Signs of diabetes – information and diabetes management

Diabetes is a quite common disease, and it affects vast numbers of people. A lot of people get depressed when they discover they have diabetes. Living a healthy way of life after being identified as having diabetic issues is an essential part of managing the condition.

Dieting and Exercise Are Essential To Diabetics’ Chances Of Living A Long, Healthy Life

Every person diagnosed with diabetes is told that diet and exercise is the keyway in which to control the condition. After all, insulin shots and medications will only go so far. If you want to live a healthy life with your diabetes, you must get regular exercise and follow a healthy diet. For many type 2 people living with diabetes, this type of lifestyle can lead to a reversal of their diabetes.

Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to use medications or use insulin shots to control your diabetes? If this is something important to you, then you need to create a healthy lifestyle plan that includes a good diet and regular exercise.

A Grim Outlook

When a person with diabetes fails to gain control over their condition, it can lead to an array of other health problems including but not limited to:

• Blindness
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Infections
• Kidney disease
• Slow healing or never healing wounds
• Stroke

In severe cases, people may lose a limb or go into a diabetic coma. However, with a proper diet and exercise plan, you can control your diabetes and have better overall health.

There’s no reason to feel as your diabetes controls your life because it doesn’t. You don’t have to let it dictate your present or future. If you make some easy changes in your life, you will see results you never thought were possible. You can live a very productive life, whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

Regain Control Of Your Health By Incorporating Diet and Exercise

Most people, when they hear the word “diet,” begin to think negatively about it. In their minds, it’s the deprivation of foods they enjoy or eating bland-tasting foods. They may even think they’ll starve.

However, a “real” diet means to develop a well-thought-out food plan that allows you to eat “junk” food now and then but only if you realize how these foods will hinder your diabetic eating plan. You’ll need to make some adjustments to your plan since these junk foods can cause your blood sugar levels to spike if you don’t control them. Out of control, blood sugar levels can have a detrimental impact on your health.

Besides your diabetes eating plan, you need to have a good understanding of how foods affect your blood sugar levels. This will help you to decide which foods you can keep eating and which foods need to be avoided. Some foods you need to get rid of altogether include:

• Refined grains (bread, rice, and pasta)
• Fruit-flavored yogurt
• Maple syrup and honey
• Dried fruit
• Soft drinks

These foods can increase one’s chance of developing type 2 diabetes and lead to inflammation.

How Many People Are Estimated To Have or Will Have Diabetes?

Several decades ago, the World Health Organization said diabetes was not a very common disease in both developing and developed countries. Times have certainly changed. Today, there is an estimated 143+ million people who have it, and the number is suspected to rise to more than 220 million people in 2020 if the trend continues as it has been.

In just the U.S., 6.3 percent of people (or 18.2 million individuals) are living with the condition. Another 13 million people are diagnosed with the disease. However, 5.2 million people have no idea that they have it. For developed countries, the majority of people with diabetes are over the age of 60. For developing countries, on the other hand, people in their prime are afflicted with the disease.

It’s important that you understand what diabetes is so that you can live a healthier lifestyle and avoid being diagnosed with it (if possible).

A Better Understanding Of What Diabetes Is

The scientific name for diabetes is Diabetes Mellitus, which comes from the Greek word “Diabeinein,” which means to pass through. Think constant urination. The world Mellitus derives from the Latin language, which means “sweetened with honey. Both words are describing sugar in the urine.

When a person has diabetes, it means their body is unable to produce or adequately make use of insulin. This is a hormone that the body needs to control sugar, starch and other foods that transform into glucose the body needs for energy.

The pancreas is the organ that produces and releases insulin into the blood – to ensure blood sugar levels stay in a healthy range. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the normal range of blood sugar is 60-100mg (before eating and known as the Fasting Blood Glucose). Although there are many demands for glucose in various situations, the level hardly ever surpasses this level.

