Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.
There are 23.6 million children and adults in the United States, or 7.8% of the population, who have diabetes. While an estimated 17.9 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 5.7 million people (or nearly one quarter) are unaware that they have the disease.
In order to determine whether or not a patient has pre-diabetes or diabetes, health care providers conduct a Fasting Plasma Glucose Test (FPG) or an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). Either test can be used to diagnose pre-diabetes or diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends the FPG because it is easier, faster, and less expensive to perform.
With the FPG test, a fasting blood glucose level between 100 and 125 mg/dl signals pre-diabetes. A person with a fasting blood glucose level of 126 mg/dl or higher has diabetes.
In the OGTT test, a person's blood glucose level is measured after a fast and two hours after drinking a glucose-rich beverage. If the two-hour blood glucose level is between 140 and 199 mg/dl, the person tested has , If the two-hour blood glucose level is at 200 mg/dl or higher, the person tested has diabetes.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Thursday, October 1, 2009
GESTATIONAL DIABETES
Gestational diabetes, or diabetes that occurs in pregnancy and resolves at birth, occurs in approximately three to eight pregnancies of every 100 in America.1 Risk factors for developing gestational diabetes include:
A family history of diabetes
Being overweight
Having prediabetes
Having given birth previously to a child weighing 9 pounds or more
In addition, the same populations at risk for type 2 diabetes — Latino Americans, African-American, Pacific Islander, and Asian Americans — are also at greater risk for gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes mellitus, or GDM, is diabetes that first appears in pregnancy and resolves at birth. An estimated 200,000 American women, approximately 5% of total pregnancies, are diagnosed with GDM annually.2 Women who develop gestational diabetes have problems metabolizing glucose. Their pancreas produces plenty of insulin (the hormone responsible for “unlocking” cells so that glucose can enter them and provide energy), but a condition known as insulin resistance prevents them from using it effectively. When insulin doesn’t work properly, blood glucose (or blood sugar) builds up in the bloodstream, and gestational diabetes is the result.
Gestational diabetes requires treatment with dietary changes and exercise and/or insulin injections to keep maternal blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible and to prevent complications in both mother and baby. Women with GDM are also encouraged to self-test their blood glucose levels often.
A fetus of a woman with GDM may become large for date as it stores the excess glucose it is receiving from mom as fat, a condition known as macrosomia. A large infant may have a more difficult time descending down the birth canal. Other potential risks for baby include hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and jaundice. A pediatrician or a neonatolgist, a physician that specializes in high risk infant care, is often present at the births of GDM babies to handle any potential complications.
A family history of diabetes
Being overweight
Having prediabetes
Having given birth previously to a child weighing 9 pounds or more
In addition, the same populations at risk for type 2 diabetes — Latino Americans, African-American, Pacific Islander, and Asian Americans — are also at greater risk for gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes mellitus, or GDM, is diabetes that first appears in pregnancy and resolves at birth. An estimated 200,000 American women, approximately 5% of total pregnancies, are diagnosed with GDM annually.2 Women who develop gestational diabetes have problems metabolizing glucose. Their pancreas produces plenty of insulin (the hormone responsible for “unlocking” cells so that glucose can enter them and provide energy), but a condition known as insulin resistance prevents them from using it effectively. When insulin doesn’t work properly, blood glucose (or blood sugar) builds up in the bloodstream, and gestational diabetes is the result.
Gestational diabetes requires treatment with dietary changes and exercise and/or insulin injections to keep maternal blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible and to prevent complications in both mother and baby. Women with GDM are also encouraged to self-test their blood glucose levels often.
A fetus of a woman with GDM may become large for date as it stores the excess glucose it is receiving from mom as fat, a condition known as macrosomia. A large infant may have a more difficult time descending down the birth canal. Other potential risks for baby include hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and jaundice. A pediatrician or a neonatolgist, a physician that specializes in high risk infant care, is often present at the births of GDM babies to handle any potential complications.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
DIABETES INFO
Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.
There are 23.6 million children and adults in the United States, or 7.8% of the population, who have diabetes. While an estimated 17.9 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 5.7 million people (or nearly one quarter) are unaware that they have the disease.
In order to determine whether or not a patient has pre-diabetes or diabetes, health care providers conduct a Fasting Plasma Glucose Test (FPG) or an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). Either test can be used to diagnose pre-diabetes or diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends the FPG because it is easier, faster, and less expensive to perform.
With the FPG test, a fasting blood glucose level between 100 and 125 mg/dl signals pre-diabetes. A person with a fasting blood glucose level of 126 mg/dl or higher has diabetes.
In the OGTT test, a person's blood glucose level is measured after a fast and two hours after drinking a glucose-rich beverage. If the two-hour blood glucose level is between 140 and 199 mg/dl, the person tested has pre-diabetes. If the two-hour blood glucose level is at 200 mg/dl or higher, the person tested has diabetes.
Monday, November 17, 2008
GUIDE TO DIABETES.
1}.TREATMENT TO YOUR HEALTH-
Being diagnosed with diabetes means that looking after your health has become even more important. This section of the Guide to diabetes includes information about medications, your lifestyle, monitoring your health and complementary therapies.
2}.EATING WELL-
Balancing your diet when you are diagnosed with diabetes can be challenging. Although the food choices you make and your eating habits are important in helping you manage your diabetes, you should be able to continue enjoying a wide variety of foods as part of healthy eating.
Eating a balanced diet, managing your weight, and following a healthy lifestyle, together with taking any prescribed medication and monitoring where appropriate will benefit your health enormously.
Remember, in the long run it is better to make small changes that you feel you can stick to rather than completely altering your diet and not sticking to it.
Taking steps to balance your diet will help you control your:
A}.blood glucose levels
B}.blood fats – cholesterol and triglycerides
C}.blood pressure
It will also help regulate your weight. If you are overweight losing weight will help you control your diabetes and will also reduce your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.
You are sure to have lots of questions about your diet. A registered dietitian will be able to answer your questions. Diabetes UK recommends that everyone with diabetes should see a registered dietitian at diagnosis, and then have regular reviews for specific advice on their eating habits
3}.
KEEPING ACTIVE-Being active is good for all of us but is especially important for people with diabetes. Physical activity, combined with healthy eating and any diabetes medication that you might be taking, will help you to manage your diabetes and prevent long-term diabetes complications.
Everyday fitness
Activity made easy...
Being more physically active often conjures up images of gym memberships, long distance runs and aerobics in a leotard, yet this need not be the case. The great news is that you can become more active by making small changes to your lifestyle.
This section of the website offers you a chance to think about what:
makes being more active important to you
might be getting in the way of you taking the plunge
changes you can make to your daily routine.
It lays out the long-term aim for activity levels, providing you with lots of ideas and top tips for being more active.
... Plus info for the seriously sporty
There is also information for the more serious sports people amongst you.
Don't be afraid to ask
If you have any concerns at all about becoming more active, never be afraid to ask for advice – your diabetes team is there to help.
4}.SMOKING-
If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, giving up smoking is one of the most positive things you can do to both improve your health and reduce your risks of the long-term complications associated with the condition.
This section of the website explains about the damage smoking does to people with diabetes, the benefits of giving up and ideas on how to get the support you need to stop smoking
SMOKING AND DIABETES-
Almost everybody is aware of the dangerous link that smoking has with diseases such as cancer, but are you conscious of its connection with diabetes?
Cigarettes contain more than 4000 chemical compounds and at least 400 toxic substances.
Everyone risks damaging their health through smoking a cigarette, pipe or cigar, but for people with diabetes the risk may be even greater. If you have diabetes you already have an increased chance of developing cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack, stroke or circulatory problems in the legs. Combine this with smoking (which can also double your risk of complications) and you make the chances of developing these diseases even higher.
