Diabetes Center

Diabetes is one of the most common diseases that affect many adult Americans. Specifically, it accounts for about 90% of all diabetes cases; about 6% of the United States population. This condition can be life-threatening; therefore it is important to be aware of the adult diabetes symptoms.

Recognizing the signs and symptoms allow you to seek medical attention immediately- before progression. Adult diabetes can be easily managed; however, the longer an individual has adult diabetes, the more likely there will be a need for extensive medication management.

Diabetes is a disorder that occurs when the body’s ability to use digested food for growth and energy is impaired. The digested food is broken down into blood sugar or glucose. This blood sugar provides a main source of fuel for the body.

The glucose passes into the bloodstream with the assistance of a hormone called insulin. Insulin is produced by the pancreas, helps the glucose travel through the body’s beta cells, and subsequently converted into energy. This is why insulin is vastly important.

The body cannot function fully when it builds up in the bloodstream; thereby loosing the main source of fuel. The adult diabetes or type 2 diabetes develops when the pancreas does not make enough insulin to keep blood glucose at normal levels.

Adult diabetes symptoms are steadily growing as it is strongly linked with increasing numbers of elderly patients, family history of diabetes, and the lack of physical activity. Obesity rates are increasing and 80% of these cases are obese. Sadly enough, this is one of the most significant risk factors for developing adult diabetes.

Diabetes causes your blood sugar levels to increase or drop too low. The complex and disturbing reality of this condition is that it is often a part of a metabolic syndrome that encompasses obesity, high blood pressure, and high levels of blood lipids. The disappointing news is that people with type2 diabetes develop insulin resistance.

Meaning, after time, insulin production declines significantly. The good news is that any individual suffering with adult diabetes has an amazing opportunity to reverse the affects and symptoms of the condition.

Adult diabetes symptoms generally occur gradually and more insidious. Undiagnosed type 2 diabetes may first experience symptoms that complicate the disease such as retinopathy (blurred vision) or neuropathy (foot pain). Healthcare professionals often prescribe oral medications and/or insulin injections to control or manage the symptoms.

However, adult diabetes can be cured and overall health is improved by implementing simple healthy life- style changes. The treatment goal is to keep the blood sugar levels at an acceptable range. It is recommended that you understand a sign for diabetes and how to treat it.

Be proactive with life-style changes, to include a diabetic diet plan, physical activity, and weight management. Adult diabetes symptoms include

1. Fatigue
2. Frequent urination
3. Slow healing wounds or sores
4. Increased thirst
5. Increased appetite
6. Tingling or burning pain in feet hands, legs
7. Impotence in men
8. Blurred vision
9. Deep rapid breathing
10. Nausea or vomiting

Alvin Hopkinson is a leading health researcher in the area of natural remedies and diabetes natural treatment. Discover how you can reverse your diabetes for good using proven and effective home remedies, all without using harmful medications or drugs. Visit his site for more useful articles/reviews such as: Diamaxol Review

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            The current situation in America and many other developed countries is ripe for the development of diabetes. Roughly 75% of Americans are overweight (1), and about 25% of Americans have a pre-diabetic condition termed syndrome X. Syndrome X consists of four different diseases: hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, high triglyceride (fat) levels, and obesity (2). Interestingly, there may be one single connecting factor between all four ailments: excess sugar intake. 

            There are two main types of diabetes, at least as classified conventionally: type I (insulin-dependent), and type II (non-insulin-dependent). Type I diabetes is the result of an autoimmune disease, which usually begins in childhood. In type I diabetes, the immune system mistakes the insulin-producing pancreatic cells for an intruder, and then destroys them. A type I diabetic most often needs insulin injections, so that they can bring the sugar in their bloodstream into their cells to use as an energy source. Type II diabetes is much more influenced by environmental factors than type I. Two of the main contributors to type II diabetes are lack of aerobic exercise and excessive intake of simple sugars. However, since type II diabetes has environmental causes, it can also be helped greatly by a change in the diabetic’s environment. Aerobic exercise is very important for a diabetic, as long as they are healthy enough for this routine. Aerobic exercise turns on genes that help the body utilize food sources more properly. Before you begin an aerobic exercise regimen, consult your family physician, especially if you have any serious physical conditions. Eating several small meals throughout the day may also help stabilize insulin and blood sugar levels.