After eating food, the liver will store the food’s glucose as glycogen, releasing into the blood supply between mealtimes. Insulin’s role is to control the storage and release the glucose. This makes sure the amount of glucose in the body will not exceed or fall below the accepted range.

The WHO agency has listed five classifications of diabetes:

• Bronze Diabetes
• Diabetes Insipidus
• Gestational Diabetes
• Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) – Type 1 Diabetes
• Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus – Type 2 Diabetes

How Does Type 2 Diabetes Develop and Affect The Body

The International Diabetes Federation estimates that 415 million around the world has diabetes, with the number anticipated to hit 632 million by 2030. That’s 10 percent of the world’s population to have this condition.

It’s true that every six seconds, a person with diabetes dies with more than half of them being people younger than 60 years old.

Understanding Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is the most common kind of diabetes – making up about 90 percent of all cases.

Glucose gives muscles the power they need, which the digestive process produces and delivers via the bloodstream. However, insulin is necessary to open cell receptors, which will allow the glucose to enter. The pancreas is what releases insulin when needed.

With type 2 diabetes, the pancreas produces the insulin for the open receptors, but they cannot absorb them because of the fat. With type 1 diabetes, however, the pancreas is unable to produce insulin.

In type 2 diabetes, which is considered a lifestyle disease, a lack of exercise and bad diet is the culprit. It’s usually the result of eating way too much-processed food with a copious amount of fat, salt, and sugar combined with a sedentary lifestyle.

Reports from the IDF say that type 2 diabetes is no longer happening in just first-world countries but also third-world ones including parts of Africa.

How Much Will It Cost To Treat Diabetes

The price tag for treating diabetes is more than too little and less than too much. According to the IDF, diabetes is tied to 12 percent of worldwide healthcare, with some countries seeing a fifth of all healthcare costs related to the illness.

This isn’t that big of a shock, though. Most people do not realize they have type 2 diabetes until it hits the advanced stages. There are very few recognizable symptoms in the early stages. One in two people around the world does not even know they have diabetes. It’s not until the disease is in its advanced stages that they learn they have it and needed to take medications daily to control the condition.

Up until then, diet and exercise are the primary ways to treat it (maybe even reverse it).

How Can This Late Diagnosis Be Avoided?

A primary way in which to avoid the possibility of late diagnosis is to have the government start imposing mandatory screening. Perhaps doctors can come up with some quick non-invasive diagnostic tools that can predict a person’s chance of developing diabetes – no blood tests needed and can be carried out during a yearly check-up.

The Connection Between Diabetes and Exercise: Why It’s So Important?

There are 21 million people in the U.S. who have diabetes with another 6.2 million oblivious to the fact that they have the disease.

Based on information from the American Diabetes Association, people who have diabetes pay 2.3 times more in medical expenses than people without diabetes. The Population Health Management believes diabetes costs the healthcare industry $218 billion.

However, the majority of diabetes cases can be prevented through a healthy lifestyle – exercise and diet.

Of course, you have to take that in for a minute – 6.2 million people don’t know they have diabetes and 57 million people with pre-diabetes. If the pre-diabetics knew how to take care of their health, then they may never develop type 2 diabetes.

A person who is pre-diabetic can stop themselves from getting full-blown type II diabetes. By losing weight and increasing exercise, you can reverse the damage and bring the glucose back to normal.

This is what most people don’t understand – a proper diet and exercise can stop a person from developing diabetes.

What are the signs of diabetes? You may see symptoms of diabetes in your family and friends without even realizing it. It’s possible that people you know have diabetes and don’t even know it.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention believes one in three Americans will get diabetes at some point in their life – staggering numbers if you think about it.

What about those Type 2 diabetics that are diagnosed with their condition? Would they change their ways if they knew diet and exercise could reverse the disease?

Of course, to have all this, it means dismissing the myths and beliefs that impede their chances. The drug companies don’t want people with diabetes to know that diet and exercise plays a huge role in reversing Type II diabetes.

