Diabetes Treatment & Information

Recognizing the Signs of Type 2 Diabetes

In the United States, type 2 diabetes is becoming an epidemic. As of today, nearly 18 million people have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The frightening part of this statistics is that the numbers are on a rapid rise. A lot of this may be correlated to an increase in the number of people who are overweight. Being overweight is the most notable risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

Signs of Type 2 Diabetes

One of the first signs of diabetes is when you notice that your vision is blurred without any apparent cause. Rising blood glucose levels can cause blurred vision. This happens because the lenses in the eyes become swollen. The change in size of the lenses can cause the blurry vision.

Another sign of type 2 diabetes that you may notice is a decrease in feeling sensations in your feet or legs. If you have constant numbness in your feet, you may have had type 2 diabetes for many years without realizing it. This numbness occurs after years of nerve damage. The term for this diabetic neuropathy. Diabetic neuropathy usually takes about 5 to 10 years to set in after the onset of type 2 diabetes. Fatigue can be a symptom of many different health problems. For this reason, many type 2 diabetics may ignore their fatigue or dismiss it as being caused by something else.

One of the reasons many people misdiagnose their own fatigue is that modern day life is so hectic. We deal with such stressful activities in our daily lives, whether at home or at work, that we have become used to fatigue. But if you have any other symptoms of type 2 diabetes, you should not ignore fatigue as one of its symptoms. Those with type 2 diabetes suffer from fatigue because their cells are unable to use the glucose in their bloodstream. This is caused by how the body is utilizing insulin in the blood.

Genital itching is one of the least known signs of type 2 diabetes. Naturally, if you have STD, you’re going to have some genital itching. Or if you have an infection, you may have some genital itching. But if you have neither of these symptoms, it could be a sign of type 2 diabetes. If you do have an infection, this could also be a symptom of type 2 diabetes because the decreased function of the cells in your blood makes you more prone to yeast infections. Also, yeast infections are attracted to high levels of sugar in the blood.

There are two types of diabetes namely diabetes insipidus and diabetes mellitus. Diabetes insipidus is a rare metaboilc disorder in which the patient produces large quantities of urine and is constantly thirsty. It is due to a deficiency of the pituitary hormone vasopressin, an antidiuretic hormone which regulates reabsorption of water in the kidneys. Treatment is by administration of vasopressin to the patient and cannot be treated by Cupping and Pure Salt therapy as the pituitary glands are located deep inside the brain.

Diabetes mellitus affects about 7% of the general population and can be divided into type 1 (insulin-dependent) and type 2 (non insulin-dependent). Type 1 accounts for about 10% while type 2 represent 90 % of all diabetes mellitus. Type 1 normally affect children and teenagers which have little or no ability to produce the hormone insulin and patients are entirely dependent on insulin injections for survival. The hormone insulin is produced by the pancreas and helps to regulate the blood sugar level when it exceeds the preset limit. It is thought that type 1 is caused by damage to the pancreas tissues that produce insulin due to misplaced attack of the pancreas by the patient’s own immune system (autoimmune attack). Cupping and Shin Gum Pure Salt therapy cannot treat type 1 because of permanent damage to the pancreas.

Type 2 being the most common diabetes was prevalent amongst patients in the middle and old age. However, in recent years the number of young people suffering from type 2 diabetes has increased. It can be found in young people in the twenties and thirties. Type 2 diabetes is due to inadequate production of insulin to meet the needs of the patient or the result of the body becoming resistant to the effects of insulin. The accumulation of sugar leads to its appearance the blood (hyperglycaemia) and then in the urine. Symptoms include thirst, excessive production of urine, aging and itching skin, loss of sensation, loss of teeth, blurring of vision, constant hunger, and lost of weight due to the use of body fats as an alternative source of energy to sugar. Risk factors include incidence in family members (genetics), obesity, lack of exercise, sedentary lifestyle, diabetes during pregnancy and unhealthy eating habits (too much sugar, excessive carbohydrates, overeating).

