Diet Plan for Diabetes

Diet plays a significant role in controlling the diabetes. The diabetic diet may be used alone or else in combination with insulin doses or with oral hypoglycemic drugs. Main objective of diabetic diet is to maintain ideal body weight, by providing adequate nutrition along with normal blood sugar levels in blood. The diet plan for a diabetic is based on height, weight, age, sex, physical activity and nature of diabetes. While planning diet, the dietician has to consider complications such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels.

With respect to the above factors, a dietician will assess calories to be given, like scheming the carbohydrates, proteins, fats, type of carbohydrate, amount of fiber and so on.

Exchange meal plan is a diet program which balances the amount of carbohydrate that we intake per day. Glucose is a sugar released from carbohydrate so, if we want to control blood sugar we have to limit the consumption of simple carbohydrate. Carbohydrate foods are given as value per portion, known as the exchange. This plan helps us to decide on the type of food to be taken, the amount of food and also the time to eat. You can plan for more flexible meals as you get more knowledge about the diet for a diabetic, may be like the counting carbohydrate meal plan or constant carbohydrate. But there is no common diet that works for everyone. Nor is there any particular diet that works perfectly for any diabetic over a long period. While planning diabetes diet we should adhere to certain important factors, they are as follows:

• Fiber should be at least 1.4 oz / day
• Instead of 3 heavy meals, we should go for 4-5 small mid intervals
• Replace bakery products and fast foods by simple whole cooked cereals, and don't eat carbohydrates 2 hours before bedtime
• Consume fresh fruit and vegetables at least 5 exchange/ day

Diabetics always need to take care of their diet and also about the food they eat. Care has to be taken because all foods contain not only carbohydrate, but also some energy value. Protein and fat available in the food are converted to glucose in the body. This glucose has some effect on the blood sugar level, which has to be taken care of. Furthermore, you needn’t have to eat only the bland boring diet. Instead, you can eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. All it means is that you need to select foods that are high in nutrition and low in calories. 

source diabetesinformationhub

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"DIE" to live longer with diabetes

Do you really want to control your diabetes?

If the answer is YES than you need to "DIE" to live longer with diabetes. Don't understand how.

The following Factors will help you to live longer with diabetes:

Diet: Plan and take food in 4-5 regular intervals instead of 3 heavy meals.
Insulin: Take insulin daily as prescribed by your physician to control the sugar level in your blood.
Exercise: 15 minutes regular walk and exercise is enough to keep you healthy.

Follow and see the results.

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How Diabetes Affects Your Brain

It appears that diabetes and insulin problems may be connected to a higher risk of serious conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Experts aren't sure how insulin works in the brain, but it seems to play many roles. Even in a healthy person, insulin changes that follow a high-carb meal change brain function, says Kahn.

So how might diabetes and insulin problems affect the brain? "In people with diabetes, the brain doesn't seem to become insulin resistant in the same way that other organs in the body do," Kahn says. "But there do seem to be changes in insulin signaling in the brain."

People with diabetes seem to have a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease. They may have a higher risk of Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease too. Insulin problems seem to be connected. Studies have found that insulin levels in certain regions of the brain associated with memory are much higher in healthy people than in people with Alzheimer's disease.

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Black Tea, Green Tea Good for Diabetes

Both black tea and green tea are good for diabetes, a rat study shows. They also prevent diabetic animals from developing cataracts.
The findings appear in the May 4 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
"Black and green tea represent a potentially inexpensive, nontoxic, and, in fact, pleasurable [blood-sugar-lowering] agent," the researchers write. "Tea may be a simple, inexpensive means of preventing or retarding human diabetes and the ensuing complications."
In the study, the researchers gave green and black teas to diabetic rats for three months.
They found both kinds of tea inhibited diabetic cataracts. The teas also had a blood-sugar-lowering effect.

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Family Relationships and Diabetes Care

During my research to Diabetes, I came across such a wonderful article, which I cant stop myself sharing with my readers.

This article is writter by Mr. Lawrence Fisher, PhD on Lifestyle and Behavior.

In this article, he argued that family and couple relationships during the adult years are as important for diabetes management and outcomes as they are for individuals with diabetes who are children, adolescents, or elderly. He  posed three questions to guide the discussion.

First, what aspects of family and couple relationships are linked to the management of diabetes during the adult years? This is an important question for two reasons:
documenting links between the family and diabetes also identifies important risk and protective factors that can define high-risk family settings for early intervention.

Second, what are the documented health risks for family members of people with diabetes? If diabetes is truly a family affair, what are the health consequences for non–genetically related partners of having diabetes in the family?

Third, if both the first and second questions yield convincing information, what do we know about developing and implementing interventions to address the context of the patientpartner diabetes-related relationship?

The most powerful couple risk indicators focus on nonconcordant diabetes beliefs, negative emotional tone, poor problem-solving and conflict resolution skills, and low organizational abilities. The identified family risk indicators for diabetes in this age range are areas where focused relationship-based interventions might be directed.

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Long Term Insulin Increases The Higher Risk Of Heart Attack, Stroke, Cancer?

Long term use of insulin does not put people with diabetes or pre-diabetes at higher risk for heart attack, stroke or cancer, according to a large international study that followed more than 12,500 people in 40 countries over 6 years.