The healthcare system is in real trouble – the nation is in trouble. This is why it’s essential for people to start to take personal responsibility for their health.

Many people who understand what diabetes is still have questions about their health, such as:

• Should they be reducing their sugar intake?
• Is the weight increasing their risk?
• If they are skinny, does this lower their risk?
• Are diet and exercise so important?
• How can blood sugar levels be controlled?

Bear in mind that are some issues that people have no idea what to ask? For example,

• A person who has diabetes for over five years has increased their chances of developing cardiovascular disease.
• Getting regular exercise can improve insulin sensitivity, which allows you to alleviate your medication dosages.

8 Common Health Conditions Associated With Diabetes

When the body is unable to produce insulin, it leads to the disease of diabetes. When the body can’t generate insulin, it disrupts the natural carbohydrate converting process. This disruption can and will lead to an array of health problems, and the longer the disease goes undiagnosed or untreated, the more severe the conditions are.

When your doctor has told you you have diabetes, it’s important to work in close conjunction with him/her to create the best health plan for your particular situation.

Depending on how severe your diabetes condition is, you may need to use prescriptions or go with natural treatments. But, no matter what you have to do, you must incorporate an exercise routine and proper diet in the plan. The key to diabetes management is to reduce the risks of diabetes complications.

What Are The Common Diabetes-Related Illnesses and Diseases?

Now, you may be wondering just what kinds of diseases and illnesses diabetes is responsible for. Some conditions diabetes causes are more severe than diabetes alone. What are some of the many complications diabetes can cause?

Eye Problems

Blurry vision is one of the most common health complications of diabetes. It occurs because the body uses the fluid from other tissues to address the insulin loss. People with diabetes are at an increased risk for blindness.

Kidney Disease

Diabetes symptoms cause the kidneys to work even harder than previously. And, for that reason, the kidneys may be unable to properly filter the waste out of the body. This inability to filter the waste means the kidneys may become damaged and stop working as they should.

Neuropathy/Nerve Damage

The most common diabetes complication is nerve damage that connects the spinal cord to the rest of the body – skin, muscles, blood vessels, etc. If you feel tingling or a loss of sensation in your hands with no known direct cause – cutting off circulation from laying or holding something for too long – it could be that you have diabetes.

Feet Issues

Due to poor circulation and nerve damage diabetes causes, people often have issues with their feet. And, in many cases, will need to have an amputation done if they don’t get control over their diabetes.

Heart Disease

People who have diabetes are at a higher risk of developing heart disease.

Stroke

Another severe complication of diabetes is a stroke. People with diabetes are at a much higher risk of suffering from a stroke.

Skin Problems

People with diabetes tend to suffer from an array of skin problems, but you can prevent and treat them with a well-thought-out health plan.

Gastroparesis

Uncontrolled diabetes can cause gastroparesis, which is when the stomach nerves are damaged, and the stomach is unable to quickly deal with the food in its region. People with this condition tend to suffer from nausea, heartburn, weight loss, bloating, appetite loss, stomach spasms, vomiting (usually of undigested food) and feeling full before eating a meal.

A Healthy Diabetic Diet Consists Of Following The Right Guidelines

When it comes to a healthy diabetic diet, there are a few things you need to do and things that need to be avoided at all costs to ensure your health.

6 Key Do’s Your Diabetic Diet Needs To Include

• Be sure you consume copious amounts of water but eat smaller, more frequent meals.
• Consume good carbs such as whole-grain cereals such as oats, whole wheat flours, and Atta bread due to their being an excellent fiber source. Fiber plays a huge role in controlling your body’s sugar and appetite while also reducing its cholesterol levels.
• Add oils such as flaxseed oil, olive oil, and other healthful oils in cooking. These oils are loaded with omega-3 fats, which increase the body’s good cholesterol.
• Substitute refined sugar with artificial sweeteners such as Stevia, Truvia, etc.
• Consume lean meats such as chicken and fish. Cut out red meat and don’t use the egg yolk – only the white.
• Drink or use only skimmed milk products to reduce calorie consumption and unnecessary fat.

