With millions of sufferers out there, all with varying degrees of glucose intolerance, don’t panic you are not alone. The real problem with type 2 diabetes is high blood sugar, over time it can and will, cause a multitude of problems. So as the title states, you number one priority in reversing type 2 diabetes is lowering you blood sugar levels to within a safe range, then keeping them there.

A safe range being between 4.5 - 6.5 mg/dl. This is the reading you a looking for upon waking. It is known as your fasting blood sugar level. Having a reading slightly above these figures is not going to kill you but it is a good indication that something is not quite right with your blood sugar control system. Natural Foods is a great way to keep this number low for you in the morning.  For more info on diet, exercise and the reversal of type 2 diabetes see what Dave has to say.

What are the three steps to lowering your blood sugar and reversing type 2 diabetes?

1. Diet This is the daddy of the bunch, your diet is above all else your medicine, prevention, cure and life enhancing all in one magic potion. Never underestimate diet. Sticking to a diet rich in natural unprocessed foods. Dark green veg, healthy lean protein, healthy un altered vegetable oils (cold pressed if available), all low glycemic foods.
2. Restrict Carbohydrates. There is much controversy over the low carb lifestyle but what the opposing forces fail to mention, is that your body is primarily geared up to run without carbs, if you are not sure about this just look up any good scientific source on the process known as gluconeogenesis. It will explain how your body quite literally creates its own energy in the absence of carbohydrate.
3. Exercise. Never underestimate the profound effect, twenty minutes walking will do for you three or four times a week. Exercise helps remove excess blood sugar from your system and not only burns it up as energy but also stores it a stable long chain glucose molecules known as glycogen, this stuff is called upon as back up when in times of increased physical activity and stress.

The Glycemic index (also glycaemic index) or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates that break down rapidly during digestion releasing glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI. For most people, foods with a low GI have significant health benefits.

High Glycemic Index Foods Are Linked to Health Problems

What researchers have learned is that high glycemic index foods generally make blood glucose levels higher. In addition, people who eat a lot of high glycemic index foods tend to have greater levels of body fat, as measured by the body mass index (BMI). High BMIs are linked to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

High glycemic index foods include many carbohydrates such as these:

• Bread
• Pasta
• Rice
• Cereal
• Baked goods

Low Glycemic Index Foods Are Healthier Choices

Low glycemic index foods generally have less of an impact on blood glucose levels. People who eat a lot of low glycemic index foods tend to have lower total body fat levels.

Low glycemic index foods include these:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Whole grains
• Legumes

For a more comprehensive list of glycemic foods and additional reading please check out David Mendosa’s Glycemic Index article.

The March 2008 issue of Diabetes Forecast, the consumer magazine of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), features an article about assistance dogs that are trained to sense episodes of human hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose, and sound a life-saving alert.

According to the article, these dogs seem to sense a dangerous drop in blood glucose before it begins, allowing the people they work with to prevent an episode altogether. Some dogs seem to sense high blood glucose, too. Mark Ruefenacht is a forensic scientist with type 1 diabetes who started a hypoglycemia alert dog training center in California and has been placing trained dogs with people who need them for three years.

“Clients are coming back saying, ‘I have never had better control of my blood sugar in my life as I have since I got this dog.’”

Scientists remain unsure about how the dogs are able to sense changes in their human companions. It is believed that the dogs are reacting to scents created by chemical changes related to glucose imbalance, but no one knows exactly which chemicals cause the scent. Despite this scientific uncertainty, hypoglycemia alert dogs have provided a great sense of relief to people with diabetes and their families, including parents of young children with diabetes and adults whose history of hypoglycemic episodes made it difficult or even dangerous to live alone.

Currently, there are only a few groups in the United States that are training assistance dogs to sense hypoglycemia. The training requires years of expensive work, which severely limits the number of people who can be paired with dogs. For those who do get the chance, however, the benefit can be remarkable.

“The first time that dog gets you up in the middle of the night because your child is dropping into a serious low, rapidly you realize it’s worth every penny you spent, and every minute you had to wait,” says Donna Cope, whose child has diabetes.

In an age when information is right at our fingertips you would think that upping our diabetes knowledge would be a simple thing, and it is… if you find diabetes information that is accurate and easy to access. Here in lies the challenge.

I don’t interact with a whole lot of diabetics. There someone in my neighborhood that I’ve talked about it one time with. There’s Bernard, who I work with, who is a big hero when it comes to dealing with work/life/family/exercise and balancing it all as a type 1. And there’s a few online communities that I read and contribute to such as Tudiabetes and Quality Health.

I have actually found a site called QualityHealth which provides you with accurate diabetes information that is easy to access. On top of just upping your diabetes knowledge at QualityHealth you will be given access to some great discount diabetic supplies.

