Tag Archives: blood sugar

FAQ, Healthcare

What Is Diabetes? Types Of Diabetes

Diabetes is also referred to as diabetes mellitus, and may broadly be classified as a category of ailments wherein a person has high blood glucose levels. This could be either because insulin production in one’s body is not sufficient, or the body fails to respond to the insulin in the required way. Some of the symptoms that are very commonly associated with diabetes are frequent thirst, hunger and urination.

In some cases, diabetes could be a lifelong condition, characterized by high blood glucose levels. The condition is commonly prevalent, and in the year 2013, 382 million people across the world were suffering from the disorder.

Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is very often classified as Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. When one suffers from type 1 diabetes, the body ceases to produce insulin. This type of diabetes is relatively rarer, and only 10% of people suffering from the ailment are ailing from Type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is also sometimes referred to as insulin dependent diabetes or early onset diabetes. And this type of diabetes is more prevalent in people under 40 years of age, even in one’s teenage years or early adulthood.

If one is ailing with type 1 diabetes, he has to take insulin injections for the rest of his life, follow a specific diet and also monitor his blood glucose levels by carrying out blood tests at regular intervals.

However, type 2 diabetes is a lot more prevalent type of diabetes, and nearly 90% of people who suffer this disorder are ailing with type 2 diabetes. When one suffers from type 2 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin in adequate quantities, or the body cells do not react to insulin, in a condition known as insulin resistance.

For many people, type 2 diabetes is a condition relatively easier to control, and one can keep a check on symptoms of type 2 diabetes by maintaining one’s weight in recommendable limits, making sure that one consumes a healthy diet, getting some regular exercise, and monitoring one’s blood glucose levels at regular intervals.

Gestational Diabetes

An important classification of diabetes is gestational diabetes which affects women during pregnancy. During pregnancy, women sometimes have blood glucose levels which are more towards the higher side, and their body does not produce adequate insulin to transport this glucose into their cells.

Diagnosis of gestational diabetes can be made only during pregnancy, and a vast majority of patients can control their condition by means of diet and exercise. However, 10-20% of patients need to take specific medications to keep a check on their blood glucose levels.

An important way that can enable one to prevent the condition is by making sure that one consumes a low cholesterol diet during pregnancy.

When Do People Get Diabetes?

When one is overweight, he is at a higher risk of developing diabetes. One of the reasons for the same is because when one is obese, the body releases chemicals which can work towards destabilizing body’s metabolic and cardiovascular systems.

So being overweight, not consuming the right kind of a diet and developing type 2 diabetes are all interrelated. Another important factor that is known to greatly enhance the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is aging.

Alternately, some of the other factors that can cause diabetes are genetics, one’s family history, or even following an unhealthy diet regimen.

Some Simple Lifestyle Changes To Overcome Diabetes!

To keep a check on diabetes, one must avoid skipping meals. This could hike the blood sugar levels, and could even lead to weight gain. Taking care of one’s diet is a factor that can go a long way in enabling one keep a check on diabetes, or even overcome the condition.

Similarly, consuming a diet which is high on fruits and vegetables can help control diabetes, because fruits and vegetables are full of fibers. This helps us keep full, and the high vitamin and mineral content in fruits and vegetables helps ensure that the body receives nutrition. This keeps one energetic, and one is not tempted to go for sugary foods.

As a rule, one must avoid all foods which have a higher glycemic index, like chips and salty snacks, and one must keep a check on consumption of fatty foods as well. Similarly, starches from white rice, potatoes and whole grains could also influence diabetes.

Something as simple as drinking 6-8 glasses of water every day is a factor which can go a long way towards prevention and control of diabetes. In the same way, even a slight weight loss can work wonders for someone who is a diabetic. While being the healthiest way to get over diabetes, a slight weight loss of up to 5-10% can have the same effect on a diabetic as anti-diabetic pills!

And if you are considering getting some good exercise, walking stands out as one of the best options!

Walking reduces risk of many ailments like diabetes, dementia and osteoporosis; this keeps the heart stronger and also helps you lose weight.

http://teleskyshopping.com/diabetes.html

If you have a loved one who is afflicted by diabetes, you might find a diabetes related product or two you would love to use for gifting purposes.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Harshad_Jethra/1848126

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9057787

FAQ, Healthcare

Diabetes And The Long Term Dangers

Diabetes has hidden dangers that begin before diagnosis and continue to worsen if certain steps are not taken to prevent the complications that are the true, “killers” in terms of diabetes. Statistics show that there are around 18 million diabetics in America, both Type 1 and Type 2. It is amazing how many people, diabetics included, who have no idea what dangers a diabetic faces over their lifetime. A diabetic, all things being equal, lives almost 10 years less than their non-diabetic counterpart on average.

Why do diabetics life shorter life spans than non-diabetics? The answer is both simple and complicated. Simple in explaining in general terms, complicated in the medical sense. Without traveling the complicated route in this article, I will try to give a simple, straight forward answer to the above question. Diabetics live shorter lives than non-diabetics because of diabetic complications.

 

What Are Diabetic Complications?

Diabetic complications are chronic medical conditions that begin to affect the body of the diabetic. These complications are brought about mostly by a condition the medical community had named, “Advanced Glycation End products” which is simply, “excess sugar” saturating the inside of the cells of the body. This condition also called AGE for short includes coronary artery disease, vascular disease, blindness, kidney disease, retinopathy (blindness) and loss of feeling in the hands and the feet (peripheral neuropathy) among others.