Smoking ...
... when you have diabetes can make it more likely that you will develop neuropathy (nerve damage), nephropathy (kidney damage) and retinopathy (eye damage).
... decreases the amount of oxygen reaching the tissues of the body, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke.
... increases your LDL (low density ‘bad’ lipids) cholesterol level and lowers HDL (high density ‘good’ lipoproteins). This can make blood cells stick together, which can attract cholesterol and fats to stick to the artery walls making it more difficult for blood to circulate. This can damage and constrict (narrow) the blood vessels of the body (known as atherosclerosis) or cause a clot to form and possibly break away to travel round the body leading to a heart attack, stroke, peripheral vascular disease or worsening of foot and leg ulcers.
... increases your blood pressure by releasing adrenaline which causes blood vessels to constrict and the heart to beat faster.
... raises blood glucose levels. This is probably due to the nicotine and other products involved in smoking which may cause insulin resistance (whereby insulin doesn’t work properly) and stimulate stress hormones that can increase glucose levels.
So, like maintaining good blood glucose control, eating well, taking regular exercise and keeping to a healthy weight, giving up smoking is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your future health.
SUPPORT TO QUIT-
Giving up can be hard, but you don’t have to carry the burden of quitting on your own. It has been shown that you are more likely to quit if you get the right support. Whichever method you choose, there are clear benefits from quitting and plenty of support to help you. So what’s stopping you from stopping?
Stop Smoking Services
One way to get support is to use a Stop Smoking Service. These can offer you free advice specific to your individual needs together with meetings, which may be on a one-to-one basis or group sessions.
NHS Smoking Helpline
Tel: 0800 169 0 169
www.givingupsmoking.co.uk
QUIT
0800 00 22 00
www.quit.org.uk
There are also treatments available that can help you to stop smoking.
Nicotine replacement therapies
Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) are available on prescription as well as over the counter.
Nicotine is a drug that affects the areas of the brain which produce ‘feel good’ chemicals. NRTs help you to withdraw from this addiction without all the other harmful chemicals in a cigarette.
NRTs are available in a number of different forms, such as patches, gum, nasal spray, lozenges, microtabs and inhalators. A trained healthcare professional will help you to choose the one which suits best your smoking habits and lifestyle and will keep in close touch with you as you slowly decrease the amount you use (usually over a period of 12 weeks).
NRT is not licensed for use in children but individual clinicians may use it for a young person over the age of 12.
Prescription drugs
Prescription drugs are usually offered to smokers who have tried other methods.
There are two options at present but it must be remembered that your doctor may know of medical reasons why you could not be prescribed it.
Zyban
Zyban (Buproprion) which is taken for a maximum of 8 weeks. It works by reducing the craving for nicotine. The dosage has to be carefully followed and if the attempt to stop smoking is unsuccessful, further treatment will not be funded for 6 months.
Champix
Champix (Varenicline) which is taken for 12 weeks. It works by mimicking the effect of nicotine in the body and blocking the feel-good effect if a smoker does have a cigarette. The dosage must be carefully followed. A maintenance dose may be given for a further 12 weeks after completing the initial course.
Neither of these tablets can be used for people under 18 years old.
Other therapies
Other therapies that may work for some people but don’t have clinical tests to prove their effectiveness include acupuncture, hypnotherapy and laser treatment.
5}.MANAGING YOUR WEIGHT-
A healthy lifestyle is something everyone is recommended to follow but sometimes seems difficult to achieve. Being overweight can seriously affect your health but often people have their own reasons for losing weight. Making realistic long term changes to your lifestyle can bring huge rewards. Whether you want to be able to fit in to last summer’s clothes, play in the park with your grandchildren or to run for the bus without feeling out of puff, losing weight and keeping it off is well worth the effort.
But why is losing weight important?
One of the reasons for the increase in diabetes over the years is the increase in the number of people who are overweight. In fact more than four out of five people diagnosed with diabetes are overweight. We can’t ignore this fact that people who are overweight are at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
For people with diabetes there are major health benefits from losing weight. Being overweight makes diabetes control more difficult as excess weight makes it hard for the body to use insulin properly (insulin resistance), whether the insulin is being injected or being made by the body. Insulin resistance is especially associated with excess fat around the waist and people from South Asian communities have a greater health risk associated with being overweight.
If you are overweight, losing weight will help to control
-blood glucose levels
-blood fats – cholesterol and triglycerides
-blood pressure.
-Losing weight will also:
-reduce your risk of heart disease,
-improve your mobility
-reduce joint damage
-reduce tiredness
-help relieve stress
-help improve your self-esteem.
Being diagnosed with diabetes means that looking after your health has become even more important. This section of the Guide to diabetes includes information about medications, your lifestyle, monitoring your health and complementary therapies.
2}.EATING WELL-
Balancing your diet when you are diagnosed with diabetes can be challenging. Although the food choices you make and your eating habits are important in helping you manage your diabetes, you should be able to continue enjoying a wide variety of foods as part of healthy eating.
Eating a balanced diet, managing your weight, and following a healthy lifestyle, together with taking any prescribed medication and monitoring where appropriate will benefit your health enormously.
Remember, in the long run it is better to make small changes that you feel you can stick to rather than completely altering your diet and not sticking to it.
Taking steps to balance your diet will help you control your:
A}.blood glucose levels
B}.blood fats – cholesterol and triglycerides
C}.blood pressure
It will also help regulate your weight. If you are overweight losing weight will help you control your diabetes and will also reduce your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.
You are sure to have lots of questions about your diet. A registered dietitian will be able to answer your questions. Diabetes UK recommends that everyone with diabetes should see a registered dietitian at diagnosis, and then have regular reviews for specific advice on their eating habits
3}.
KEEPING ACTIVE-Being active is good for all of us but is especially important for people with diabetes. Physical activity, combined with healthy eating and any diabetes medication that you might be taking, will help you to manage your diabetes and prevent long-term diabetes complications.
Everyday fitness
Activity made easy...
Being more physically active often conjures up images of gym memberships, long distance runs and aerobics in a leotard, yet this need not be the case. The great news is that you can become more active by making small changes to your lifestyle.
This section of the website offers you a chance to think about what:
makes being more active important to you
might be getting in the way of you taking the plunge
changes you can make to your daily routine.
It lays out the long-term aim for activity levels, providing you with lots of ideas and top tips for being more active.
... Plus info for the seriously sporty
There is also information for the more serious sports people amongst you.
Don't be afraid to ask
If you have any concerns at all about becoming more active, never be afraid to ask for advice – your diabetes team is there to help.
4}.SMOKING-
If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, giving up smoking is one of the most positive things you can do to both improve your health and reduce your risks of the long-term complications associated with the condition.
This section of the website explains about the damage smoking does to people with diabetes, the benefits of giving up and ideas on how to get the support you need to stop smoking
SMOKING AND DIABETES-
Almost everybody is aware of the dangerous link that smoking has with diseases such as cancer, but are you conscious of its connection with diabetes?
Cigarettes contain more than 4000 chemical compounds and at least 400 toxic substances.
Everyone risks damaging their health through smoking a cigarette, pipe or cigar, but for people with diabetes the risk may be even greater. If you have diabetes you already have an increased chance of developing cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack, stroke or circulatory problems in the legs. Combine this with smoking (which can also double your risk of complications) and you make the chances of developing these diseases even higher.
Smoking ...
... when you have diabetes can make it more likely that you will develop neuropathy (nerve damage), nephropathy (kidney damage) and retinopathy (eye damage).
... decreases the amount of oxygen reaching the tissues of the body, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke.
