Diabetes

Preventing Diabetes

Before scientists discovered the insulin hormone in the year of 1921, the diabetes mellitus type 1 was a very fatal disease which had always led to the death of the sufferers and it would only take about a few years to actually die. However, ever since the hormone was discovered, things have been going in a very different direction.
There is now actually a number of ways that people can do in order to keep away from the diabetes mellitus disease. The first way may be started by living a normal healthy life. This means that people should follow a plan for healthy eating besides doing exercises as well as taking insulin.

People should attempt to obtain well-balanced insulin within the food they eat and the lifestyle they live. The insulin intake amount that is recommended is the one which has a close link with the amount of food one consumes and that also applies to when you eat. Besides food, the daily activities one does should also pay attention on the intake amount of the insulin hormone.
Going to the doctor periodically for a check up on blood sugar level is as well recommended. The so-called A1C blood check is capable of telling how much the average glucose level in someone’s body is over a period of two to three months.

A good thing to do, and it is recommended, is to prevent the cardiovascular disease from developing in our bodies. Yet, a diabetic, those who suffer from diabetes, are more vulnerable to this kind of disease. Therefore, it is crucial for them to monitor their cholesterol level as well as blood pressure at a regular interval. But it is as well a good thing to do even for the non-diabetics.
There are several things that can help prevent cardiovascular disease — healthy food or meals, doing exercise and keeping down the weight. It is important to keep in mind that some diabetics may require medication for this.

People who smoke have a higher risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases. This is possible because smoking may cause a very serious effect to humans’ cardiovascular health. Due to this, a diabetic is strictly forbidden to smoke. If the diabetics or the people who suffer from this disease of diabetes mellitus did smoke, then it is about time they quit smoking in order to be able to get over the disease or at least to prevent the disease from getting worse.
If preferred, there are healthcare professionals who offer their services out there. They can provide guides on how to keep away from diabetes. In lots of other countries, though, general practitioner as well as family doctor and primary care physician are also offering this as a regular care coverage. Besides those practitioners whom are just mentioned, there are as well endocrinologists, nurses, diabetitians, pediatricians, cardiologists, internists, sports specialists, optometrists, ophthalmologists, podiatrists as well as many of the others that are available out there.

For pregnant women, obstetricians are the most appropriate people for them to see since they specialize in gestational diabetes. To give further help with this, there are as well pediatricians whose expertise is in caring for diabetic mothers’ infants.
The important points in keeping away from diabetes is that people should control their blood pressure, the glucose level that flows in their blood and the level of cholesterol contained in their body.

Diabetes Diet

For a diabetes sufferer, it is very important to follow the instructions provided by the doctor regarding proper diabetes diet.

Here is a list of the food items that should be avoided by diabetics.

Sugar, honey and artificial sweeteners are the foods that come first in the list of avoidance for a diabetic. It is allowed to take a sweetener named stevia. It is actually very impossible to remove sugar from your routine diet, so it is recommended to gradually decrease the level of it from your diet.
Try to avoid chocolates and sweets completely. In case you wish to eat them, then opt for the continental dark chocolate which contains 70% of the cocoa solids and neglect the chocolates that contain high amount of sugars.

For a good diabetes diet, the food items containing carbohydrates ending with “ol” or “ose” like glucose, fructose, dextrose and many more should be avoided. Do not take biscuits, cakes, tarts, wheat, rice, barley, breakfast cereals, corn, pasta, bread and similar items in order to control the diabetes. There are some vegetables containing high amount of carbohydrates and starch such as carrots, potatoes, beet, beans, parsnips, peas and such.
The diabetic patient needs to avoid fruits such as banana, mangoes, water melon, grapes, sugarcane, jackfruit, strawberry and chikoos.