Long term complications of type 2 diabetes include higher risk of heart attack (myocardial infarction) and stroke attack (cerebro vascular accident), highest incidence of blindness due to damage of blood vessels supplying the optic nerve (diabetic retinopathy), highest cause of kidney failure requiring dialysis (diabetic nephropathy), thigh pain and progressive weakness of knee extension (diabetic amyotrophy), pain or numbness of the feet due to nerve damage (diabetic neuropathy), amputation of legs due to gangrene, and impotence due to damage nerves of the penis (erectile dysfunction).

Type 2 diabetes can be treated with cupping of points 2, 3, 6 and 8 with only 30% success rate due to the fact that the pancreas are located deep inside the viscera behind the liver. However, a much higher success rate is achieved by applying Aggressive Cupping combine with Pure Salt therapy. For diabetes type 2 Pure Salt therapy comprise of daily one hour exercise, gradual reduction of food followed by fasting, daily pure salt half body bath, consumption of pure salt (preferably 200 hour pure salt or minimum 30-hr pure salt), stress reduction techniques and adopting a positive mental attitude to diabetes.

If you suffer from diabetes you may feel that you cannot eat good food but that is not the case, there are many excellent diabetic recipes nowadays. Controlling your diet can be the key to reducing the risk of diabetes as well as improving your symptoms if you are already affected by this disease people often refer to as “the silent killer”. However, if you do have to live with diabetes then you need to sort out your diabetic diet plan.

One of the hardest things to do will be to shed those unnecessary pounds as maintaining your weight is extremely important when you’re a diabetic. One of the best ways to follow a diabetic diet is to eat foods that are from all of the four basic food groups. For a diabetic, eating healthily and sticking to a diabetic diet means that they will usually lower the chances of heart disease and stroke which are two complications associated with their condition. The diabetic diet plan is after all, low-fat and has been formulated to increase energy and at the same time ease the symptoms of tiredness, thirst and blurred vision.

The healthy eating structure of a diabetic diet involves eating foods like, vegetables poultry, lean meat, fish, non-fat dairy products, beans, whole grains and fruit. A low-carb dietary plan is also available where foods like, fish, meat, poultry are still ok along with cheese, eggs and particular vegetables such as kidney beans, avocados and carrots. Diabetic diets should include foods that are low in saturated fats and cholesterol, such as skinless poultry, fresh fruit, and vegetables as previously mentioned.

A diabetic diet consists of certain food groups but it also imperative that you weigh the foods so you intake the correct amount of calories. It is also essential that when you’re shopping at the supermarket to check to food labels because they show the daily values based on a 2,000 calorie diet. For example, your breakfast on 2,000 calorie diabetic diet might consist of something like this, a cup of skimmed milk or sugar free yogurt, a couple of slices of bread, rice cakes or pasta if you prefer, an egg prepared your favorite way and a serving of fruit. For those diabetics on a 1,800 calorie plan your breakfast might contain the following; a couple of slices of bread with a cup of skimmed milk, a tablespoon of cheese and a serving of some fresh fruit like apple, banana orange.

The afternoon snack can consist of a fruit, two to three crackers, and half a cup of tea or coffee made with artificial sweetener. There are alternatives available so the tea or coffee could be exchanged for yogurt or a cup of skimmed milk. A diabetic diet does not have to be boring.

Prevention is always better than cure. Many of the known diseases as diabetes can always be prevented at very little cost, if it is going to be measured against the amount spent in treatment. Thisarticle incidentally is based on the wisdom of achieving a healthy life by avoiding the factors that can compel you to seek the help of a doctor. I will dedicate the paragraphs below to discuss each of these principles in full detail.

Adopt good eating habits

We live in a day and age in which junk foods have covered over eighty percent of the shelves of all the known fast food joints. The pressures of our daily activities hardly leave us with any time to responsibly consider what we consume as food. Eating to fill the stomach or grasping anything that looks palatable should not be the deciding factor in your choice of food. Good food should contain a good balance of all relevant nutrients in the right proportions to ensure that after digestion and absorption the body system will derive what it needs to keep it functioning at optimum capacity.

In addition, food should be prepared and consumed under the highest standards of hygiene. This means, where possible vegetables and groceries that are vulnerable to contact from an endless list of pathogens should be properly cleaned before consumption. As far as practicable, it is recommended that the fat and cholesterol content of our diets should be at the lowest level possible. The connection between high cholesterol in the human system and the vulnerability to cardiovascular diseases has being established beyond thought.

