Control diabetes

Control diabetes – start avoiding white flour, white Salt, tea and coffee
White Flour

Wheat is the most common cereal used throughout the world for making bread. It is a good source of energy. With its essential coating of bran, vitamins and minerals, it is an excellent health-building food.

Wheat is usually ground into flour for use as food. However refined wheat flour constitutes a serious health hazard of the various processed foods being used today for their delicious taste, white flour (maida) is especially harmful. The colossal loss of vitamins and mineral in refined wheat flour has led to widespread prevalence of constipation and other related disgestine disturbance and nutritional disorders, particularly diabetes. The consumption of white flour is thus an important contributory cause of diabetes, and its aggravation, if the disease has already developed.

White Salt

Common salt or sodium chloride is a major factor in maintaining the acid base equilibrium of the body. It is also essential for the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Thus, while a certain amount of salt essential for the body system, it is required in very small quantities, ranging from 10 to 15 g per day.

Excessive use of salt puts extra burden on the kidneys, may cause high blood pressure, which is closely linked with diabetes. Excessive intake of salt promotes water retention in the body, which in due course may lead to obesity, which is a potent cause of diabetes. Too much salt is thus harmful and may promote or hasten the onset of diabetes.

Salt (sodium chloride) and sodium preservatives are added to most processed foods. A sodium-controlled diet must avoid or limit salted snacks; pickles and many others processed convenience foods.

Tea and Coffee

Drinking tea and coffee is a serious health hazard for the diabetic. The most alkaloid principle in both tea and coffee is caffeine. Caffeine is an addictive drug similar to cocaine in as much as it stimulates the central nervous system. While these effects are short-lived, it has been observed that they lead to withdrawal symptoms of irritability, lethargy, headaches and anxiety. The daily intake of tea and coffee causes indigestion and gas formation, diarrhea, and constipation. They also increase the blood sugar level, which may lead to diabetes or aggravate its symptoms where the disease is already present.

Keep Your Blood Sugar Level Under Control

Keep Your Blood Sugar Level Under Control - Controlling blood sugar (glucose) levels is one of the most important aspects of diabetes management. It will make you feel better in the short-term and it will help you to stay fit and healthy in the long term.

The National Committee on Prevention Detection Evaluation, the chromium and many interesting articles. People who do not have diabetes keep their blood glucose levels within a narrow range for most of the time. The beta cells in the pancreas are able to produce just the right amount of insulin at the right time and they are constantly fine-tuning the blood glucose level. People with diabetes do not have this fine control over their blood glucose levels.

This might be because the beta cells have been destroyed and there is no insulin production at all, as in Type 1 diabetes. Alternatively, it may be that the body does not respond to the insulin and/or not enough insulin is produced when it is needed, as in Type 2 diabetes. The approach to managing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes is slightly different, but whichever type of diabetes you have, you will still need to step in and take over that fine-tuning of your blood glucose level.

Controlling blood glucose levels is a bit like trying to lasso an unruly animal. Blood glucose is dynamic; it changes constantly and it is influenced by a host of factors including your choice of food, how much you eat, the timing of your medication or insulin, your emotions, illnesses, your weight, and your body's resistance to insulin.

Some of these factors are relatively constant from day to day and are quite easily accounted for; some factors are more variable. No two days are ever exactly the same, or entirely predictable, and this makes it difficult. So, blood glucose is not easily lassoed.

In practical terms, you will need to learn about those things that raise your blood glucose level and those things that lower your blood glucose level. Then you will need to balance these factors on a day-to-day and possibly even hour-by-hour basis. This means coordinating medication, food and activity levels, whilst making appropriate allowances for stress, illness or changes in your daily activities.

You will be aiming to avoid the extreme highs and lows, trying to manipulate your blood glucose toward the normal range. You will be doing regular finger-prick blood glucose tests and using these results to help balance those things that make your blood glucose rise with those that make it fall. When you have evened out your blood glucose level you will still need to keep an eye on it and continue to make adjustments.

Controlling blood glucose is a continuous process and it will require your attention from now on, for the rest of your life. Don’t worry! It may sound daunting to you right now, but it will soon become second nature.

People who do not have diabetes have blood glucose levels between 4 and 8 mmol/l for most of the time. In general, people with diabetes should try to aim for test results between 4 and 10 mmol/l most of the time. Some people – pregnant women, for example – will need to aim for tighter control. Other people – young children, the elderly, or those at risk of severe hypoglycemia, for example – will need to aim for higher levels.

Your diabetes team will give you individual guidance on the blood glucose levels that you should be aiming for.

In the short term, controlling blood glucose levels is important in order to avoid diabetic emergencies – very high or very low blood glucose levels. Both of these conditions are unpleasant and can be dangerous, so they should be avoided if at all possible.

High blood glucose levels in Type 1 diabetes, if caused by a lack of insulin, can lead to a condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis or ‘DKA’ which can be fatal if it is not treated in time.

