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One or more in our families today have diabetes. It may be hereditary or acquired it is a life-long disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. As with any other medical condition, knowing how to prevent diabetes is worth much more than a pound of cure. Furthermore, since there is no known cure for diabetes which is the sixth leading cause of death, taking steps to prevent the development of diabetes becomes even more critical. This is especially true if you have certain risk factors that make you a likely candidate for the disease. The majority of people diagnosed with diabetes are usually overweight. Body fat especially around the middle, increases your risk of developing diabetes. Knowing your family history gives a better idea of the increase chances of developing it later in life. Stay physically active. Regular exercise as always can help to prevent diabetes by controlling weight and improving blood flow. Exercise is especially important if genetics put you at risk for developing the disease. Eat a balanced diet, low in fat and sugars. Since diabetes involves impairment in the body’s ability to either produce or utilizes insulin to convert sugars into energy, it’s important to restrict the amount of glucose and starches consumed. It is what we eat that most of our illnesses occur. Get checked. Everyone over the age of 45 should schedule a blood glucose measurement test with their doctor every 3 years. However, if there are risk factors present, such as family history or obesity, regular testing should begin at an earlier age. Monitor your blood pressure regularly and take steps to reduce it, if applicable. Approximately 73 percent of adults with diabetes also suffer from high blood pressure. Increase your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Studies have shown that bioflavonoids, the pigments that lend fruits and plants their color, may stimulate insulin production and inhibit glycation, the process in which damaged glucose molecules bind with proteins to create advanced glycation end products, or AGEs. While most AGEs are harmless, others disturb molecular functioning and contribute to organ and nerve damage. To better understand how this occurs, remember that glycation is what causes food in the oven to brown.
Keeping oneself healthy is a lifestyle that we often disregard and neglect. Eat in moderation and exercise to control blood sugar and prevent symptoms and complications.
September 29 2008 | Information | Comments Off
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Here are some ways to help your child stay healthy:
Parents can help their kids stay a healthy weight by limiting video games and television time to an hour or two a day. Creating opportunities to have fun without electronic diversions can be a family undertaking. Dancing to music or working with art supplies are all ways to fire a child’s imagination. Turning off the TV can help kids become more plugged in to the world around them. Let kids earn their TV time. For every minute they play outside, they can watch one minute of television. Thirty minutes of outdoor play will buy them a favorite half-hour television show later that day. Encouraging sports that the whole family can participate in can go a long way toward encouraging kids to be active. Some kids feel self-conscious when they are overweight and don’t want to participate in team sports. They might feel that they won’t be able to keep up, or that they’ll let the team down.
August 09 2008 | Camp and Care and Exercise and Fun Run and General and Information and Open Letter and Research and Tips | Comments Off
A study looked into the characteristics and care of people with diabetes from Muslim countries, and studied the features of diabetes during the period of fasting–Ramadan.
Sample of 12,243 people from 13 countries; 1,070 had type 1 diabetes while 11,173 had type 2 diabetes.
During Ramadan, 42.8% of those with type 1 diabetes and 78.7% of those with type 2 diabetes fasted for at least 15 days, however less than 50% of the whole group assessed changed their treatment dose.
Findings: Severe hypoglycaemic episodes were seen to be significantly more frequent during Ramadan compared with other months, more so, they were even more frequent in people who changed their dose of oral antidiabetic drugs or insulin or their level of physical activity.
Healthcare professionals are therefore challenged with the huge number of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes who fast during Ramadan.
Recommendation: More intensive education, dissemination of guidelines should be given before people with diabetes fast. More studies should be conducted to assess the impact of fasting.
July 01 2008 | Care and Research | Comments Off
One way to lose weight is to increase your physical activity. However, even if you do not lose weight, it is still very important not just to sit down the whole day–go for other physical activities. You will see a lower blood sugar, which would boost your sensitivity to insulin. Most probably, your blood sugar will be kept within the normal values.
