Archive for the 'Diabetes' Category

4 Major Organs that Diabetes can Damage

Diabetes is a condition that develops when the body can no longer produce enough insulin to moderate blood sugar levels. As a result diabetics suffer from extremely high blood sugar levels. Over time these high levels of sugar in the blood start to affect the blood vessels and other areas of the body. In this article I will be discussing four of the major organs that can be affected by diabetes damage.

1) THE HEART:- As already discussed, high blood sugar levels can damage your blood vessels. When these vessels become damaged the flow of blood to your heart becomes restricted. Your heart needs a good flow of blood to function properly and without this your risk for heart attacks and other heart diseases increases. There are a number of symptoms that could indicate heart disease which include; breathlessness, chest pains and irregular heartbeats.

2) THE EYES:- When the blood vessels and tissues of the eyes become damaged this can lead to a condition called diabetic retinopathy. Sufferers of diabetic retinopathy often experience blurred vision and in the worst cases temporary blindness. Diabetes also increases your risk of developing cataracts (clouding of the eyes lenses) and glaucoma (damage to the optic nerves).

3) THE FEET:- Diabetes can also cause damage to your nerves. If the nerves in your feet become damaged then some feeling is often lost meaning that cuts and sores can quite easily go unnoticed. This means that they can become infected without you realising which brings further complications. Therefore, to reduce your risk of infection it is very important to wash your feet daily and inspect them regularly if you are diabetic.

4) THE KIDNEYS:- If the blood vessels of the kidneys become damaged they cannot remove waste from the blood effectively. In the worst cases this can lead to kidney failure which will mean you will then require kidney dialysis or a kidney transplant.

As you can see, diabetes is not a condition to be taken lightly. This article has discussed just some of the damage that diabetes can cause. However, it can also weaken many of your other organs too. Fortunately, a lot of this damage can be avoided by following a sensible diabetes treatment plan, eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. Many people do not realise how serious contracting diabetes is. I hope this article has shown you just how important proper treatment can be.

Every intention has been made to make this article accurate and informative but it is intended for general information only. Diabetes is a medical condition and this article is not intended as a substitute for the advice of your doctor or a qualified medical practitioner. If you have any concerns regarding any form of diabetes you should seek the advice of your doctor immediately.

Drug Used To Treat Diabetes In Texas May Kill Patients

Another drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may increase the risk of heart attacks and deaths. Avandia, a medication that has been used to treat diabetes for eight years now, and has been prescribed for six million people worldwide, has come under attack in light of recent reports. The implications for the healthcare and health insurance industries are huge, particularly in Texas, where the rate of diabetes is high.

More than one million Americans still take Avandia. Adding this to the international Vioxx scandal, an arthritis medication known to increase similar cardiovascular risks and also approved by the FDA, is not helping the organization’s safety reputation. Texas is particularly vulnerable to these mistakes, where in 2004, over 500,000 statewide — from Austin, to Dallas, to Houston — already suffered from diabetes, with more expected to be diagnosed.

The state’s propensity to obesity, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer doesn’t help. The prevalence of diabetes in the U.S. increased a staggering 49% between 1990 and 2000, and Texas was hit hard, possibly linked with an obesity rate hovering just above 60% of the adult population. Thirty-five percent of children are now clinically obese statewide, and Houston boasts a population in which 86% of its residents are either overweight or obese. This is significant due to the problems that often accompany the condition, including heart disease, stroke, certain cancers and, of course, type 2 diabetes.

The complications experienced by diabetic patients are, in and of themselves, significant. The top secondary threats include vascular, kidney and nervous system diseases, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and blindness. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease and blindness in adults ages 20 to 74, and is the sixth leading cause of death.

No outstanding research is necessary to conclude that a certain percentage of that majority population in Texas who are obese are also diabetic. It’s also no mystery, then, that a certain number of these diabetic, obese patients are also taking Avandia. Add together the complications experienced by the obese, the diabetic, and those dependent on the medication in question, and we have a dangerous health cocktail, indeed.