Diabetes in the early stages does not produce symptoms. Unless found during a routine medical exam, it is possible for a diabetic to remain undiagnosed for years. It is during these years that the beginnings of diabetic complications can gain a foothold due excess sugar in the cells (AGE). The statistics show there is the possibility of as many as over 5 million people going about their normal lives while having undiagnosed diabetes.

Are Diabetic Complications A Certainty?

While the current consensus is that the formula for diabetic complications Diabetes + Time = Complications. What this means is there is a much higher potential of a diabetic becoming diagnosed with one or more diabetic complications over time. This is partly due to how well the individual monitors and controls his/her blood sugar.

Drastic rises and falls of blood sugar can be hard on the body and the excess sugar present in the cells create havoc on the different nerves within the body as well as the capillaries, veins, and arteries. The evidence to date show that excellent control of blood sugar and an active lifestyle goes a very long way in preventing and/or slowing down the onset of diabetic complications.

The Different Types Of Diabetes

There are two types of diabetes – Type One and Type Two. Type One attacks children and young adults and is characterized by the pancreas failing to produce insulin which is a hormone that breaks down sugars and starches while converting them into energy. Type Two occurs usually later in an adult’s life and is characterized by the pancreas being unable to produce enough insulin due to several factors, obesity being one of them.

Around 10 percent of diabetics are Type One while the other 90 percent are Type Two. The major difference between the two being that Type One diabetics are completely dependent on insulin and take daily injections while the Type Two’s have both those who require insulin shots while others can rely on oral medication and/or changes in diet and exercise.

The Risk Factors Surrounding Diabetes

There are several risk factors that can push a pre-diabetic into full-blown diabetes.

1) being overweight.

2) family history of diabetes,

3) lack of adequate exercise.

4) history of gestational diabetes (occurs during pregnancy and usually disappears after delivery).

5) certain ethnic groups

People over 45 years of age and has one or several of the risk factors mentioned above should be screened for diabetes each year, preferably during an annual medical exam. It has been shown that people with these risk factors comprise the majority of diagnosed cases of diabetes each year.

What Tests Help Diagnose Diabetes Cases?

There are two, main tests used for determining whether or not a person has a glucose intolerance:

1) Fasting Plasma Glucose Test

2) Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

Both of these tests can determine glucose intolerance which is where blood sugar is higher than what is considered normal. This is not always an indication of diabetes however.

Can The Onset Of Diabetes Be Prevented?

People with the above risk factors can go a long way toward preventing the development of full-blown diabetes by making a significant lifestyle change. What are lifestyle changes? Changing unhealthy diets to more blood sugar friendly ones, doing enough exercise to help offset increased blood sugar levels and keep the body healthy and losing weight especially if considered obese by the medical community.

If you are pre-diabetic you need to stay on a strict diabetic diet. Ask your healthcare professional for a diet that meets that criteria and limit cakes, candy, cookies, and other things made of simple sugars. Eat small, nutritious meals and eat 5 times a day instead of only three.

If you are already diagnosed with full-blown diabetes, you should follow the same diet while under the meticulous care of your healthcare professional. Keep your cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar within proper limits and have your eyes checked every year.

Diabetes can contribute to blindness, kidney disease and heart disease. Complications caused nearly 70,000 deaths in 2000.

What Can The Diabetic Look Forward To?

Diabetic complications can be prevented or lessened for a longer time period by paying serious attention to lifestyle. A diabetic who eats right, keeps his blood sugar in control and within accepted limits, exercises and gets proper rest can expect to have a quality of life that is much higher in terms of the pain and suffering that diabetic complications brings into the lives of diabetics who do nothing to change their lifestyle.

What begins to occur in the diabetic who starts to develop complications because of uncontrolled blood sugars over time is a life filled with the possibility of becoming an invalid, either blind, an amputee, or suffering renal failure or a heart attack.

The above paints a rather grim picture if lifestyle changes are not adhered to. Research has shown that the diabetic that keeps their blood sugar within acceptable limits and follows a healthy, diabetic lifestyle that has been shown to be effective against diabetic complications stands a much better chance of not developing many of the complications their less than dedicated counterparts do.

There is a new derivative of thiamine (Vitamin B1) available now that is showing great promise in greatly reducing the excess sugar in the cells of the diabetic, the process known as Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGE).

Is Benfotiamine Effective Against Diabetic Complications?

Benfotiamine is a lipid soluble derivative of thiamine. Japanese researchers developed benfotiamine in the 1950’s and later patented it in the United States in 1962. No one in the US medical community paid much attention to it at the time. For the past 12 years in Europe it has been used for neuropathy, retinopathy and other uses.

The chemical name and formula for benfotiamine is: S-benzoylthiamine-O-monophosphate (C19H23N4O6PS). It wasn’t until a group of researchers in New York at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University released the results of their research in 2003 in Nature Medicine Magazine did the rest of the world begin to take a look at this substance.

Benfotiamine is unique and was reported by Michael Brownlee, M.D., as showing much promise in preventing nerve and blood-vessel damage in diabetics. Every diagnosed diabetic has been told by his/her healthcare provider that diabetic complications are the true killers in terms of diabetes.

If you are a diabetic or know a diabetic, you may find additional information about benfotiamine and view research that has been recently conducted showing the benefits of preventing diabetic complications by following the link to the website below.

Zach Malott is CEO of Brentwood Health International, a nutritional supplement company involved in distribution and supplying wholesale, retail and end users.

Mr. Malott is available to discuss the research as it applies to benfotiamine in terms of diabetic complications such as neuropathy and retinopathy.

He can be reached at:

Phone: 505.354.0526

[http://www.emuhealthproducts.com/benfotiamine.html]

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Zach_Malott/3887

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/19479