Archive for the 'Diabetes' Category

Diabetes is a disease that can come on you suddenly. You can go for a very long time and never know that you have the disease. Symptoms of diabetes can mimic other health problems.

These can include, going to the bathroom more than usual, losing or gaining weight, and trouble with your eyesight. Getting a blood test will help you determine if you have diabetes.

Diabetes is not a disease that anyone would want to have, but the good news is that diabetes can be controlled by changing your lifestyle.

Diet

Changing the way you eat, and what you eat, will help keep your diabetes at bay. You will need to keep your blood sugar within a certain range to stay healthy. When you have diabetes, you have to watch your sugar and carbohydrate intake.

Carbohydrates turn into sugar, so it is important to keep track of how many carbohydrates you consume. Fats are something that you will also want to avoid. Try cooking your food with other types of ingredients, such as cooking spray.

Veer away from foods that are naturally high in fat. Scheduling meals and snack times are a good thing to do. Making meal plans for diabetic eating, and doing your own cooking will help.

Of the different types of diabetes, type 1 is the severe form, which requires daily injections of insulin.

It is most often diagnosed in young adult and teenagers, although it can be found in even younger children.

Several years ago a study was undertaken to test a new form of treatment which involved the transplantation of a patient’s own stem cells alongside a course of chemotherapy.

To date twenty three diabetes sufferers have been studied and the results are promising but with consequences. Side effects included a lowering of sperm count for the men and one particular woman experienced lack of hormones relating to sex being made.[Estrogen Levels]

In general because of the long periods spent in hospital, the risk from infection was always a major concern. On the plus side a majority of those participating were able to spend a significant amount of time without taking insulin.

In one case, a diabetic was able to be drug free for over four years. The average was just under 3 years and in some cases irregular doses of insulin were required.

Treatment involving stem cells was initially seen as the possible cure for type 1 diabetes but this is now seen as pretty unlikely.

Everyone is affected by the current economic recession, but people that suffer from diabetes are increasingly unable to afford their medicines and are having to make very difficult choices.

A free clinic in San Diego that is run by medical students has seen a third more diabetics turning up looking for supplies and medicines and that’s just in the last few months. [Diabetes Medications]

Dr. Steven Edelman who runs the University of California clinic explains that a lot of these patients haven’t been taking their prescribed drugs because they are simply unable to afford them.

This is a very worrying trend as more emergency rooms (ER) across the country are seeing an increase in diabetics seeking medical assistance.

America’s biggest ER is at St Joseph’s in Phoenix and Dr. Nicholas Vasquez who works there warns that this is just the start of how things will be. People unable to buy their required medicines, has consequences and that is what the ER is now seeing, he added.

As the number of citizens diagnosed with diabetes grows quite significantly every year, the sales of products and drugs associated with the disease is in decline. The risks are high because sufferers need to be carefully monitored to avoid serious consequences.

A diabetes diet plan is simply a guide to tell you how much and what type of foods you can eat.

The best plans will fit in with your schedule and eating habits, provided they are good ones.

The most effective diabetes diet plan is one which is simple and helps you control blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and weight.

Just because you have diabetes doesn’t mean that you have to eat special food or follow complicated programs.

For the majority of people, a diabetes diet plan is accessing a wide variety of foods, eating moderate quantities and keeping to regular meal times. You do need to balance your food with insulin and medications.

The actual food you choose to eat is similar to the healthy, nutritional diet that any sensible adult would have. Include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and whole grains, and limit the intake of fats and calories to a sensible level. Eat a variety of foods to make sure you get a nutrient-rich diet.

Your diabetes diet plan is a guide to help you create a routine for eating regular meals and to choose healthy foods in the correct portion sizes.

About 65% of Americans are either obese or overweight, mainly due to lack of good physical activity and over-eating.

Consequently, the rate of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other fat-related diseases increases on a daily basis.

It is estimated that up to 21 million American people have diabetes and 57 million people run the risk of pre-diabetes, a condition in which fasting normal blood sugar levels are high, but have not yet reached the level of Type 2 diabetes.
Symptoms of pre diabetes include

• Often thirsty;
• Always tired;
• Dizziness;
• Sweatiness;
• Blurred vision;
• Often hungry;
• Stomach sickness;
• Nausea;
• Frequent urination.

Younger adults are at greater risk

New research conducted on Type 2 diabetes indicate that persons who gain weight before 40 years of age are at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, especially women.

A rise in BMI levels in adults between 25 and 40 years of age puts them at greater risk of developing diabetes. Weight gain between 25 and 40 years in men can raise the risk of diabetes by one and half times, but for women in this same age group, the risk increases nearly four times when compared to those who maintain constant weight during early adulthood.