Now, to make it even more complicated, over 25% of the population in Texas is also completely uninsured, the highest percentage in the nation. Such chronic conditions as obesity and diabetes, or a double whammy, for an uninsured individual could prove catastrophic. Not only would suffering a serious complication be detrimental financially, but a report released earlier this month by the Commonwealth Fund directly stated that the uninsured may not receive quality care. There is a “strong link,” the report stated, between access to health coverage, particularly health insurance, and high quality care.

For Texas, none of this is good news. With one-quarter of the state going without health insurance, 60% of the population obese, and over half a million diabetic, any problem affecting a large number with any of these conditions could completely overload the already stressed system. A flood of Avandia patients coming in with complications, uninsured, and possibly suffering from other conditions as well, just might send the healthcare system of Texas into meltdown.

Much of the problem, it would seem, stems from the FDA itself, which is slowly but surely nurturing a reputation of extreme negligence into maturity. Once a drug is approved, its actual effects on the population are not as closely monitored as they should be, according to many in the industry.

Dr. Jerry Avorn, of Harvard Medical School, believes that such problems with the FDA will continue to exist until we are able to get a better system of drug approval and surveillance. That’s a powerful statement, considering that this is precisely what the FDA is supposed to do.

It’s a wakeup call, really. While it shouldn’t be as a result of government agency negligence, in all reality, we should be more responsible for our health on an individual basis — going for annual physicals, asking our doctors as many questions as we need in order to feel comfortable with a diagnosis or prescription, and doing what we can to take care of ourselves. Simple, common sense principles of nutritional eating and exercise may cut off many conditions requiring drugs before they even have a chance to exist.

Until the nation’s health catches up with better habits, however, make sure to keep up with the latest recalls.

How Cinnamon Seems to Help a Diabetic with their Diabetes Condition

A startling connection was made lately between the use of cinnamon and the ability to prevent some of the diabetes symptoms. Cinnamon, used for a long time as a spice that assists with energy, this is a cheap form of help for the control of diabetes. With the sourced funding from the Diabetes Action Research and Education Foundation, Dr. Richard Anderson enable the study on the possible cinnamon effects on diabetes At the United States Department Of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Center. He was able to isolate the sourced compound in cinnamon that is a responsible for a portion of the superb effects that this substance has on diabetes.

This compound partially composed of specific type A. polymers, was found to lower the blood sugar effectively in those that have diabetes. On top of that, it was found at these polymers decreased the diabetic patients total cholesterol by up to 26%. Lipoproteins with a lower density are known to be a bad type of cholesterol. These were lowered by 10 to 24% through the intake of these polymers, and triglycerides showed a decrease by 23 to 30%.

Major importance should be given to this research by those that have this diabetes condition. Also possibly of more importance regarding this find are the effects that this substance can have on practically millions of people who have been found to have prediabetes. This could possibly help delay the diabetes onset, and give those potential future diabetics time to learn about how to keep it from taking control over their health.

These cinnamon polymers have been found to assist diabetics and two important ways; firstly, the substance was seen to make the enzymes that may hold the responsibility for decreasing the effects of insulin resistance. This could be of paramount importance for those with this condition which frequently has been caused by insulin resistance problem. Secondly, when diabetics ingest this compound substance, they were found to have increased sensitivity to insulin within their body. This basely helped them more effectively distribute the insulin. Now, the polymers found as a result of the study have been extracted and clinically available to patients. The substance has been patented as a compound known as Cinnulin PF. The only approved version for use is a water-soluble extract of this compound.

The substance should not be hard to find sense there are many different supplements that contain this. Another thing to note would be that it is important that a person with diabetes absolutely should not ingest high levels of normal cinnamon to try to get these effects. When ingesting high levels of cinnamon, it has been found that it is toxic due to a fat soluble component it holds. If there is the chance that you are unable to purchase one of these supplements that contains the substance, you should only ingest a quarter to a full teaspoon of cinnamon in order to help your diabetes condition. It is also necessary to inform your doctor of this and any other supplements or medications that you take in order to help diabetes. It is helpful to know that the supplement to be added to various drinks including tea or milkshakes to make it more tolerable. Don’t think that you might want to eat apple pie because it has cinnamon in it. Apple pie or foods like it probably should be avoided for the most part because of the fat and sugar content.