Jun 16, 2010

Complications of Diabetes

Complications of diabetes

Just like in any other illnesses, the first thing that people need is to be informed and educated about the disease that may be prone to. In case of diabetes, extensive knowledge about this can help people who are already suffering from it to cope up and manage and can also help those who don’t have it yet to be more careful and to avoid the illness.

But, aside from having extensive knowledge on the disease such as its causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, it also pays to know if there would be related complications. This is to prepare one's self—emotionally, physically, and emotionally—about the possibilities of coping not just with diabetes but other complications related to it as well.

There are certain factors that affect people to be prone to diabetes such as age, heredity and ethnicity. But regardless of the risk factors, the related complications would just be the same. The following are just some of the complications of diabetes that people who are prone to it must pay attention to:

1. HEART DISEASE AND STROKE. Experts say that people who have diabetes have greater risks to having coronary heart diseases and to stroke compared to those who don’t have them. In fact, these complications are the lead causes of death among diabetics all over the world. People suffering from diabetes are prone to heart diseases and stroke because the fatty deposits brought by drastic changes in the body can block the arteries and leads to heart attack. Because of lesser amount of insulin in the body compared to regular people, diabetics have higher incidence of blood clotting and can also lead to high blood pressure or hypertension.

2. DIABETIC KIDNEY DISEASE. Among people with diabetes, kidney failure is the most common complication because the blood-filtering units of the kidneys are being damaged. Once the kidney has been damaged, important proteins are being along with urine and eventually, the kidneys won't be able to remove the waste products present in the blood anymore. The good thing is, not all diabetics experience End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESRD) which can be life threatening. To avoid this complication, you must stop smoking cigarettes and always keep the blood pressure under control at all times.

3. DIABETIC EYE DISEASE. This refers to the group of eye problems that diabetics—people with diabetes—may have as a result of the chronic disease. In worst cases, this set of eye related problems such as diabetic retinopathy, damaged vessels of the eye's retina, cataract, cloudiness in the lens of the eyes, glaucoma, and increased fluid pressure inside the eye that is damaging to optic nerve. All of these, when not treated immediately and now monitored properly can lead to total loss of vision loss or blindness.

4. DIABETIC NEUROPATHY. Those people who are into smoking, drinking, and those who have poor control with glucose are more prone to developing neuropathy compared to those diabetics who are not into these vices and bad habits.

5. GASTROPARESIS. This disorder involves the stomach as a result of prolonged emptying. Studies show that around 20 to 30 percent of diabetics suffering from "type 1 diabetes" are more prone to this diabetes complication because it severely damages the "vagus nerve" which is responsible for keeping the food moving through person's the digestive tract. Although it is also diagnosed among those who have "type 2 diabetes" the cases are comparatively lower.

Jun 14, 2010

Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease affecting the manner in which the body handles digested carbohydrates. If neglected, diabetes can cause extremely severe health complications, ranging from blindness to kidney failure.

Around eight percent of the population in the United States has diabetes. This means that around sixteen million people have been diagnosed with the disease, based only on national statistics. The American Diabetes Association estimates that diabetes accounts for 178,000 deaths, as well as 54,000 amputees, and 12,000-24,000 cases of blindness annually. Blindness is twenty-five times even more common among diabetic patients in comparison with nondiabetics. If current trends continue, by the year 2010 complications of diabetes will exceed both heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death in America.

Diabetics have a high level of blood glucose. Blood sugar level is regulated by insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas, which releases it in response to carbohydrate consumption. Insulin causes the cells of the body to absorb glucose from the blood. The glucose then serves as fuel for cellular functions.

Traditional diagnostic standards for diabetes have been fasting plasma glucose levels greater than 140 mg/dL on 2 occasions and plasma glucose greater than 200 mg/dL following a 75-gram glucose load. However, even more recently, the American Diabetes Association lowered the criteria for a diabetes diagnosis to fasting plasma glucose levels equal to or higher than 126 mg/dL. Fasting plasma levels outside the normal limit demand further testing, usually by repeating the fasting plasma glucose check and (if indicated) initiating an oral glucose tolerance test.

