Diabetes. Will You Be Next?
If you “don’t have time” for any form of sport or exercise and eat fatty takeaways and fast foods, you could be a candidate for “metabolic syndrome.”
What is it and how do you avoid it?
Kate was a hard-working stockbroker. She worked long hours sitting at her computer and regularly took work home. Because of her busy lifestyle, she “didn’t have time” for any form of sport or exercise and existed mainly on fatty takeaways and fast foods. Breakfast was usually coffee and toast.
Her lifestyle eventually caught up with her. She put on weight around the waist and could not fit into her favorite jeans. She also became very tired and noticed an increased thirst. On the advice of both parents, she reluctantly visited her doctor. Her blood pressure at 135/85 was very high for her age and further tests revealed high LDL [bad] and low HDL]good] cholesterol levels. Her blood sugar level was also high.
Kate, at the age of 34 had a combination of factors called “metabolic syndrome” or “syndrome X”. These, plus a number of other factors can lead to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Kate was very lucky. Her quick action meant that she could embark on a program of lifestyle changes to regain her health and fitness. Her doctor suggested the following 4 diabetes beating strategies.
Lose weight, particularly around the waist.
Exercise. Both aerobic and resistance.
Modify her diet.
Take healthy supplements.
HERE IS KATE’S PROGRAM.
WEIGHT LOSS.
Her biggest challenge and critical health issue, was to remove excess fat from her waist. Her waist measurement of 88cm [35 inches] indicated the possibility of insulin resistance or the decreased ability of her pancreas to convert sugar or glucose into insulin. Exercise and diet became an important part of her program.
EXERCISE.
Kate joined her local health club and started a program including both aerobic and resistance exercises.
A study at Yale and reported in Journal of Applied Physiology, January 2006 showed that intense exercise is far more effective in preventing and controlling diabetes than exercising at a leisurely pace.
The most tissue damage occurs immediately after eating, when blood sugar levels rise the highest. After you eat, sugar goes from the intestines into the bloodstream. The only places that sugar can be stored are in your muscles and liver. When your muscles are not exercised, they are full of sugar and sugar has no place to go after it enters your bloodstream. This can result in increased body fat, particularly around the waist.
On the other hand, when your muscles are exercised, they empty their stored sugar. Then when you eat, sugar can go from the intestines into the bloodstream and then immediately into your muscles, preventing a high rise in blood sugar and suppressing fat formation.
If it is not convenient to join a health club, it is possible to enjoy similar benefits by taking a brisk 30 to 40 minute [minimum] walk before a meal, particularly your main meal of the day. According to University of Western Australia clinical professor of medicine, Dr Tim Welborn, many overseas experts are now saying that to prevent becoming overweight and at risk of a range of diseases including diabetes, people needed to get 60-90 minutes of mild to moderate physical activity every day.
A recent study at the University of Alabama found that women on a strength training program for 25 weeks lost significant amounts of belly fat, the dangerous kind that increases your risk of heart disease and diabetes.
DIET CHANGES.
Modifications to her diet included removing foods containing saturated fats and eating more low GI [glycemic index] foods. The glycemic index is a ranking of foods according to how rapidly there is a rise in blood sugar. High GI foods are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, sending blood sugar soaring, causing heavy insulin production and giving a rapid energy spike. This is soon followed by a crash that leaves you with flagging concentration and food cravings. Kate’s diet included a high proportion of high GI foods, including French fries, white bread, cakes and pastries, white rice, doughnuts and potatoes.
Research studies at Harvard University suggest that if you want to avoid type 2 diabetes, eating too many potatoes [especially from foods like French fries] raises your risk. Sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic load than white potatoes.
Dr Ray D. Strand, author of Healthy for Life [real life] recommends a healthful low GI diet that does not spike blood sugar. This includes fresh fruit and vegetables, many types of beans, brown rice, lentils and oatmeal. These high fiber foods trigger only a moderate rise in blood sugar, enter the bloodstream slowly and reduce food cravings. Other low GI foods include legumes, nuts and seeds.
Kate’s doctor “insisted” that she eat a breakfast including fruit and oatmeal or muesli. To this could be added blueberries and ground flaxseeds. The result is a substantial, low GI, high fiber meal which is absorbed slowly, reduces mid morning hunger pangs and is gentle on the pancreas. I always add blueberries to my morning cereals. They are high in fiber and antioxidants and as a bonus, taste delicious.
HEALTHY SUPPLEMENTS.
To boost cellular nutrition, Dr Strand suggests taking high quality antioxidants
[ including vitamins C and E] with each meal. Other helpful supplements include chromium, magnesium, fenugreek, potassium, omega 3 fish oil, apple cider vinegar and selenium.
Never start a new treatment before consulting your doctor, especially if you are currently taking medication. The information published in this article is not intended as a substitute for personal medical advice from your physician or other qualified health-care practitioner. It is for information purposes only.
Graeme Lanham
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/diabetes-will-you-be-next-69976.html
admin on May 16th 2010 in Diabetes and Nutrition
mangehange responded on 16 May 2010 at 1:26 pm #
Will they ever be a cure for diabetes?
