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Posts Tagged ‘diabetes care’

As you may have read in many a health blog, people with diabetes have to take special care of their teeth and gums.

When you have diabetes you are at greater risk of cavities, gum disease and other tooth infections. Not only that, but such infections can cause blood sugar to rise, and it becomes a vicious cycle.

Here are some common problems that people with diabetes are prone to.

Diabetes – Plaque

Plaque is, of course, an issue for a lot of folks, not just people with diabetes. Plaque is caused by starch and sugar, and most of have more of those than what’s good for us! So diabetics are extremely prone to plaque.

Dry mouth

Some mornings, as a diabetic would tell you, your mouth becomes so dry you can hardly speak—a person with diabetes definitely knows how that feels. But it’s more than just problematic; it’ is dangerous to the health of our mouths. Saliva, gets rid of most of the bacteria that causes cavities and gum disease. When your mouth becomes dry, there is not enough saliva to carry out this process, So what happens here is that you become more prone to gum diseases and cavities. Due to the lack of saliva the soft tissue in the mouth becomes inflamed making eating and drinking a very unpleasant experience.

For people with diabetes and dry mouth a dentist would definitely recommend artificial saliva substitutes, you can usually encourage your own saliva to flow by chewing on a sugar-free candy. Drinking a good amount of water regularly would definitely help.

Diabetes – Fungal infections

Not only does a person with diabetes have less saliva than what is required, but the saliva is high in sugar content, so it is twice the trouble for a diabetic. This can cause a fungal infection called candiasis, generally known as thrush. It creates sore red or white spots in the mouth. Medicines can help in these cases.

As a diabetic, you cannot and must not neglect oral hygiene. Look after your teeth; make sure that you brush your teeth and floss at least twice a day. Examine your gums for signs of problems—and always visit your dentist at least twice a year when you suffer from diabetes.

Diabetes Mellitus is a syndrome in which the pancreas turns out little or no insulin at all, a hormone that assists the body’s tissues absorb sugar (glucose) to be used as an energy resource. The situation may also develop if muscle, fat, and liver cells react weakly to insulin. In diabetics, blood sugar levels build up in the blood and urine, resulting in too much urination, thirst, hunger, and problems with fat and protein metabolism. Diabetes mellitus is a bit different from the less familiar diabetes insipidus, which is caused by the deficiency of the hormone vasopressin that controls the amount of urine that is to be secreted.

Although diabetes symptoms don’t always show in the early stages; In adults over 45 years of age, diabetes is quite common; as it is in physically inactive or overweight people; diabetes is also common in persons who have diabetics in their immediate family; and in people of African, Hispanic, and Native American descent. The highest rate of diabetes in the world occurs in Native Americans. It has also been observed over the years that more women than men have been diagnosed with this disease.

Diabetes comes in two forms. In type one diabetes, which more often than not begins during childhood, the pancreas discontinues making insulin altogether. Type one diabetes is also called insulin-dependent diabetes. Type two diabetes; usually starts in adulthood. The body still produces insulin but not really enough, or at times the insulin cannot be used as it should be. Type two is also called non-insulin-dependent diabetes.

After a person has fasted for around about eight hours, physicians diagnose diabetes by administering an oral glucose tolerance test, which measures glucose levels before and after a specific amount of sugar has been ingested. An additional test being developed for Type 1 diabetes searches for unambiguous antibodies at hand only in persons with diabetes. This test may detect Type 1 diabetes at before time, dipping the risk of a complication from the disease.

Once diabetes is identified, treatment consists of keeping the quantity of sugar in the blood under control to prevent complications. Depending on the type of diabetes, this can be done through regular physical exercise, a carefully controlled diet, and medicines.

Folks with diabetes type one need insulin injections, sometimes two to four times a day, to give the body the insulin it fails to produce on its own. The amount of insulin required differs from person to person and may be influenced by things such as that individual’s level of physical activity, diet, and the existence of other health disorders. In general, individuals with Type 1 diabetes use a meter several times a day to measure the level of glucose in a drop of their blood obtained by pricking the fingertip. By doing this, they can adjust the amount of insulin administered, physical exercise, or food consumption to preserve the blood sugar at the normal level. People with Type 1 diabetes must watchfully control their diet by allocating meals and snacks throughout the day so as not to overpower the ability of the insulin supply to help cells absorb glucose. They also need to eat food that has complex sugars, which break down little by little and cause a slower rise in glucose levels.

And finally, consulting a good diabetes blog, although no substitute for a good physician’s advice in severe cases, can give you excellent pointers regarding positive lifestyle changes to stay one step ahead of diabetes.