The many symptoms of diabetes include excessive urination, excessive thirst and hunger, sudden weight loss, blurred vision, delay in healing of wounds, dry and itchy skin, repeated infections, fatigue and headache. While suggestive of diabetes, these symptoms can also be caused by other factors, and therefore anyone with symptoms suspicious of the disease should be tested.

There are 2 different varieties of diabetes. Type I Diabetes (juvenile diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes): The cause of type I diabetes starts with pancreatic inability to make insulin. This causes 5-10% of cases of diabetes. The pancreatic Islet of Langerhans cells, which secrete the hormone, are destroyed by the patient's own immune system, probably because it mistakes them for a virus. Viral infections are believed to be the trigger that sets off this auto-immune disease. Type I diabetes is most prevelant in the caucasian population and has a hereditary component.

If untreated, Type I or juvenile diabetes can lead to death within two to three months of the onset, as the cells of the body starve because they no longer receive the hormonal prompt to absorb glucose. While a great majority of Type I diabetics are young (hence the term Juvenile Diabetes), the condition can develop at any age. Autoimmune diabetes is diagnosed by an immunological assay which shows the presence of anti-insulin/anti-islet-cell antibodies.

Type II Diabetes (non insulin dependent diabetes, also known as adult onset diabetes): This diabetes is a consequence of body tissues becoming resistant to the effects of insulin. It accounts for 90-95% of cases. In many cases the pancreas is producing a plentiful amount of insulin, however the cells of the body have become unresponsive to its effect due to the chronically high level of the hormone. Finally the pancreas will exhaust its over-active secretion of the hormone, and insulin levels fall to beneath normal.

A tendency towards Type II diabetes is hereditary, although it is unlikely to develop in normal-weight individuals eating a low- or even moderate-carbohydrate diet. Obese, sedentary individuals who eat poor-quality diets built around refined starch, which constantly activates pancreatic insulin secretion, are prone to develop insulin resistance. Native peoples like North American Aboriginals, whose traditional diets never included refined starch and sugar until these items were introduced by Europeans, have very high rates of diabetes, five times the rate of caucasians. Blacks and hispanics are also at higher risk of the disease. Though Type II diabetes isn't as immediately disastrous as Type I, it can lead to health complications after many years and cause serious disability and shortened lifespan. As with Type I diabetes, the condition develops primarily in a certain age group, in this case patients over forty (which is why it's typically termed Adult Onset Diabetes); however, with the rise in childhood and teenage obesity, this condition is being seen for the first time in school children as well.

If treatment is neglected, both Type I and Type II diabetes can lead to life-threatening complications like kidney damage (nephropathy), heart disease, nerve damage (neuropathy), retinal damage and blindness(retinopathy), and hypoglycemia (drastic reduction in glucose levels). Diabetes damages blood vessels, especially smaller end-arteries, leading to very severe and premature atherosclerosis. Diabetics are prone to foot problems because neuropathy, which afflicts about ten percent of patients, causes their feet to lose sensation. Foot injuries, common in day-to-day living, go unnoticed, and these injuries cannot heal because of atherosclerotic blockage of the microscopic arteries in the foot. Gangrene and subsequent amputation of toes, feet or even legs is the result for many elderly patients with poorly-controlled diabetes. Usually these sequelae are seen sooner in Type I than Type II diabetes, because Type II patients have a small amount of their own insulin production left to buffer changes in blood sugar levels.

Type I diabetes is a severe disease and there is no known permanent cure for it. Nonetheless, the symptoms can be controlled by strict dietary monitering and insulin injections. Implanted pumps which release insulin immediately in response to changes in blood glucose are in the testing stages.