So in this case diabetes knowledge is power…and money saved on discount diabetic supplies. Keep reading, I’ll let you know how QualityHealth works.

Since you are reading this post on a diabetes website I’m going to make the assumption that you are into upping your diabetes knowledge. And since you are human I’m going to assume that you would like to be able to find out about some discount diabetic supplies. Hey you gotta buy diabetes supplies anyway right? Why not save a little cash.

The first thing you are going to want to do is go to QualityHealth and register yourself as a user. It’s really easy and it’s free. I’ll give you the step by step on how to register:

• You can follow this link to QualityHealth
• You then need to click on the button to register as a user
• You will need to supply the following information: first and last name, address, email address (they have a privacy policy that ensures that they will never share your information unless you give them your consent)
• Next you get to customize the information that is supplied to you. This is done by checking off all of the health issues that both you and your family have.
• Next you can choose from a number of monthly/bi-monthly newsletters that you can receive via email. The obvious choice for you would be the diabetes newsletter that is available but there are a number of other interesting newsletter that I would suggest including emotional wellbeing and diet and nutrition.
• You’re done with the registration.

What you will see once you start poking around is that QualityHealth is filled with tons of diabetes information that will increase your personal diabetes knowledge. My suggestion would be to start off in the Diabetes Health Center Section.

The way that QualityHealth gives you discounts on diabetic health supplies is as a reward for completing very easy, very short surveys right on the site. It’s a simple way to earn some great discount diabetic supplies.

Battle Diabetes isn’t usually one for telling it’s readers to sign up for this or that but since I am a member of QualityHealth myself and have reaped the benefits first hand… I feel pretty comfortable advising you to do the same.

Register with QualityHealth today to start upping your diabetes knowledge, receive diabetes newsletters, and discount diabetic supplies. You’ll be glad you did.

If you know anything at all about Diabetes care you know the importance of eating a healthy diabetic friendly diet.

photo credit: size8jeans

In the same token, if you know about eating healthy diabetic friendly foods you must be buying healthy diabetic friendly foods at the grocery store.

If you are buying healthy diabetic friendly foods at the grocery store…you’re broke.

What is someone with diabetes supposed to do when they go to the grocery store on a very strict budget? Well, what they might do is start to buy sustenance that is less that diabetic friendly because that’s all they can afford. Not good.

I’m going to give you a few grocery shopping tips that will keep the rising gas prices from raising your blood sugar.

There is no way around the fact that the price of wheat and grains has tripled in the past 10 months. You could say, “ok, I’ll just cut down on the amount of products I buy that contain wheat and grains”. Really? Do you realize just how many products contain these things?

It is being estimated that because just about all of our meat/dairy sources are fed wheat and grains as their primary food source we can expect there to be a huge spike in the cost of 80% of our groceries.

So the end result of our rise in gas prices is that all of the healthy foods that diabetics need in order to maintain control of their blood sugar levels will significantly increase in price.

So keeping that in mind, I’m going to list a few tips and tricks which give some hints on how to save money at the food store on healthy foods:

photo credit: paulancheta

• There is no nutritional difference between brown and white eggs…but white are cheaper
• Instead of buying individual serving sizes of yogurt which can be quite expensive, buy a large container and separate into one cup servings yourself
• Instead of buying canned beans, try buying dry beans as they triple in volume when you cook them. A 1lb bag will yield 6 1cup servings when cooked.
• Stay away from individually priced snacks, a larger container and the do it yourself method will cut down on the cost in the end
• Try to buy boneless cuts of meat since you are paying a price per pound…bones add weight without being edible.
• If fresh fruit is too expensive buy frozen or canned fruit in water. If you can only get fruit packed in syrup all you have to do is rinse it before eating

These are just a few of the many, many ways for you to save money on your next grocery shopping trip. For more ideas like this you can check out a great article on the American Diabetes Association site giving even more money saving ideas.

With the nicer weather coming I recommend buying all of your vegetables from local farms. Not only is the price cheaper but you are also supporting a local farmer and you are also being “green” as you are buying a product that did not need to be shipped by any polluting means such as a diesel truck.

Along with countless side effects from Diabetes, complications with the foot can be debilitating. Of the world’s entire amputation rate, complications from diabetes are responsible for 25% of the amputations. This breaks down to roughly every thirty seconds someone is losing a limb to diabetes.

How will an Indicator Plaster Neuropad, or IPN, change the way we detect Diabetic Neuropathy in the future?

The IPN can be performed either in the office or by the patient at home and takes about roughly 10 minutes. The fact that this test can be performed at home by the patient is phenomenal and it allows the patient to participate actively in the prevention and detection of diabetic foot complications.

Currently, it is suggested that patients utilize the Indicator Plaster Neuropad once a year as a way of detecting peripheral neuropathy. This 10 minute examination results in either a pink light when the nerve conduction is normal or a blue light when nerve damage is present.