Obesity

In recent times due to poor nutritional information, people consume large quantities of food rich in calories, which the body is unable to use. Examples of such food include, candies, chocolates, sweet cookies, ice creams and a host of others. The human body through its own internal mechanism absorbs just the exact quantity of glucose needed to meet the energy demands of the system. Surplus glucose is converted into fats and stored under the skin layer. Fats pose a mortal danger to the human system when it blocks major vessels and arteries to impede the smooth distribution of blood from the heart to other parts of the body and back to the heart. People suffering from obesity should subscribe to a workable weight loss program, which can begin by getting more nutrition education coupled with the resolve to diligently endeavor to exhibit greater responsibility in matters regarding their diets. Finally, conscious efforts should be put in place to avoid reaching to a state of obesity.

Increase physical activity

Our modern world is driven by mechanization and technology to such an extent that it is increasingly becoming easier to do the very basic things in life with just very little or no effort at all. Inasmuch as the modern gadgets exist to enhance the human welfare, in their extreme stages can bring side effects that are costly to the health of man. As a mater of principle, it is advised that, engaging in regular physical activities such as jogging, walking, swimming etc enable the skeletal and muscular system to be set to work. As these systems work, the energy demand by the body cells to keep pace with the said physical activity, results in the burning of excess glucose stored as fats and increase in blood circulation. As this process becomes a regular routine, then you are reducing your vulnerability to cardiovascular diseases by a significant margin. Quit unhealthy habits

Alcohol and substance use and their abuse is a major threat to a healthy living. Tobacco as a single entity is known to contain thousands of chemicals; chiefly among them is nicotine that undermines the quality of life a person can live. Statistically, over fifty thousand people globally die from tobacco related complications such as respiratory diseases and cancer every year. People addicted to the more dangerous illicit substances as cocaine and marijuana are known to have an over seventy-five percent likelihood of suffering from mental diseases than non-drug users. Closely related to the drug menace is alcoholism and its attendant social and health problems. Regular alcohol intake puts a strain on the liver, which if allowed to persist can result in serious and even terminal liver infections.

It is true that if you have diabetes there are restrictions to what you can eat but that does not mean you will no longer be able to enjoy your food. Unfortunately, to stay healthy it will require strict adherence to a special diet which for some people may be the reason they contracted diabetes in the first place. The situation today is much easier than it used to be as there are special diabetic recipes available which make the task of arranging a diet much simpler.

First of all, one of the main goals for a diabetic diet is to lower your weight and maintain it. Eating food from the four main food groups and sticking to your diabetic diet will help you with your diabetes. For patients, having a healthy diabetic diet plan means eating in a way that reduces the risk for complications that are commonly associated with their condition, including heart disease and stroke. By creating a healthy, low-fat diet, using diabetic recipes, many of the symptoms of diabetes have been reduced including blurred vision, thirst and at the same time increasing energy levels and reducing fatigue.

A healthy diabetic menu is concerned with eating a balanced diet of non-fat dairy foods, lean meat, poultry, fish, whole grains, fruit, vegetables and beans. The low-carb diabetic dietary plans are a little different and only certain vegetables are allowed such as kidney beans, carrots and avocados as well as fish, meat, poultry, cheese and eggs. Saturated fats and cholesterol are a problem if you are a diabetic so you would need to follow diabetic recipes that cut down on foods like this and eat skinless poultry as well as fresh fruit and vegetables.

Weighing your food when you’re on a diabetic diet is as important as the foods you consume, so that you receive the correct amount of calories. Using the food labels in the supermarkets will also become second nature when you are preparing your diabetic recipes as they contain useful information, usually based on a diet of 2,000 calories per day.

For example, your breakfast on 2,000 calorie diabetic diet plan might consist of something like this, a cup of skimmed milk or sugar free yogurt, a couple of slices of bread, rice cakes or pasta if you prefer, an egg prepared your favorite way and a serving of fruit. Diabetic recipes for a breakfast on a 1,800 calorie diabetic diet plan would look something like this; a cup of skimmed milk with two slices of bread a serving of fruit (apple, banana or orange) and a tablespoon of cheese.