In theory, since it induced by diet, Type II diabetes should be preventable and manageable by dietary changes alone. However, as so often happens, clinical theory is defeated by human nature in this case, as many diabetics (and many obese people without diabetes) find it personally impossible to lose weight or even stick to a diet free of starchy, sugary junk food. So Type II diabetes is frequently treated with drugs which restore the body's response to its own insulin, and in a few cases injections of insulin.

Please note that this article isn't a subsitute for medical advice. If you suspect you have diabetes or even are in a high risk demographic group, please see your doctor.

Jun 12, 2010

Exercise for Diabetics

Exercise for Diabetics

The two most common forms of diabetes are referred to as Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes, also known as adolescent diabetes, differs from Type 2 in that the body stops producing insulin altogether. Type 2 diabetes is generally diagnosed in older adults and occurs as the body stops producing enough insulin or the individual becomes resistent to their own insulin.

With either form of diabetes, we lose our ability to adequately untilize sugar. Blood sugar levels increase due to the body's difficulty in transporting sugar into the cells and out of the blood stream. There are various ways to lower blood sugar levels including exercise, diet, and medications.

Exercise is a very important part of diabetic management for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. For the Type 1 diabetic, regular exercise helps to maintain insulin sensitivity, helps prevent accumulation of excess weight, and increases the use of glucose by muscles, thereby lower blood sugar levels. While there is currently no way to prevent Type 1 diabetes, it may be possible to prevent Type 2 diabetes.

Things to consider when attempting to prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes are regular exercise, supplementation with vitamins and herbs that help prevent insulin resistance, and proper weight control.

Exercise not only helps directly in diabetic management by lowering blood sugar levels and maintaining insulin sensitivity, but also helps minimize many of the complications that can arise in a diabetic individual. Studies have shown that walking for 30 minutes per day can substantially diminish the possibility of developing Type 2 diabetes. Diabetics tend to develop circulatory problems and exercise can certainly help lower blood pressure and improve circulation throughout the body. Since individuals with diabetes tend to have poor blood flow to their lower extremities and feet, better circulation is of great benefit.

There are some risks associated with exercise, but the potential benefits greatly outweigh the risks. Since exercise does lower blood sugar levels, people with diabetes should measure their blood sugar both before and after exercising. Since your body uses more sugar while exercising and makes you more sensitive to insulin, there is a risk of blood sugar becoming too low and causing hypoglycemia.

When exercising it is important to let others know that you are diabetic. They should be informed what to do in case of hypoglycemia. You should always carry candy or fruit juice to treat low blood sugar levels should they occur. During and after exercise sessions, you should pay close attention to how you feel since rapid heart beat, increased sweating, feeling shaky, or hunger can signal that your blood sugar levels are becoming too low.

Exercise is a critical part of diabetic management and treatment. Exercise helps blood sugar control when the muscles use more glucose and the body become more sensitive to insulin. Exercise also helps to prevent and minimize common diabetic complications including heart problems, high blood pressure and circulatory deficiencies. All diabetics should include a regular exercise program as part of their overall management plan.

The Ideal Excess weight Loss Products and Appetite Suppressant you are able to discover online currently

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Jun 10, 2010

Protein powders and supplementations at reasonable price ranges from top website

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Jun 9, 2010

Obesity and Diabetes

Health is a big asset which requires proper care and nurturing. A fit and trim body gives inner and outer confidence whereas an obese physique makes you dull and pessimistic. Obesity breeds other diseases and makes our existence uncomfortable and unpleasant. It also results in emotional suffering which is one of the most painful parts of obesity.

Obesity is not just a cosmetic problem. It's a health hazard. Someone who is grossly overweight is twice as likely to die prematurely as compared to an average-weight person. This is because obesity has been linked to several serious medical conditions such as diabetes and strokes.