... increases your LDL (low density ‘bad’ lipids) cholesterol level and lowers HDL (high density ‘good’ lipoproteins). This can make blood cells stick together, which can attract cholesterol and fats to stick to the artery walls making it more difficult for blood to circulate. This can damage and constrict (narrow) the blood vessels of the body (known as atherosclerosis) or cause a clot to form and possibly break away to travel round the body leading to a heart attack, stroke, peripheral vascular disease or worsening of foot and leg ulcers.
... increases your blood pressure by releasing adrenaline which causes blood vessels to constrict and the heart to beat faster.
... raises blood glucose levels. This is probably due to the nicotine and other products involved in smoking which may cause insulin resistance (whereby insulin doesn’t work properly) and stimulate stress hormones that can increase glucose levels.
So, like maintaining good blood glucose control, eating well, taking regular exercise and keeping to a healthy weight, giving up smoking is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your future health.
SUPPORT TO QUIT-
Giving up can be hard, but you don’t have to carry the burden of quitting on your own. It has been shown that you are more likely to quit if you get the right support. Whichever method you choose, there are clear benefits from quitting and plenty of support to help you. So what’s stopping you from stopping?
Stop Smoking Services
One way to get support is to use a Stop Smoking Service. These can offer you free advice specific to your individual needs together with meetings, which may be on a one-to-one basis or group sessions.
NHS Smoking Helpline
Tel: 0800 169 0 169
www.givingupsmoking.co.uk
QUIT
0800 00 22 00
www.quit.org.uk
There are also treatments available that can help you to stop smoking.
Nicotine replacement therapies
Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) are available on prescription as well as over the counter.
Nicotine is a drug that affects the areas of the brain which produce ‘feel good’ chemicals. NRTs help you to withdraw from this addiction without all the other harmful chemicals in a cigarette.
NRTs are available in a number of different forms, such as patches, gum, nasal spray, lozenges, microtabs and inhalators. A trained healthcare professional will help you to choose the one which suits best your smoking habits and lifestyle and will keep in close touch with you as you slowly decrease the amount you use (usually over a period of 12 weeks).
NRT is not licensed for use in children but individual clinicians may use it for a young person over the age of 12.
Prescription drugs
Prescription drugs are usually offered to smokers who have tried other methods.
There are two options at present but it must be remembered that your doctor may know of medical reasons why you could not be prescribed it.
Zyban
Zyban (Buproprion) which is taken for a maximum of 8 weeks. It works by reducing the craving for nicotine. The dosage has to be carefully followed and if the attempt to stop smoking is unsuccessful, further treatment will not be funded for 6 months.
Champix
Champix (Varenicline) which is taken for 12 weeks. It works by mimicking the effect of nicotine in the body and blocking the feel-good effect if a smoker does have a cigarette. The dosage must be carefully followed. A maintenance dose may be given for a further 12 weeks after completing the initial course.
Neither of these tablets can be used for people under 18 years old.
Other therapies
Other therapies that may work for some people but don’t have clinical tests to prove their effectiveness include acupuncture, hypnotherapy and laser treatment.
5}.MANAGING YOUR WEIGHT-
A healthy lifestyle is something everyone is recommended to follow but sometimes seems difficult to achieve. Being overweight can seriously affect your health but often people have their own reasons for losing weight. Making realistic long term changes to your lifestyle can bring huge rewards. Whether you want to be able to fit in to last summer’s clothes, play in the park with your grandchildren or to run for the bus without feeling out of puff, losing weight and keeping it off is well worth the effort.
But why is losing weight important?
One of the reasons for the increase in diabetes over the years is the increase in the number of people who are overweight. In fact more than four out of five people diagnosed with diabetes are overweight. We can’t ignore this fact that people who are overweight are at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
For people with diabetes there are major health benefits from losing weight. Being overweight makes diabetes control more difficult as excess weight makes it hard for the body to use insulin properly (insulin resistance), whether the insulin is being injected or being made by the body. Insulin resistance is especially associated with excess fat around the waist and people from South Asian communities have a greater health risk associated with being overweight.
If you are overweight, losing weight will help to control
-blood glucose levels
-blood fats – cholesterol and triglycerides
-blood pressure.
-Losing weight will also:
-reduce your risk of heart disease,
-improve your mobility
-reduce joint damage
-reduce tiredness
-help relieve stress
-help improve your self-esteem.
Monday, November 3, 2008
CAN TOO MUCH SUGAR CAUSE DIABETES FOR YOU?
Diabetes is one of those diseases we all 'sort of' know about — something to do with sugar, right?
Well, if you 'sort of' know that much, here are some facts you should know for sure: diabetes can lead to blindness, heart attack, stroke and its incidence has tripled in the last ten years — there's a new case diagnosed every seven minutes.
So it affects millions of us.
But the good news is, for most people, it's largely preventable. But how?
Our reporter, Dr Andrew Rochford, is going to put a commonly held belief about diabetes to the test. Andrew is going to over indulge his sweet tooth — and it's all in the name of medical research.
test
Sugar is often associated with Australia's fastest growing chronic disease — diabetes. But what we want to know is can too much sugar in your diet actually cause diabetes?
Essentially, diabetes is related to elevated blood sugar levels, so the logic goes, eat more sugar, get diabetes.
Associate Professor Maarten Kamp is a diabetes expert at the Gold Coast hospital: "Currently more than 1.2 million Aussies have diabetes and only half of those are diagnosed, so half the people with diabetes are unaware of it. There's a further two million or so people who are at risk of developing diabetes, having a condition we call pre-diabetes."
It's forecast that by 2010, 1.8 million Australians will have diabetes. That will put them at risk of heart disease, strokes, kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage and a whole host of other nasties.
Here's how diabetes happens:
To get the energy we need to survive, our body converts some of the food we eat into sugars, also known as glucose. At the same time, our pancreas is creating a hormone called insulin, which acts like a key, binding to cells and allowing them to absorb that glucose. But people with diabetes don't produce enough insulin, or that insulin doesn't work properly, so it's like they've lost the key — the cell door stays locked and the glucose stays in your blood.
"And that means that whilst there is plenty of glucose in the blood, too much glucose, and that's what's damaging, and isn't getting into the cells properly where it's needed to provide energy for the body," says Professor Kamp.
Andrew also needs to declare a personal interest: "My dad has diabetes and we've had some scary times with this illness. Diabetics have to keep a careful balance between insulin and glucose in his body. So my dad has to inject insulin four times a day. If he gets the balance wrong, then he can fall into a coma — called a hypo."
"Unfortunately the diabetes has put a lot of strain on my wife and children particularly when I have hypos in the middle of the night and four and five-year-old kids see their father being carted down the stairs by ambulance men. Andrew unfortunately has seen that on a couple of occasions and I'm sure he's not too happy about it," says Michael Rochford.
Fortunately those attacks, which can be fatal, are rare.
There are two types of diabetes, Andrew's dad is a Type 1:
"Type 1 diabetes is predominantly caused by being at risk with having inherited genes that place people at risk and we think it's then set off by particular types of infections. It's not absolutely clear what causes Type 1 diabetes," says Professor Kamp.
But most people with diabetes, nearly 90 percent of sufferers are Type 2.
"Type 2 diabetes again people have a predisposition to it, genetic predisposition, but it largely develops as a result of overweight, inactivity, over-nutrition that we see in our society nowadays," says the Professor.
Type 2 diabetes usually starts around age 45, but a recent report showed children in Australia are now suffering from the disease.
Which brings us back to our test…
First Andrew has his normal insulin and glucose levels recorded through a blood test. Then comes the good part — a pig-out in a lolly shop.
Andrew: "It's a tough gig, but I'm up to the challenge … If a sugar overdose can cause diabetes, all this lot ought to do the trick … Finally a test I can enjoy — guilt-free."
