Article Title: How To Delay Or Avoid Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease caused by the inability of the body to properly produce insulin, a hormone that helps the body convert food to energy. In type 1 diabetes the body does not produce insulin at all. This type of diabetes is usually diagnosed during childhood. In type 2 diabetes the body does not produce enough insulin or it produces insulin which is ineffective in regulating the body’s blood sugar levels. This type of diabetes is usually diagnosed later in life and is commonly called adult onset diabetes.
Diabetes is an important health concern because incidence of the disease worldwide is increasing. It is also associated with other health risks and is expensive to treat and control. Also, diabetes is a major cause of death worldwide.
The number of cases of diabetes is increasing around the world. The incidence of diabetes in 1995 numbered about 135 million worldwide, about 4.0% of the population. Diabetes affected 170 million people in 2000 and is projected to affect about 300 million people by 2025, about 5.4% of the population. India, China, and the United States have the largest number of cases.
In a recent year direct medical expenses in the United States for diabetes totaled $92 billion, up from $44 billion five years earlier, according to the American Diabetes Association. Another $40 billion was spent on permanent disability expenses. Care for diabetes represents about 11% of the total health care expenditures in the United States. In 1997 annual health care costs for a person with diabetes averaged $10,071 and increased to $13,243 by 2002. That annual rate is more than 5 times greater than the average annual health care costs for a person without diabetes. Also diabetes accounted for an annual loss of about 88 million disability days.
The mortality rate for people with diabetes runs about 5.2% of all deaths according to the World Health Organization. In 2000 about 2.9 million deaths worldwide were caused by diabetes. In another 4.5 million deaths diabetes was a contributing factor.
The good news is that type 2 diabetes can be delayed or prevented from ever developing. Before people develop type 2 diabetes, they nearly always develop the condition known as “pre-diabetes.” This condition occurs when blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Studies have shown that people with a pre-diabetic condition can control the condition with lifestyle changes or with medicine. With reasonable treatment they can greatly increase their chances that they will never develop diabetes.
The American Diabetes Association created a publication called, “The Prevention or Delay of Type 2 Diabetes.” The following are some of the findings and recommendations from the ADA.
About 41 million Americans have the pre-diabetic condition. There are two tests commonly used by physicians to determine whether a person has pre-diabetes. One test is called the fasting plasma glucose test, or FPG, and the other is called the oral glucose tolerance test, or OGTT. Both tests have a normal range and a diabetic range. The range in between indicates the pre-diabetic condition.
The FPG test is more convenient to patients, less expensive, and easier to administer than the OGTT test. On the other hand the OGTT will detect more cases of glucose intolerance and undiagnosed diabetes than the FTP test. Either test should be repeated in 3 year intervals.
Once a diabetic or pre-diabetic condition has been diagnosed, a person has two choices of treatment. One strategy is to use lifestyle modifications such as a change in diet and an increase in physical activity, and the other strategy is to use glucose-lowering drugs that have been approved for treating diabetes. Studies indicate that the drug therapy is about half as effective as the diet and exercise therapy in delaying the onset of diabetes. Lifestyle changes have been proven effective as a way to prevent type 2 diabetes from developing from the pre-diabetic condition. Diet and exercise, in many cases, are able to return the blood glucose levels to the normal range.
Lifestyle changes include a combination of losing 5% to 10% of body weight, reducing total fat calorie intake, reducing saturated fat calorie intake, increasing fiber intake, and exercising at least 150 minutes per week. One study, called the Diabetes Prevention Program study, showed that a treatment using the combination of 30 minutes per day of moderate physical activity and a 5% to 10% reduction in body weight resulted in a 58% reduction in the incidence of diabetes.
The type of physical activity recommended by the ADA includes aerobic exercise, strength training, and flexibility exercises. The goal of the aerobic exercise is to increase heart rate, raise the breathing rate, and exercise the muscles. The goal is to exercise for 30 minutes a day, 5 days per week. The 30 minutes can be split into 10 minute intervals. This type of activity includes brisk walking or running, dancing, swimming or water aerobics, skating, tennis, bike riding, gardening, and house cleaning. Strength training, performed several times a week, helps to build more muscle, making everyday chores easier, and helps to burn more calories, even at rest. Flexibility exercise, simple stretching, helps to keep joints flexible and helps to reduce chances for injury during other activities.