A weight increase of 11-18 pounds doubles the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in comparison to individuals who have not gained weight. According to studies, over 80 percent of people with diabetes are overweight or obese. This may account for the newly invented word, diabesity, which signifies the close association between obesity and diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes, one of most prominent ailment found in obese people reduces body's ability to control blood sugar. It is a major cause of early death, heart disease, stroke, and blindness. Overweight people are twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared to normal weight people. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is necessary for the body to be able to use sugar. Sugar is the basic fuel for the cells in the body, and insulin takes the sugar from the blood into the cells.

The chances of its occurrence can be reduced by losing weight and exercising more. If you have type 2 diabetes, losing weight and becoming more physically active can help control your blood sugar levels. Increasing your physical activity may also allow you to reduce the amount of diabetes medication intake. Losing a small amount of weight can also reduce your chances of developing heart disease or a stroke and make your body ailment free.

Studies show that you can improve your health by losing as little as 10 to 20 pounds. Weight reduction can decrease your chance of developing several fatal ailments like heart disease, blood pressure, and levels of blood cholesterol and triglycerides. So take your first step towards weight loss and make your life a healthy and energetic one.

Jun 8, 2010

How Important Is The Right Diabetes Diet

There is nothing more important than the right diabetes diet. Diabetes is a serious disease that you need to learn as much as you can about if your or someone that you care about has been diagnosed with it. Eating right and staying healthy is the only way to battle diabetes and knowing what you can and cannot eat is essential. If you have the proper diet you may be able to have some control over your diabetes.

Having diabetes is a balancing act and it is one that you can manage if you take the time to learn how. As long as you are eating the right amount of healthy foods and you are avoiding all of the sugar that you are not allowed to eat you will be well on your way to staying healthy in spite of diabetes.

Keeping an eye on your sugar intake is key to good diabetes diet management. This will mean learning all of the best sugar replacements and sugar free foods. This used to be a lot harder than it is now. These days there are all kinds of great sugar replacements, many are even perfect for baking, and the sugar free products are becoming ever so popular. Even people without diabetes are choosing them over the sugar filled alternatives. Sugar free products taste delicious, which makes the easy to eat and enjoy while still maintaining a good blood sugar level.

You will also need to watch how much food that you eat. Eating too much or too little can have a negative impact on your diet and health. Talk to your doctor about how much food you should be eating each and every day and what times are optimal. Your diabetes diet will have to be set just right if you want to stay in perfect control and health. As long as you eat right every day you will stay feeling good and healthy for years to come.

How to have Six Pack Abs - Fast and Effective

1 early morning I woke up and asked myself how to get a six pack quick as well as nearly effortlessly. Right after researching a couple of workouts and health program I came to a reply of my query. There is no way for ordinary men and women like me and you also to get six pack abs as rapid as you wish to. Perhaps stars with a trainer and absolutely nothing to do rather than think about their workout system can do it quick.

However they all should perform extremely hard for getting a flat stomach including a six pack. Clearly, after I opened up my thoughts to this particular answer I thought alright, then it may need some time plus a great deal of sweat to reach my target. Therefore, what could I say, I started a six pack work out program that I created by me personally. Every single morning hours something like 20 situps and each night before going to sleep yet again twenty situps.

I did that about 4 weeks each day for getting perfect abdominals fast. But it really wasn't that beneficial. Alright, I saw a few effects but without dieting and a far better physical exercise strategy I didn't saw a better way for getting in condition the way I wanted.

Thus I planed to do some fat loss and dieting for getting rid of belly fat inside the midsection of my body system. I believed it would support me to see my 6-pack from the mirror as fast as possible. Not to mention you might have to do some dieting to see your stomach muscles. Consume a great deal of mineral water as well as eat fresh fruits and vegetable. Meat and also fish to help your muscle creating in a fast way. You could have to follow you plan to achieve success which is a fact. To obtain fit you might have to become perfectly disciplined and you've got to see the long run success when you're starting your fitness program.

In conclusion I'm able to point out that the essential concern is the physical exercise plan you opt for for getting your hard six pack abs quickly. You'll find a lot of training plans to opt for from and you might have to make your investigation to locate the proper one for yourself. This has helped me to reach my goal. In the event you want to get a six pack consequently do not delay - take action.