Regarding the milk products, it is advisable to take the milk in very small quantity. Cheese and yogurts should not be taken by the diabetic as they contain a large amount of fat. Make a habit of taking considerable amount of tea or coffee as well as the required quantity of sugar so that the sugar level in your body does not get increased.
The diabetic should not prefer to take junk foods or snacks available outside. Such food items have much more amount of calories.
Fruit juices are also not advisable in the diabetes diet as they contain high amounts of carbohydrates. If you really love to drink fruit juices, then take one part of the fruit juice and mix 3-4 parts of water in it to reduce the content of sugar.

The diabetic should not prefer saturated fats like dairy products, fatty meat, butter and many such fat containing products. You require unsaturated fats such as corn oil, soya oil, sunflower oil, or olive oil.

You might ask yourself — if the above food items are not suitable for the diabetic patient, then are there any food items left to eat? The answer is yes. The most important thing to be precise while preparing a diabetes diet — you should distribute the fruits, vegetables and other food items according to the levels of sugar, fat and carbohydrates.

American Diabetes Association Diet

For a diabetic, healthy food and nutritious diet is very important. The American Diabetes Association Diet has been recommended for all the diabetic patients all over the country by the ADA. These diet guidelines are very helpful to the patients as they ensure that they are eating healthy foods. The detailed information of the required vitamins and minerals are also provided by the ADA diet.

The American Diabetes Association has noticed that the food taken by the diabetic patients in their routine diet consists from the 4 groups of food items. One of the groups is proteins containing food such as eggs, fish, meat, nuts, poultry, dried beans and peanut butter. The other group is of the dairy products like skim milk, low fat milk, yogurt and cottage cheese. There is another group of breads, whole grains and cereals. The last group contains fruits and vegetables.
If all the diabetic patients follow their daily diet according to the American Diabetes Association Diet as mentioned above, then they can receive maximum nutrients which help to maintain good health. Most of the food items contain important nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, fats and minerals.

As suggested by the American Diabetes Association Diet, the carbohydrates are the best sources that provide good amount of energy to the body. There have been two types of carbohydrates – good and bad. The items like lentils, beans, cereals and whole grains are included in the good carbohydrates.

The intake of proteins is also very essential for proper and healthy growth of the body. They help in maintaining the blood glucose level. If a person is having low level of blood glucose, then intake of proteins as well as carbohydrates is advisable. The carbohydrates help to increase the level of blood glucose whereas the proteins maintain the level of glucose in the blood and do not allow falling down.
As per the American Diabetes Association Diet, the fibrous food products as well as the food containing low index of glycemic are considered to be healthy for the diabetic patients. Peas, beans, whole grains and many such are included in the fibrous foods which help to reduce the levels of blood glucose and blood fats. The diet recommended by ADA also contains fats but in appropriate quantities.
There are certain things to be avoided which have been listed in the ADA diet. The food products containing high amount of fats should be avoided. Try to choose the meat that has low level of fat content. Olive oil and flax oil are advisable to be used for cooking. The diabetic patients should drink milk having low fats rather than drinking the whole milk. Make sure to remove the chicken skin before eating.
Try to avoid the diet that contains high amount of salt. The considerable amount of sodium in the diet is useful. While using the canned soups, ensure the ingredients of salt. The intake of sugar is totally eliminated from the ADA diet. The diabetic patients should not consume sugar coated cereals, syrup, table sugar, soda packed in cans etc.

Symptoms of Diabetes

Diabetes is considered to be a silent killer which enters into your life without any signs in the initial stage. It is a chronic disease which generally affects people of the middle age and the old age group. In rare cases, diabetes can affect the kids. This disorder happens due to a dysfunction of the endocrine system. It becomes very necessary to have the knowledge about the symptoms of diabetes in order to prevent yourself from getting into contract with it.

There are two types of diabetes — type 1 and type 2. In the first type, the production of insulin gets stopped in the patient’s body, and is found even in children. In the second type of diabetes, even though the insulin generation is proper in the body, the sugar or glucose level in the blood is uncontrollable. This type of diabetes is more to happen in adults. Due to this, the blood sugar does not get reduced even with the help of insulin. In pregnant women, the type of diabetes found is known as gestational diabetes.