While medical researchers have so far not been able to nail down exactly what causes diabetes, you’d do well to take note of certain factors from this diabetes blog post, that have been linked to the development of diabetes.

Causes of diabetes – Genetics

Genetics is a main factor. It has been known for ages that diabetes can be inherited. Nonetheless, the pattern of inheritance happens to be far from fully understood. Statistics indicate that people with diabetic family members are at a higher risk of acquiring diabetes than those without. In cases of families where diabetes is common the risk factor is about thirty percent higher.

One main cause of diabetes, especially type-2 diabetes being inherited is the diabetes gene. However, even you acquire diabetes genetically and even though it is beyond your control, that still doesn’t mean that you have to suffer badly because of it. There is no cure for diabetes mellitus in the full sense of the term, but it can be efficiently kept under control.

Causes of diabetes – Diet

Overeating, say medical scientists, is one of the main causes of diabetes.it is very important to maintain a healthy diet to control diabetes. Diabetes has been described by most medical scientists as a prosperity disease, for the most part caused by regular overeating. Not only is ingesting too much sugar and refined carbohydrates damaging, but proteins and fat, which are transformed into sugar, may also cause diabetes if taken in excess.

It is remarkable to note that diabetes is almost unheard of in countries where folks happen to be underprivileged and cannot afford to overindulge.

The prevalence of diabetes is directly linked with the eating of processed foods rich in refined carbohydrates, such as pudding, cake, bread and chocolate.

Causes of diabetes – Obesity

Obesity is a key contributor to diabetes. Research has shown that between sixty five and eighty percent of diabetics tend to be obese. In the United States alone, about eighty percent of type –2 non-insulin dependent diabetics are said to be obese.

The proper working of insulin in the body is hampered by excess fat.  The tissue cells in the body and the muscles as well become resistant to insulin due to the large amount of fatty tissue. Insulin allows the glucose in the blood to enter the cells by acting on the receptor sites on the surface of the cells.

Once people grow older and pass a certain age, they tend to put on weight, and the same time,  and many a time a lot of these people develop a mild form of diabetes.

Causes of diabetes – Lifestyle

Being active and living an active life is very important. Folks that lead less active lives and refrain from physical exercise are at a very high risk of getting diabetes. Work these days has become quite easy because of all the latest technology, physical activity is at a minimum. Physical activity and exercise help keep weight under contro. Consequently, the workload on the pancreas is reduced.

Talking about diabetes, this is how shocking the rise of obesity has become: according to the Surgeon General’s office, the number of obese or overweight adults in this country is around about fifty percent higher than it was just ten years ago. The latest studies have estimated that about a third of the children born in 2010 will develop Type 2 Diabetes, which was once called adult-onset diabetes and is for the most part driven by excessive weight. And possibly most troubling of all: over the last ten years the number of deaths directly related to obesity-inspired diseases has risen by a whopping thirty three percent.

Obesity is a big contributor to diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Diabetes leads to a heightened risk of limb amputation, blindness, heart disease, and kidney problems. The close relationship between excessive weight and diabetes cannot be ignored. Which is why it’s so essential for those who have pre-diabetes or have Type 2 Diabetes to keep an eye on their body mass index?

Diabetes – What is BMI?

Body mass index also known as just BMI, what is it exactly?  It is a simply calculated number which tells you the percentage of your of body weight that comprises of fat. Although this number is not a hundred percent accurate, particularly when the calculation is based solely on height and weight, it’s a good educated guess. Surely good enough to use as a guide if you get on a weight loss program. Other factors that are normally taken into consideration are sex and age.

The most precise way to find out your body mass index is by working with your doctor. Not only can he give you some additional insight into the meaning of the number, he can recommend the best way you can go about losing weight, you can find more information regarding the same on a good diabetes blog.

Nevertheless, if you want to know where you stand on the BMI scale, it is quite easy to find a BMI calculator on the internet . The quickest way to finding a calculator is by doing a search for the term “BMI” or “body mass index” on a search engine such as Google.

Diabetes – What does your BMI tell you?

After you have found your BMI number, you will want to know what it means. As a rule of thumb, for adults a body mass index of less than 20 means that the person is underweight, and if the BMi happens to be more than 25 it is overweight, and over 30 is obese. For a more detailed idea of where you fall in the index, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute will give you a complete Body Mass Index Table for your convenience.

All said and done: if you happen to be overweight, you are at risk of getting diabetes. Diabetes symptoms are not easily detected, yet it can cause kidney failure, heart disease, a stroke and one might even have to amputate a limb. This is why, to keep diabetes at bay, it’s so essential to keep a close eye on your weight and particularly your body mass index.

