogen it converts glycogen into glucose. The glucose can then by used by the body's cells to continue functioning via the bloodstream. In this way the blood sugar level can always remain constant whether the body is processing food or not.

The pancreas is responsible for ensuring this delicate process continues seamlessly. It is only when the pancreas starts to malfunction that people become aware of the vital role it plays in providing energy to the body and keeping blood sugar levels normal.

Diabetes Reversing With Chromium

In this article, ‘Diabetes Reversing With Chromium’, you will discover:

* What is chromium?
* Why is chromium good at reversing diabetes?
* How much chromium do you need to take to help in reversing diabetes?

What Is Chromium?

The essential trace mineral chromium can be found in the following foods:

* Black Pepper
* Brewer’s Yeast
* Cheese
* Chicken
* Clams
* Corn Oil
* Egg Yolk
* Fruit and Fruit Juice
* Honey
* Meat
* Shellfish
* Thyme
* Vegetables
* Whole Grains

Apart from helping to deter diabetes, chromium can also help with the following:

* Aids in the prevention and helps to lower high blood pressure
* Encourages production of energy
* Helps to lower total cholesterol levels
* Helps with growth
* Lower blood fat levels
* Suppresses hunger pangs
* Helps with depression
* Helps with insulin resistance syndrome (Syndrome X)

Why Is Chromium Good At Reversing Diabetes?

Chromium is good at reversing diabetes because clinical trials have shown that chromium can improve glucose levels in people with diabetes.

Chromium improves glucose levels in people with diabetes by increasing sensitivity to insulin.

How Much Chromium Do You Need To Take To Help In Reversing Diabetes?

Most doctors recommend up to 1000 mcg per day of chromium supplements to help in reversing diabetes. Warning: as with all supplements, please consult with your doctor before taking them.

In the case of chromium, if you're taking medication for diabetes, taking chromium supplements can enhance the effects of these drugs so much that it could possibly lead to hypoglycaemia.

If you're taking diabetes medication, please consult with your doctor before taking chromium supplements.

So, to sum up...

Clinical trials have shown that, supplementing your diet with the essential trace mineral chromium can help in reversing diabetes.