            When too many simple sugars are taken in, by either food or drink, blood sugar rises. The hormone insulin is then secreted in order to bring the blood sugar into the body’s cells, so that it can be used for energy. When the blood sugar remains high for long periods, the body’s cells often adapt to this situation by lowering the sensitivity of the insulin receptors. When this happens, there needs to be more insulin released to accomplish the same amount of action for helping the blood sugar enter the body’s cells. This is known as insulin resistance, or glucose intolerance. Symptoms of diabetes include: vomiting, frequent urination, nausea, constant thirst, blurred vision, marked weight loss, and fatigue (3). Long-term complications of diabetes include: cardiovascular (heart) disease, hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), eye problems, overly acidic blood, kidney disease, and nerve damage (4).

            Most doctors and researchers recommend complex carbohydrates to diabetics. Complex carbohydrates are usually foods like whole grains, which have more branched-chain sugars, and take longer to break down into simple sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc.). However, there is clinical evidence that even complex carbohydrates can worsen diabetes. If the diet consists of more than 55% of complex carbohydrates (not to mention simple carbohydrates), the result can be a worsening of blood sugar control, an increase of damaging fats in the blood, and a decrease of healthy fats in the blood (5). Unfortunately, the American Diabetic Association recommends that diabetics have about 60-70% of their food as carbohydrates (3). For many (if not most) diabetics, carbohydrates are part of the problem, not the solution. There are many different reasons why people can develop type II diabetes, and there are also many possible solutions. A 60-70% carbohydrate diet may help some diabetics with their condition, and may worsen the condition of others. This is why a diabetic needs to find out what type of metabolism they have, in order to tailor their diet and supplements to their unique needs.

            Diabetics need to limit their intake of fats as well as sugars. High blood sugar causes insulin to also raise the amount of fats in the blood. A high fat diet, more than 30% of total calories, can contribute to insulin resistance and glucose intolerance (6). However, there needs to be some fat intake, since it is essential for life, and also because it’s one of the three energy sources for people, along with carbohydrates and protein. Fat and protein are usually found together in foods. Fat has a little over twice as many calories per weight as protein, and many foods are composed of roughly equal calorie amounts of fat and protein. So, if a diabetic chooses to limit carbohydrates to around 50% of their total calories, then they may end up taking in about 25% protein and 25% fat. For most people, it is probably wise to avoid getting more than 25% of their calories from protein, since too much protein can over-acidify certain parts of the body, as well as being hard on the kidneys. Some people choose to drink diet sodas in order to limit their sugar intake. However, the aspartame sweetener in sugar substitutes such as Nutrasweet can also raise insulin levels (2).

            Diabetics tend to be deficient in many vitamins and minerals. Low vitamin D levels are correlated with glucose intolerance (7). Middle-aged diabetics tend to be low in the mineral magnesium (8). If you choose to supplement with magnesium, have your family doctor first test for proper kidney function. The mineral chromium is very important in helping the function of insulin. Between 25-50% of Americans are deficient in chromium (9). There is some evidence that milk binds up chromium before it can be absorbed (9), which is a good reason for diabetics to limit dairy products in their diet. In fact, childhood allergy to a specific milk protein called BSA may contribute to the development of type I (autoimmune) diabetes (10).

            Both chromium and vitamin E can reduce insulin requirements. If a diabetic is on oral or injected medication, and chooses to supplement with either chromium or vitamin E, they should start slowly, with the knowledge of their physician and guidance of a consultant. It’s recommended that diabetics do not supplement with any potassium, unless directed by their physician. Unfortunately, supplementation with fish oil can have unpredictable effects on the functions of insulin, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol levels (11,12). Megadosing (taking more than 10 times the RDA-Recommended Daily Allowance) of vitamin B3 (niacin) may raise blood sugar levels (13). The study looked at supplementing with niacin at more than 1000 mg/day. Niacinamide is a safer form of niacin that does not raise blood sugar levels, and may help several other diabetes-related problems.

References

1          Eades, M., & Eades, M. The Protein Power Life Plan. New York, NY: Warner Books, 2000.

2          Kristal, H., & Haig, J. The Nutrition Solution. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2002.

3          Reavley, N. The New Encyclopedia of Vitamins, Minerals, Supplements, and Herbs. New York, NY: M. Evan & Co., 1998.

