Diabetes

It's Not Too Late to Prevent Diabetes (Tips for People at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes)

As you get older, your risk for type 2 diabetes increases. If you are age 60 or more and over-weight, you are at risk for type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes. A family history of type 2 diabetes increases your risk of the disease. Take these small steps to prevent or delay the onset of the disease. Lose a modest amount of weight (10 to 14 pounds for a 200-pound person) by moving more and making healthy food choices. Start now to get moving and have fun!

Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Possibly Other Dementias

Given the reduced risk of AD for persons with at least 8 years of education, it is reasonable to recommend active, regular use of thinking skills such as reading, writing and arithmetic. For example, research in the area of use-dependent plasticity has shown that persons who use language skills have larger, more elaborate connections in the areas of the brain related to language function. Also, we routinely see, clinically, patients with AD who have particular talents that are well preserved until moderately demented.

Heart Attack!

It's 3 am. You just woke up. There's a heavy feeling in the center of your chest. You're sweating a bit, and you feel as though there's not enough air in the room. You sit up and open the window to let in some more air, and that helps you feel a little better. You feel a bit nauseous, so you think, "indigestion," and you take some Tums. That should help within a few minutes if it's indigestion. The Tums don't help. You notice that there's a strange feeling of discomfort in your left arm and shoulder and an odd pain in the side of your neck.

Exercise: Staying With the Program is the Challenge

You've heard it a thousand times: "exercise to lose weight, live longer and feel your best." But how do you find a program you can stick with? The good news is that just 15 to 30 minutes of moderate to brisk exercise even walking at least three times a week can make a difference in your life. Many medical studies show that exercise lowers your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and osteoporosis a bone-thinning disease. Regular exercise also may lower your risk of colon cancer and reduce some of the effects of aging.

Vast Majority Of Middle - Aged Americans At Risk For Hypertension

Middle-aged Americans face a 90 percent chance of developing high blood pressure at some time during the rest of their lives, according to a new study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). However, the study also had some good news for Americans: the risk of developing severe degrees of high blood pressure has decreased in the past 25 years, due partly to improved treatment.

Lifestyle Really Does Matter!

Many people know that the leading causes of death in the United States are heart disease, cancer, and stroke.When it comes to prevention, however, it is more important to know why people suffer from these conditions. In other words, what are the actual causes of disease or reasons people die? A landmark study titled "Actual causes of death in the United States," published in 2004, shed a lot of light on this subject [1].

Diabetes Drugs

What are the types ?

Diabetes in Pregnancy

What is it ?

Diabetic Diet

What is it ? Diabetes is a disorder where the level of sugar (glucose) in the blood is raised above normal. There are two types of diabetes. In type 1 (insulin dependent diabetes) insulin injections are essential. Type 2 (non-insulin dependent diabetes can be controlled either by diet alone or with additional tablets, although some patients require insulin. Diet is of utmost importance for both types. What is it used for ?

Hypogycemia: A Deadly Life Partner of Diabetes

We already know very well that diabetes has many complications. Some take long time to develop, some are instantaneous. I am going to talk about one of those complications that actually do not give us time to think. A diabetic may need immediate hospitalization with these and there may be no other option. I think every diabetic person and their family members, even office colleagues should know about it.

Diabetic Retinopathy - The Silent Killer of Eye Sight of a Diabetic Patient

What is retina? The retina is the light-sensitive structure at the back of the eye just like a film in a camera. It captures and processes visual information before sending it via the optic nerve to the brain to form visual images. The center of the retina is known as macula. What is Diabetes? Diabetes Mellitus is a condition which impairs the body's ability to use and store sugar. It may be Type 1 or Insulin Dependent (IDDM) and Type 2 or Non-Insulin Dependent (NIDDM). How does Diabetes affect your eyes?

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetes can produce two types of changes that are among the leading causes of blindness-non-proliferative and proliferative retinopathy. These changes can occur in diabetics who take insulin and those who don't.

Easing Insulin Injection

Insulin injection is quick and relatively pain free. After just a few injections, most people become comfortable with the process. Using a small needle and syringe-the operative word here is small-you draw the dose of insulin out of the insulin bottle and into the syringe. The best place to inject the insulin is the abdomen because the hormone goes to work faster from that site, but you can also inject your upper arm, thigh, or buttock. Moving your injection site by 1 1/2 inches each day makes injections safer and more comfortable.

House Calls - Diabetes

Q. I've read that, because I have type 2 diabetes, I should take a statin even though my cholesterol levels are normal. Is this true?

Know When You Need Insulin

No one likes injections. So if you have type 2 diabetes, the prospect of giving yourself regular insulin injections may seem scary. But recent research shows that if you're having trouble keeping your blood glucose at healthy levels A1c levels less than 7 per cent starting insulin treatment sooner rather than later is the best way to avoid compli-cations from diabetes down the road. Why Some Type 2s Need Insulin

Hypoglycaemia

Normally, the body maintains the level of blood sugar within a rather narrow range (about 70 to 110 milligrams per deciliter of blood). In diabetes, the blood sugar levels become too high; in hypoglycaemia, the blood sugar levels become too low. Low blood sugar causes many organ systems in the body to malfunction. The brain is particularly sensitive to low blood sugar levels, because glucose is the brain's major energy source. The brain responds to low blood sugar levels and, through the nervous system, stimulates the adrenal glands to release epinephrine (adrenaline).

Diabetes in Pregnant Women

A hundred years ago many children died of illness before reaching adulthood. Better treatment is allowing most of them to survive now, and among them are less robust young women, many of whom have children. These women cause special problems for the obstetrician and make up a great deal of his antenatal work. By careful control of the pregnancy most of these women carry throgh normally and bear normal children, usually by a natural delivery.

Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a disease in which starch foods and sugar cannot be used normally in the body, so that sugar is passed in the urine; the disorder is due to lack of insulin which is produced by the pancreas, but the cause of this deficiency is not known. Much of the energy of the body is produced from sugar, but this can only be burned up when there is sufficient insulin. When this is deficient the sugar accumulates in the blood and is filtered off in the urine by the kidneys.

Three Common Misconceptions about the Two Kinds of Diabetes

Diabetes is the most common chronic, serious ailment in the US. It's the leading cause of both blindness and kidney failure. It can cause nerve damage that requires amputations. And diabetes greatly raises the risk for heart disease and stroke. Despite the wide swath diabetes cuts through our society, many people harbour misconceptions about the disease... Misconception #1: Diabetes is a disease that kids get-and if you didn't get it then, you needn't worry about it now. Misconception #2:

Measuring Sugar Release

The rate at which foods release sugar into the bloodstream is quantified using a measure called the glycaemic index. Foods that are digested rapidly have a moderate or high glycaemic index (more than Sb), while foods that are digested more slowly have a low glycaemic index (less than 50). Sugary and some starchy foods tend to have a high glycaemic index, whereas proteins and vegetables have a low glycaemic index. The ratings of a selection of common foods according to the glycemic index are shown on the facing page. Very High Glycaemic Index Foods (Over 100)