5 Don’ts Of Your Diabetic Diet

• Do not eat refined cereals such as rice, maida, suji, and other similar products.
• Avoid eating certain fruits such as banana, grapes, mangoes, lichi, and others due to their sugar content.
• Do not eat starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, yams, etc.
• Avoid thick or packed soups, fruit juices, pickles, and similar items.
• Exclude saturated fats as much as possible in your diet since diabetes can lead to heart disease.

Add Jamun seeds, Ayurveda methi seeds, and karela to your diet, as they help in reducing your blood sugar level.

What To Know About Sugar and Your Diabetes

People think that sugar is off-limits for anyone who has diabetes (children, especially). However, people with diabetes are advised to consume sugar but in moderate amounts – not excessively. Avoid drinking sugary drinks such as sodas and sweetened juices.

Diabetic children may feel out-of-place if they’re not allowed to have cake and candy from time to time. The key here is moderation so that they can enjoy the pleasures other non-diabetic kids get to. The idea is to watch the different foods eaten along with the sweets, giving them the best of both worlds.

Another prevailing thought is that you can no longer have fried or fatty foods, but once again, it’s all about moderation. So long as the food you eat is well-balanced and you don’t gorge heavily on these foods, there is no reason why you can’t have them from time to time.

Whoever said drinking gourd juice means you can indulge in other foods more often was selling something. Yes, it’s good to have even if it doesn’t taste good, but you don’t need to go overboard with other foods afterward.

10 Ways To Naturally Treat Diabetes (Preventing and Reversing It In Some Cases)

Take Preventive Measures

A fundamental way to decrease the chance of becoming diabetic is to maintain control over your weight.

About 80 percent of people who have type 2 diabetes are overweight/obese. It’s believed obesity causes insulin resistance. Insulin resistance will cause pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Healthy Diet

Once you’ve been told that you have diabetes, it’s time to take control of your diet. The diet is the key to living healthy with diabetes and naturally reversing it (only if you have type 2 diabetes).

The kind of diet you follow will have a considerable impact on your blood sugar levels such as sugar and carbohydrate consumption, as foods with these ingredients are turned into simple sugars known as glucose. Glucose is then released into the body by way of the blood.

The pancreas’ beta cells then produce the insulin hormone, which is in charge of getting rid of the glucose and sending to various bodily cells.

The cells need glucose to fuel the body, giving it the energy required to make it through the day-to-day rigors of life. It’s not uncommon for people with diabetes to suffer from weakness and lethargy because of this very reason.

Since the body isn’t using insulin-like it needs to be – either through the lack of producing enough or insulin resistance – the glucose stays in the blood, and the cells starve from the lack of fuel.

Again, sugar and carbohydrates affect your blood sugar levels, which is why you need to be mindful of any food with them in them – think potatoes, sweet potatoes, cakes, candy, cookies, etc.

The first thing you’ll need to do is eliminate refined carbohydrates and simple sugars from your diet. Be sure to eliminate white bread, white pasta, and white rice from your diet too since these are also made of refined grains. They also don’t have any nutritional value to them and cause blood sugar levels to increase significantly quickly.

They have nothing – like fiber – that allows the body to hold onto them and keep you fuller longer and maintain a steady blood sugar level.

Rather than eating foods with refined carbs, go with complex carbohydrates that ensure the body slowly digests them and can control the blood sugar levels and stop the spikes in blood glucose.

If you’re going to reverse your diabetes, you also need to reduce your sugar consumption intake. Sugar plays a huge role in blood sugar levels, which is why it’s so important to reduce how much sugar you take in.

Add Fiber

Another way to naturally reverse your diabetes is to add fiber to it. Fiber can help in the slow the digestion process down, which reduces the chances of spikes in blood sugar.