Diabetes creeps up on a person bit by bit and then all suddenly, the pancreas and other body parts refuse to function properly. This post on our diabetes blog has been written to help you understand the diet end of controlling this illness.

There are millions and millions of people around the globe showing diabetes symptoms, and most of them are not even aware of it.
People with this illness cover a wide range of ages, right from infants going up the elderly. As they carry on with their lives as diabetics it begins to slowly consume them. In the end all it needs is a balance of diet, exercise and insulin. Balance is the key to a diabetic leading a good life.

The biggest challenge a diabetic faces is maintaining the proper diet. The diet for every diabetic needs to be balanced to that individual’s requirement. Many of the foods eaten are generally converted into a type of sugar called glucose in the process of digestion. The blood then carries glucose through the body. Insulin then turns glucose into quick energy or it is stored. In diabetics, the body either does not make an adequate amount of insulin or it cannot use the insulin properly. Thus excessive glucose builds in the bloodstream.

Food to avoid when you have diabetes

Food that helps when u have diabetes

Bitter Gourd (lowers the blood-sugar levels effectively)

Fenugreek

Cinnamon Solution (Boil cinnamon sticks and drink water)

Flaxseed

Fiber (apples, soybean, oatmeal etc)

Onions

Garlic

More suggestions to control diabetes

Keep an eye out for particular diabetic recipes to help you follow a healthy diet.

Eat similar quantities of food at the same time every day.

Include starchy foods such as dried beans to increase their intake of starch.

Consume lots of fruit and vegetables for soluble fiber.

Manage and keep your weight under control.

Control your carbohydrates.

Diabetes also known as diabetes mellitus is classified as a metabolism disorder. Diabetes occurs when the body produces no insulin, low insulin or when the cells are incapable or cannot accept insulin, this hormone is produced in sufficient quantity by the pancreas. The food consumed by the body is turned into glucose the primary fuel of the body, glucose enters the cells when insulin is present, however in the absence of insulin the cells are unable to accept glucose thus the excess sugar is passed through the system in the form of urine.

This disease leads to several future complications such as adult blindness, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), gangrene, amputations and in severe cases can lead to coma.

The types of Diabetes can be classified into the following three

Diabetes Type 1 – The patient produces no insulin at all.

Diabetes Type 2 – The patient doesn’t produce enough insulin, or is not working properly.

Gestational Diabetes – The patient develop diabetes just during her pregnancy.

Diabetes Types 1 and 2 are chronic medical conditions which means that they are persistent and perpetual.

Classification of Antidiabetic Drugs

Due to such risks patients must ensure to receive long-term and often lifelong treatments to maintain the stability in their blood sugar, thus reducing the risk of further complications.

Antidiabetic drugs can be classified into two categories:

Insulin injections

These injections are used to control the high blood sugar by providing the body with the amount of insulin which the body was naturally supposed to create, thus these injections only control blood sugar and does not cure it. These injections are required by people suffering from Type 1 diabetes or in people who have Type 2 when it cannot be controlled with oral medications alone. Ensure to follow your doctors prescriptions to the letter, do not alter or change your prescribed dose or change your insulin brand without consulting your doctor.

Oral anti diabetic drugs

This type of drug is mostly suitable for adult patients. There are mainly two types of oral anti diabetic drugs:

Sulphonylureas

This is one of the oldest type of drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes, this drug stimulates the pancreas to release more insulin into the blood stream and thus increases insulin secretion. There are several “generations” of this classification of medicines. Second and third generations are more widely prescribed today.

First generation: Orinase, Tolinase and Diabines

Second generation: Glucotrol (glipizide), Glucotrol XL (extended-release glipizide), Micronase or Diabeta (glyburide)

Third generation: Amaryl (glimepiride)

Biguanides Metformin

Januvia (sitagliptin phosphate): The first of the DPP-4 inhibitors to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Januvia is an oral medication which is taken once a day, either alone with diet and exercise, or in combination with other oral diabetes medications.

Diabetes – Life Adaptations

However with the use of such drugs, it becomes important for the patient to undertake a few changes in his lifestyle, such as sticking to the dosing schedule and the diet prescribed by the doctor or dietitian. Avoid high-calorie and fatty food

• Conduct regular urine and blood tests to evaluate the progress of your conditions.

• Maintain personal hygiene to prevent complications such as skin infections.

• Quit smoking and alcohol.

• Eat the right amount at regular intervals. Do not delay mealtimes.

• Last but far from least,consistent exercise is critical to managing diabetes and avoiding complications.