Dietary changes are an important part of a pre-diabetes treatment. A body mass index test (BMI) can be administered and calculated easily. A BMI test result that is greater than 25 means that a person is above their ideal weight and a person with a BMI result greater than 30 is considered obese. The goal in the first instance is to decrease body weight by 5% and in the second instance by up to 10%. It is recommended that a person consult a physician who can help to develop a dietary plan that will achieve the desired weight loss.
The effects of type 2 diabetes are expensive and dangerous to one’s health. Fortunately, diabetes can be delayed or prevented by adopting a reasonable program of diet, weight control, and exercise.
Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of My-Personal-Growth.com, a site that provides information and articles for self improvement and personal growth and development. http://www.my-personal-growth.com
Author: Kevin Sinclair
Author’s Email Address: kevin@ksinclair.com
Article Title: Cure Type 2 Diabetes by Correcting the Cause
Diabetes is one of the biggest money-making diseases on the planet. More than 17 million people in the U.S are currently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. 2,200 more are diagnosed every day. Twenty years ago, type 2 diabetes was a disease that was often called “Maturity Onset” because it was commonly seen in patients over 50. Today, our children are being diagnosed.
There are two main causes for type 2 diabetes. There is either an inadequate supply of insulin being secreted by beta cells in the pancreas or cells in the body are unable to utilize the insulin that is made (insulin resistance).
With type 2 diabetes comes complications. Blindness, amputations, kidney failure, and heart disease are just a few. Pharmaceutical companies make millions daily from the diabetic population. Doctors make money by prescribing drugs to diabetic patients of which many have side-effects that are worse than the disease itself. Thousands die every year from the complications of diabetes.
Millions of dollars are raised every year for a cure for diabetes. Not for type 2. Type 2 diabetes counts for nearly 95% of all cases. Although type 1 is considered more serious, only about 5% of the diabetes population has type 1 diabetes. Yet there is no cure made available for either one. The public is told that a cure is near, that tests on rats suggest a cure could be available in the next decade or so…but what about now?
What would really happen if a man-made cure was made available to the public? Dialysis clinics and entire wings of hospitals would shut down. Pharmaceutical companies would lose billions. Doctors that “specialize” in the treatment of diabetes would be out of a career. Not to mention the money lost in treating the complications of blindness, heart disease and amputations. There is just too much at stake to offer a cure for something that creates so much revenue through so many avenues.
Kevin Trudeau helped expose our crooked healthcare system and in the face of deadly chemical drugs, reignited our faith in natural cures. Herbs, plants, and seeds that have been a staple for many diets all over the world are now sought out for their healing qualities. Times are changing as people from every nation are turning to alternative medicine and gentle herbal remedies, especially for chronic diseases such as diabetes.
Manufactured in Canada and available to the public since 1998, Eleotin is the natural diabetes cure mentioned in Kevin Trudeau’s ‘Natural Cures’ series, scientifically studied in the book ‘Bitter-Sweet Profits’, and seen in many others such as ‘The Natural Cures for Diabetes’.
Eleotin stimulates and restores the basic health of the pancreas. It increases healthy regeneration of beta cells in the pancreas and increases normal insulin secretion. It corrects the causes of type 2 diabetes.
In the book ‘Bitter-Sweet Profits’, a study was performed using Eleotin on 80 severe type 2 diabetics during an 8-month test. Results of that study proved that 70% of those test patients had reversed their type 2 diabetes to normal or near-normal levels within that time frame. The Nanjing Diabetes Association in China calls Eleotin “an ideal cure”.
Prescription drug control vs. gentle herbal cure.
So, can a natural herbal supplement be the answer for type 2 diabetes? For many Eleotin users that answer is a definite “Yes!”
Emily Saar is a recovered type 2 diabetic as a result of using Eleotin and the owner of http://www.BetaTherapy.com. Visit to learn more about Eleotin and the truth about diabetes.
Author: Emily Saar
Author’s Email Address: eleotin@betatherapy.com
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Article Title: Should Diabetes Risk Keep Older Women From Giving Birth?
In the controversy that erupted when the world found out that a 63 year old woman was on her seventh month pregnancy after using IVF to conceive. Although giving birth by women over 50 has increased 24 times over in the last few years, many doctors and laypersons protest, claiming that it is not safe for mother or baby.