It sounds logical — the more you eat, the higher the levels, so after Andrew has binged for 24 hours he heads off to have his blood sugar levels tested again. Remember, the body absorbs sugar, by producing insulin, which unlocks the cell doors. A non-diabetic person produces enough insulin to cope with as much glucose as we throw at it, and keep the blood sugar normal.
So what do Andrew's results say?
"Now on the day when I had the high sugar diet — the diet we should all avoid — my blood sugar stayed the same, which you'd expect from someone without diabetes. But my insulin level was through the roof, my pancreas was working overtime to try and maintain my blood sugar at that level," says Andrew.
But his system did cope — despite the binge, his blood sugar level stayed normal, and that means eating sugar is not a direct cause of diabetes.
But if Andrew kept that high-sugar diet up, he could develop insulin resistance and he'd certainly put on weight, which is a major problem.
"Obesity is a very important factor in contributing to diabetes it's certainly the main factor that's contributing to the epidemic of diabetes that we have," says Professor Kamp.
So how do you know if you have diabetes?
Some of the symptoms include:
Fatigue
Passing urine frequently
Constant thirst
Infections that are slow to heal
If you are diabetic or at risk of it, diet is one area you can really take control of to improve your situation.
Chef Peter Howard has done just that. Food is Peter's passion, but as he himself admits, he loved it just a bit too much: "Always eating, always drinking, not really caring what I was eating and not really caring what I was drinking just as long it was a lot of both."
But all that's changed since he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes can't be cured but Peter is controlling his condition with diet and exercise — so far he doesn't need insulin shots. He now walks every day and does weights and crunches and he's lost 15 kilos.
What did Peter have to cut out of his diet?
"Mostly fats, I loved deep fried things so the fats had to go. Sugars … I loved sweet things, absolutely loved sweet things, just adored them so they just had to go and I think actually the amount was the thing as well, and the constancy. So now I do eat very, very well and I eat a lot, but I eat a lot of really good food and what I'm always looking for is food that's high in fibre."
He's so passionate about living better, Peter's even brought out his own cookbook with recipes for good health.
The plain truth is we're sitting on an obesity time bomb that could explode into a massive diabetes epidemic. But we can change the future by changing how we eat right now.
So there are many causes of diabetes but we're happy to report that sugar isn't one of them. But does that mean you can stay in a lolly shop and gorge yourself? No, because if you eat too much sugar then you'll put on weight and obesity is a risk factor.
So all the fun aside, diabetes isn't a laughing matter — you can protect yourself with a healthy diet and regular exercise and if diabetes runs in the family or you have any concerns go and see your doctor.
Why do people normally inject insulin instead of taking a pill? Because if they swallowed it, digestive enzymes would destroy it before the body could use it.
Are water bottles safe to be reused?
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It sounds logical — the more you eat, the higher the levels, so after Andrew has binged for 24 hours he heads off to have his blood sugar levels tested again. Remember, the body absorbs sugar, by producing insulin, which unlocks the cell doors. A non-diabetic person produces enough insulin to cope with as much glucose as we throw at it, and keep the blood sugar normal.
So what do Andrew's results say?
"Now on the day when I had the high sugar diet — the diet we should all avoid — my blood sugar stayed the same, which you'd expect from someone without diabetes. But my insulin level was through the roof, my pancreas was working overtime to try and maintain my blood sugar at that level," says Andrew.
But his system did cope — despite the binge, his blood sugar level stayed normal, and that means eating sugar is not a direct cause of diabetes.
Well, if you 'sort of' know that much, here are some facts you should know for sure: diabetes can lead to blindness, heart attack, stroke and its incidence has tripled in the last ten years — there's a new case diagnosed every seven minutes.
So it affects millions of us.
But the good news is, for most people, it's largely preventable. But how?
Our reporter, Dr Andrew Rochford, is going to put a commonly held belief about diabetes to the test. Andrew is going to over indulge his sweet tooth — and it's all in the name of medical research.
test
Sugar is often associated with Australia's fastest growing chronic disease — diabetes. But what we want to know is can too much sugar in your diet actually cause diabetes?
Essentially, diabetes is related to elevated blood sugar levels, so the logic goes, eat more sugar, get diabetes.
Associate Professor Maarten Kamp is a diabetes expert at the Gold Coast hospital: "Currently more than 1.2 million Aussies have diabetes and only half of those are diagnosed, so half the people with diabetes are unaware of it. There's a further two million or so people who are at risk of developing diabetes, having a condition we call pre-diabetes."
It's forecast that by 2010, 1.8 million Australians will have diabetes. That will put them at risk of heart disease, strokes, kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage and a whole host of other nasties.
Here's how diabetes happens:
To get the energy we need to survive, our body converts some of the food we eat into sugars, also known as glucose. At the same time, our pancreas is creating a hormone called insulin, which acts like a key, binding to cells and allowing them to absorb that glucose. But people with diabetes don't produce enough insulin, or that insulin doesn't work properly, so it's like they've lost the key — the cell door stays locked and the glucose stays in your blood.
"And that means that whilst there is plenty of glucose in the blood, too much glucose, and that's what's damaging, and isn't getting into the cells properly where it's needed to provide energy for the body," says Professor Kamp.
Andrew also needs to declare a personal interest: "My dad has diabetes and we've had some scary times with this illness. Diabetics have to keep a careful balance between insulin and glucose in his body. So my dad has to inject insulin four times a day. If he gets the balance wrong, then he can fall into a coma — called a hypo."
"Unfortunately the diabetes has put a lot of strain on my wife and children particularly when I have hypos in the middle of the night and four and five-year-old kids see their father being carted down the stairs by ambulance men. Andrew unfortunately has seen that on a couple of occasions and I'm sure he's not too happy about it," says Michael Rochford.
Fortunately those attacks, which can be fatal, are rare.
There are two types of diabetes, Andrew's dad is a Type 1:
"Type 1 diabetes is predominantly caused by being at risk with having inherited genes that place people at risk and we think it's then set off by particular types of infections. It's not absolutely clear what causes Type 1 diabetes," says Professor Kamp.
But most people with diabetes, nearly 90 percent of sufferers are Type 2.
"Type 2 diabetes again people have a predisposition to it, genetic predisposition, but it largely develops as a result of overweight, inactivity, over-nutrition that we see in our society nowadays," says the Professor.
Type 2 diabetes usually starts around age 45, but a recent report showed children in Australia are now suffering from the disease.
Which brings us back to our test…
First Andrew has his normal insulin and glucose levels recorded through a blood test. Then comes the good part — a pig-out in a lolly shop.
Andrew: "It's a tough gig, but I'm up to the challenge … If a sugar overdose can cause diabetes, all this lot ought to do the trick … Finally a test I can enjoy — guilt-free."
It sounds logical — the more you eat, the higher the levels, so after Andrew has binged for 24 hours he heads off to have his blood sugar levels tested again. Remember, the body absorbs sugar, by producing insulin, which unlocks the cell doors. A non-diabetic person produces enough insulin to cope with as much glucose as we throw at it, and keep the blood sugar normal.
So what do Andrew's results say?
"Now on the day when I had the high sugar diet — the diet we should all avoid — my blood sugar stayed the same, which you'd expect from someone without diabetes. But my insulin level was through the roof, my pancreas was working overtime to try and maintain my blood sugar at that level," says Andrew.
But his system did cope — despite the binge, his blood sugar level stayed normal, and that means eating sugar is not a direct cause of diabetes.
But if Andrew kept that high-sugar diet up, he could develop insulin resistance and he'd certainly put on weight, which is a major problem.