4          Litin, S., ed. Mayo Clinic Family Health Book, 3rd Ed. New York, NY: HarperCollins Books, 2003.

5          Reaven, GM. (Ed.)(1988). Dietary therapy for non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med, 319 (13): 862-64. 

6          Nagy, K., et. al. (1990). High-fat feeding induces tissue-specific alteration in proportion of activated insulin receptors in rats. Acta Endocrinol (Coph), 122 (3): 361-68.

7          Baynes, KC., Bouchcer, BJ, Feskens, EJ, & Kromhout, D. (1997). Vitamin D, glucose tolerance and insulinaemia in elderly men. Diabetologia, 40 (3): 344-7.

8          Ma, J., et. al. (1995). Associations of serum and dietary magnesium with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, insulin, and carotid arterial wall thickness. The ARIC study: atherosclerosis risk in communities. J Clin Epidemiol, 48 (7): 927-40.

9          Haas, E. Staying Healthy with Nutrition. Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts, 1992.

10        Holford, P. The Optimum Nutrition Bible. Berkeley, CA: Crossing Press/Ten Speed Press, 1999.

11        Vandongen, R., et. al. (1988). Hypercholesterolamic effect of fish oil in insulin-dependent diabetic patients. Med J Aust, 148: 141-43. 

12        Glauber, H., et. al.(1988). Adverse metabolic effect of omega-3 fatty acids in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Ann Intern Med, 108 (5): 663-68.

13        Balch, P. Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 3rd Ed. Avery Books/Penguin Putnam Inc., 2000.

Dr. Jensen is both a consultant and author in the BioMedical and Nutrition fields. He has previously written a book on both topics, The Failures of American Medicine, published in 2002. Dr. Jensen has also written a doctoral dissertation on how Vitamin C can reduce stress and allergies via its antihistamine effect. He has worked in a broad range of BioMedical fields, such as gene regulation, cancer research, and HIV vaccine development. However, Dr. Jensen eventually decided that helping people more directly would be more rewarding for everyone involved. He has since helped clients with dozens of different ailments. Dr. Jensen is a practitioner in the field of Metabolic Typing, which characterizes different biochemistries among people based on certain physical and behavioral traits they have.

You can contact Dr. Jensen at 1-800-390-5365, or mail him at drjensen@individualizednutrition.com.

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Cheap Ways to Prevent or Stop Type II Diabetes

Prevention of Diabetes obviously starts before you have full fledged type ii diabetes.  If you have been diagnosed as a pre-diabetic you have options to stop it’s progress.  I’ve heard people actually stop type 2 diabetes dead in it’s tracks, but I don’t personally know them.  I do know many of us have been able to keep it under control using these 5 Cheap Ways to Prevent Diabetes.

*Rest
*Exercise
*Diet
*Smoking
*Alcohol

Which of the 5 are the most important?  They are all important and they all work together to help keep your body healthy.  Of the 5 you’ve probably heard much about smoking and alcohol.

*Smoking

We all know and have read the reports of how smoking will kill us.  Plugging our lungs with black tar hurts the exchange of oxygen into our blood stream.  It can also effect our cells ability to absorb and transmit.  Just suffice it to say, nicotine can do a lot to our fantastic bodies and it ain’t good.  Diabetics do not need to add more stress to our bodies by smoking.

*Alcohol

One glass of red wine a day will keep the doctors away.  Packed with antioxidants and all this other good stuff except the fact that it can create a yo-yo with our blood glucose levels.  Did you know by drinking that one glass before ordering dinner it can influence your food choice?  Good healthy choices for a great diabetic dinner can quickly go out the door when you are feeling “happy”.

*Rest

Our American lifestyle has us running around with our heads chopped off most of the time.  Others are so focused on advancing our careers we forget that rest is needed for our bodies to re-charge themselves. if we don’t do it, then the body will do it for us.  Rest of at least 7 hours of sleep has been found to be the most beneficial for diabetics.