Prevention is always better than cure. If you are scared of getting diabetes & want diabetes prevention diet then start intake of food with less sugar and goes for more of yoga, exercises and brisk walking. To prevent diabetes blood sugar, keep the changes in the life style and exercises. These changes including good eating habits can have a great positive effect and results.

Replace your regular tea with green tea.  Green tea is a part of diabetes prevention diet; it appears to help stabilize blood sugar, which is absolutely key in preventing diabetes. Obesity is also highly correlated with type 2 diabetes and green tea helps to suppress appetite. Eating less not only makes obesity less likely, but it also puts less strain on the insulin producing pancreas. Less insulin production leads to greater insulin sensitivity.

It is good to add cinnamon in your diabetes prevention diet. It is another natural herb that is well known to help stabilize blood sugar.

Try drinking a few glasses of green tea a day and also including some cinnamon in your diet. See what effect this has on your Fasting blood sugar level. Keep in mind that controlling your diet, weight, and exercising are the most important things you can do to prevent diabetes. Green tea and cinnamon may very well help, but don’t use these supplements in place of the other changes you need to make.

Cutting down intake of refined white sugar & avoiding foods like cookies, cakes, sugary drinks, and other sugary foods can prevent diabetes. Use whole grain or whole wheat products or other source of proteins more to prevent diabetes blood sugar level. Take more of fruits instead of sugary items and dishes. You can also go for protein items like such as fruit cocktail and cottage cheese. Apples are also preferable options can be regularly eaten.

There should be better balance both in food and exercises so that your blood sugar is always in control. Blood sugar should not only go up but also not crash or go down abruptly. Balanced routine shall also help you to lose you weight by keeping your metabolism high even between meals. You are also advised to increase in take of high fibre content and whole content. You are also required to control the amount and types of food, especially fats. You should not completely avoid intake of fat in your body or completely eliminate fat altogether. But it is better to stay away or reduce the intake of hydrogenated oils and saturated fats. It is noticed that packaged and canned foods contain hydrogenated oils and saturated fats. You can go for better options like nuts and natural butter.

If you want to prevent or control diabetes, there is no better alternative than brisk walking. Diet control, exercises will not only keeps away you from diabetes but help you to reduce your weight and keep you fit and energetic.

Though regular yoga is the best way to prevent diabetes along with diabetes prevention diet, but you can also buy fitness equipment anytime to burn your excess of calories and boost metabolism. Along with diabetes prevention diet such exercises & workouts are equally important & helpful in diabetes prevention.

There is an increased need for individuals to eat grapefruit currently in season as experts have found that the bitter flavour in the grapefruit, which is called, naringenin, is an antioxidant that can treat diabetes and high blood cholesterol level, reports Sade Oguntola.

The health benefits of grapefruit seem to be endless ranging from alleviating insomnia, loosing weight to warding off the common cold. But that is not all, grapefruit can also treat unhealthy cholesterol levels, fight metabolic syndrome and improve glucose levels, so putting off diabetes.

Although, regular exercise, acquiring certain lifestyle and dietary changes can help to control the level of blood sugar, hence reducing the reducing the risk of contacting diabetes, experts have suggested that consuming grapefruit  and other citrus fruits can help fight diabetes as well.

Type 2 Diabetes develops when insulin resistance sets in and then causes problems in delivering the glucose in the bloodstream to the cells for energy.

Scientists pointing to yet another sweet side of grape fruit in the journal PLoS ONE, said the antioxidant that give grapefruit its bitter taste can do the same job as two separate drugs currently used to treat type- two- diabetes after it was tried out on human and rat liver cells in the laboratory.

If you ever wandered why grapefruit is bitter, know that it is because of the presence of the flavonoid naringin, which the intestines break down into naringenin.

They declared that the way it works is a process similar to the Atkins Diet, although without many of the side effects. The antioxidant helps increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin and helps patients maintain a healthy weight by encouraging the liver to burn fat instead of storing it. The grapefruit amazingly breaks down fatty acids in the same way the body does during fasting.

The grapefruit, a somewhat “new” addition to the citrus family and a natural cross–breeding between an orange and pomelo, they declared, when extended to human patients  and similar results are achieved,  could turn naringenin, the antioxidant it contains to a dietary supplement in the treatment of high blood cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and perhaps metabolic syndrome.

But to get the best from this grapefruit, when eating or juicing grapefruit, peel off the skin while leaving as much of the albedo (the white matter under the skin) intact as much as possible because it contains the highest amount of valuable bioflavonoids and other anti–disease agents.