Jun 5, 2010

Exercise and type 2 Diabetes

Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes

One of the most undemanding and the most workable ways to knock over blood sugar amount, eliminate the dangers of “cardiovascular disease,” and perk up health and welfare in general is exercise.

In spite of that, in today’s inactive world where almost every indispensable job can be carried out online, from the ergonomic chair in front of a computer, or with a streaming line of messages from a fax machine, exercising can be a hard argument to win over.

The Weight of Exercise

Everyone should exercise, yet the health experts tells us that only 30% of the United States population gets the recommended thirty minutes of daily physical activity, and 25% are not active at all. In fact, inactivity is thought to be one of the key reasons for the surge of type 2 diabetes in the U.S., because inactivity and obesity promote insulin resistance.

The good news is that it is never too late to get moving, and exercise is one of the easiest ways to start controlling your diabetes. For people with type 2 diabetes in particular, exercise can improve insulin sensitivity, lower the risk of heart disease, and promote weight loss.

Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is on the rise. The number of people diagnosed with diabetes every year increased by 48% between 1980 and 1994. Nearly all the new cases are Type 2 Diabetes, or adult-onset, the kind that moves in around middle age. Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes include increased thirst, appetite, and need to urinate; feeling tired, edgy, or sick to the stomach; blurred vision; tingling or loss of feeling in the hands.

The causes of type 2 diabetes are complex and not completely understood, although research is uncovering new clues at a rapid pace.

However, it has already been proven that one of the reasons for the boom in type 2 diabetes is the widening of waistbands and the trend toward a more deskbound and inactive lifestyle in the United States and other developed countries. In America, the shift has been striking; in the 1990s alone, obesity increased by 61% and diagnosed diabetes by 49%.

For this reason, health experts encourage those who already have type 2 diabetes to start employing the wonders that exercise can do for them. Without exercise, people have the tendency to become obese. Once they are obese, they have bigger chances of accumulating type 2 diabetes.

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that over 80% of people with type 2 diabetes are clinically overweight. Therefore, it is high time that people, whether inflicted with type 2 diabetes or not, should start doing those jumping and stretching activities.

Getting Started

The first order of business with any exercise plan, especially if you are a “dyed-in-the-wool” sluggish, is to consult with your health care provider. If you have cardiac risk factors, the health care provider may want to perform a stress test to establish a safe level of exercise for you.

Certain diabetic complications will also dictate what type of exercise program you can take on. Activities like weightlifting, jogging, or high-impact aerobics can possibly pose a risk for people with diabetic retinopathy due to the risk for further blood vessel damage and possible retinal detachment.

If you are already active in sports or work out regularly, it will still benefit you to discuss your regular routine with your doctor. If you are taking insulin, you may need to take special precautions to prevent hypoglycemia during your workout.

Start Slow

For those who have type 2 diabetes, your exercise routine can be as simple as a brisk nightly neighborhood walk. If you have not been very active before now, start slowly and work your way up. Walk the dog or get out in the yard and rake. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park in the back of the lot and walk. Every little bit does work, in fact, it really helps a lot.

As little as 15 to 30 minutes of daily, heart-pumping exercise can make a big difference in your blood glucose control and your risk of developing diabetic complications. One of the easiest and least expensive ways of getting moving is to start a walking program. All you need is a good pair of well-fitting, supportive shoes and a direction to head in.

Indeed, you do not have to waste too many expenses on costly “health club memberships,” or the most up-to-date health device to start pumping those fats out. What you need is the willingness and the determination to start exercising to a healthier, type 2 diabetes-free life.

The results would be the sweetest rewards from the effort that you have exerted.