Along with fiber, you need to add in complex carbohydrates (as noted above). Some great sources of fiber include vegetables, fruits, beans, and legumes.

Soluble fiber is seen in many different types of food, and once consumed and combined with water, becomes gel-like. This gel-like substance slows down how quickly it goes through the digestive tract, which allows for the control over blood sugar levels.

Fiber is also necessary for any weight loss routine you take up. Fiber will keep you fuller for longer, which means you won’t overeat. This is a good thing for people with diabetes, as most of them are overweight or obese.

The fiber will help in reducing their appetite, allowing them to lose weight while also controlling their blood sugar levels.

Add Cinnamon

Several compounds have proven themselves to reduce blood sugar levels because they help the cells to allow in glucose and adequately use the blood sugar. Cinnamon is one such compound. You can use it in all kinds of foods such as cinnamon apples with peanut butter.

Exercise and Workout Routines

High sugar levels can be reduced by adding in exercise to your daily activities. Not only is diet helpful in lowering blood sugar levels, but exercise is vital too.

There are all kinds of health benefits to exercise; but, most especially, it’s good for your mind, body and soul. People who have diabetes can benefit even further by improving the cells’ sensitivity to insulin, which ensures glucose can move into the cells like needed.

As with any exercise program, you need to talk with your doctor to ensure you can do the exercises you want to do. People with diabetes are often advised to avoid specific exercises due to complication they may have suffered such as vision or foot problems.

Avoid Saturated Fats or Trans Fat Foods

Be sure to dramatically decrease or stop eating foods that have saturated or trans fats in them. Trans fats, which can be found in foods like margarine, are not suitable for anybody – diabetics and non-diabetics. Saturated fats can raise the chances of developing heart disease, and diabetics are at an even higher risk of developing heart disease.

Besides the increased chance of developing heart disease, saturated fats can cause insulin resistance, which means who is not diabetic could become pre-diabetic or type 2 diabetic.

Saturated fats are found in foods such as high-fat dairy products, red meats, etc. Make sure to use healthy fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats) in your diets, which can be found in flaxseed oil, olive oil, olives, cold water fish, seeds, nuts and more.

These minute changes can play a huge role in fighting diabetes.

Get Control Over Stress

It’s essential to get control over stress, as it can increase your blood sugar levels and cause the body to release stress hormones. Another reason stress is bad for the body in that it can cause you to overeat, lack the will to exercise and more. People with diabetes who lower their stress levels have also been able to reduce their blood sugar level.

Create a stress management plan that allows you to focus on the good things in your life – not the stressful ones.

Use Nutritional Supplements

Nutritional supplements can also help you naturally reverse diabetes, as you’re taking in more vitamins and minerals your body needs to be healthy.

They work to decrease the chances of suffering from diabetic illnesses such as eye disease, heart disease and nerve damage. They also help to increase insulin sensitivity and reduce your blood sugar level.

Eat Smaller Meals

A key way to avoid the spikes in blood sugar levels is to increase how often you eat and lower how much you consume at that time. Rather than eating the typical two to three big meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner – eat smaller meals at these times and have a mid-day and mid-afternoon snacks to round out your meals.

Change Your Mindset

The reality is that naturally reversing your diabetes begins by changing your mind and life. If you want to be healthy, you need to take a real interest in your health. You must utilize all the information doctors have been telling you and take back your health.

Be open to the idea of using alternative therapies to control your diabetes. Yes, much of it is going to be trial and error, but you rest assured that the answers you are given will help you to control what you’re currently dealing with.

Bear in mind that controlling your diabetes is great, but certain foods and medications, stress, and more can affect your blood sugar levels significantly.

By being aware of this, you can understand the little bumps in the road and overcome the setbacks a little easier. Don’t allow the delays to thwart your attempts to live a healthier life as a person with diabetes.

If you want to overcome your disease and live with it, you need first to accept it!