Stem cells are cells that have the ability to renew themselves through cell division.

Stem cell research could lead to the development of organs that are a perfect match for a particular patient.

This would be very desirable, since organ transplants require anti-rejection drugs in order to keep the human body from attacking the transplanted organ.

But an organ created through stem cell research would be a clone of the patient’s organ and would not be rejected.

Opponents of the stem cell research believe that the destruction of the fetus in order to extract the stem cells is immoral. However, there is one source of stem cells that could be used. Extracting stem cells from this source would not harm the fetus.

Umbilical cord blood

The blood found within the umbilical cord blood contains stem cells. The umbilical cord is usually disposed of after a pregnancy, so there are no ethical problems associated with the use of the blood. This blood is extracted from the umbilical cord and stored.

Umbilical cord blood storage

Parents are asked if they would like the blood stored in a blood bank. This is done both out of the parents willingness to contribute the blood to science and also as a form of health insurance.

Research being carried out at the medical department of the University of Missouri is looking into the serious possibility of a new detection device that can discover if a person has a wide range of serious illnesses including asthma, lung cancer, types of breast cancer, or diabetes with a simple urine test or more surprisingly a breath test.

The researchers believe that they can create a new type of machine that can analyze a person’s breath in a very similar way to the police breathalyzer machines work, to discover that they are carrying the markers that indicate the presence of one of these deadly diseases.

These markers have various names that are linked with different conditions, these indicators; nitric oxide, acetones or alkanes and are used by doctors to give an indication of possible serious problems within the human body.

The university researchers believe that both human urine and human breath contain minute traces of these elements within gas molecules that their device will be able to detect.

Once detected the machine will be able to make measurements that although not conclusive will give a good indication as to whether further investigation should be carried out such as a series of blood tests or an invasive biopsy.

Although not officially diagnosed or medically accepted term, diabulimia is a serious health problem and emerging problem in many diabetics.

Health experts predict that almost one third of young females with diabetes could be suffering from diabulimia.

Diabulimia significantly refers to those diabetics’ patients who decisively reduce or skip regular insulin doses in turn to lose weight.

Insulin therapy is a part of type 1 diabetic plan. So, skipping or changing the doses of insulin in order to lose weight is an extremely dangerous practice.

Effects of diabulimia

The side effects of insulin therapy or manipulating insulin from your body can be hideously dangerous. As a result,  normal blood sugar levels in your body increase and ultimately reaches to an unhealthy level.

When there is a surge of blood sugar levels in your body it will lead to dehydration, fatigue and consequently wearing of muscle tissue.

Gradually, you can suffer from long term complications of diabetes, which includes heart and blood vessel disease, kidney dysfunction, retinopathy and further damage as well.

Warning signs of diabulimia

• Low energy or fatigue
• Weight loss
• Signs of diabetic ketoacidosis like fruit scented breath [prevent diabetic ketoacidosis]

Amputation is the most frightening concept that refers to surgical removal of limb(s), often because of uncontrollable infection.

If you have diabetes, it is extremely important for you to understand the link between amputation and diabetes.

How diabetes increases risk of amputation?

Although it might seem like an odd pair, it is a fact that high blood sugar levels can certainly be malicious to the nerves in your feet.

If you ignore the high blood sugar levels in your body, gradually you will lose any feelings in your feet. You could have minor injury in your feet like blister or cuts and you don’t even know it or to be more specific you can’t even feel it at all.

However, if the injury heals on its own then there is nothing to worry. But, if you ignore to treat the injury or remain uncontrollable of your limbs, it may turn to a very severe infection and causes tissue death. Thereby serious nerve damage in your leg may consequently leads to leg amputation.

How to prevent amputation?

If you are seriously concerned about diabetes complications, make a strong determination to manage your blood sugar levels through regular physical activity and healthy eating habits. Subsequently you can put your best to avoid leg amputation.

Researchers have discovered that whether or not you eat breakfast and what you have for breakfast can actually affect your child’s gender.

Studies have found that those who eat breakfast are more likely to give birth to boys and those who skip breakfast are more likely to have girls.

Also, the overall calorie intake indicates whether or not the child will be a boy, with those consuming more calories being more likely to have boys.

Why is this happening?

The sex of the child is not really determined by the food, but by random genetics. But the human body is more likely to carry a female when malnourished due to the fewer nutrient demands put on a mother by female infants.

This can explain the increase in female births due to dieting. Also, the fact that breakfasts are commonly skipped explains the increase in female births.

Women who have male infants often have better diets with a wider range of nutrients, one of the most important nutrients for conceiving a son is potassium.

What food should women eat before and during pregnancy?