One of the study's two principal investigators, Dr Hertzel Gerstein, of McMaster University in Canada, presented the findings on Monday at the 72nd scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association in Philadelphia, USA.

Gerstein is professor of medicine at McMaster's Michael G DeGroote School of Medicine and deputy director of the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences.

He said the results run counter to concerns that long-term use of insulin may lead to heart disease.

"People have been debating the question of whether there are adverse consequences to long-term insulin use for years. This study provides the clearest answer yet to that question: No, there are not," said Gerstein in a statement.

The results of the study, called ORIGIN (Outcome Reduction with an Initial Glargine Intervention study), are due to be published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

Another important finding from the ORIGIN study is that people with pre-diabetes who had daily insulin injections had a 28% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The effect was still there after the daily basal injections with insulin glargine had stopped.

For the study, Gerstein and colleagues examined data on more than 12,500 people of average age 64 from 537 sites in 40 countries, who were either at high risk for type 2 diabetes or were in the early stages of the disease and had a high risk for cardiovascular (CV) problems.

The participants were randomly assigned to receive either standard care (no insulin) or one daily injection of insulin (glargine) for an average of six years.

The researchers measured a number of outcomes, including deaths due to cardiovascular events, and non-fatal cardiovascular events, such as heart attack (myocardial infarction), stroke, heart failure, and heart-related surgery such as revascularization procedures.

They also measured cancer incidence: all cancers combined and organ-specific cancers.

When they analyzed the results, the researchers found no difference between the two groups in cardiovascular outcomes or cancer (either combined or of any type).

They suggest this means there is no long term harm from having daily insulin injections (with insulin glargine) to control glucose.

Through most of the study, the participants who took insulin managed to keep their normal fasting glucose under control (levels were under 6 mmol/l).

The results did, however, confirm two already-known, minor medical effects of daily insulin use: low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and a slight gain in weight. On average, participants using insulin gained 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg) over the six years and experienced 0.7% higher risk of severe hypoglycemia per year, compared to those who did not use insulin.

Gerstein said:

"We now know what the risks are of taking insulin on a long-term basis, and they are low."

Another finding was that taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements (in the form of 1 gm daily capsules) did not reduce heart-related deaths in people with type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes. But the researchers couldn't say if this was also true of a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, since they did not study this effect.

A key feature of the ORIGIN trial is that it investigated the use of insulin glargine in a population in which insulins are not typically used. Thus it provides new data on the benefits and risks of starting insulin therapy earlier in the course of the disease.

Sanofi Inc, who market Lantus (a brand name for insulin glargine in injection form) funded the study and the Norwegian company Pronova Biocare AS provided the omega-3 supplements.

Gerstein described the trial as an "excellent example of collaboration between industry and academia".

Riccardo Perfetti, MD, Vice President Medical Affairs, Global Diabetes, Sanofi, told the press:

"In patients with pre-diabetes or early type 2 diabetes and high CV risk, ORIGIN shows that it is possible to maintain low and stable HbA1c levels that are close to normal over a long time, and to potentially delay the progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes."

Diabetes is a chronic, often debilitating, and sometimes fatal disease. It occurs when the body either can't make the insulin required to keep blood sugar (glucose) under control, or when it can't use the insulin it produces. Glucose is an essential source of energy, which the body controls with insulin. Without this control, blood glucose levels remain high, eventually damaging organs, blood vessels and nerves.

There are currently over 9 million people in Canada living with diabetes or pre-diabetes, a condition where blood sugar is above normal, but not yet developed into full-blown diabetes. People with pre-diabetes are at a high risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

source:  Medical Source Today

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05 Tips to Avoid Diabetes

Diabetes if not taken seriously can change into a serious disease. This disease is considered as a Royal disease, as it takes round-the-clock commitment. But your attempts are beneficial. Careful diabetes therapy can reduce your chance of serious — even life-threatening — problems.

For you I am sharing here 05 tips which surely help you in identifying your active role in diabetes and enjoy a better future.

1. Self Commitment is the important factor in managing your diabetes.

Remember medicines, treatment, doctors, medical aids, family support are the additional factors which can help you in managing your diabetes, but above all your self commitment in control of the disease is the first and important factor.


 2. Nutritious diet in small interval:
Balanced diet is another important factor which comes in the priority list. The diabetic patient should take food in small intervals. As these patients feel hunger and thirst, it is advised to take nutritious food in a day in small interval of time.


3. Light Exercise and Walk
All the physicians suggest 15 minutes exercise or walk is enough to control the diabetes. Either you are working person, home maker or retired, introduce light metabolic 15 minutes exercises in your routine. It will help you in controlling the disease.

4. Quit Smoking and Liquor Consumption
If you using tobacco or use other kinds of using tobacco cigarettes, ask your physician to help you stop. Smoking enhances the chance of various diabetes problems, such as cardiac event, heart stroke, sensors harm and renal condition.  If you are finding difficulty you can opt for any one of the alternative among various available options in the market to suppress your fit like E Cigarettes.

5. Regular Health Checkups:
This disease enhances the chance of several other disease. Regular Health Checkups will help you and your physician to diagnose any dreadful situation.

Other helpful tips:
Keep your hypertension and cholestrerol levels under management.
Schedule annual physicals and frequent eye examinations.
Keep your vaccinations up currently.

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