"Obesity is a very important factor in contributing to diabetes it's certainly the main factor that's contributing to the epidemic of diabetes that we have," says Professor Kamp.
So how do you know if you have diabetes?
Some of the symptoms include:
Fatigue
Passing urine frequently
Constant thirst
Infections that are slow to heal
If you are diabetic or at risk of it, diet is one area you can really take control of to improve your situation.
Chef Peter Howard has done just that. Food is Peter's passion, but as he himself admits, he loved it just a bit too much: "Always eating, always drinking, not really caring what I was eating and not really caring what I was drinking just as long it was a lot of both."
But all that's changed since he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes can't be cured but Peter is controlling his condition with diet and exercise — so far he doesn't need insulin shots. He now walks every day and does weights and crunches and he's lost 15 kilos.
What did Peter have to cut out of his diet?
"Mostly fats, I loved deep fried things so the fats had to go. Sugars … I loved sweet things, absolutely loved sweet things, just adored them so they just had to go and I think actually the amount was the thing as well, and the constancy. So now I do eat very, very well and I eat a lot, but I eat a lot of really good food and what I'm always looking for is food that's high in fibre."
He's so passionate about living better, Peter's even brought out his own cookbook with recipes for good health.
The plain truth is we're sitting on an obesity time bomb that could explode into a massive diabetes epidemic. But we can change the future by changing how we eat right now.
So there are many causes of diabetes but we're happy to report that sugar isn't one of them. But does that mean you can stay in a lolly shop and gorge yourself? No, because if you eat too much sugar then you'll put on weight and obesity is a risk factor.
So all the fun aside, diabetes isn't a laughing matter — you can protect yourself with a healthy diet and regular exercise and if diabetes runs in the family or you have any concerns go and see your doctor.
Why do people normally inject insulin instead of taking a pill? Because if they swallowed it, digestive enzymes would destroy it before the body could use it.
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It sounds logical — the more you eat, the higher the levels, so after Andrew has binged for 24 hours he heads off to have his blood sugar levels tested again. Remember, the body absorbs sugar, by producing insulin, which unlocks the cell doors. A non-diabetic person produces enough insulin to cope with as much glucose as we throw at it, and keep the blood sugar normal.
So what do Andrew's results say?
"Now on the day when I had the high sugar diet — the diet we should all avoid — my blood sugar stayed the same, which you'd expect from someone without diabetes. But my insulin level was through the roof, my pancreas was working overtime to try and maintain my blood sugar at that level," says Andrew.
But his system did cope — despite the binge, his blood sugar level stayed normal, and that means eating sugar is not a direct cause of diabetes.
Monday, October 27, 2008
EFFECT OF SUGAR TO YOUR HEALTH.
The average American consumes an astounding 2-3 pounds of sugar each week, which is not surprising considering that highly refined sugars in the forms of sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar), and high-fructose corn syrup are being processed into so many foods such as bread, breakfast cereal, mayonnaise, peanut butter, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and a plethora of microwave meals.
In the last 20 years, we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. 26 pounds to 135 lbs. of sugar per person per year! Prior to the turn of this century (1887-1890), the average consumption was only 5 lbs. per person per year! Cardiovascular disease and cancer was virtually unknown in the early 1900's.
The "glycemic index" is a measure of how a given food affects blood-glucose levels, with each food being assigned a numbered rating. The lower the rating, the slower the absorption and digestion process, which provides a more gradual, healthier infusion of sugars into the bloodstream. On the other hand, a high rating means that blood-glucose levels are increased quickly, which stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin to drop blood-sugar levels. These rapid fluctuations of blood-sugar levels are not healthy because of the stress they place on the body.
One of sugar's major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level, which inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn depresses the immune system. This is not something you want to take place if you want to avoid disease.
An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat sweets high in sugar, you're making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease. Complex carbohydrates tend to be absorbed more slowly, lessening the impact on blood-sugar levels.
Sugar depresses the immune system.
We have known this for decades. It was only in the 1970's that researchers found out that vitamin C was needed by white blood cells so that they could phagocytize viruses and bacteria. White blood cells require a 50 times higher concentration inside the cell as outside so they have to accumulate vitamin C.
There is something called a "phagocytic index" which tells you how rapidly a particular macrophage or lymphocyte can gobble up a virus, bacteria, or cancer cell. It was in the 1970's that Linus Pauling realized that white blood cells need a high dose of vitamin C and that is when he came up with his theory that you need high doses of vitamin C to combat the common cold.
We know that glucose and vitamin C have similar chemical structures, so what happens when the sugar levels go up? They compete for one another upon entering the cells. And the thing that mediates the entry of glucose into the cells is the same thing that mediates the entry of vitamin C into the cells. If there is more glucose around, there is going to be less vitamin C allowed into the cell. It doesn't take much: a blood sugar value of 120 reduces the phagocytic index by 75%. So when you eat sugar, think of your immune system slowing down to a crawl.
Here we are getting a little bit closer to the roots of disease. It doesn't matter what disease we are talking about, whether we are talking about a common cold or about cardiovascular disease, or cancer or osteoporosis, the root is always going to be at the cellular and molecular level, and more often than not insulin is going to have its hand in it, if not totally controlling it.
The health dangers which ingesting sugar on an habitual basis creates are certain. Simple sugars have been observed to aggravate asthma, move mood swings, provoke personality changes, muster mental illness, nourish nervous disorders, deliver diabetes, hurry heart disease, grow gallstones, hasten hypertension, and add arthritis.
Because refined dietary sugars lack minerals and vitamins, they must draw upon the body's micro-nutrient stores in order to be metabolized into the system. When these storehouses are depleted, metabolization of cholesterol and fatty acid is impeded, contributing to higher blood serum triglycerides, cholesterol, promoting obesity due to higher fatty acid storage around organs and in sub-cutaneous tissue folds.
Because sugar is devoid of minerals, vitamins, fiber, and has such a deteriorating effect on the endocrine system, major researchers and major health organizations (American Dietetic Association and American Diabetic Association) agree that sugar consumption in America is one of the 3 major causes of degenerative disease.
A good source of supplies for diabetics is diabeticdrugstore.com. They offer healthy eating diabetic food, hard to find sugar free candy and medical alert jewelry for diabetes care.
Honey is a simple sugar
There are 4 classes of simple sugars which are regarded by most nutritionists as "harmful" to optimal health when prolonged consumption in amounts above 15% of the carbohydrate calories are ingested: Sucrose, fructose, honey, and malts.
Some of you may be surprised to find honey here. Although honey is a natural sweetener, it is considered a refined sugar because 96% of dry matter are simple sugars: fructose, glucose and sucrose. It is little wonder that the honey bear is the only animal found in nature with a problem with tooth-decay (honey decays teeth faster than table sugar). Honey has the highest calorie content of all sugars with 65 calories/tablespoon, compared to the 48 calories/tablespoon found in table sugar. The increased calories are bound to cause increased blood serum fatty acids, as well as weight gain, on top of the risk of more cavities.
Pesticides used on farm crops and residential flowers have been found in commercial honey. Honey can be fatal to an infant whose immature digestive tracts are unable to deal effectively with Botulinum Spore growth. What nutrients or enzymes raw honey does contain are destroyed by manufacturers who heat it in order to give it a clear appearance to enhance sales. If you are going to consume honey, make sure it is raw, unheated honey. Good to use in special cures, but not as an every day food. It is not much better than white or brown sugar.
In the last 20 years, we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. 26 pounds to 135 lbs. of sugar per person per year! Prior to the turn of this century (1887-1890), the average consumption was only 5 lbs. per person per year! Cardiovascular disease and cancer was virtually unknown in the early 1900's.