*Diet

The stabilization of blood sugar levels is greatly influenced by our diet.  Eat the wrong foods and your sugar levels will spike really high.  Eat the right kind of foods and you can easily stabolize your blood sugar levels. The one place we spend a lot of time at is glycemic index (GI).  There you can learn a lot about the good and bad carbohydrates and this applies to diabetics and heart disease along with many other ailments.  Follow these guidelines to help you prevent diabetes:

• Eat more smaller meals a day and cut out the snacks 
• Eat  whole wheat products 
• Eat low fat dairy products 
• Eat more fish and low fat meat .  Fish contains oils and are rich in omega-3 oils
• Eat los of vegetables 
• Eat lots of fruit
• Stay away from high calorie drinks and limit diet soda.  Water is much healthier
• Stay away from fat free food  because it can  create a yo-yo effect with your blood  sugar levels

*Exercise

Exercise prevents sugar from accumulating in the blood, helps the body’s ability to use insulin and helps control weight.  If you think about it, we all move during the day.  The amount of time spent moving is the problem. 

Your ultimate goal is to incorporate aerobic exercise, strength training and flexibilty exercises into your overall fitness enhancement program.

Here is a list of exercises you can incorporate during your week that will greatly influence your “fitness level”.

• walking up and down hills
• jogging
• bike riding
• stationary bike in the home
• tennis
• swimming
• yoga
• bowling
• dancing
• low impact areobics or water areobics
• ice skating
• stength training with elastic bands, tubes or weights
• daily flexibility exercises or stretching exercises before activities

We are a product of our environment.  The choices we make or don’t make can greatly influence our lives and when it comes to health, you don’t want to hear the word “diabetic”.  You can prevent diabetes and it’s the choices you make today that will help you stop it dead in it’s tracks.

How to Prevent Diabetes has a couple of suprises you’ve gotta see. The useful tips and tricks are pratical and easy to follow. Healthy Diabetic Solutions is a firm believer in healing yourself from the inside out. Learn specific strategies and products that are all natural and excellent in helping you control your diabetes.

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Unlike many diseases, diabetes doesn’t seem to be an inherited trait like albinism or hemophilia. In fact, experts aren’t completely sure what causes it. However, it’s clear that some people actually are more likely to get diabetes than other people, and that genetics predispositions do exist. How do you know how likely it is for a person to get diabetes?

First, not everyone with a genetic predisposition for diabetes gets it. Identical twins with exactly the same genes don’t automatically both get diabetes. There has to be some kind of environmental trigger, and since everyone is different (even identical twins in the same house) not everyone will actually manifest their diabetic tendencies. Unfortunately, researchers aren’t sure what things are triggers and what are coincidences yet. A few of the factors they think may trigger type 1 diabetes are:

• Cold weather - diabetes seems to surface more often during colder months
• Diet - babies who were breastfed and waited longer for solid foods seem to be less likely to develop diabetes
• Viruses - some viruses could trigger diabetes in some people when it causes other people little trouble.

For type 2, there’s a different set of possible triggers:

• Obesity
• Westernized eating - too much fat, not enough carbohydrates, not enough exercise

Most of these ideas are still very shaky, but researchers are working to find answers. The patterns that they find are confusing, because predispositions for the disease will come up with one result in one place and another somewhere else. A person in Africa with the same predisposition as someone in the United States will almost never actually get the disease.

Type 2 diabetes does run in families, so the chances of your children getting diabetes if you had it are good, especially if you were diagnosed after the age of 50. Researchers are getting better at predicting who gets diabetes, and eventually may be able to figure out who will get it much more effectively than they do now.

In the meantime, the best thing to do is to eat healthy foods and exercise regularly. Even if you do develop diabetes under these circumstances, you’ll already be on your way to a great way to manage your diabetes.

Megan Winegar is the Web Editor for OverstockDrugstore.com. She also writes the content and code for the emails that OverstockDrugstore sends out to subscribing customers (complete with coupons and price drops), and is working to make the copy on the site more straightforward and customer-friendly. Feel free to subscribe to the email list on the main page of OverstockDrugstore.com and find the internet’s best deals on health and beauty products you use every day, including the OneTouch meter.

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It’s important to keep your blood sugar levels consistent - and I don’t mean by drinking emergency O.J. or using emergency insulin injections. There are a few ways to make sure that your blood sugar stays relatively consistent while you live your life.

First, don’t let stress get in the way of your usual management routine. It’s easy to let being busy and stressed get in the way of eating well, exercising, and checking your blood sugar, but stress by itself can influence your blood sugar levels, so it’s a bad time to stop checking up on yourself. Instead, try to keep track of how stressed you are compared to where your blood sugar levels are to see how the stress is affecting you.