One of the common symptoms of diabetes is known as the triple “P” syndrome. In this, the first P is for Polyurea in which the patient experiences frequent urination in short intervals of time. The second P stands for Polydipsia meaning frequent thirstiness and excessive drinking of water at very short intervals. The last P is for polyphagia meaning frequent hunger. The patient gets hungry in a short period after the meal.

Other symptoms of diabetes include lack of stamina, swelling of the face, weight loss, frequent sweating and fatigue. If you experience sudden weight loss of your body without any changes in your diet, then this can be a symptom of diabetes. Moreover, the immune system of the body is lowered due to which the cells try breaking the muscles of various body parts in order to get the energy. Due to this, there is loss of weight as well as high risk of getting infected by any fungal or bacterial infections. There are sometimes problems in the healing process in which even a small wound can take a long time to get recovered. One of the other common symptoms found is the blurry vision or there may be spots in the visual part.

These symptoms of diabetes are caused due to increase in the level of blood glucose which does not get completely processed by the insulin of the body. Due to this, there is deposition of the glucose in the body which increases the thirst. Drinking more water can help in diluting the extra glucose of the body. Insulin is a hormone secreted from the pancreas whose function is to absorb the extra glucose present in the body.

With diabetes being a deadly disease, it is very necessary to take precautions against the above mentioned symptoms of diabetes right from its early stage. When the complications in the diabetes are found, then it can cause various diseases in different parts of the body like kidneys, eyes, nervous system which can make the situation more crucial.

Causes of Diabetes

Diabetes (type 2), in simple terms, is when the insulin produced in the body fails to make proper use of it due to which the level of glucose in the blood increases. At this time, the body is said to be resistant to insulin. The other situation for diabetes is insufficient production of insulin in the body. This results in the deposition of sugar in the blood because glucose is not converted into energy which acts as the fuel for the body (type 1).

It has been very difficult to find the exact causes of diabetes, even though many research projects have been done. Some factors have been found which can cause diabetes. These factors when detected should be immediately treated properly.

One of the basic causes of diabetes is poor or improper diet. The diet containing high amount of fats and carbohydrates is not harmful to the body but it hinders the functioning of the pancreas. Due to this, the generation of insulin in the pancreas reduces which in turn increases the level of blood sugar thereby becoming the victim of diabetes.

Obesity is also considered to be one of the major causes of diabetes. There is a dysfunction of insulin in the person suffering from obesity because the tissue cells are resistant to insulin.
Diabetes can even be caused due to heavy stress or tensions. People suffer from different types of stress. Heavy work load and hectic schedules make the life of a person very busy and stressful. There can be emotional stress in the life of people. All these disturb the metabolism of the body. More worries and nervousness can also affect the blood sugar level which can cause diabetes. The rise in the blood pressure due to hypertension has proved to be directly affecting the diabetes.

Frequent smoking has worse effects on the body causing diabetes. Such smokers can also be affected by the diabetic retinopathy which is a disease affecting the eyes.
The person having inactive lifestyle has more chances of contracting with the diabetes. Such person should make a habit of doing the exercises for three or more times in a week in order to release from the contract of diabetes.

Age factor has been one of the causes of diabetes. Nowadays, diabetes is found in any age group of people but, mostly found in middle age and old age due to less practice of exercises.
From various research studies, diabetes has been found to be a hereditary disease. There are more chances of the child inheriting diabetes if both parents are diabetic.

There have been no answers for the question of why the pancreas sometimes stops secreting insulin in the body. But, one of the possible causes of diabetes is the infections in the pancreas which affects the production of insulin. It has been found that virus can attack the pancreas which affects the cells producing insulin. The stomach viruses as well as the bacteria are responsible for various kinds of damages which enable the ability to transmit proper signals to the liver. Such types of pathogens are usually found in the food products containing high amount of sugar. Glucose is also the best food for these micro-organisms.