It was recently reported that the diabetes rate is up 90% this decade from the previous decade in the U.S.  The cases of those newly diagnosed with diabetes rose to over 9 people in 1,000, which is up from just over 4 people in the previous few years.   It is not only affecting adults, but also children. 

Type 2 diabetes is the form that is on the increase at such a rapid rate, although Type 1, or juvenile diabetes, is also on the rise.  Type 2 is most commonly associated with obesity and poor dietary and exercise habits. 

The increase seems to be coming mostly in the Southern United States, with West Virginia seeing the largest percentage of increase.  The American Diabetes Association reports that 23.6 million U.S. children and adults have diabetes–that is about 8% of the population.

Since diabetes left untreated can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and blindness, people with diabetes need to seek treatment and also need to start on and stay on a diabetic diet and regular exercise.  Diet and exercise is a major factor in controlling blood sugar counts, as well as other things like cholesterol levels and mood. 

There are medications to help keep blood sugar under control, many of which are now in generic and can cost just a few dollars a month.  It really is affordable to most everyone who needs treatment to receive it, as long as they are able to take the medications prescribed.  One such medication is Metformin, which comes in the generic Glucophage.  It works well for most people.  There are many newer drugs which are more expensive, some of which have not been tested long enough to see their effectiveness. 

One important thing for children now is for parents to provide healthy options for food choices which are not all carbohydrates, fast food and sodas.  Parents need to provide fruit, vegetables, healthy breads and other snacks which will help children to make better choices in what they eat and how much of something they eat.  Also, parents need to encourage their kids to exercise regularly which is a large part of keeping blood sugar in control and fighting off diabetes.  It is often difficult to provide healthy foods at home since they seem to cost more, but it is necessary for people to find ways to provide some of these things in their home and through schools so children have a chance to ward off diabetes. 

The epidemic does not need to continue to rise.  We need to eat healthier, exercise regularly, take medications when prescribed and take care of our kids and teach them healthy ways and this epidemic can be slowed.

Eating the right kind and amount of food is one of the best ways to control blood sugar levels. In general, more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are important to relieving diabetes symptoms, including gestational diabetes. A meal with a lot of carbohydrates will elevate insulin levels for those who suffer with Type II Diabetes. In order to get insulin levels down, lose weight and normalize blood sugar, a patient must strictly follow a diabetes diet therapy.

Carbohydrate restriction can, however, reverse or neutralize some or all aspects of metabolic syndrome, which includes diabetes. Carbohydrates have the biggest impact on blood sugar, but that doesn't mean that everyone with diabetes should adopt a low-carbohydrate diet, but most people should. Check with your doctor for the right diet for you. There are good carbohydrates, which are usually welcome in a diabetic diet, like from vegetables and some fruit.

Carbohydrates (be it potato or table sugar) typically take five minutes to three hours to digest, whereas protein takes three to six hours and fat can take eight or more hours. That's why different foods have different effects on blood sugar, such as why ice cream (higher in fat) raises blood sugar levels more slowly than potatoes. Carbs that have little nutritional value such as sweets, white breads and other products made with white flour should be excluded from a diabetic diet.

Carbohydrate choices should come from whole grains breads or cereals, pasta, brown rice, beans, fruits and vegetables. Increasing dietary fiber is a general guideline for the entire population rather than specifically for people with diabetes.

Carbohydrate foods provide glucose for energy. Starches, fruits, milk, starchy vegetables such as corn, and sweets are all carbohydrate foods. Carbs are found in fruits, vegetables, beans, dairy foods and starchy foods such as breads. Try to have fresh fruits rather than canned fruits, fruit juices or dried fruit. Eat moderate amounts of healthier foods while limiting fat and salt. It's easy to eat an entire day's worth of fat, salt and calories in just one fast-food meal.

Eat well and you will enjoy healthy benefits. Eating more fruit and vegetables also helps to improve the overall balance of the diet. Try to eat less meat and fewer sweets and include non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, carrots, broccoli or green beans with meals. Eating a fiber rich diet will also help, like from whole grain pancakes containing fiber, or vegetables and whole grain bread that contain a good source of fiber.

A good rule of thumb for most diabetics is to cut out anything that is white, for example, white bread, white potatoes, noodles, white rice, sugar, processed flour and others. Foods that should be avoided are refined sugar, processed food, junk food, pastries, and cookies. Replace those things with whole grain breads and pastas and more natural foods. Eat plenty of green vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and fiber that influence the release of sugar into the bloodstream.