It’s important to control what you eat, but it’s also important to keep track of how much you eat and keep portion sizes consistent. You may also want to keep track of when you eat and try to have your meals at similar times (or similar distances from each other). Try not to go long periods of time without eating one day and then eat every hour the next day. It’s also a good idea to keep your carbohydrates consistent. Instead of eating pancakes with syrup and cream of wheat for breakfast and then eating vegetables for the rest of the day, eat small amounts of carbs at every meal to keep your blood glucose even throughout the day.

Exercise is helpful for management, but it can be dangerous if you aren’t careful about it. Make sure that you are checking your blood sugar levels before and after you exercise, and start slow until you know how it’s going to affect you. Even small things can help to lower your blood sugar levels and help you to process insulin a little better, so you don’t need to run marathons to manage your diabetes.

If your hormone levels change, it can change your  body’s patterns. In the case of illness, the hormones that help you to get better can also raise your blood sugar levels, so you should be ready to work with that. For women, menstrual cycles can throw off the best-laid plans for consistency, so it’s a good idea to keep track of the patterns so that you can start to predict what’s going to happen.

Alcohol can really throw a wrench in your plans if you haven’t adjusted for it. Alcoholic drinks are high in carbs and calories, and they can also throw off your liver, which usually helps when your blood sugar drops. (It can’t help your blood sugar if it’s trying to process alcohol.) If you drink, talk to your doctor about how much is okay, and plan it into your daily meal plans, because it will make a difference.

Be careful with your medications, and be especially careful when you’re thinking about adding a new medication. Ask your doctor about how OTC or prescription medications will change your diabetes management routine.

Although this list seems long, just considering these things and planning for them beforehand keep your life less hectic and less focused on diabetes.

Megan Winegar is the Web Editor for OverstockDrugstore.com. She also writes the content and code for the emails that OverstockDrugstore sends out to subscribing customers (complete with coupons and price drops), and is working to make the copy on the site more straightforward and customer-friendly. Feel free to subscribe to the email list on the main page of OverstockDrugstore.com and find the internet’s best deals on health and beauty products you use every day, including Freestyle blood glucose test strips.

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If you have been diagnosed with diabetes then you may be scared and not sure what to do but it is important to understand that you can control your diabetes and have a long and healthy life. You have to remember that it does not matter how you got in this situation whether you did not eat right or if it runs in your family because it all does not matter now. You want to take care of yourself and maintain a healthy blood sugar level and the best way to do this is eat right and get plenty of exercise.

Get Free: Diabetes Remedies

The best way in the beginning to control your diabetes is to change your eating habits and greatly reduce carbs form your diet. When you eat a lot of starchy carbs you have to remember that they only turn into sugar and this can cause you to have a hard problem controlling your diabetes blood sugar level. Try by eating a larger portion of fresh vegetable and lean meats because these will not affect your sugar level as much. It is also important when you are trying a new diet that you check your levels to make sure they do not get too low. Also getting plenty of exercise is also another great way to keep your healthy and in control.

Find: Natural Diabetes Cures

Remember that even though you may have diabetes it is controllable if you make some changes in your life. Eating a diet that is low in carbs and high in fiber and lean meats is a great start. You also want to make sure you find an exercise that you can do each day such as walking because this will help you to control your diabetes and have a long life.

Bryan Burbank is an expert in the field of Health. For more information go to: http://www.healthtipsguide.com/diabetes.html

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One of the most important things to remember is if you have Diabetes then you need to keep your blood sugar rates low. If they get too high then you can go in a diabetic comma so it is important to eat right and exercise. One of the best things you can do to naturally keep your diabetes in check is to eat the right foods. You want to make sure that you are eating foods that are high in fiber and protein and lower in carbs. If you eat a lot of carbohydrates it can make our blood sugar levels rise because carbs turn into sugar and and are hard to control..

Get Free : Diabetes Health Remedies

Making sure that you also exercise is key because it will increase your metabolism and this will help you lose weight. Keeping your body fit is not easy to do but it will help you control your diabetes. In a lot of cases they are finding out that diabetes runs in the genes and even though you may blame yourself for not eating right it may have not been avoided. But at this point the best thing that you can do is to take care of your body and what you put in it.

