Posts Tagged ‘Blood Sugar Levels’

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July 29th, 2009
high blood sugar
Have you recently been diagnosed with high blood sugar or type 2 diabetes? You are certainly not alone as millions of Americans are afflicted with this disease every year. Knowing more about high blood sugar levels and what it all means is key in maintaining good health. Here are some of the questions to ask your doctor in order to improve your blood sugar levels.

-What is my hemoglobin level? This is a number given based on the results of a blood sugar level over a 3 month period.

-How often should I check my blood sugar? At what times of the day?

-How can I get my blood sugar levels back into a normal range?

-Do I need a dietician to help me improve my diet?

-Will exercise help improve diabetes and blood sugar? What types of exercise work best?

-Has this diagnosis had any effect on my eyesight or my kidneys?

-How are my feet? Do I need to be concerned?

-What happens if I start to bottom out with my blood sugar level?

These are some of the more important questions you will want to ask your doctor if you find out you have high blood sugar or are diabetic.

Not knowing enough about this health issue can e deadly. Don’t sweep it under the rug and think it will go away. By educating yourself and taking the steps to get it under control you will be on your way to a long and healthier future.

Why do I need to monitor my blood sugar level?

Monitoring your blood sugar (also called glucose) level can help you take better care of your diabetes. Checking your blood sugar will help you learn how food, activity levels, stress, medicine and insulin change your blood sugar level. This information will help you stay healthy and prevent or delay diabetic complications such as blindness and kidney failure. This handout will give you some tips on monitoring your blood sugar level.

Is there another way to check my blood sugar at home?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved meters that work without pricking your finger. But these meters cannot replace regular glucose meters. They are used to get additional readings between regular testing.



By: Alien

About the Author:

Alien writes for Diabetes diet . He also writes for Diabetes care and Diabetes



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July 29th, 2009
Back in 1950 and 60 years most people do not rate of diabetes as a major problem. At that time, all the focus was on how to deal with more diseases such as polio and tuberculosis. If diabetes was thought, it is more under the cup sugar in your coffee, rather than as a serious threat to your sight or your life.

That’s all changed. It is no exaggeration to say that diabetes has now reached epidemic levels in most of the Western world. According to the American Diabetes Association there are more than 20 million diabetics in the USA alone, with a staggering one third undiagnosed. It is also underway to get much worse with another 41 million Americans are already showing signs pre-diabetics.

Diabetes is a disease that mostly affects blood vessels and in its extreme forms can lead to serious heart disease, stroke and kidney damage. It is obvious that these life-threatening diabetic vascular diseases deserve priority attention, but at the top of the list critical for diabetics is the risk of serious eye diseases and vision loss.

Vision is one of our most critical and, in this “need for speed” information age, over 70% of our sensory information passes through our eyes. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, diabetics are 25 times more likely to lose vision than those who are not diabetic. With diabetes already the leading cause of blindness in the USA, it is not surprising that eye care professionals are devastating foresee an increase in the loss of vision that the epidemic of diabetes is growing alarmingly.

Newly diagnosed diabetics have often nothing more than minor vision changes that regulate when blood sugar levels improve with treatment. From the outset it is easy to believe everything is fine. After a few years, however, still high blood sugar can gradually damage the blood vessels in the back of the eye in the retina. This causes a problem called diabetic retinopathy and the more you have diabetes the more likely you are to have retinopathy. The risk increases again when it is poor glycemic control. More than 70% of diabetics develop some changes to their eyes in 15 years of diagnosis.

The retinopathy is classified as non-proliferation or proliferative. Non-proliferation retinopathy is the benign form, the retina where small blood vessels break and leak. It May be some slight swelling the retina, but it rarely requires treatment unless it causes blurred central vision or straight lines appear distorted.

Proliferative retinopathy is the less frequent but more serious when new blood vessels grow abnormally in the retina. If these vessels scar or purge they can potentially lead to serious vision loss, including blindness. Launch of laser treatment can seal leaking vessels and slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy, but can not reverse the loss of existing vision.