Until clinical trials are carried out in humans, it is not possible to say whether the bitter constituents in grapefruit, naringenin, might be an effective medical treatment for diabetes or whether it carries side effects. So, diabetics or other individuals taking medications should not attempt to replace or supplement their prescribed medication with grapefruit.

Grapefruit can negatively interact with other prescription medications such as blood pressure medications. While grapefruit juice contains many nutrients, including vitamin c, potassium and lycopene, there are chemicals in the juice and pulp that interfere with the enzymes that break down various drugs in the digestive system.

Nevertheless, adding a little more grapefruit to your diet maybe a good idea if you are a diabetic or at risk for diabetes.

In order to control the development of diabetes, as well as, prevent the disease completely, a study also revealed the food items that individuals should consume to avoid diabetes.

While the experts in the study suggested that consuming white rice may increase the risk of contracting diabetes, as it causes a sharp increase in glucose levels, they highlighted that  wholegrain products were better because they release glucose more slowly as compared to their white counterparts.

Other food items suggested by experts that control the disease are onions, citrus fruits and cinnamon, which have the ability to regulate insulin activity. In addition, to the list was oatmeal cereal, which helps to control the level of blood sugar,

In addition, increasing intakes of green leafy vegetables such as spinach may reduce the risk of developing type-2 diabetes by about 15 per cent. According to a meta-analysis of six studies, the benefits of green vegetables like spinach in protecting against diabetes may be linked to their antioxidant content– beta-carotene, vitamin C, polyphenols and magnesium.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the researchers declaring that ‘foods’ rather than isolated components such as antioxidants are beneficial for health, stated that there is a growing body of evidence that lifestyle modification is an important factor in the prevention of type 2 diabetes.

The findings, a useful reminder that giving dietary advice may be just as good, if not better, than prescribing drugs also draws attention to the potential benefits of green leafy vegetables, which could be incorporated as one of the five recommended portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

Nonetheless, drugs or dietary supplements that could potentially lower the production of bad cholesterol known as LDL, in addition to treating some of the symptoms of type 2 diabetes could therefore have a dramatic effect on healthcare expenditures and public health.

The potential of using a naturally occurring dietary supplement to regulate lipid metabolism is appealing as this by-product of the grapefruit juice and vegetables like spinach is non-toxic, cheap, and has demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties.

London, Sep 6 (IANS) Medical experts have urged a ban on Avandia, a drug taken by up to 100,000 diabetic patients in Britain, because it increases risks of heart attack.

The Commission on Human Medicines said the “risks of rosiglitazone (Avandia) outweigh its benefits” and called for prompt action.

Clinical pharmacologist Yoon Loke of the University of East Anglia estimated that the drug causes around 1,000 extra heart attacks a year in Britain, reports the Daily Mail.

Avandia was approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2000 to help reduce blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes, the form that usually strikes in middle and old ages, reports the British Medical Journal.

It became one of the best-selling global drugs, with sales of more than &pound1.5 billion. In Britain, doctors wrote out more than a million prescriptions for it last year at a cost of around &pound30 million.

The warning, which raises concerns about the way drugs are tested and regulated, comes in the wake of calls for its withdrawal by the committee responsible for drug safety in the UK, three months ago.

But despite the warning to the general practitioners to alert them, patients were not informed and thousands are still on the drug.

Experts stressed that patients should not stop taking medication without first seeing their doctor – but urged doctors to review the way they treated diabetes.

Its manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, said: “Extensive research showed the drug was safe and effective”.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered why eating fish may be a great idea to ward off chronic inflammation and insulin resistance.

Jerrold Olefsky and colleagues identified a key receptor on macrophages abundantly found in obese body fat. Obesity and diabetes are closely correlated. The scientists say omega-3 fatty acids activate this macrophage receptor, resulting in broad anti-inflammatory effects and improved systemic insulin sensitivity.

Obese fat tissue contains lots of these macrophages producing lots of cytokines, which cause inflammation and rising insulin resistance.

Olefsky and colleagues eventually narrowed their focus to a G-protein receptor called GPR120, which is found only on pro-inflammatory macrophages in mature fat cells. When the receptor is exposed to omega-3 fatty acids, it is activated and generates a strong anti-inflammatory effect.

“The omega-3 fatty acids switch on the receptor, killing the inflammatory response,” said Olefsky

“Our work shows how fish oils safely do this, and suggests a possible way to treating the serious problems of inflammation in obesity and in conditions like diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease through simple dietary supplementation,” he added.

However, it’s not clear how much fish oil constitutes a safe, effective dose. If too high, it could up the risk of to increased risk of bleeding and stroke in some people.