The National Health Service currently refuses free IVF treatment to women over 39, forcing would-be mothers over that age to pay for private treatment. However, the HFEA figures reveal that doctors are not adhering to an “unofficial” guideline to refuse treatment to women over the age of 49. The guideline is intended to limit the potential health risks to mother and child.
Amid mounting concern that IVF is being used to extend fertility beyond the limits of what is ethically acceptable, a leading expert yesterday called on the HFEA, which currently allows clinicians to decide on eligibility for IVF, to set an age limit for those who want the treatment.
Also, there is an increased risk of deadly complications such as heart attacks and diabetes, but is this a reason for a woman to give up the dream of motherhood, even if it is ‘late’ in life? Don’t potential complications exist for every birth, regardless of age? (Childbirth is still one of the leading worldwide causes of women’s deaths.) What do you think? Does potential reward outweigh the potential risk?
The effect of diabetes on the severity of illness and risk of death for patients with heart failure is much worse in women than men, the effect being more pronounced in older women (over age 65). Diabetes was associated with a significant increase in the risk of death and hospitalization in patients with heart failure. Women over age 65 had worse outcomes than men or younger women.
That’s what the new research at University of Alabama at Birmingham (led by Ali Ahmed, M.D., MPH, associate professor in the division of gerontology, geriatrics and palliative care and director of UAB’s Geriatric Heart Failure Clinic and Geriatric Heart Failure Research) is telling us: “Our results suggest that heart failure patients should be thoroughly evaluated for the presence of diabetes and if it is present, should be intensively managed based on published guidelines. Further studies should test current interventions and develop new ones to reduce the adverse effects of diabetes in heart failure patients in general, and among older adults in particular.”
Another one is that the death rate of men with diabetes has dropped significantly (in line with the overall decline of the death rate for all Americans), while the death rate for women with diabetes did not decline at all.
The author writes about berberine and blogs at http://www.daily-diabetic.com/.
Author: faye bautista
Author’s Email Address: fayebautista@yahoo.com
Article Title: Diabetics Should Exercise Regularly To Avoid Cardiovascular Diseases
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in people with diabetes. In those with type 1 diabetes as young as 20-39 years old, the risk of dying from a cardiovascular or cerebrovascular event is five times higher than those without diabetes. This population group benefits more from exercise than an average person does.
Type 1 diabetics who exercise regularly reduces his/her risk for cardiovascular disease -according to a new study published in the August edition of Diabetes Care.
Researchers in Austria and Germany studied more than 23,000 youngsters between the ages of 3 and 18, and found that the more physically active youngsters were less at risk for high diastolic blood pressure and lipid profiles, and had lower blood glucose levels.
They specifically found that the more the youngsters physically exercised, their triglycerides and high cholesterol decreased from 41.2 percent for youngsters who did not exercise, to 36 percent to those who exercised once or twice a week. Additionally, it was found that their high cholesterol and triglycerides fell to 34.4 percent for those who have physically exercised three or more times weekly.
Physical exercise did not include school sports; it included regularly exercising for a period of 30 minutes per day.
30 minutes of daily exercise. Keep that in mind.
Also, there is a Canadian study that included the findings from death records of more than nine million adults offers somewhat grim news: a Type 2 diabetic may experience cardiovascular problems 15 years sooner than a non-diabetic.
The results were broken down into expected risks for different genders and age groups. For instance, women with Type 2 diabetes are considered to be a moderate risk for cardiovascular disease by the age of 46, compared to the age of 62 for non-diabetic women. Complete results are here.
While the study is interesting and improving your cardiovascular health is always recommended, panic is not recommended. After all, these results are from death records, not living diabetics. Perhaps those people did not treat their diabetes properly, or did not follow healthy eating and exercise patterns. With the determination to be healthy, there is no reason to believe you can’t live a long, healthy, happy life.
Another is that of the connection of obesity to diabetes. There is cross-treatment of drugs for obesity and diabetes, which is nothing new, and researchers are excited about another find. The new drug is designed to help reduce obesity in patients, which in turn may now seem to help stave off heart problems in Type 2 diabetics.
The author writes about snacks for diabetics and blogs at http://www.daily-diabetic.com/.
Author: faye bautista
Author’s Email Address: fayebautista@yahoo.com
Do Not Miss Our Tutorial on Diabetes
Article Title: On Sugar Consumption And Sugar Substitute
According to a survey conducted by The NPD Group, the growing concerns about obesity and type-2 diabetes is driving low-sugar, sugar-free or sugar substituted products forward. About 70 percent of adult Americans want to cut down or avoid sugar completely, with 40 percent admitting they check food labels regularly for sugar content.