Support Of Diabetes From The Family

Support Of Diabetes From The Family - Not to be missed in the treatment of diabetes is support from the people we love. In truth, one reference notes that “the quality of a family’s time can be mutually beneficial” in managing diabetes in the family with juveniles or adults.

It is beneficial when those in the family are trained about diabetes. Knowledge will lend a hand of support to the diabetic. You'll recognize imperative symptoms, and know how to take action. One family who offers support to their diabetic relatives noted how they can recognize changes in each other when medical treatment is needed.

Being able to detect symptoms like being sweaty, shaky or impatient will help caring family members to take charge of any diabetic situations.

Loving family members must strive to be supportive and patient with their diabetic family members. This support can be invaluable coming from within the family for the diabetic. The greatest support group is at home with love and care. Family and friends in addition want to understand that as blood-sugar levels fluctuate, diabetes can affect one’s moods.

A family member would never want to belittle or make fun of a spouse, sibling, daughter or son because of diabetes. Too, remembering that they have limitations on what they eat we may also follow their same diet plan. Never would we want to tempt them to eat something that could make them sick.

Remember you are an important part of your diabetic relatives successful treatment. They may not show it but you mean a lot to them. If you just give them some words of encouragement like they are doing great what a world of difference that will mean to them. Treat them like normal people with circumstances to care for.

Diabetes can be managed effectively, specially if the sufferer has cooperation from friends and family.

How to Prevent Diabetes

How to Prevent Diabetes - Diabetes is more prevalent than ever and 95% of cases diagnosed are type 2 diabetes. 

Although for some the development of diabetes is inevitable, perhaps due to heriditery and other factors, for the vast majority it can be prevented by taking these 7 simple steps...

Before diabetes type 2 becomes fully developed you go through a stage known as pre-diabetes.  This is where you start to show some of the symptoms, which if ignored, can lead to full blown diabetes.

Make these 7 action points part of your daily routine and you could stop this disease happening to you:

1) If you are overweight you risk developing diabetes.  Reduce the amount of food on your plate so you gradually eat less and start to lose weight.  Drink a glass of plain water or a sugar-free drink before your meal to take the edge of any hunger pains.

2) Reduce the amount of fat you are eating; grill or bake foods instead of frying; use low-fat spreads and reduced fat meals.

3) Check the Glycemic Index of the food you are eating - knowing what each food contains helps maintain your blood-sugars, which in turn can prevent the full onset of diabetes.

4) Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day. If you keep a bottle of water with you and sip frequently you'll be surprised how much you do drink throughout the day.

5) If you are feeling peckish choose a healthy snack rather than a chocolate bar.

6) Use skimmed rather than full-fat milk in hot drinks.

7) Exercise is good for health.  But if you are not use to exercise then start in moderation.  15 minutes gentle walking each day will ease you into a regular exercising pattern.

All of these action points are also the ones that diabetics are advised to take - if you take them now you might possibly prevent irreparable damage to your health.

Does Alcohold Decreases The Risk Of Diabetes?

Does Alcohold Decreases The Risk Of Diabetes?- Drinking Alcohol Really Does Decreases the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Among Older Women
It is absurd. For the longest time, we have believed that alcohol has no real benefits. However, recently, a study has found that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol really does decreases the risk of Type 2 Diabetes, and this is especially true among Older Women! There are 20.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 7% of the population, who have diabetes. While an estimated 14.6 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 6.2 million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease.

Recent studies have shown that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol (as compared to drinking too much alcohol or no alcohol at all) can lower the chances of getting type 2 diabetes. However, only a few studies on alcohol and type 2 diabetes have included women, and very few have included older women.

Previous studies on the effects of drinking moderate amounts of alcohol (1-2 drinks) and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes have mostly been done on men or both men and women who were younger than 55 years old. The researchers wanted to study how drinking alcohol affects older women’s (more than 50 years old) chances of developing type 2 diabetes. (see Diabetes Symptoms)

Questionnaires were mailed to the women in the study. The women were asked where they lived and if they had conditions that put them at risk for any other diseases. Waist and hip, height, weight, and blood pressure measurements were taken at the beginning of the study. Diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol were also reported if these conditions were diagnosed by a doctor. The questionnaire asked about how much each woman exercised and how much they ate.

The questionnaire also contained questions about how much alcohol the women drank, how often they drank, and what types of alcohol they drank, both currently and in the past. The researchers sent out two follow-up questionnaires every 3 to 5 years. These questionnaires asked the women whether they developed type 2 diabetes, what year they were diagnosed, who diagnosed them, and whether they were being treated by diet, drugs, and/or insulin.

Conclusion
The researchers found that blood pressure was lower in the women who drank moderately, but it increased in women who drank more. During the study, a total of 760 new cases of diabetes were diagnosed. The research shows, however, that drinking alcohol in moderate amounts did lessen the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This is rather significant piece of news as we can now safely drink our favourite wine and not feel guilty about it!