The afternoon snack can consist of a fruit, two to three crackers, and half a cup of tea or coffee made with artificial sweetener. Knowledge of your diabetic diet will mean that even small meals like this can be varied so that instead of tea or coffee, sugar free yoghurt or a cup of fat free milk could be a suitable replacement. A person suffering from diabetes no longer has to suffer a poor choice of diet especially when our knowledge of diabetes has ensured that diabetic recipe formulations are designed with variety and health in mind.

Diabetes is a condition in which sugar is not properly absorbed by the body. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes share one central feature: elevated blood sugar (glucose) levels due to insufficiencies of insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas.

Globally the incidence of diabetes is expected to exceed 250 million people by 2025 - resulting in 35 million heart attacks, 13 million strokes, 6 million episodes of renal failure, 8 million instances of blindness or eye surgery, 2 million amputations and 62 million deaths -that is a measure of the scale of the problem. While diabetes belongs at the top of the healthcare agenda, it has yet to be given that position.

According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 21 million diabetics in America; with another 54 million people having pre-diabetes (placing them at high risk for developing Type II diabetes). This equates to 75 million Americans having diabetes, or being at high risk. Most doctors believe that diabetes is incurable… that’s what they’ve been taught. The best you could hope for - according to what they learned in medical school - is to “control” this disease with medication and insulin.

And they’re right… Diabetes is incurable if you follow most doctors’ advice of merely suppressing your diabetes symptoms with pharmaceutical drugs. While prescriptive medications can help you “artificially control” your blood sugar, they do nothing to get at the root cause of the disease.

As we all know, prescription drugs (hypoglycemics) simply mask symptoms. They do not cure; actually they exacerbate the problem as they weaken your immune system. What is meant to help you out only make matters worse. Sadly, diabetics taking drugs are 2.5 times more likely to die from heart disease than those treated by diet alone. And again, then there are the side effects of medication. These include liver problems (jaundice), anemia, skin rashes and sometimes, death.

Both oral anti-diabetes drugs and insulin are not health-friendly options. They hasten the onset of aging, and damage your liver, heart and other organs among other complications. But there is a solution. Diabetes is curable. However, it is not cured by treating symptoms with drugs that only perpetuate the condition. Please understand, prescription drugs are the largest orchestrated fraud in human history.

The solution is to address the root cause of diabetes by stimulating your body to restore your pancreas and naturally produce more insulin, without the complications or side-effects of drugs and medications. Why don’t we hear about this information from the American Diabetes Association? The truth is, the American Diabetes Association are benefiting hugely from the current trend in diabetes. They are funded by pharmaceutical companies who would lose out if people reversed there diabetic conditions.

The treatment of Diabetes brings in over $10 Million Dollars every single hour of the day to Doctors, Pharmaceutical companies, and testing supply businesses. With that kind of money at stake Big Pharma is going to extreme lengths to silence information about natural cures and alternatives for treating diabetes. But the truth is that reversing diabetes is not only possible, it is likely if you are willing to put forth the effort and follow some simple, proven steps. Everyday now more and more diabetics are finding that they can literally reverse this disease.

For people with diabetes maintaining a proper diabetic blood sugar levels is one of if not the most important thing in properly managing this life threatening disease. There are a whole list of complications and disorder that can and will occur in the diabetic with consistent high blood glucose levels. Controlling and managing these diabetic complications can be accomplished through proper diet, exercise, and medications.

Blood sugar levels fluctuate throughout the day and are affected by what you eat, insulin, and physical activities you may participate in. The problem with diabetes is your sugar levels stay high longer then they should and this is what your doctor will look for when making a diagnosis.

There are three different tests that your doctor can order that can be used to diagnose diabetes. Many times if the test ordered comes back positive your doctor will one of the other two tests to confirm the diagnosis. The American Diabetes Association recommends the following three tests in the diagnosis of diabetes.

1. The casual plasma blood glucose level test. This is used to diagnose in conjunction with the patient exhibiting the signs and symptoms of diabetes. This test can be done at any time of the day and is not dependent on when the last meal was consumed. If the plasma glucose comes back at or above 200 mg/dL then further testing may be needed.