44 percent of American homemakers are extremely or very concerned about serving foods with sugar, with over 50 percent of consumers noting they are aware of and concerned about high fructose corn syrup (one of the most commonly-used sweeteners today). All of these concerns are giving rise to more consumption of foods and beverages that are low-sugar, sugar-free, or contain sugar substitutes.
Although according to Harry Balzer, “There’s little doubt that Americans right now are increasingly concerned about sugar consumption. But we’ve been here before; back in the 1980s, nearly 60 percent of Americans expressed concern about the sugar they were consuming, before declining during the early 1990s. I suspect we’ll see the same trend during the next 10 years.”
Honestly, I’ve always been apprehensive on sugar substitutes - I’ve always felt that they are chemically wrong and will do more harm than good. If I would watch out for my sugar consumption, I’d go for low-sugar or go totally for sugar-free products. It can also be a danger with respect to weight, metabolism and diabetes that is.
One sugar substitute that has always been in the limelight is aspartame - a low-calorie sweetener used to sweeten a wide variety of low- and reduced-calorie foods and beverages, including low-calorie tabletop sweeteners.
Aspartame - which is commercially popular - is composed of two amino acids (aspartic acid and phenylalanine) as the methyl ester (L-alpha-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester) and also popular because of its implication to cancer.
Can aspartame really cause cancer?
Clinical oncology dietitian Dena McDowell, MS, RD answers that very question in a scrutinizing review of aspartame.
Bottom line is that:
Although research is ongoing, products containing aspartame are generally considered to be safe. As long as consumption of aspartame is within the ADI, no chronic health issues should be seen as a result of ingestion.
Like in anything else, moderation is the key. Whether it be sugar per se or any sugar substitute, if you overdo the intake it will do more harm than good.
That been said, I really do not care anymore whether it is sugar or a sugar substitute in my food as long as I eat moderately, I’ll be safe even if I have diabetes or not.
The author writes about snacks for diabetics and blogs at http://www.daily-diabetic.com/.
Author: faye bautista
Author’s Email Address: fayebautista@yahoo.com
Do Not Miss Our Tutorial On Diabetes
Article Title: Scientific Progress Against Diabetic Retinopathy
You probably already know the very common eye condition brought about by diabetes - diabetic retinopathy which is caused by the swelling and leaking of blood vessels or the growth of abnormal new blood vessels on the surface of the retina, which could eventually leave patients blind.
Although it has no obvious symptom in the earliest stages, through time the condition can progress into a state in which the eye’s blood vessels leak and rupture easily, eventually causing blindness.
Diabetic retinopathy is caused by high blood glucose levels. Almost all type 1 diabetics exhibit symptoms of this eye disorder.
For the time scientists have been able to show in clinical trials that a therapeutic compound can be used to protect against the complications of diabetic retinopathy.
The compound ruboxistaurin has been found to slow the progression of retinopathy by inhibiting an enzyme in the body called protein kinase C beta (PKC beta). PKC is believed to contribute to the blood vessel damage that leads to the disease.
Such were the findings of a study led by Dr. Lloyd Aiello of the Joslin Diabetes Center:
According to Dr. Richard Insel, Executive Vice President of Research for JDRF:
“Since retinopathy is the most common and serious eye-related complication of those with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and is the leading cause of adult blindness in Americans the outstanding research being done in this area will have a significant impact on the millions of people with diabetes.”
Also, based on a new animal study found that long-term supplementation of Vitamin C could later prevent diabetic retinopathy.
Vitamin C is one of the most common Vitamins in supplement/drug form that is widely commercially available. An antioxidant, it helps build our immune system and prevent us from common flu and colds-causing viruses, which could also be found naturally in most sour, citrus fruits.
But the question really is, do we take-in vitamin C supplements (or eat more Vitamin C-rich foods) for a long time on a regular basis? I don’t too. Sporadically only: when I somehow feel that I will catch cold soon or when its flu season. But we should really, because Vitamin C is one of those vitamins that the human body doesn’t make on its own and so must be supplied but get depleted from the body very quickly because it is also water-soluble.