Controlling your diet can make a big difference in how your body processes food, makes insulin and your overall health. We have to take control of our bodies and not let medication only try to control our diabetes. Eating the right kinds of foods and limiting the bad foods will help your medication to work more effectively and will help you have a better quality of life.

Blood sugar is a term very familiar to diabetics . However, it is a concept everyone should understand because it has a major impact on weight management and the maintenance of overall health. Blood sugar is, simply enough, the amount of sugar (glucose) we have in our blood. When we eat, our body breaks down food carbohydrates to produce sugars. Blood sugar is used to measure the amount of glucose in the blood. And what is a pendulum?

Diabetes can affect quality of sleep if glucose counts are elevated. Treatment for sleeping may be necessary because poor sleep may also affect the body's ability to work properly making blood sugar levels for men , women, and children elevated and can have a negative effect on mental and physical health. Diabetics may become hypoglycemic if they use too much medication. Diabetes has been directly related to some of the following illnesses; kidney disease, high blood pressure, peripheral neuropathy, glaucoma and heart disease. Therefore it is essential for the diabetic patient to have a good understanding of the foods that will benefit them.

Diabetics need to stabilize blood sugar. As a result of this, insulin is released at a steady rate in to the blood. Diabetes is a disease that needs to be monitored daily several times throughout the day. When you start taking a diabetic supplement to help equalize your blood sugar, monitor your sugar levels more often at first so you can get a feel for where you sugar levels come down to before taking more insulin. Diabetes program includes some specific self - treatments like having good and suitable diet, maintaining healthy weight, having proper exercise and medication. Avoid taking sweets and animal products with no limit.

Glucose especially stimulates insulin release. Carbohydrates are made of glucose (or similar sugars that are converted to glucose in the body), so a high carbohydrate meal stimulates a surge of insulin release. Glucose intolerence and early diabetes is usually accompanied by high insulin levels (compared to non-diabetic people) and an insulin release that occurs for a prolonged period after eating. This excess insulin can cause hypoglycemia after eating, even though the insulin doesn't work as well.

Insulin is secreted whenever you eat. It then binds to cells to activate sugar absorption from your bloodstream. Insulin is required to enable the glucose to enter cells to be used as fuel. It is also needed so that glucose can be stored in the liver, muscles and fat. Insulin secretion increase is not a good favor for the normal person. For example, if a normal healthy person ingested food that increases insulin secretion sharply, the secreted insulin will cause glucose vanishes quickly from the blood and this person will feel hungry, consequently he will take foods that block this feeling ,i.e.

Insulin may be prescribed if oral medication alone doesn't control your blood sugar.

It's always interesting to me to observe what sort of medical news makes the headlines, and lately we've seen a number of stories talking about a new study that shows how caffeine destabilizes blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetics. According to the study, when people with diabetes consume caffeine with meals, it causes their blood glucose to swing wildly and their insulin to go out of control. This study is being published in the journal Diabetes Care. What's interesting about this is that the effects of caffeine on blood sugar have been well-known for many decades by naturopathic physicians, nutritionists, and people in holistic health fields. In fact, I thought it was common knowledge, but apparently, it's headline news. It should be obvious to anyone consuming caffeine that it is affecting their blood sugar levels. All a person has to do is be aware of what's happening in their own body — that is, have good body awareness — and they can detect the effects of caffeine within just a few minutes after consuming it. But apparently, many people do not have such a close relationship with their body, and they may not be aware of the physiological effects being caused by caffeine.

So this news may come as a shock to many Type 2 diabetics, and it could prove to be especially disturbing, given that most diabetics are overweight, that one of the ways they attempt to lose weight is by consuming diet pills that boost their metabolism with caffeine. In essence, the diet pills that many diabetics are taking in an attempt to lose weight may actually be causing their blood sugar to swing even more unpredictably, and ultimately result in more extreme carbohydrate cravings, which causes them to overeat and lose progress on their diet. In response to this, some people just decide to take ridiculous quantities of weight-loss pills, and this is exactly how a handful of people were harmed by taking Ephedra, an herbal weight-loss supplement that contains natural caffeine compounds. If you take too much caffeine, of course you are going to do yourself damage, just as if you drank twelve cups of coffee on an empty stomach. Beyond the issue of diabetics and diet pills, it's interesting to note that America has a love affair with coffee. So many people, including many people that I know, start their day with one or two cups of coffee, and can't imagine living without it. They are using caffeine as medication, as a drug, to alter their body chemistry and mental response. This use of caffeine is, I believe, irresponsible, if not downright wacky. The human mind shouldn't need a stimulant to function properly. The body shouldn't need a dose of drugs every morning to feel energetic. If you are currently addicted to coffee — and yes, it is an addiction — that's an indication that there's something else lacking in your diet, or there's something that needs adjustment in your lifestyle. Because a healthy person wakes up and hops out of bed with extraordinary energy and fantastic mental clarity without needing any drugs whatsoever. If this doesn't describe the way you wake up, caffeine isn't the answer. It's better to look at your food and nutrition (see related ebook on nutrition) to find what might be causing sluggishness.