The "glycemic index" is a measure of how a given food affects blood-glucose levels, with each food being assigned a numbered rating. The lower the rating, the slower the absorption and digestion process, which provides a more gradual, healthier infusion of sugars into the bloodstream. On the other hand, a high rating means that blood-glucose levels are increased quickly, which stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin to drop blood-sugar levels. These rapid fluctuations of blood-sugar levels are not healthy because of the stress they place on the body.
One of sugar's major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level, which inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn depresses the immune system. This is not something you want to take place if you want to avoid disease.
An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat sweets high in sugar, you're making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease. Complex carbohydrates tend to be absorbed more slowly, lessening the impact on blood-sugar levels.
Sugar depresses the immune system.
We have known this for decades. It was only in the 1970's that researchers found out that vitamin C was needed by white blood cells so that they could phagocytize viruses and bacteria. White blood cells require a 50 times higher concentration inside the cell as outside so they have to accumulate vitamin C.
There is something called a "phagocytic index" which tells you how rapidly a particular macrophage or lymphocyte can gobble up a virus, bacteria, or cancer cell. It was in the 1970's that Linus Pauling realized that white blood cells need a high dose of vitamin C and that is when he came up with his theory that you need high doses of vitamin C to combat the common cold.
We know that glucose and vitamin C have similar chemical structures, so what happens when the sugar levels go up? They compete for one another upon entering the cells. And the thing that mediates the entry of glucose into the cells is the same thing that mediates the entry of vitamin C into the cells. If there is more glucose around, there is going to be less vitamin C allowed into the cell. It doesn't take much: a blood sugar value of 120 reduces the phagocytic index by 75%. So when you eat sugar, think of your immune system slowing down to a crawl.
Here we are getting a little bit closer to the roots of disease. It doesn't matter what disease we are talking about, whether we are talking about a common cold or about cardiovascular disease, or cancer or osteoporosis, the root is always going to be at the cellular and molecular level, and more often than not insulin is going to have its hand in it, if not totally controlling it.
The health dangers which ingesting sugar on an habitual basis creates are certain. Simple sugars have been observed to aggravate asthma, move mood swings, provoke personality changes, muster mental illness, nourish nervous disorders, deliver diabetes, hurry heart disease, grow gallstones, hasten hypertension, and add arthritis.
Because refined dietary sugars lack minerals and vitamins, they must draw upon the body's micro-nutrient stores in order to be metabolized into the system. When these storehouses are depleted, metabolization of cholesterol and fatty acid is impeded, contributing to higher blood serum triglycerides, cholesterol, promoting obesity due to higher fatty acid storage around organs and in sub-cutaneous tissue folds.
Because sugar is devoid of minerals, vitamins, fiber, and has such a deteriorating effect on the endocrine system, major researchers and major health organizations (American Dietetic Association and American Diabetic Association) agree that sugar consumption in America is one of the 3 major causes of degenerative disease.
A good source of supplies for diabetics is diabeticdrugstore.com. They offer healthy eating diabetic food, hard to find sugar free candy and medical alert jewelry for diabetes care.
Honey is a simple sugar
There are 4 classes of simple sugars which are regarded by most nutritionists as "harmful" to optimal health when prolonged consumption in amounts above 15% of the carbohydrate calories are ingested: Sucrose, fructose, honey, and malts.
Some of you may be surprised to find honey here. Although honey is a natural sweetener, it is considered a refined sugar because 96% of dry matter are simple sugars: fructose, glucose and sucrose. It is little wonder that the honey bear is the only animal found in nature with a problem with tooth-decay (honey decays teeth faster than table sugar). Honey has the highest calorie content of all sugars with 65 calories/tablespoon, compared to the 48 calories/tablespoon found in table sugar. The increased calories are bound to cause increased blood serum fatty acids, as well as weight gain, on top of the risk of more cavities.
Pesticides used on farm crops and residential flowers have been found in commercial honey. Honey can be fatal to an infant whose immature digestive tracts are unable to deal effectively with Botulinum Spore growth. What nutrients or enzymes raw honey does contain are destroyed by manufacturers who heat it in order to give it a clear appearance to enhance sales. If you are going to consume honey, make sure it is raw, unheated honey. Good to use in special cures, but not as an every day food. It is not much better than white or brown sugar.
Monday, October 6, 2008
IMPORTANCE OF EXERCISE AGAINST DIABETES.
Regular exercise is good for your general health as well as for your diabetes. Exercise makes your heart stronger and improves your circulation. Exercise improves your muscle tone and strength. Exercise helps you manage stress and helps you feel better about yourself. All of these help to make you more fit.
Exercise helps to reduce your risk of developing heart disease. Exercise helps lower the level of triglycerides and raise the level of HDL or "good cholesterol" in your blood. Exercise also helps lower your blood pressure. High blood pressure contributes to many of the chronic complications that can occur with diabetes.
Exercise helps you lose weight or maintain your weight by burning calories. By following a meal plan and exercising regularly, you can lose weight and maintain it at a desirable level. Exercise over time will increase the amount of muscle and decrease the amount of fat stored in your body. Muscle cells use more sugar and improve your blood sugar levels.
During exercise your body uses more sugar for energy than when your body is at rest. This can result in a rapid lowering of your blood sugar if you are taking insulin or an oral sulfonylurea (such as glipizide, glyburide, or glimepiride). You may have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) during or after exercise. It is important that you keep your blood sugar in a safe range while you exercise. In order to do this, there must be a balance between the sugar used for energy while you exercise, the sugar available from food, and the medication you are on to lower your blood sugar. Testing your blood sugar is the best way to check this balance.
If you are at risk for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) when you exercise, always be prepared. Sometimes hypoglycemia is harder to recognize when you are exercising because the exercise may make you sweaty or light-headed. Testing your blood sugar if you suspect an hypoglycemia is very important. If possible, exercise with a family member or friend who could help you if needed. Always carry some form of identification that says you have diabetes. Be sure to take some quick-acting form of sugar with you when you exercise such as glucose tablets or gel, Life Savers® or fruit juice.
If you have Type 1 diabetes, exercise is always balanced with your meal plan and insulin to control your diabetes. Changes may have to made in your insulin or food intake or both before and after exercise to prevent you from having hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
If you have Type 2 diabetes, exercise helps to increase the sensitivity of your body cells to insulin. With this increased sensitivity, your own insulin works better and your blood sugar levels get better. When exercise is done at least every other day it is more likely to have this effect. Exercising regularly and following a meal plan may get your blood sugars in the target range without medication. In many people with Type 2 diabetes, medication is needed. Exercise is then used with a meal plan and the medication to control your diabetes.
Getting Started With Exercise.
You should talk over any plans you have for starting an exercise program with your doctor. Your doctor will assess the state of your health and decide whether you have heart disease or diabetes complications before advising you about exercise. Your doctor will give you information about exercise and your diabetes therapy. When you start an exercise program, you should start slowly and gradually build up your strength.
Choose an exercise you will enjoy and one which will fit with your lifestyle and physical abilities. The best type of exercise is aerobic exercise. This is exercise which is continuous over an extended period of time and uses large amounts of energy. Examples of this type of exercise are walking, running, bicycling, and swimming. These forms of exercise are more likely to help control your blood sugar than activities that require only short bursts of energy like many team sports and calisthenics. Exercises that are static and involve heavy lifting and total body straining should be avoided. These kinds of exercise do very little to benefit your heart or make your body's cells sensitive to insulin.
Walking is a very good form of exercise. Almost anyone can start a walking program. You can start out slowly and go a short distance and then gradually build up how fast and how far you walk. Walking is easily fit into your lifestyle and requires only a good pair of shoes and comfortable clothing. You can walk outdoors or indoors, alone or with others, and in all forms of weather. Enclosed malls have become an excellent and popular place to walk when the weather is bad.
