Archive for the ‘Diabetes Information’ Category

Dealing With Daibetes And Reversing Insulin Resistance

Monday, September 29th, 2008

Reversing Insulin Resistance

A lot of people have no idea what insulin resistance is, and they may have it. When this diagnosis is made, it is often in conjunction with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). This is a reproductive disorder that can render a women infertile if it is not cared for and reversed. Someone with PCOS usually has resistance to insulin, and that means she gains weight very easily. When this happens, the reproductive system gets out of whack and she is temporarily infertile. One of the keys to restoring fertility is reversing insulin resistance.

At its most basic, insulin resistance is when the body does not register the insulin that is it producing. When that happens, it keeps producing it in overdrive. When a person with this condition eats anything that affects the blood sugar, it makes that person even hungrier because the body is not registering things right. Someone with this condition gains weight because the body wants to store sugar as fat immediately. This is one of the keys to reversing insulin resistance.

As you may have guessed, reverse insulin resistance is going to have something to do with the amount of carbs that you eat each day. The Atkins diet was seen as a fad for a while, but those that want to work on reversing insulin resistance are actually the ones that should be on this diet. You don’t have to do Atkins to go about reversing insulin resistance, however, as you can just watch what types of carbs you are putting into your body. You want to get those that are low on the glycemic index.

Your overall eating habits (even without a specific diet program) can help with reversing insulin resistance. You have to eat more meats and fats, and cut down dramatically on your carbs. When you do eat carbs, you want them to be the ones that have the least affect on blood sugar. That stops the over-production of insulin, and it also helps someone with this condition to slim down. Good carbs include green vegetables, some fruits, and whole grains. Think of avoiding white foods and you are on the right track. There are many diets out there that can help with reverse insulin resistance if you need something more structured.

Once the process of reversing insulin resistance is starting, the changes in the body are going to be very good ones. That means that fertility is going to be restored as the body begins to make less insulin and the weight starts to come off. Other than fertility reasons, reversing true insulin resistance can help you avoid type 2 diabetes. If left unchecked, the body will have made so much insulin that it just stops, and that is when diabetes occurs. Not only can this help you with the family that you want, reversing insulin resistance can add quality years to your life.

More Alternative Health articles and advice

Diabetes And Obesity Are Responsible For A National Plague Of Unequaled Importance

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Diabetes and obesity go hand in hand as mass killers of society. Diabetes is the sixth most common cause of death in the United States and the primary cause of diabetes is obesity.

Although diabetes is treatable with proper glycemic control and insulin therapy, it’s estimated that about a third of diabetics have never been formally diagnosed and therefore are never treated. So, the big question is how do we stop this huge epidemic and how can those disposed to diabetes and obesity reduce the risk of death and sickness in their future?

The solution is simple. Taking the sugar out of your diet, getting out and exercising on a daily basis, nutritional supplementation, and taking control of what you eat will increase one’s chances of living a healthy life. It sounds simple but as we “foodies” know, it’s not quite that simple. We just have to make up our minds is it more important to fill our bodies with sugar laden goodies or to have a few toes amputated in the future?

For a long time now, diabetes has simply been thought of as a relatively benign sickness of the old, but now those of relatively younger ages are becoming affected. Diabetes is the primary reason for blindness among adults. According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes has the possibility, for the first time in over a century, shrink Americans life expectancy.

Sooner or later diabetes will affect us all, whether it is taking care of family members with the illness or simply resulting in higher insurance premiums and taxes. In this couch potato society in which we live, there has been a sharp rise in cases diagnosed worldwide. So, as a society is there anything can we do to stop this and to call attention of this problem?

In addition to the things listed above, we also need to inform people to get checked by a doctor. Some symptoms that you could have undiagnosed diabetes are frequent urination; wounds that will not heal; constantly thirsty; recurring skin, bladder, and gum infections; numbness in hands and feet; blurred vision; and Just because you may not experience any of these symptoms, do not think that you’re off the hook.

A lifestyle change will have to be made to prevent the disease from possibly invading your future. Studies show that nearly 60% of newly diagnosed cases could have been prevented or at least greatly reduced if the individual had simply got down to a health body weight. In this day of fast food and little or no exercise, it can be hard to make the choice to eat responsibly and get enough of exercise. Everyone has their excuses but we need to give them hope that it can be done and examples of how to start.

As a nation we can curtail the epidemic of diabetes and obesity but only if we get the word out and encouraging those who are eating themselves to poor health

What Is Diabetes?

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

The Question Most Newly Diagnosed Diabetics Ask

One of the most perplexing health problems facing Americans is diabetes, which attacks in various stages with little regard to age, race or social status. When first diagnosed patients may have some confusion about what is diabetes and how it will affect their life and their future. The initial reaction for may likely involves their dietary changes and may include thoughts of the progress of the disease and how it affected others they knew.

While diabetes can cause a multitude of health problems including blindness, kidney and heart problems today’s medical practices can help people with diabetes live a long and healthy life. There are different classifications of what is diabetes, including Type 2 diabetes, or adult onset diabetes, childhood diabetes and gestational diabetes, most describing the age or circumstance at which the disease becomes apparent. Testing for diabetes should be done if a person’s family history indicates a predisposition to contracting the ailment or they have any of the known symptoms.

For many, testing may show that they have pre-diabetes and in most cases a change in lifestyle, including diet and exercise can help slow the progression of the disease and possible stop them from contracting full-blown diabetes. Diabetes is what it is called when the insulin in the body is not being produced in a quantity sufficient enough to work the blood glucose through the system, or the insulin being produced cannot perform its job.

Medical Intervention Is Usually Required

When a person is diagnosed with what is diabetes, in addition to lifestyle changes they may also require medication to help the body deal with the sugar in the bloodstream. When food is digested, carbohydrates are converted into sugar, which the body needs for energy. Insulin is used to help the sugar find its way to the cells, providing energy. If anything along this line breaks down, the sugar remains in the bloodstream or moves into tissues where it does little good.

Without the cells receiving the energy-giving sugar, the cells cannot function up to par and what is diabetes can often result in kidney failure, heart failure and stoke if left unnoticed or untreated. Medication is available to help increase the body’s production of insulin or to help the body’s insulin perform more efficiently.

With appropriate medical help and a change in diet and exercise, a person diagnosed with what is diabetes can live a long a healthy life. Once the diagnosis has been made, the patient and doctor must continue to monitor the progress to insure the medication is making the impact expected.