2. The fasting plasma glucose level test. This is done after at least an eight hour fasting period in which the patient has not eaten anything. A positive test will show a plasma glucose of greater then 126 mg/dL.

3. The two hour oral glucose tolerance test. The patient will drink a syrupy glucose solution that contains 75 anhydrous glucose dissolved in water. After waiting two hours blood is drawn and if the glucose levels are at or above 200 mg/dL then a positive diagnosis is made.

Once diagnosed the diabetic must be made aware of the importance of maintaining good blood sugar control to mitigate the complications that this disease can cause. Only through self monitoring using a blood glucose monitor can this be accomplished. In fact a monitor is something no diabetic should be without. It gives the diabetic metabolic control and keeps the chances of hypo or hyperglycemia at a minimum.

A diabetic blood sugar level should be maintained in the 70 to 120 mg/dL range before a regular meal and should be in that range four or five hours after the last snack or meal. Blood sugar does rise after eating a meal or snack, this is normal, but it should drop to below 200 mg/dL two hours after eating. Tight control of blood glucose levels is an important part of any diabetes treatment program. Doing so lessens the chances of kidney disease, nerve damage, heart disease, and vision problems that this disease causes. source

It’s not always a good idea to give in to temptation. Digging into your favorite dessert can do some serious damage to your system, especially if you’re diabetic. Americans tend to have a sweet tooth, and that is perhaps the reason why most of us, succumb to Diabetes. In fact, the amount of sugar we eat and drink every year has soared nearly 30 percent since 1983 and is most likely a major contributor to the soaring rates of obesity in this country.

Although the USDA recommends we get no more than 10 teaspoons of sugar a day, the average American downs about 34 teaspoons–more than three times as much. Uncovering all the sugar in your diet isn’t easy. Sugar often hides under several pseudonyms and turns up in even the most innocuous foods (like bread, crackers, salad dressing, ketchup, and mustard). However, by observing a little caution, you can have the cake, and eat it too- literally!

Switch to Sugar free Recipes. Incorporating less or no sugar in your everyday meals will help you maintain a healthy diet and keep fit. Different assortments of food are available for everything you need for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some select online stores carry candy, chocolates, drink mixes, protein bars, desserts and many other delectable snacks. With such a vast amount of scrumptious Sugar free Foods, you will certainly find everything you need to keep your taste buds satisfied.

Go half and half. A quick No Sugar Recipe is that you mix half a regular soda with half a diet soda. Half a carton of sweetened yogurt with half a carton of plain yogurt. Half a cup of regular juice with half a cup of seltzer. Do this for two weeks, then cut back to one-quarter sweetened to three-quarters unsweetened. Continue until you’re only drinking the unsweetened version. Grant yourself a daily sugar “quota,” and use it on foods where it matters most. For most of us, that means desserts. Don’t waste it on dressings, spreads, breakfast cereals, and soda. Not only will this reduce your sugar intake in a day, but it will help you lose your sweet tooth. Sugar is incredibly addictive. Train your taste buds to become accustomed to less and you’ll be satisfied with less.

Establish rules about dessert. For instance, only have dessert after dinner, never lunch. Only eat dessert on odd days of the month, or only on weekends, or only at restaurants. If you have a long tradition of daily desserts, then make it your rule to have raw fruit at least half the time. Keep trying new Sugar free Dessert Recipes and enjoy a hearty sweet dish without feeling guilty about it. Instead of downing sugary-sweet drinks like lemonade, make your own “sun tea.” This is an interesting Sugar free Recipe where you steep have to decaffeinated tea bags in water and set the pitcher in the sun for a couple of hours. Add lemon, lots of ice and sugar substitute for a carb-free summer quaff.