Whatever exercise you choose should be done regularly and about the same time of day. It is best if you exercise daily but that may not be possible in your life. If daily exercise is impossible, a minimum of every other day (3-4 times per week) is the key to having exercise being of help in managing your diabetes. You should identify which days and times you will be able to exercise and then follow this schedule. This will help you plan for any change that you may need to make in your diabetes therapy because of exercise.
Self-Care for Exercise
If you have Type 1 diabetes, you may need less insulin or more food or both when you exercise. Trial and error over time will help you determine what insulin or food changes your body will need for safe blood sugar levels during exercise. The extra food you eat to provide sugar for exercise should not be subtracted from your meal plan. Blood sugar testing before and after exercise helps you know if the changes you make in your insulin or your food intake or both were right for you. If you are starting a new exercise, and especially if the exercise is done for a long time, you will need to also do blood sugars during exercise. Keeping careful records will help you establish the pattern of your blood sugar response to exercise.
You may prefer to adjust your insulin for exercise. This would be the best action to take if you are trying to lose weight and are doing planned exercise. Reduction in the amount of rapid or short acting insulin prior to exercise will reduce the amount of extra food you might have to eat to prevent or treat hypoglycemia. If you have certain days of the week when you are very active and other days when you get very little exercise, your insulin regimen may be adjusted to match these changes in your exercise pattern. If you notice a pattern of decreased blood sugar levels after you begin exercising, your intermediate or long-acting insulin doses may need to be decreased. Your doctor or nurse should be asked about adjusting you insulin for exercise.
Often you will need to eat extra food before you exercise. Whether you will need extra food before exercise and how much food you will need depends on several factors. The factors you will need to consider are when your insulin is peaking, when you last ate a meal or snack, how long and how hard you plan to exercise, and your blood sugar level. If your blood sugar is less than 80 mg/dl, you will always need a snack prior to exercise. The amount will depend on how long and how hard you plan to exercise. If your blood sugar is 80-180 mg/dl, you will need a snack if you plan exercise that is of moderate intensity and for 30 minutes or more. If your blood sugar is 180-240 mg/dl, you will not need a snack prior to exercise, but may need one later if the exercise is for 30 minutes or more. The longer and harder you exercise, the more extra food you will need to eat.
Trial and error over time will help you figure out what food your body will need for safe blood sugar levels during exercise. The extra food you eat to provide sugar for exercise should not be subtracted from your meal plan. Blood sugar testing should be done before and after exercise to help you figure out how exercise affects your blood sugar levels and whether you ate the right amount of food. If you are starting a new exercise, and especially if the exercise is done for a long time, you will need to also do blood sugars during exercise (approximately every 30 minutes). Keeping careful records will help you establish the pattern of your blood sugar response to exercise.
Exercise should be avoided if your blood sugar is consistently 300 mg/dl or more or you have ketones in your urine. Your diabetes should be brought under better control with adequate amounts of insulin before you exercise.
Exercise can increase how fast your insulin gets absorbed from the injection site. This could cause a rapid drop in your blood sugar level and may result in an insulin reaction. Because of this you should consider the type of exercise you will be doing when you choose an injection site. Insulin will be absorbed more rapidly if it is injected in fatty tissue over a muscle you will be exercising within an hour.
Your blood sugar level often continues to decrease after exercise. This occurs most often after exercise that is strenuous and of long duration. During exercise of this type, your muscles use sugar from your bloodstream and sugar that has been stored in your liver and muscles in the form of glycogen. During the hours after exercise, your body restores this glycogen by taking sugar out of the blood. This may take up to 24 hours and can result in hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). To prevent hypoglycemia after strenuous and prolonged exercise, your should eat extra food after you have quit exercising. It is very important to do a blood sugar test at bedtime when you have exercised vigorously and increase your bedtime snack to prevent a nighttime insulin reaction.
If you have Type 2 diabetes and are overweight your goal should be to exercise without increasing your food intake. If you are using a meal plan only for management of your diabetes, you are not at risk for your blood sugar dropping too low during exercise so extra food will not be needed. If extra food is needed to keep your blood sugar normal when you exercise, you will not be successful in losing weight. It is important that you not view exercise as a reason to eat extra food. Keep in mind that exercise may make you feel hungry. If this happens to you, try doing exercise just after you have eaten the biggest meal of the day.
Your blood sugar levels will probably be stable during and after exercise but it is possible that you may have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) if you are taking insulin or an oral sulfonylurea (such as glipizide, glyburide, or glimepiride) especially if your exercise is strenuous or prolonged. You will need to follow the self-care guidelines for exercise and Type 1 diabetes. Hypoglycemia must be treated with extra food immediately. Hypoglycemia during or after exercise may mean that your medication dose needs to be reduced. Call your doctor or nurse about the hypoglycemia. Blood sugar testing helps you find out about the effect exercise is having on your diabetes control.
Foot Care for Exercise
When you have diabetes you are at greater risk for foot injury when you exercise. Nerve damage may decrease your ability to feel an injury to your feet. Impaired circulation can mean slow or poor healing when injuries do occur. Prevention of injury to your feet is very important. When you talk to your doctor about starting an exercise program, you will be advised about whether your legs and feet can safely tolerate the type of exercise your are planning.
Check your feet before and after exercise. Look for breaks in the skin, redness, blisters, or unusual swelling. If any of these problems occur, contact your doctor immediately. Wear shoes that fit properly and that are appropriate for the type of exercise you will be doing. Wear cotton socks, preferably white, and change them during exercise if they become damp.
Diabetes Complications and Exercise
Long-term complications such as eye or nerve damage may be worsened by inappropriate or strenuous exercise. This is why it is so important to check with your doctor before you begin an exercise program. If you have eye problems, exercises that require straining, such as weight lifting, can cause further eye damage. If you have nerve damage or poor circulation to your feet, exercises that produce a lot of impact on your feet, like running, can cause foot sores that you do not feel, possibly leading to serious damage before you notice the problem. The goal is to prevent worsening of any problems you have by selecting the proper exercise for you.www.diabetespreventions.blogspot.com
Exercise helps to reduce your risk of developing heart disease. Exercise helps lower the level of triglycerides and raise the level of HDL or "good cholesterol" in your blood. Exercise also helps lower your blood pressure. High blood pressure contributes to many of the chronic complications that can occur with diabetes.
Exercise helps you lose weight or maintain your weight by burning calories. By following a meal plan and exercising regularly, you can lose weight and maintain it at a desirable level. Exercise over time will increase the amount of muscle and decrease the amount of fat stored in your body. Muscle cells use more sugar and improve your blood sugar levels.
During exercise your body uses more sugar for energy than when your body is at rest. This can result in a rapid lowering of your blood sugar if you are taking insulin or an oral sulfonylurea (such as glipizide, glyburide, or glimepiride). You may have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) during or after exercise. It is important that you keep your blood sugar in a safe range while you exercise. In order to do this, there must be a balance between the sugar used for energy while you exercise, the sugar available from food, and the medication you are on to lower your blood sugar. Testing your blood sugar is the best way to check this balance.
If you are at risk for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) when you exercise, always be prepared. Sometimes hypoglycemia is harder to recognize when you are exercising because the exercise may make you sweaty or light-headed. Testing your blood sugar if you suspect an hypoglycemia is very important. If possible, exercise with a family member or friend who could help you if needed. Always carry some form of identification that says you have diabetes. Be sure to take some quick-acting form of sugar with you when you exercise such as glucose tablets or gel, Life Savers® or fruit juice.