Getting back to the study, caffeine certainly does alter the balance of blood sugar in the human body, but there's something else here that's worth mentioning: when caffeine is consumed in combination with refined sugars, such as the refined white sugar that many people put in their morning coffee, it multiplies the effect on the blood sugar, causing extreme imbalances that can lead to hypoglycemia. It should go without saying that diabetic patients must avoid that combination for the rest of their lives. Caffeine plus refined carbohydrates (or sugar) is literally a deadly combination for any person who is diabetic. For people who aren't diabetic, the combination can also spell trouble, and it can push someone towards obesity or diabetes if they continue to consume that combination over the long haul.

Now, there may be a few people out there who are able to handle both caffeine and refined sugars without showing these radical blood sugar swings, and if you're one of those people, good for you, but make no mistake, you are the exception, not the general rule. Most people have difficulty with this combination, whether they realize it or not, and they would do much better, in terms of health, body weight, mental clarity and overall wellness, by removing both caffeine and refined sugars from their diets for the rest of their lives. So, say goodbye to that Starbucks Frappucino, and consider ditching that caffeinated tea with sugar. Instead, get yourself a non-caffeine drink, like pure water or unsweetened soy milk.

There has been a magic number that has recently been going round in the health circles, as to why you need to have a 35 inch waist, having a large abdomen is not a beneficial thing to have as far as your health is concerned. According to some research that was done in Tufts University Boston, they say that in order to be safe with your health you need to have a waist size that is 35 inches for women and 37 for men.

This is the number that is critical to knowing whether or not you may have health problems later on in your life, the general problem with having a fat belly is you get a buildup of something called visceral fat, the problem with this sort of fat is it tends to bind itself to, your liver and heart organs which is not good news.

The result of this being that it creates more the bad fat which is known as LDL cholesterol, another knock-on side-effect of this is it tends to interfere with the production of insulin, which if if you don’t do something about it then you for more likely to contract diabetes.

Other research that has come to light has also suggested that there may be connections with having a large abdomen and Alzheimer’s disease, the upside of this is researchers have found that once you start to exercise quite frequently.

And start to lose weight the fat deposits around your body can start to diminish by a rough figure of 32 percent, this sort of fat which also can be known as adipose fat, tends to be brown in colour and is something really that you need to get rid of in order to become healthier.

In order to help yourself more from adding to this particular problem make sure that you eat unrefined carbohydrates, and eat foods that have a low glycaemic rating these foods tend to be broken down rather more slowly than their counterparts.

Examples of low glycaemic foods are wholemeal bread I would suggest using bread that is very high in fibre go for whole weeks, the problem with white bread is that it can be full of sugar because it is made with a different type of flour. Things like broccoli, peppers, peas, all good examples of low glycaemic foods the more you can eat of these the better, in research that was done at Tufts University they did some tests on participants.

And put them on a fibre rich carbohydrate diet which is a lot better than a really high carbohydrate diet, they ate things like wholegrain breakfast cereals, brown rice, wholemeal pitta bread and ate plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Those who ate the low glycaemic high carbohydrate foods but were high in fibre, had a letter stomach than their counterparts whom were eating the high glycaemic carbohydrate foods. It was found that the women who ate the lower glycaemic foods also reduced their overall body mass index.

What does drinking beer do well surprisingly enough a study of Czechoslovakian men, who drank lots of beer were found to have no increase in there abdomen size despite the fact that they were drinking a lot of beer.

So it seems that there is something to eating low glycaemic foods interestingly enough I must say that, from my own actual experiences I did try myself switching to a low glycaemic diet and it didn’t work for me so there must be something in it.

This has now given me validation that it does actually work the only other things to draw from this are, make sure that you keep your dairy products in check and use low-fat substitutes where you can, just recently I have started myself trying cottage cheese.

