If you are diagnosed with diabetes as an adult, you have diabetes type 2. When a child develops the disease it is called diabetes type 2. Sadly, the number of people with this disease increases each decade. Today about 5% of the world’s population has diabetes.

While there is no cure for diabetes that we know of, there are ways to prevent it. The key is to take care of yourself. Not only must you exercise regularly and avoid too much sugar, but you must also eat plenty of fiber and eat low carbohydrate foods.

Complications with Diabetes

If you have this disease, there are things you can do to minimize your risk of suffering further complications. People with diabetes have a higher chance of heart disease, kidney failure, teeth and gum diseases, and blindness. This is a very serious disease that requires respect and concern. If it is not managed, it will take its toll on your health.

Those with the disease are two to four times more likely to have a stroke or heart attack. They also have a higher risk for infections with their feet. If left untreated, these infections can result in amputation.

Blood Sugar Levels Explained

According to the American Diabetes Association your blood sugar falls under 100 you do not have diabetes. If your blood sugar test result is between 100 and 125 you have prediabetes, and if the result is 126 or above you have diabetes. If you have prediabetes you need to work with your doctor to keep your blood sugar level from going any higher.

If you are diagnosed with this disease your doctor will be doing an A1C test to get the average blood sugar reading. The American Diabetes Association recommends that this level not exceed 7.0. It is very important that you make appointments and keep them on a regular basis.

Importance of Daily Exercise

Regular, daily exercise is extremely important for keeping your blood sugar levels consistently low. If you do not have thirty minutes at one time each day, at least try to exercise three times a day for ten minutes. Any amount of exercise you can do will help.

For each 1% you can reduce your level it is believed that you can reduce your risk of various health problems by 40%. That should give you a great incentive for following your doctor’s advice.

Do Not Skip Meals

If you are living with diabetes then skipping meals will not benefit you in any way. Your body needs the food to signal the pancreas and liver to do their jobs. After eating the body tells the pancreas to increase the insulin output. The body also tells the liver to shut down making more sugar. Unless you eat, the body does not send out these signals.

For those with this disease, these signals are less pronounced than in people who do not have diabetes. By eating small amounts throughout the day you keep your insulin levels in balance and prevent spiking or dropping.

If you are not eating enough you can become nervous, dizzy, light-headed and shaky. You might begin to have trouble speaking with correct sentences. This condition is called hypoglycemia and is caused by low blood sugar levels.

Alcohol and Diabetes

The prescription drugs taken with diabetes can have undesirable problems when alcohol is consumed. Therefore it is very important to not drink any alcohol or at least to drastically reduce the amount you ingest if you have diabetes type 2.

By taking this disease seriously and managing the kinds of foods and the timing of meals and snacks as well as making time for a daily exercise routine, you can overcome the problems and live a long life.

For more information on diabetes and how you can prevent it or minimize its effects if you have it, visit http://www.thehealthandfitnesssite.com
 

Technorati Tags: exercise, health

Share This

After all, it’s epidemic in the US now. Hundreds of thousands of people get it every year. It has moved into the top 10 killers of people. It’s not contagious. You do not get it from a sneeze or not taking you vitamins.

You get Diabetes from being overweight. This is Type two Diabetes. It usually occurs after age 40. The overweight person circulates sugar in his bloodstream continuously because he is taking in too many calories. Sugar in the bloodstream causes the production of insulin in the pancreas. The insulin helps get the sugar into the cells so that they can be burned for fuel. This continuous production of insulin can have two results. The cells that produce insulin can get “burned out”. They just can not make enough insulin any more. Or the part of the cell that works with the insulin to burn sugar gets “burned out” from over use. Either way, the body can not get the sugar it needs.

What are the effects [symptoms] of Diabetes? You are tired because your body can not use sugar [almost all the foods we eat get turned into sugar]. You are thirsty [the body tries to lower the sugar level by adding water]. You urinate a lot [you just drank a lot of water].