Ask your doctor. He would probably advise you to take at least 30 minutes per day of moderate physical activity, say a brisk walk, a bike ride, or swimming. If you cannot afford to make a continuous work out, take smaller sessions that you can spread all through the day. You may also take the stairs instead of the elevator, or park your car in a farther place so that you could take extra steps in walking to your destination.
June 05 2008 | Tips | Comments Off
If you have diabetes, perhaps your doctor has told you some regimen in your food intake and for you to have lots of exercise. However, some diabetics are facing another problem: arthritis. According to the statistics, most diabetics are actually victims too of arthritis—that’s double jeopardy in their part since they cannot do strenuous exercises like jogging and jumping jacks. Researchers said that providers of health care should keep track of those people since they tend to be inactive. It is important to note that exercise helps reduce the glucose in the blood and other risks for complications (i.e. obesity).
Photo taken from http://www.aces.edu
May 29 2008 | Information | Comments Off
Senator Frank Lautenberg (Democrat, New Jersey) and Senator Johnny Isakson (Republican, Georgia) are being praised by the American Diabetes Association for lobbying an act that will benefit diabetes patients. The Diabetes Prevention Access and Care Act of 2008, if approved, will allow the Congress to support the research for the betterment and improvement of diabetes care, education etc. for the considered minority. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) included Hispanics, African Americans and American Indians etc. in their list of minorities and stated the fact that they are the most affected by this disease. This Act hopes to educate the people more about diabetes for further prevention.
Photo taken from http://iisg.nl
May 27 2008 | Information | Comments Off
If you have been diagnosed of diabetes (either type I or type II), watch out, because recent studies show that diabetes is in fact connected with the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease. Before, the connection’s foundation was blurred according to the experts as they could not find the direct link that will establish the connection of diabetes with Alzheimer’s however, researchers from the Salk Institute claimed that they have found it: the Alzheimer’s interaction. They said that the brain’s blood vessels are damaged or ruptured if the blood glucose count is high. Salk Institute plans to further their research to determine if there are still other factors to it.
Photo taken from http://www.vernonhome.org
May 20 2008 | Information | Comments Off
An annual eye check up should be done for those with diabetes. The doctor whould check the eye dilation every year. However, only very people follow this drill, and lesser and lesser people do so every year.
An analysis fo 48 studies was done, comprising 160,000 participants worldwide. The purpose was to look at efforts to increase the number of diabetic patients who would actually have their eyes tested.
The following interventions were able to help propel people to have their eye examined: by increasing patient and caregiver of diabetic retinopathy; improving access to healthcare; using computer-based reminder systems; augmenting collaboration among screening organizations; and developing a community-based healthcare system. Combining interventions together worked even better.
May 15 2008 | Care and Research | Comments Off
Diabetes is a major problem in today’s world. In USA alone, millions of Americans have this disease/ailment (all types of diabetes).
Last month, more than 200 volunteers marched to Washington to lobby for an increase in the federal funding for diabetes research. The lobbyists include advocates from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), victims of diabetes (diagnosed with type I or type 2), family members of the victims, legal personnel and so on and so forth. Aside from the additional funding, they also wish to lobby an anti-discrimination bill in Congress against those who discriminate diabetic patients (especially those who have had amputations).
Photo taken from http://www.utsa.edu
May 08 2008 | Information | Comments Off
Obesity is a common problem in most Americans today. With the wide variety of unhealthy food choices and the urge to binge on them, chances of getting obese is indeed high. This “size” problem is mostly associated with insulin resistance, thus, making the obese more susceptible of having type II diabetes. There is, however, an aspirin like drug that has been proven to help the obese fight type II diabetes. This aspirin like tablets, also known as salicylates, can help the obese produce more and more insulin for their bodies. The drug is also known for reducing the glucose levels of the blood of those who have diabetes.
Photo taken from http://goldbamboo.com
May 06 2008 | Information | Comments Off
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