Archive for the 'Diabetes' Category

Diabetes Management Tips

Do you or someone you care about have diabetes? This common disease is usually progressive over several years’ time, and it can create many kinds of health problems for those who have it. If you suspect you have symptoms of a diabetic nature, make a list of their type and frequency and let your doctor know right away. Symptoms may include increased thirst and urination, fatigue, and weight loss, among others. The sooner you get a firm diagnosis, the better outcome you are likely to have.

Diabetes results from the body’s reduced ability to make insulin. When this happens, body organs can be affected as the circulation slows, leading to slow wound healing times and loss of feeling in the extremities. Eventually, without treatment, diabetes can progress to organ failure, especially the kidneys and heart, as well as possible blindness, strokes, and other problematic conditions.

If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, ask your doctor about a personal management plan. Read all the information you can find about your condition, and ask your doctor any questions about things you don’t understand. It may be helpful to borrow library books or visit online medical Websites to find out how others cope and what types of possible new cures or treatments are on the horizon.

Your doctor may advise you to change your diet to one that is low in sugar, fat, and salt. He or she may want you to begin a daily exercise program unless you already have one. You might have to do finger sticks for your blood sugar each day, perhaps after eating or at others times, to check blood readings. Depending on the status of your disease, you may have to take pills or give yourself daily injections. When your blood sugar levels get too high or too low, you could experience life-threatening complications.

It may be a good idea to wear a bracelet or necklace identification tag, so that if you should happen to pass out or become dizzy from blood sugar changes, someone will know how to help you. Carrying a small amount of sugar in the form of orange juice or a candy bar might be helpful if you begin to feel light-headed or your levels start to drop. Let coworkers and friends know about your condition so they can take appropriate steps if you experience difficulties from your diabetic condition.

Joining a support group could help to relieve anxieties and put you in touch with others who have been where you are. Their experience and insight can help you to adjust with a new diabetic diagnosis or a significant change in your condition. This could be particularly welcome if you are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant, since this may impact the status of your diabetes.

Although diabetes is a complex condition and more needs to be known about its development and progress, there is hope and success for many who struggle with the side effects of this disease. Help is available, so don’t hesitate to ask for and make use of it.

How to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes with Diet and Exercise

Changing your lifestyle is hard, plain and simple. However, if your doctor has told you that you have pre-diabetes, also known as impaired glucose tolerance, the effort it takes to incorporate healthy foods and a little physical activity into your daily routine is well worth it.

A clinical study by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases found that losing a mere 5 to 7 percent of your total body weight can significantly reduce the risk of developing full blown type 2 diabetes. The 2002 study found that a group of patients that followed a low-fat, low-calorie diet and exercised moderately for 150 minutes a week reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 58 percent.

The connection between weight and type 2 diabetes is undeniable. Obese people are five times more likely to get diabetes than people who maintain a healthy weight. Of the over 21 million people in America with diabetes, 95 percent of the cases are type 2. Other risk factors include heredity and sedentary lifestyle choices.

So, how can you make the changes to your diet and activity levels? Start off slowly. Swap out a salad for an order of french fries. Do without the ranch dressing though. Instead, try using straight balsamic vinegar or another low-calorie alternative. Then, incorporate a 10-minute walk into your daily routine. Whether it is before lunch, after dinner or first thing in the morning, make sure to make the time and effort every day.

Once you adapt to these basic changes, step it up a notch. After about a week, you’ll feel ready to make more challenging changes. Replace candy and sugary beverages with fresh fruit and unsweetened iced tea. Better yet, drink only water for a week. You’ll feel great, and your skin will be positively glowing. Also, extend your walks to 30 minutes for five of the seven days of the week. You’ll be amazed at the health benefits a nice walk will bring. You don’t have to run marathons to be physically fit. Walking burns calories and uses lots of muscle groups without putting lots of strain on your joints. It is ideal for weight loss.

Old habits die hard, but losing your vision or a limb to diabetes is much more difficult than eating a salad and taking walks. Being dependent on insulin and blood sugar testing devices is a difficult way to live. When your blood sugar constantly spikes and drops, it is hard on your body, your personality and the other people around you. You can become irritable, moody, aggressive and even manic. Your good health matters to each and every person that loves you. Your friends and family are counting on you to preserve your own health so you can enjoy many more years to come.

If you are a borderline type 2 diabetic, you don’t have to spend the rest of your life on medication if you learn how to change your lifestyle. It is not easy to do, but a life without needles and pills makes all the salads and aerobics worth the effort.

Common Diabetes Markers In Biotech

Diabetes is one of the fastest growing health epidemics in the United States today. There are two types of diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes is a genetic condition that cannot be prevented, but Type 2 Diabetes is most often linked to obesity and poor eating habits and can be prevented. There are three common diabetes markers. These markers are termed polyuria, polydipsia and polyphagia.

Polyuria

Polyuria is the medical term for increased urination. When a person contracts diabetes they tend to urinated far more frequently than before the diabetes was present in the body.

Polydipsia

Polydipsia is the medical term for increased thirst. Diabetes causes the body to become more thirsty. This can be attributed to endocrine imbalances in the body.

Polyphagia

Polyphagia is the medical term for increased hunger. Increased hunger is one of the most common signs of Type 2 Diabetes. As the sugar or glucose levels plummet, the body experiences increased hunger. This characteristic is attributed to the bodies need to regulate the glucose levels and energy levels in the body.

Before these diabetes markers are noticed, a condition known as metabolic disorder often presents in patients with a high risk of contracting diabetes. Metabolic disorder is a combination of symptoms caused by the body’s inability to regulate glucose. Until recently, doctors did not recognize metabolic disorder as a precursor to diabetes.

The most common diabetes markers attributed to metabolic disorder are abdominal obesity, raised triglyceride levels, low HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high fasting blood glucose. In many cases, each of these symptoms is treated separately and are thus never connected with the onset of diabetes.

Diagnosing Diabetes

Diabetes is most often diagnosed with a blood test. An Insulin Elisa test kit provides all the needed reagents to test the blood, or plasma, glucose levels in humans. The kit is utilized by physicians to test the glucose levels in the blood. If the fasting glucose levels are above the normal range, diabetes is diagnosed and the patient is placed on a medical regime of diet and exercise to regulate the blood glucose in the body.

Most forms of Type 2 Diabetes are treatable without medications. Due to the fact that Type 2 Diabetes is caused by poor eating habits and obesity in the majority of cases, changing these aspects of life can eliminate the need for treatment all together.

In recent years, gastric bypass has been used to reduce the weight of the patient suffering from Type 2 Diabetes. Treating with gastric bypass is a quick and effective way to treat both the metabolic syndrome health problems and the unmanageable glucose levels. After gastric bypass, nearly all patients will never have to worry about diabetes again.

It is essential to follow the doctors recommendations and treatments when suffering from diabetes. Untreated, diabetes can lead to blindness, loss of limbs and death. The Insulin Elisa kit helps to determine if the patient has moved from metabolic syndrome to diabetes and guides the doctor in regards to the best possible treatment strategy for the condition.