I recently found out i have diabetes, but the results did not come in yet to tell which type i am. Right now the doctor makes me get on insulin, which i have been doing for 4 days already, and my blood sugar is reallly good, about 80. I heard the doctors in canada injected some kind of substance in mice who had diabetes and the next day the diabetes were gone. Will this ever be avialable for humans? Also are there any natural medicines that help lower blood sugar instead of insulin, and start to make the pancreas work again?
Chris C responded on 16 May 2010 at 6:28 pm #
Type 2 can be controlled by exercise and diet. Type 1 is a little more serious. They are searching for a cure now. For type 1, I personally would recommend an insulin pump until the cure is found. You can make a donation to JDRF (juvenile diabetes research foundation)
References :
nobody responded on 16 May 2010 at 6:30 pm #
it might be possible –brb — Diabetes breakthrough. Toronto scientists cure disease in mice …
http://www.dissectmedicine.com/_track/3624
References :
hehmommy04 responded on 16 May 2010 at 6:32 pm #
Well if you are on insulin already then your diabetes has gone undiagnosed for awhile. That doesn’t make sense to me that they prescribed you insulin without knowing what type you have? Weird. That is a first for me. Also that your blood sugars regulated that quickly after only 4 days. There is no proven natural remedy though many claim to have things that help lower your bloos sugars. I wouldn’t fool with my health like that. Diabetes is something to not take lightly. It is a serious disease and you really do need to follow doctors orders on your meds, diet, etc.
My Mom passed on 2 years ago from complications from her diabetes. She went into a diabetic coma because she was still taking her insulin and didn’t know her kidneys had shut down from it. She also lost half of her leg from diabetes, have neuropathy in her legs so bad, problems with her eyes, etc. Her body got a bad staph infection and within a few days she was gone.
I am just letting you know to take this seriously and not fool around at all when it comes to your health.
Yes they are coming closer to finding ways to cure it in mice, but it will be awhile before they have any kind of human trials. Hopefully it will happen in our lifetime. Wouldn’t that be wonderful. Like anything else things take years and years and maybe won’t happen in our lifetime.
References :
SunShine1 responded on 16 May 2010 at 6:34 pm #
I can’t believe your doctors told you that you have diabetes and they are not keeping a closer watch on you. when i was diagnosed i was hospitalized for a week and a half. No there will never be a cure too many businesses make too much money off of us who do have diabetes. if your pancreas does not work it will never work. but if you have type 2 and you work out and eat well it will be controlled better.
References :
TuDiabetes.com responded on 16 May 2010 at 6:36 pm #
As for a cure, I think a lot of depends on awareness and advocacy: having this be turned into a national priority in many countries, as it starts to turn into an out-of-control epidemic (type 2, especially) should help.
As for your diagnosis, are you seeing an endocrinologist already? If you haven’t, you should: getting you on insulin right off the bat sounds a bit odd, indeed.
I want to take the opportunity to invite you to join TuDiabetes.com, a community for people touched by diabetes. I am sure you will find the hundreds of people in it to be a great support group.
References :
http://tudiabetes.com
jijo responded on 16 May 2010 at 6:38 pm #
wow u find out and u start insulin
thats either bullshit(sorry) or its stupid
did you try with some kind of medicines first
once you start insulin its hard to stop it
please ask your doctor about other methods
you should do a lot of exersice, walking
eat vegetables and try to split eating to more number of times with less quantity
References :
john e russo md responded on 16 May 2010 at 6:40 pm #
Many readers find it peculiar or frankly incorrect to start a newly diagnosed diabetic on insulin. This is not true. First your physician probably suspects type 1 in which insulin is the only option. Second type 2 diabetics who are ‘lean’ – a body mass index of less than 25 kg/m2 – are increasingly started on insulin. These individuals are a subset – the minority – of type 2 diabetics and although they display insulin resistance initially there is a greater relative lack of insulin. There are no ‘natural’ medicines for diabetes. For type 2 diabetics thiazolidiones – pioglitazone/Actos and rosiglitazone/Avandia – do seem to improve pancreatic function a little. The Canadian study was done on a pure strain of rodents who were developed to have a specific defect leading to diabetes. Thus a ‘cure’ was not so far fetched. People are far more complex and the defects in both type 1 and type 2 diabetics are multi-factorial unlike the rodents referenced above. At present despite decades of effort – mostly with type 1 diabetes where the progression of events is better defined – we are no closer to a cure today than we were in the earliest stages of research. I sincerely doubt that diabetes will be ‘cured’. The good news however is that over the past 5 years or so the treatment of diabetes – including analog insulins – has allowed us to control blood glucose levels to near ‘normal’ range. This sounds to be your case. With improved control diabetic complications have been consistently shown to be decreased although certainly not eliminated. It sounds as if your physician has done a good job in controlling your glucose. I wish you the best of health and may God bless.
References :
Becky W responded on 16 May 2010 at 6:42 pm #
i know they will find a cure. i think in 5 years they will have one. i got diabetes when i was 7 and i am 37 now, when i look back i see how far they have come. my transplant Doctor is doing research on an iclet transplant where they in plant iclet in your liver and it works as a pancreas. look up Dr.Richard knight of Houston medical center and you can see his research.i had a kidney/pancreas transplant almost 5 years ago and i am no longer a diabetic . i was lucky and i have had no trouble accepting the two new organs. i believe with all my heart that they will have a cure in 5 years. they already know the gene that causes it they just need to know how to get rid of that gene.
References :