Diabetes causes blindness,gangrene [yes gangrene, the limbs feet, hands, etc. die because they do not get enough blood and food]. Yes, Diabetes will kill you if nothing else does first.

How do YOU avoid Diabetes? Calorie restriction and exercise. That is right. You need to keep your weight down. Controlling your calorie intake and exercise are the only ways to avoid diabetes. If you do not take the calories in then you do not need to burn them off. Exercise is essential to burn calories and improve muscle tone.

In summary;the only way to avoid Diabetes is to keep your weight down.

Good Luck

Ray

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ray_Sipe

Technorati Tags: exercise

Share This

Upper back pain can be just as painful and difficult to tolerate and live with as lower back pain. It is essential that there are exercises available for people with upper back discomfort. Following a simple and easy to understand exercise regimen for upper back pain can be a productive way to reduce your discomfort.

Proper exercises can be obtained from books, video, medical professionals, and online sources. However, when starting out with an exercise program to help reduce the pain it could be helpful to have a professional like a physical therapist or trainer to go through the exercises with you first.

The professional may be able to offer some simple and easy tips for exercises that are specific to your condition or illness. Then once the exercises are learned you can continue the process at home and not necessarily always have to return to the medical professional’s office.

Some upper back pain relief exercises that are quite easy to follow involve some very simple stretching motions. The exercises can become more intense and offer more of a stretch when they include the arms and shoulders.

The first exercise is pulling your shoulder blades back, moving them towards each other, and then stretching your arms out to the side to open the rib cage. The upper back should be pushed forward when this is done and that will alleviate some of the tension which could be causing pain. The muscles in the front and the back of the spine are stretched and then this does a few things. It increases circulation, strengthens muscles, and relaxes the muscles.

The second set of exercises are following the same as the first exercise but stretching the arms above the head. This allows a deeper stretch and therefore may provide more relief. The more the upper back is flatted, the more intense the stretch, and then the more relief that can be obtained.

The upper back is typically where people carry their stress. This stress caused pain can be alleviated often by following upper back pain relief exercises. It is always a positive thing when medications and intense expensive therapies are not needed. Many people who get upper back pain will practice yoga in order to not only relieve the pain, but it’s also productive in preventing upper back pain from happening again.

This is especially true when the pain is caused by stress. The meditative elements of yoga make for a peaceful and calm atmosphere. Yoga gyms and places of practice can be found in your local directory. The professionals there can offer advice on back pain reduction as well.

John Groth is a back pain sufferer who has solved his back problems. For more valuable information on Upper Back Pain Relief and for a free report on the Relief of Back Pain, you’ll also find guides on his web site on a full range of Back Pain Solutions

Technorati Tags: exercise

Share This

10. Exercising is the “Fountain of Youth”… it can reverse the natural decline in metabolism that begins around age thirty. As we enter our 30’s, about ½ pound of muscle is lost each year and replaced by fat. A pound of muscle burns more calories than a pound of fat. Which means…

9. Your body will burn more calories when you’re sitting on your muscular buttocks than if you’re sitting on your “big fat butt”…Muscle is an active tissue that burns 30 to 50 calories per pound at rest each day. A pound of fat only burns three calories per day.

8. Get Fit! Get Happy!…Exercising elevates your mood. Studies have shown that lifting weights provides some of the same benefits as anti-depressant medication but without the side effects (except improved self-esteem and self-confidence.)

7. To keep from saying “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”… Exercising improves

your balance and coordination.

6. If you do fall you’re more likely to get up uninjured…Lifting weights strengthens

muscles and connective tissues, decreasing the likelihood of injury.

5. You did fall and you couldn’t get up…Exercising helps with recovery and rehabilitation. The stronger you are the faster you recover. Pumping iron has also been

shown to help ease the pain of some forms of arthritis… by as much as 40 percent!

4. Your Mom told you to sit up straight…and she would want you to lift weights because it strengthens the abdominal and back muscles that support your spine, which

improves your posture.