Find : Natural Diabetic Cures

Remember that it is not hard ot keep your diabetes in a safe blood sugar range but you need to eat right and get some exercise. You will find out what is the best things for you to eat over time but stay will low carb foods because they seem to work better.

Bryan Burbank is an expert in the field of Health. For more information go to: http://www.healthtipsguide.com/diabetes.html

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In the United States there are 23.6 million children and adults who have diabetes about 7.8% of the population.  Here is a fact about diabetes, if a person has a two hour blood glucose level between 140 and 199 they are classified as pre-diabetic, if their levels are higher than 200 they are classified as diabetic.  It is the view of this author that many cases of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes can be prevented by controlling their blood glucose by losing weight.

As I have stated pre-diabetic is a condition where a person is close to being diabetic but cannot be diagnosed as being diabetic because their blood glucose levels are not high enough, but remember they are above normal.  There is approximately 57 million Americans who are pre-diabetic on top of the 23. 6 already diagnosed.  So as you can see this is quite a problem in the United States alone.  If you become diabetic yourself this is something to think about.  Both men and women diabetics who allow their blood glucose levels to go unchecked are at risk of the following: Heart Disease and Stroke, High Blood Pressure, Blindness, Kidney Disease, Nervous System Damage, Amputations from bad blood circulation, Dental Disease, Pregnancy Complications, and Sexual Dysfunction.   All of these occur in many people before they are even diagnosed as diabetic.

All research today, shows that if a person is diagnosed as diabetic the best course of action is for that person to lose weight.  Losing weight soon after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes produces lasting benefits, like increased blood flow and circulation, reductions of blood pressure.  Losing weight will give a person better control of their blood glucose and decrease the events of having a cardiovascular complications.  Also the research tells us that people who lost an average of 9.8 percent of their body weight within a year and a half after diagnosis were better able to achieve their blood glucose and blood pressure goals.  What is really neat is that later weight gain does not negate the benefits of the early weight loss.  Another point has to be made here.

I was diagnosed in my thirties with diabetes.  I weighed 350 pounds, I had blurry vision, numbness in my hands and feet, and my skin hurt all the time.  My initial blood glucose levels measured 525.  My doctor wanted to put me on insulin right away, but I was afraid of needles and I was able to make a deal with my doctor that if I could lower my blood glucose levels enough I could stay on pill medication.  Well, the first thing the nurse told me was to exercise and lose the weight.  Three weeks later I had lost 10 pounds and my blood glucose lowered by 35 points.  A year later, I weighed 200 pounds and my blood glucose levels were at 120 after eating.  I found that weight loss under a good program and exercising kept me from going under the needle, and the lasting benefit of being healthier.  For more ideas on losing weight for a healthier life check out my weight loss review

I am a married man of 25 years to a wonderful woman name Debbie we have 3 adult boys all in college. I am also a retired Police Officer, veteran, and now teach 3rd grade in California. I turned to my online business to pay the costs of college.

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Everyone knows they should be eating more healthy foods, but for people with diabetes it’s an essential part of proper management. The key to managing diabetes is to make a plan for eating so that you know exactly how much of something you can eat without breaking out of your target range.
Here are a few of the essential things to remember while you’re adjusting your eating habits.

First, counting carbs is important for more than just people on low-carb diets. Eating carbs raises the blood glucose, which means that you have to know how much it will raise yours and how much you can eat and maintain good levels. Correct carbohydrate levels will vary for different people, depending on how active the person is, which medications they are taking, etc., but for most people with diabetes it will be somewhere between 45 and 60 grams of carbs per meal. With the help of a doctor or a diabetes educator, you can decide how much is right for you and plan your meals accordingly. The following foods contain a significant number of carbs:

• starches like bread, rice, cereal, crackers, or pasta
• fruit and juice
• dried beans or soy products (this includes tofu and veggie burgers)
• starchy veggies like corn and potatoes
• sweets - candy, cookies, soda, cake, etc.

It’s also a good idea to look at the Glycemic Index, an index that ranks food according to the effect the will have on your blood glucose. It includes factors like how cooking a food will change the GI, etc. You should be choosing foods with a medium or low GI - and then eating small portions of it. A low GI food is not a liscense to stuff yourself with it, but the GI won’t stop you from doing that if you don’t make sure to set parameters.