I have never tried it before but I must say I quite enjoy it at one time it was something that would never even consider eating but I suppose overtime what tends to happen with your dietary habits is that you tend to stick to what you know instead of eating other foods.

An example of this is from my own experience is I never used to eat, sweet potatoes even though I have not been eating them just recently when I was I really enjoyed eating them.

There are so many food choices around these days but the general overall problem is that we get so used to going to supermarkets and buying prepacked frozen foods that it becomes habitable shopping, how often do you actually tend to think about what foods you are actually buying.

Do you actually plan what you’re going to buy or do you just remember from memory, see the general overall way of doing this kind of shopping I tend to think is you’re more less shopping on autopilot. And it could be quite easily tempting to buy things that you don’t need, offers like buy one get one free very tempting.

Sometimes we don’t tend to realise that the primitive part of our brains which is all to do with survival works in reverse logic sometimes and makes us do things which we should necessarily be doing.

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Tags: diabetes, fat

Source: food

There has yet to be a specific cause or any one factor determined for what causes diabetes, but there have been strong hereditary connections made and people with a close family member with type 2 diabetes have up to a 15 % increase in getting the disease. Obesity, poor diet and a stationary lifestyle will also increase person’s chances of developing diabetes. Some nationalities and races, such as African Americans and Asians seem to be at higher risks for developing type 2 diabetes. It is thought that up to 18% of Americans suffering from the early onset of diabetes don’t even know they’ve it. Why is that?

Diabetes is most often times treatable but the symptoms of diabetes are often masked and very comparable to other diseases, causing it to go ignored and undiagnosed or treated until it reaches a critical point.

One of the first signs of diabetes is ..  (click on the link below to continue reading)

Source: causes diabetes

The word injection sends chills running up and down one’s spine as visions of long sharp needles fill the eye. However, it can become less frightening and much easier the more familiar you become with how to correctly inject insulin.

The most universal way to inject insulin is with a syringe and needle (although there is an insulin pen out on the market now). You draw insulin out of a bottle and into a syringe; then inject the medication beneath your skin where it’s absorbed into your bloodstream.

Insulin may be injected into several areas of your body where there is a deposit of fatty tissue present and where large blood vessels, nerves, muscles and bones are not too near to the surface.

Belly is the only area of human body where there is rapid and reliable absorption which is why insulin is often injected in there. The two inch ring around the navel does not absorb and hence insulin is not injected there. Illustration shows the rotation of the injection. Back of your upper arms, thighs or buttocks are some of the areas which your physician may suggest you getting injected.

Several of the sterile practices that health care professionals used to recommend for insulin injections have been effectively proven as needless. Diabetics have been observed for a long time injecting their insulin through their clothes. A study was developed to establish the safety and professed benefits of giving insulin injections in this manner. The participants injected through a single layer of fabric, which varied from nylon to denim. None of the subjects experienced erythema, induration, or abscess at injection locations. Neither the glycated hemoglobin levels nor the leukocyte counts varied between the conventional and experimental programs. In the injection-through-clothing phase of the study, only trivial problems, such as blood stains on clothing and bruising, possibly due to the slight extra force needed to get the needle through the layer of cloth, were documented. The test subjects stated that injection through their clothing offered benefits such as ease and saving time. It was concluded that it is safe to inject insulin through ones clothing.

The term given to injecting insulin through inserting syringe into the skin is known as ‘insulin injection technique’. This is done in order to inject a proper dose of insulin into the patients’ body. For the purpose of making insulin injection treatment a success for yourself, your physician or a member of their team can assist you in learning this technique.

Proper injection of insulin involves injecting at the correct depth into the skin. Often physicians recommend to get injected at the area where a high level of fat is present.

An injection that goes too deep, could inject the insulin into a muscle where it is absorbed more quickly but does not have the same lasting effect; moreover, shooting insulin into a muscle can be painful. If you do not shoot deep as necessary, the insulin just stays in the skin. This affects the commencement and time frame that insulin is useful.

To get the proper depth most people will pinch up a fold of skin and insert the needle at a 90 angle to the skin fold. If you are injecting into an area that does not contain a lot of fat tissue, you may need to adjust the angle to 45 for comfort.

Follow your doctor’s recommendation for taking insulin. Injecting insulin yourself does not have to be tough. Get in touch with your physician, their aide or nurse, if you are unsure concerning your insulin treatment program. Becoming comfortable with giving yourself shots and staying away from commonplace troubles, insulin injections will become part of your routine that aids you in keeping on top of things concerning your diabetes.

Source: Diabetes