Millions of Americans have diabetes but at least one-third of them don’t know it and are in danger of suffering from complications like myocardial infarction (damage of the heart muscle), stroke, renal failure and blindness.

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by persistent thirst, excessive urination, weight loss and too much sugar in the blood and urine. Women are more likely to get the disease after 40, especially if they are overweight. But diabetes can strike anyone - young and old alike - as long as the conditions are right.

The Greeks observed that its victims urinated more often than normal people do, and gave the disease its name which means “to run through.” In the 17th century, the word mellitus (sweet) was added to distinguish the disorder from diabetes insipidus which is associated with the malfunctioning of the pituitary gland.

There are two types of diabetes mellitus: the insulin-dependent or type I diabetes and non-insulin-dependent or type II. The first one is caused by lack of insulin which is produced in the pancreas. Normally, food-sugars and starches (carbohydrates) are changed into the sugar glucose, the body’s prime source of energy which is carried by the blood throughout the body. This is stored in the form of glycogen in the liver and muscles for later use.

For the storage and recoversion of glucose, insulin is needed. This regulates the amount of sugar in the blood. If the body produces too little insulin, sugar accumulates in the bloodstream, leading to diabetes.

Because the patient can’t make use of previously stored glycogen unless he or she has insulin, the diabetic uses stored body fat. This explains why diabetics lose weight even though they eat a lot.

Type I diabetes can occur at any age but usually begins at childhood - the reason why it’s called juvenile diabetes. This accounts for about 10 percent of cases, according to Kurt Butler and Dr. Lynn Rayner of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii in “The Best Medicine.”

Type II diabetes is the scourge of overweight people over 35. Millions of people have it but aren’t aware of it since it begins slowly and there may be no symptoms. Others may experience the following: thirst, frequent urination, decreased libido, blurred vision, headache, itching, loose teeth, infection, abscessed gums, weakness and fatigue.

Unlike type I diabetes which is caused by the severe lack of insulin, the person with type II diabetes may have enough insulin but this is not used properly by the body.

“The basic problem is insufficient insulin and relative sensitivity to it. There is a risk of severe visual, circulatory, and nerve complications, though not as great as in type I,” Butler and Rayner added.

For type I diabetes, Butler and Rayner said the replacement of insulin is often necessary while type II can be controlled by diet and exercise alone. Since many obese diabetics have more insulin than non-diabetics, the trick is to lose fat so their bodies can use insulin. One good way to prevent diabetes is to say in shape. To keep fit, take Phenocal - a safe, natural, and effective weight loss supplement that boosts your metabolism, suppresses your appetite, reduces food cravings, and increases energy levels to give you the body you want. Visit http://www.phenocal.com for details.

Janet Martin is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premiere online news magazine http://www.thearticleinsiders.com

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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
 

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Excess sugar and stress are the two main cause of diabetes. This excess sugar causes the pancreas to secrete high levels of insulin. Insulin removes this excess sugar out of the bloodstream, converts it to fat and stores it in fat cells.

What’s the cause of insulin resistance?

Insulin becomes less efficient to process sugar due to increase in fat cell. This triggers insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes. Pancreas ability to secrete natural insulin hampers in this case.

Source of Glucose

Source of glucose is carbohydrates. Fruits and vegetables are the best source of sugar because these are natural fructose sugars.

Threat from sucrose

Man made foods such as candies, soft drinks, breads, processed meats, pastries have high sugar and these are dangerous. These foods enter straight into the blood stream and increase sugar level immediately.

Glucose that is not immediately burned for energy, stored as fat in fat cells by Insulin. In the process, blood sugar begins to drop and you started feeling hungry.

Solution to maintain your blood sugar

First recommendation is to eat carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans, which digest more slowly.

Proper diet increases blood sugar slowly and glucose is available as energy for several hours. Benefit is glucose is not needed to rush in to turn the sugar into fat.

Blood sugar level stays even and excess sugar does not have to be stored as fat; you don’t feel hungry just a few hours after eating. Added benefit is some carbohydrates contain nutrients such as fiber, which also help you lose and control weight, and remove waste from your colon.

Most Important point to remember to control blood sugar

Proper diet and moderate exercise is must to remain healthy. Junk food skyrockets your blood sugar. Unfortunately, this is often overlooked in diet plans.

Millions are people are suffering from diabetes and cholesterol across the globe. I too was suffering from cholesterol and hypertension for last few years. I was sick and tired of living on medicine, finally I decided to look for alternative medicine. Finally, I managed to reduce my blood sugar, hypertension with those simple techniques within 63 days. If you are suffering from high blood pressure and interested to manage it, visit the link on managing hypertension in natural process. Are you one of those 30% who don’t know they have the diabetes?

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More than 1 out of every 10 Americans has high blood pressure. Many of those who have high blood pressure do not know it. This is a uniquely silent disease. There are no symptoms until it is too late; the catastrophe of a heart attack or stroke is all too often the first indication of a problem.
We monitor our body’s condition all the time. We watch for pain and notice subtle changes in the way we feel. However, one of the most critical aspects of our health, our blood pressure, is silent and impossible to monitor without help. We are used to finding a blood pressure monitor inside the doctor’s office. We have all had the cuff of a blood pressure monitor strapped around our arm as the doctor or nurse pumps it up to check our blood pressure.

What many people do not understand is they can do exactly the same with a modern blood pressure monitor. Taking your blood pressure is a simple exercise. A blood pressure monitor is a simple device and getting the results is easy. Then if there is a problem, you can go to a medical practitioner for further tests.

People think they are not used to using the same equipment they see in the hospitals. Few of us have friends who own a blood pressure monitor unless their doctor has advised them. However, we have many medical related things in our houses. A thermometer is always part of our medical supplies. Who would think of being without one? We have other first aid supplies like gauze and bandages. So why not a blood pressure monitor?

In fact, the truth is, whether you are are over forty or in your twenties, you should regularly monitor your blood pressure and it is safe and easy with your own blood pressure monitor.

Perhaps part of the apprehension of owning your own blood pressure monitor is that it looks a bit complicated when the doctor or nurse checks your pressure. Many think blood pressure machines are cost-prohibitive. This couldn’t be further from the truth. With advances in technology and consideration of the user, these new home blood pressure monitors are easy to operate for everyone. Furthermore, there are many types of monitors to choose from, including automatic or manual blood pressure monitors, wrist bp monitors, specialty and even pediatric blood pressure monitors.

There are models that require you strap the cuff around your hand or wrist. The least expensive types need you to pump up the cuff with the bulb all of us have seen our doctors do. However, the results are electronically displayed just like on a calculator. Many of these models are small, lightweight, and battery powered. Some of the simplest models are worn around your wrist like an oversized wristwatch. There is absolutely nothing to do with this style of blood pressure monitor except to wear it.

In addition to blood pressure, some models even measure heart rate. Best of all, everyone can afford a quality home blood pressure monitor. Prices start from well under $50, but if you’re searching for one that contains all the features to monitor your health, consider a premium model.

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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

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