Going back to the mice study of Vitamin C and diabetic retinopathy, according to lead author Amporn Jariyapongskul from Srinakharinvirot University in Bangkok:
“Vitamin supplementation suppressed leukocyte adhesion and thus endothelial dysfunction, associated with increase in iris blood flow perfusion in diabetes. The antioxidant vitamin C may be a therapeutic agent for preventing diabetic retinopathy.”
While the results are still preliminary to draw conclusions from (after all, the findings have to tested on humans first, right?), I guess it wouldn’t hurt to remind ourselves to pop some Vitamin Cs even if we aren’t diabetic.
The author writes about berberine and blogs at http://www.daily-diabetic.com/.
Author: faye bautista
Author’s Email Address: fayebautista@yahoo.com
Article Title: Diabetes - Why Losing Weight Could Save Hours In Hospital Waiting Rooms
I’ve just spent several hours in the waiting room at my local hospital. I have problems with my eyes and this was a scheduled check up to see how they had fared since my last visit.
I have what is known as CSR - central serious retinitus, which basically means fluid leaks into the back of my eyes and forms blisters making it difficult to see.
The problem is fluid, being precisely that, moves around, so sometimes I can see clearly with glasses and sometimes I can’t.
It’s frustrating to say the least.
No-one really knows what causes it although it has been linked to having an accident, taking steroids or being under stress.
Normally the problem corrects itself over a period of time and there is no specific treatment. Occasionally, if the situation goes on for too long and the fluid is not over the centre of the eye, laser treatment is offered.
Failing that you just wait it out which is annoying. If you wear glasses the prescription you need continually changes as the fluid is reabsorbed into the eye and the blisters disappear. Either you have to change your specs regularly or struggle on with the wrong ones.
I have done the latter and thankfully received good news this time that my eyes are now as good as they are likely to be, so I shall be off to my optician to get my vision re-checked as soon as possible.
That’s great news except I will no longer have any excuse for my typing errors!
However, going back to my hospital trip, I was really surprised by the amount of people in the waiting room and the long delays to see the specialists. One poor couple waited seven hours; the man had two lots of drops put in his eyes and still had to leave before ever being seen. They were relying on public transport and couldn’t wait any longer.
The problem, it seems, was that it was also the diabetic clinic and most of the people that particular day had diabetes. Often diabetics require photography or laser treatment, which cannot always be predicted beforehand so this inevitably leads to long delays.
Luckily they can get a drink or snack if they need one, which brings me to the point of this article.
Many of those waiting were comparatively young and suffering from type 2 diabetes. This is the most common and appears to be on the increase. It has been suggested the rise may be linked to obesity and lack of exercise, and apparently 9 out of 10 people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes are overweight. I didn’t know that, did you?
Since some complications of type 2 diabetes include: heart disease (cardiovascular disease), blindness (retinopathy), nerve damage (neuropathy), and kidney damage (nephropathy) it is in every diabetics interest to lose a bit of weight to help better manage their situation.
Fast, processed food and a sedentary lifestyle is a recipe not only for potential weight gain but ill health, and the sooner you do something about it, the better.
Losing weight and keeping it off is a real challenge for most people and if you have diabetes it is advisable to consult your health care team and possibly a dietician in order to get the best possible advice.
Hopefully you’ll find ways to decrease calories but still consume the foods you enjoy. Even losing a few pounds can make a real difference.
Exercise and physical activity of course is always beneficial as it helps burn extra calories and naturally increases glucose uptake by increasing metabolism and muscle mass.
It also improves the body’s response to insulin and can, in some cases of type 2 diabetes actually reduce or eliminate the need for medication by lowering blood glucose levels.
Apparently one of the leading causes of death for people with diabetes is heart disease and strokes and exercise can help reduce that risk. Of course that advice applies to most people - me included.
My trip to the eye clinic proved a revelation. Unless I want to potentially spend many more hours sitting around in hospital waiting rooms I’d better start to actually take notice of the things I write.
Thankfully, for the time being at least, I can now see to read them!
Jean Shaw is the author of I’m Not Naughty - I’m Autistic - Jodi’s Journey and Autism, Amalgam and Me - Jodi’s Journey Continues. Read more of her articles at http://www.jeanshaw.com/site/1357437/page/846833
or visit her blog at http://www.whataslimmingworld.com
Author: Jean Shaw
Author’s Email Address: jksaofh@aol.com
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