3. Someone told you to “break a leg”…Exercising increases bone density and

reduces your risk of developing osteoporosis.

2. You want your heirs to live well on their inheritance… but not any time soon…the Framingham Heart Study, which has followed over 5,000 residents of Framingham, Massachusetts over four decades (and still going), has shown that people who exercised vigorously for 30 minutes five days per week, lived almost 4 years longer than their peers, with good health in their later years. People who walked 5 days per week added 1.3 to 1.5 years to their lives.

1. It’s never too late to start…See reason #10…Studies on the elderly show weight training causes significant increases in strength, muscle growth, and quality of life, even for people starting to exercise in their 80’s or 90’s. But why wait until you’re 90 to improve your quality of life??? Start today!
Click Here!

Technorati Tags: exercise, health

Share This

How many times have you gone to sleep at night, swearing you’ll go to the gym in the morning, and then changing your mind just eight hours later because when you get up, you don’t feel like exercising?

While this can happen to the best of us, it doesn’t mean you should drop the ball altogether when it comes to staying fit. What people need to realize is that staying active and eating right are critical for long-term health and wellness — and that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The more you know about how your body responds to your lifestyle choices, the better you can customize a nutrition and exercise plan that is right for you. When you eat well, increase your level of physical activity, and exercise at the proper intensity, you are informing your body that you want to burn a substantial amount of fuel. This translates to burning fat more efficiently for energy.
In other words, proper eating habits plus exercise equals fast metabolism, which, in turn gives you more energy throughout the day and allows you to do more physical work with less effort.

The true purpose of exercise is to send a repetitive message to the body asking for improvement in metabolism, strength, aerobic capacity and overall fitness and health. Each time you exercise, your body responds by upgrading its capabilities to burn fat throughout the day and night, Exercise doesn’t have to be intense to work for you, but it does need to be consistent.

I recommend engaging in regular cardiovascular exercise four times per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session, and resistance training four times per week for 20 to 25 minutes per session. This balanced approach provides a one-two punch, incorporating aerobic exercise to burn fat and deliver more oxygen, and resistance training to increase lean body mass and burn more calories around the block.

Here’s a sample exercise program that may work for you:

* Warm Up — seven to eight minutes of light aerobic activity intended to increase blood flow and lubricate and warm-up your tendons and joints.

* Resistance Training — Train all major muscle groups. One to two sets of each exercise. Rest 45 seconds between sets.

* Aerobic Exercise — Pick two favorite activities, they could be jogging, rowing, biking or cross-country skiing, whatever fits your lifestyle. Perform 12 to 15 minutes of the first activity and continue with 10 minutes of the second activity. Cool down during the last five minutes.

* Stretching — Wrap up your exercise session by stretching, breathing deeply, relaxing and meditating.

When starting an exercise program, it is important to have realistic expectations. Depending on your initial fitness level, you should expect the following changes early on.

* From one to eight weeks — Feel better and have more energy.

* From two to six months — Lose size and inches while becoming leaner. Clothes begin to fit more loosely. You are gaining muscle and losing fat.

* After six months — Start losing weight quite rapidly.

Once you make the commitment to exercise several times a week, don’t stop there. You should also change your diet and/or eating habits,’ says Zwiefel. Counting calories or calculating grams and percentages for certain nutrients is impractical. Instead, I suggest these easy-to-follow guidelines:

* Eat several small meals (optimally four) and a couple of small snacks throughout the day
* Make sure every meal is balanced — incorporate palm-sized proteins like lean meats, fish, egg whites and dairy products, fist-sized portions of complex carbohydrates like whole-wheat bread and pasta, wild rice, multigrain cereal and potatoes, and fist-sized portions of vegetable and fruits
* Limit your fat intake to only what’s necessary for adequate flavor
* Drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water throughout the day
* I also recommend that you take a multi-vitamin each day to ensure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

Enjoy life, we all deserve it.

Technorati Tags: diet, exercise, fitness, health, wellness

Share This