For the moment there is no “magic pill” to eliminate the risk of eye damage diabetics, but you can do two important things to help prevent more serious complications. Poor blood sugar is a leading cause of severe diabetic retinopathy. The critical first step is making sure to stabilize and control your blood sugar with a healthy diet and regular exercise. The second step is to make sure you have a diabetic an eye examination. An experienced professional eye care can pick up subtle changes diabetic eye long before you notice a change in vision and, more importantly, sufficient time to do some good.

If you or your family is affected by the increase sign of diabetes: take action now to reduce your risk of vision loss. Do not be a victim!



By: Jack Stanley

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Want to find out about gestational diabetes symptoms and diabetes facts? Get tips from Diagnosing Diabetes.



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July 28th, 2009
high blood sugar
Blood sugar regulation is a major health concern, as almost 21 million Americans are diagnosed diabetics. Additionally, the American Diabetes Association believes that 54 million more Americans can be characterized as pre-diabetic, meaning they have blood glucose levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as diabetic. The condition of imbalanced blood sugar levels can lead to a number of other health risks including blindness, heart disease, and loss of feeling or peripheral pain leading to possible amputation of peripherally-damaged tissue, impaired kidney function, and nerve damage. One must remember that risk not only lies in the development of diabetes, but in the increase of risk factors.

Preliminary studies on vitamin C and its ability to improve insulin resistance have not given much evidence to support the safety or efficacy of nutritional supplements in helping diabetic-related conditions. However, there are several foods and nutrients that need further investigation such as DHEA and EGCG, which mimic and augment beneficial metabolic and vascular actions of insulin. Additionally, nutrients such as dark chocolate, magnesium, and glucosamine are also being looked into. Efforts are being made to raise the level of knowledge on scientific development of dietary supplements as related to health promotion, health maintenance, and disease prevention. Research is being encouraged on natural compounds and many studies are quickly being published.

A shift in how products are viewed is leading to an increased acceptance of nutritional supplements in the medical community. A study combining a cholesterol-lowering drug with a B vitamin proved to lower heart attack risk by up to 90 percent in some patients. With over half of the population using a combination of prescription, a blended approach may offer real benefits and help to increase the overall acceptance of supplements.

Chromium is an essential trace mineral which is necessary for normal insulin function and proper protein, fat, and carbohydrate metabolism. It can provide the critical help that is needed to support healthy blood sugar levels. However, chromium on its own is poorly absorbed and has little effect on insulin. Instead, chromium nicotinate or polynicotinate is said to dramatically increase not only the efficacy, but also the safety of chromium. This combination demonstrates significant health benefits to those who have problems regulating blood sugar. One study has even proven that chromium picolinate may reduce the risk of insulin resistance, therefore, possibly reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

There are hundreds of products that claim to support healthy blood sugar levels by increasing insulin sensitivity and reducing the onset and progression of type 2 diabetes and its associated problems. In addition to the previously discussed nutrients, there are other natural options available. Cinnamon has been proven to have significant effects in reducing blood sugar in pre-diabetic men and women. Corosolic acid has been shown to possess anti-diabetic properties as well as significant amounts of tannins, which are shown to act as activators of glucose transport in fat cells.

This nutrient has been shown to reduce blood glucose levels and support small, amounts of weight loss. CoQ10 has been shown to reduce oxidative damage to LDL-cholesterol and improve glucose utilization. Fiber has been shown to lower after-meal blood sugar levels by approximately 20 to 40 percent and is also believed to lower insulin secretion by about 40 percent. Pycnogenol significantly lowers high blood sugar levels in a dose dependant manner by inhibiting enzymes of the digestive system which break down complex sugars into basic sugars such as glucose. Pycnogenol delays the absorption of sugars in the blood stream and prevents the high blood glucose peaks that typically follow meals. Omega fatty acids significantly changes insulin-related function. Medicinal mushrooms lower both blood sugar and insulin levels.

Lastly, natural sweeteners such as stevia and Luo Han is available in a number of products including many types of candy, and has been proven to not elevate blood sugar levels all the while sweetening the foods we love most.



By: Darrell Miller

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More information on blood sugar support supplements like cinnamon and stevia is available at VitaNet, LLC Health Food Store. http://vitanetonline.com/



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