Today most condiments and other packaged foods for people with diabetes are made without sugar or with sugar substitutes. Here are the common ones: brown sugar, corn syrup, dextrin, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, high-fructose corn syrup, galactose, glucose, honey, hydrogenated starch, invert sugar maltose, lactose, mannitol, maple syrup, molasses, polyols, raw sugar, sorghum, sucrose, sorbitol, turbinado sugar, and xylitol. All No Sugar Recipes and Sugar free Dessert Recipes use these ingredients to get that same taste. source

Fast paced life of modern world has necessitated us to give only lower priority to nutrition. This is at a time when nutrition awareness of everyone is high. Instead of taking well cooked food items, fruits and juices, people go after carbonated drinks, fast ‘junk’ food, frozen and preserved food, microwave food. People also don’t take the time to enjoy and appreciate the food they eat. Today most of us just need any food that fills the belly for sometime.

This food habits have given rise to a variety of health problems. Significantly important one among them is diabetes. Ayurvedic principles tell us food is one important element that keeps a person in a balanced state of body, mind and soul. Taking healthy food translates into healthy body. Ayurvedic view on diabetes is no different. There are times when diabetes can attack without any warning sign. Ayurvedic food style combined with certain herbal applications helps one effectively manage his or her condition of diabetes.

High sugar level is the most dreaded thing about diabetes. Ayurveda recommends food items that don’t release excess sugar into the blood. Food items that are too sweet, ice cream, chocolate, friend food items, white flour, preserved food, fast food, junk food etc are to be avoided. Bad habits like smoking and drinking should be given up. Ayurveda recommends Ayurvedic herbal tea for diabetic patients. Replace sugar with honey or jaggery (thickened molasses - sarkkara) or better still palm jaggery (thickened palm molasses - karippatti).

The advantages or drinking more than eight glass of water everyday is not easily told in an essay. Drink a minimum of 8-15 glass of water in the day time. After sunset take only minimal quantities of water. Another thing is to drink plenty of water an hour before a meal and an hour after the meals. Drinking water close to meals dilute the digestive fire (in Ayurveda it is called pitta) and makes the process of digestion difficult.

Take fruits like grapes, fig, pomegranate, citrus fruits etc. Bitter melon (bitter gourd, karela) is used as medicine for diabetes. The point about Ayurvedic management of diabetes is never a hard task. All you will have to do is to incorporate Ayurvedic principles as your daily routine. Having healthy food and exercise regime itself can help one control his or her diabetes to a great extent.

Include turmeric and garlic as spices, bitter gourd as vegetable, triphala as a laxative and drinking lot of water as daily habit. These are not very difficult to follow. You can’t eat or drink all the food items you have. But living a sweeter life sometimes means giving up some sweet for tongue food items. source

Chromium is a trace mineral essential nutrient that has been promoted for the prevention and treatment of diabetes based on the fact that chromium deficiency is associated with glucose intolerance. Ten million Americans spend $150 million a year for chromium supplements, making it the best selling mineral supplement after calcium. However the mechanism by which chromium relates to glucose is unknown. Chromium concentrations cannot be measured with accuracy in the body and the amount of normal dietary intake of chromium is uncertain since such a small amount of chromium is absorbed from food that the actual uptake from food is very difficult to measure.

One uncontrolled study showed improvement on a test that is a marker of the stages leading up to diabetes (called the glucose tolerance test) in three out of six diabetics given 1000 micrograms of chromium, with no effect on non-diabetics. Another study compared placebo to trivalent chromium at 200 microgram per day for six weeks followed by a cross over (placebo patients then took chromium). There was no effect on the glucose tolerance test. Another study randomized 76 patients with atherosclerotic disease to 250 micrograms of chromium chloride or placebo for 7-16 months. In the patients with diabetes, there were no differences between the chromium treated patients and the placebo group.

One study randomly assigned 180 Chinese subjects with Type-2 diabetes to two doses of chromium picolinate or placebo for four months. Glucose control was improved with the higher dose of 1000 micrograms per day of chromium as well as on measures of blood glucose and insulin levels. This is the only controlled study of chromium, however, that showed benefit, and more controlled studies need to be done to see if these early results can be replicated. Also, the fact that this was a Chinese sample means that they can’t necessarily be applied to American or European populations, since there may be differences in nutritional status (i.e. chromium supplementation may be replacing a chromium deficiency in the Chinese). For instance, prior studies showing beneficial effects of another trace metal selenium in Chinese could not be replicated in the US.