Next, remember that the easiest way to change your eating habits is to keep eating what you’re eating - in different proportions. (This applies only if you were actually eating vegetables before. If you weren’t, you’re going to have to make some additions to your diet, which was clearly boring anyway.)
The American Diabetes Association suggests dividing your dinner plate - draw a line down the middle, and then divide one of those sections in half. The biggest section should be the proportion of vegetables, then one of the smaller sections should be carbs and the other should be meat or another protein. Obviously you don’t have to eat half a plate of vegetables at every meal, but using those proportions (instead of spreading the vegetables over the big section and squeezing as many carbs into the small section as possible) will mean your are keeping your food intake where it’s supposed to be. If you add 8oz of milk or a light yogurt, as well as a piece of fruit or half a cup of fruit salad, you’ll have a healthy meal that will help you to stay within your targets.

Finally, it’s important to create a meal plan so that it isn’t a huge process to decide what you’re going to eat every time you do. Talk to your doctor or diabetes educator about what you need to do to create a meal plan that will work for you.

By planning what you will eat and setting goals and targets, you can avoid major fluctuations in your blood glucose and stay healthy for many years to come.

Megan is the Web editor for Overstock Drugstore, an online pharmacy that offers great deals and great service on health and beauty products you use every day, including the Ascensia Autodisc Overstock Drugstore believes in offering the best products and the best service, including a help line that goes to a person every time. To learn more, visit http://www.overstockdrugstore.com.

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Diabetes mellitus - who hasn’t heard of it? Indeed, diabetes mellitus (DM) seems to be a universal language for high blood sugar.

Millions of people are diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, a fact that is indeed getting a lot of attention from health care experts all over the world. The complications of diabetes mellitus can, after all, cause serious health problems leading to death.

The General Classifications

Diabetes mellitus are generally of three types:

type 1 diabetes which is insulin-dependent or juvenile onset
type 2 diabetes which is non-insulin-dependent or adult onset
gestational diabetes which occurs during pregnancy

The Signs and Symptoms

Knowing the tell-tale signs of diabetes mellitus is important in order to be diagnosed and treated early. For type 1 and type 2 diabetes, the presenting signs and symptoms are basically the same:

increased urination
increased thirst
weight loss
feelings of hunger
blurred vision
nausea
fatigue

For gestational diabetes, though, it may be difficult to conclude because all these signs and symptoms can be easily mistaken as pregnancy-related. The best thing to find out is to undergo an oral glucose tolerance test — this is the most definitive test for gestational diabetes It’s usually conducted on the fifth month of pregnancy.

The Treatment Options

The treatment options for diabetes mellitus include eating the right diet, engaging in regular exercises, and medications. In milder cases of diabetes mellitus, eating the right foods and engaging in exercises are enough to keep the blood sugar levels down, but in more serious cases, diabetic medications have to be administered.

The right diet for diabetics includes starches in the form of whole grains, bread, cereals; fresh fruits and vegetables, some meat products, and just a little of fat and sweets. How much you need to eat of these, though, may depend on your body weight and other needs. It’s always best to consult a dietician to program a diabetic meal that is just right for you.

Exercise should be made part of any diabetic treatment plan. Exercise helps you to lose weight and keeps you generally healthy.

Type 1 diabetics most likely need insulin therapy, but type 2 diabetics may be able to manage their diabetes with oral medications. Insulin needs to be injected into the body, the reason why a lot of diabetics frown on the idea of insulin therapy. Insulin may be rapid-acting, intermediate-acting or long-acting.

Diabetic Emergencies and Complications

Managing diabetes mellitus is extremely important in order to prevent complications such as:

atherosclerotic heart disease
myocardial infarction
peripheral vascular disease
cerebrovascular disease
renal artery stenosis
diabetic retinopathy
diabetic nephropathy
peripheral neuropathy

At the same time, you may also want to prevent the likelihood of medical emergencies such as:

diabetic ketoacidosis which can cause coma and eventually death. Intensive care is essential
nonketotic hyperglycemic-hyperosmolar coma

Responsibilities of a Diabetic

As a diabetic you also need to do your share in the treatment, that means:

making regular visits to your diabetologist
constant monitoring of your blood sugar levels
observing yourself for anything that indicates an increase in your blood sugar levels and reporting the matter to your doctor
eating the right diet
doing daily or regular exercises
strictly taking your medications

With these tips, you should be able to cope well with diabetes mellitus.

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