If you have Type 1 diabetes, exercise is always balanced with your meal plan and insulin to control your diabetes. Changes may have to made in your insulin or food intake or both before and after exercise to prevent you from having hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
If you have Type 2 diabetes, exercise helps to increase the sensitivity of your body cells to insulin. With this increased sensitivity, your own insulin works better and your blood sugar levels get better. When exercise is done at least every other day it is more likely to have this effect. Exercising regularly and following a meal plan may get your blood sugars in the target range without medication. In many people with Type 2 diabetes, medication is needed. Exercise is then used with a meal plan and the medication to control your diabetes.
Getting Started With Exercise.
You should talk over any plans you have for starting an exercise program with your doctor. Your doctor will assess the state of your health and decide whether you have heart disease or diabetes complications before advising you about exercise. Your doctor will give you information about exercise and your diabetes therapy. When you start an exercise program, you should start slowly and gradually build up your strength.
Choose an exercise you will enjoy and one which will fit with your lifestyle and physical abilities. The best type of exercise is aerobic exercise. This is exercise which is continuous over an extended period of time and uses large amounts of energy. Examples of this type of exercise are walking, running, bicycling, and swimming. These forms of exercise are more likely to help control your blood sugar than activities that require only short bursts of energy like many team sports and calisthenics. Exercises that are static and involve heavy lifting and total body straining should be avoided. These kinds of exercise do very little to benefit your heart or make your body's cells sensitive to insulin.
Walking is a very good form of exercise. Almost anyone can start a walking program. You can start out slowly and go a short distance and then gradually build up how fast and how far you walk. Walking is easily fit into your lifestyle and requires only a good pair of shoes and comfortable clothing. You can walk outdoors or indoors, alone or with others, and in all forms of weather. Enclosed malls have become an excellent and popular place to walk when the weather is bad.
Whatever exercise you choose should be done regularly and about the same time of day. It is best if you exercise daily but that may not be possible in your life. If daily exercise is impossible, a minimum of every other day (3-4 times per week) is the key to having exercise being of help in managing your diabetes. You should identify which days and times you will be able to exercise and then follow this schedule. This will help you plan for any change that you may need to make in your diabetes therapy because of exercise.
Self-Care for Exercise
If you have Type 1 diabetes, you may need less insulin or more food or both when you exercise. Trial and error over time will help you determine what insulin or food changes your body will need for safe blood sugar levels during exercise. The extra food you eat to provide sugar for exercise should not be subtracted from your meal plan. Blood sugar testing before and after exercise helps you know if the changes you make in your insulin or your food intake or both were right for you. If you are starting a new exercise, and especially if the exercise is done for a long time, you will need to also do blood sugars during exercise. Keeping careful records will help you establish the pattern of your blood sugar response to exercise.
You may prefer to adjust your insulin for exercise. This would be the best action to take if you are trying to lose weight and are doing planned exercise. Reduction in the amount of rapid or short acting insulin prior to exercise will reduce the amount of extra food you might have to eat to prevent or treat hypoglycemia. If you have certain days of the week when you are very active and other days when you get very little exercise, your insulin regimen may be adjusted to match these changes in your exercise pattern. If you notice a pattern of decreased blood sugar levels after you begin exercising, your intermediate or long-acting insulin doses may need to be decreased. Your doctor or nurse should be asked about adjusting you insulin for exercise.
Often you will need to eat extra food before you exercise. Whether you will need extra food before exercise and how much food you will need depends on several factors. The factors you will need to consider are when your insulin is peaking, when you last ate a meal or snack, how long and how hard you plan to exercise, and your blood sugar level. If your blood sugar is less than 80 mg/dl, you will always need a snack prior to exercise. The amount will depend on how long and how hard you plan to exercise. If your blood sugar is 80-180 mg/dl, you will need a snack if you plan exercise that is of moderate intensity and for 30 minutes or more. If your blood sugar is 180-240 mg/dl, you will not need a snack prior to exercise, but may need one later if the exercise is for 30 minutes or more. The longer and harder you exercise, the more extra food you will need to eat.
Trial and error over time will help you figure out what food your body will need for safe blood sugar levels during exercise. The extra food you eat to provide sugar for exercise should not be subtracted from your meal plan. Blood sugar testing should be done before and after exercise to help you figure out how exercise affects your blood sugar levels and whether you ate the right amount of food. If you are starting a new exercise, and especially if the exercise is done for a long time, you will need to also do blood sugars during exercise (approximately every 30 minutes). Keeping careful records will help you establish the pattern of your blood sugar response to exercise.
Exercise should be avoided if your blood sugar is consistently 300 mg/dl or more or you have ketones in your urine. Your diabetes should be brought under better control with adequate amounts of insulin before you exercise.
Exercise can increase how fast your insulin gets absorbed from the injection site. This could cause a rapid drop in your blood sugar level and may result in an insulin reaction. Because of this you should consider the type of exercise you will be doing when you choose an injection site. Insulin will be absorbed more rapidly if it is injected in fatty tissue over a muscle you will be exercising within an hour.
Your blood sugar level often continues to decrease after exercise. This occurs most often after exercise that is strenuous and of long duration. During exercise of this type, your muscles use sugar from your bloodstream and sugar that has been stored in your liver and muscles in the form of glycogen. During the hours after exercise, your body restores this glycogen by taking sugar out of the blood. This may take up to 24 hours and can result in hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). To prevent hypoglycemia after strenuous and prolonged exercise, your should eat extra food after you have quit exercising. It is very important to do a blood sugar test at bedtime when you have exercised vigorously and increase your bedtime snack to prevent a nighttime insulin reaction.
If you have Type 2 diabetes and are overweight your goal should be to exercise without increasing your food intake. If you are using a meal plan only for management of your diabetes, you are not at risk for your blood sugar dropping too low during exercise so extra food will not be needed. If extra food is needed to keep your blood sugar normal when you exercise, you will not be successful in losing weight. It is important that you not view exercise as a reason to eat extra food. Keep in mind that exercise may make you feel hungry. If this happens to you, try doing exercise just after you have eaten the biggest meal of the day.
Your blood sugar levels will probably be stable during and after exercise but it is possible that you may have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) if you are taking insulin or an oral sulfonylurea (such as glipizide, glyburide, or glimepiride) especially if your exercise is strenuous or prolonged. You will need to follow the self-care guidelines for exercise and Type 1 diabetes. Hypoglycemia must be treated with extra food immediately. Hypoglycemia during or after exercise may mean that your medication dose needs to be reduced. Call your doctor or nurse about the hypoglycemia. Blood sugar testing helps you find out about the effect exercise is having on your diabetes control.
Foot Care for Exercise
When you have diabetes you are at greater risk for foot injury when you exercise. Nerve damage may decrease your ability to feel an injury to your feet. Impaired circulation can mean slow or poor healing when injuries do occur. Prevention of injury to your feet is very important. When you talk to your doctor about starting an exercise program, you will be advised about whether your legs and feet can safely tolerate the type of exercise your are planning.
Check your feet before and after exercise. Look for breaks in the skin, redness, blisters, or unusual swelling. If any of these problems occur, contact your doctor immediately. Wear shoes that fit properly and that are appropriate for the type of exercise you will be doing. Wear cotton socks, preferably white, and change them during exercise if they become damp.
Diabetes Complications and Exercise
Long-term complications such as eye or nerve damage may be worsened by inappropriate or strenuous exercise. This is why it is so important to check with your doctor before you begin an exercise program. If you have eye problems, exercises that require straining, such as weight lifting, can cause further eye damage. If you have nerve damage or poor circulation to your feet, exercises that produce a lot of impact on your feet, like running, can cause foot sores that you do not feel, possibly leading to serious damage before you notice the problem. The goal is to prevent worsening of any problems you have by selecting the proper exercise for you.www.diabetespreventions.blogspot.com
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