Jun 3, 2010

Bitter Melon as Diabetes Treatment

Bitter melon or Momordica Charantia is a vegetable which grows in tropical areas like East Africa, Asia, South Africa, and the Caribbean. This vegetable is rich in iron, beta carotene, calcium, potassium, phosphorus and other dietary fibers. In many countries, it is also used as an herbal medicine due to its properties that help improve insulin production. Clinical studies show that bitter melon increases the production of beta cells in the pancreas which leads to improvement in the insulin production of the body. It is also believed to be beneficial for the liver and can act as an anti-tumor agent. Because of its health benefits, bitter melon is used by many as an alternative treatment for diabetes.

Diabetes is a disease that is characterized by the presence of high levels of blood glucose and by the secretion of excess glucose in the urine. This ailment develops because of relatively low levels of insulin which leads to irregular carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolism. Diabetic persons feel hungry and thirsty most of the time. In addition, these people get easily tired physically and mentally. They may also suffer from constipation, excessive itchiness around the genital area, and general weakness. Other body parts that are affected by diabetes are the heart, kidney, eyes, blood vessels, and the nerves. In addition to these health effects, diabetes is one of the major causes of erectile dysfunction (ED) or impotence among men.

Diabetes causes impotence because it alters the body systems such as the circulatory, nervous, and the endocrine system. The organs in these systems all work in harmony to let blood flow into the penis so erection can take place. Higher levels of glucose caused by diabetes damages the blood vessels and the nerves. Complications in the state of blood vessels may hamper the flow of blood to the penis, hampering erection. In addition, a number of medical studies show that diabetic persons are more likely to have low testosterone levels. Testosterone is a hormone that is responsible enhanced libido, energy, and other reproductive health concerns. Men with type 1 diabetes are more likely to become impotent once they reach 40 years of age.

Many health experts are recommending the use of alternative medicines like better melons for diabetic management. Many studies show that bitter melon is able to reduce the blood sugar levels in the body. Charantin, polypeptide P, and oleonolic acid glcosides are some of the ingredients of bitter melon that are essential in diabetes treatment. Charantin consists of mixtures of natural steroids which are shown to reduce blood sugar levels in the body. Polypeptide P, contains alkaloids that can also promote healthy blood sugar levels. Oleanolic acid glycosides, on the other hand, may prevent the retention of sugar from the intestines. Improvements in these area leads to improved insulin levels in the body

Diabetes can be treated with alternative medicine and adjustments in lifestyles. Many health experts advice diabetic persons to include bitter melon in their diet to reduce their intake of anti-diabetic drugs. This alternative healing method, however, should not be regarded as a stand-alone treatment.

Jun 2, 2010

7 Steps on How to Prevent Diabetes

Diabetes is more prevalent than ever and 95% of cases diagnosed are type 2 diabetes.

Although for some the development of diabetes is inevitable, perhaps due to heriditery and other factors, for the vast majority it can be prevented by taking these 7 simple steps...

Before diabetes type 2 becomes fully developed you go through a stage known as pre-diabetes. This is where you start to show some of the symptoms, which if ignored, can lead to full blown diabetes.

Make these 7 action points part of your daily routine and you could stop this disease happening to you:

1) If you are overweight you risk developing diabetes. Reduce the amount of food on your plate so you gradually eat less and start to lose weight. Drink a glass of plain water or a sugar-free drink before your meal to take the edge of any hunger pains.

2) Reduce the amount of fat you are eating; grill or bake foods instead of frying; use low-fat spreads and reduced fat meals.

3) Check the Glycemic Index of the food you are eating - knowing what each food contains helps maintain your blood-sugars, which in turn can prevent the full onset of diabetes.

4) Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day. If you keep a bottle of water with you and sip frequently you'll be surprised how much you do drink throughout the day.

5) If you are feeling peckish choose a healthy snack rather than a chocolate bar.

6) Use skimmed rather than full-fat milk in hot drinks.

7) Exercise is good for health. But if you are not use to exercise then start in moderation. 15 minutes gentle walking each day will ease you into a regular exercising pattern.

All of these action points are also the ones that diabetics are advised to take - if you take them now you might possibly prevent irreparable damage to your health.