There is no cure for diabetic neuropathy but awareness and care can prevent complications which could become severe enough to warrant amputation.

Patients who register an abnormal result on the IPN, meaning they have neuropathy, can be instructed on how to better care for their feet and can also schedule more regular foot exams.

Awareness is key. Like GI Joe used to say: “Knowing is half the Battle…Go Joe”.

But let me ask you this. Why? Why, if not for some form of denial, have you neglected all or part of your diabetes care? Is it because you are stupid? No. It is because you are lazy? No. It is because you want to die? No. Well…there aren’t many reasons left other than your mind began to use denial as a coping mechanism.

Denial is the norm for someone newly diagnosed with Diabetes. It is a way of coping with bad news and a way for our brains to accept things little by little. Diabetes care is a huge responsibility that is thrust onto a patient without much wiggle room. You can kind of see how or why a newly diagnosed patient may exhibit denial.

But what about those of us who have stayed on top of our diabetes care for a long time? How is it that we can suddenly find ourselves slipping back into denial? It’s not like one day you wake up and you completely deny the fact that you have diabetes. No, denial is way more insidious than that. It may start out like this:

• I can’t make my doctor appointment today…I’ll call sometime next week and reschedule
• A couple of cookies isn’t going to kill me
• I don’t need to check my blood sugar level…I can feel when something is wrong
• I have diabetes but it’s not “that serious” because I don’t have to take insulin
• I ran out of my medication but I just don’t have time to go fill it…I’ll get it another time

Now, before you know it you haven’t gone to the doctors in weeks, you’re not taking your medication, you’re not checking your blood sugar level which would give you an indication of what your avoidance is actually doing to you, and you are not eating well.

Then…the shame sets in. After a while you will realize that you don’t feel good. So now, you are slowly coming out of the denial but because you let yourself get back into this situation you are feeling shameful. Shame and guilt are your enemies. They will keep you doing the same destructive things out of embarrassment and fear.

<h3>How To Get Back On Track With Your Diabetes Care</h3>

Now that you have come out of your denial you need to take action. Just a few steps in the right direction will get you back on track with your diabetes care.

Call Your Doctor - The first thing you are going to want to do is call up your doctors office. Let them know that you have not been very diligent about your diabetes care lately and as of this instant you are getting back on track. Get the first available appointment with them.

Start Taking Your Medication Again - If you have either been kind of lax with taking your medication or you have failed to refill your medication the next thing you would want to do is start taking it again. So go to the sink and get yourself a glass of water or head to the drugstore and refill that prescription.

Start Monitoring Your Blood Sugar - Just test it. What’s the worst that’s going to happen? You’re going to see that because you have been completely avoiding all of your diabetic responsibilities that you’re blood sugar is extremely high. Well, so be it. You gotta start again somewhere. Just because you avoid testing your blood won’t make the high level disappear.

Wow…look what you’ve accomplished already. You have started testing your blood again, you have started taking your medication again and you are scheduled to see your doctor. You’re not too far off from being completely on top of your diabetes again am I right?

Diabetes Meal Plan - To me, this is the hardest part at first. Changing our diet can be a very difficult thing to get used to. But…if you are testing your blood again like you should be, you are going to really see the impact that eating a diabetes friendly diet has on your blood sugar level. Keep in mind that it takes people about 27 days of continuously doing something to make it a habit that will stick. Use this as a motivator. Do you really want to get up to 25 days of eating healthy, go off your diet, and then have to start training your brain all over? Me either.

Start Talking - Now, there would be no way that you could slip in denial if you were seeking out the constant support that you need for your diabetes. The reason I say this is because when we are talking about our diabetes we are keeping the actual severity of the situation fresh in our minds. This helps avoid the situation where we convince ourselves that “it’s not really that bad” or “this bite won’t really hurt”.

In my opinion, the support in dealing with diabetes is the most important factor to getting back on track and staying there.

So there you have it. Even though as of this morning you considered yourself to be a train wreck…you are back on track baby!

In an age of pharmaceuticals we tend to forget that there are things like herbal teas that can help improve our diabetes.

Herbal teas are gaining popularity in the United States and this could be due to the infusion of Western and Eastern Medicine techniques being blended together more often.

So what type of herbs are in herbal teas for diabetes control? There are a few but I’m going to give you the two most popularly utilized herbal teas for diabetes control.

Bilberry Tea - Never heard of it? Well maybe you know the Bilberry by it’s more popular American name of the Huckleberry.

Bilberry herbal tea is known as the most effective herbal tea in aiding diabetes for those who are not insulin dependent. So mainly we’re talking about those with type 2 diabetes benefiting from Bilberry tea.

The reason why Bilberry tea is so effective in lowering blood sugar levels is because it contains something called glucoquinine which is a compound known for it’s ability to lower blood glucose levels.

Another reason why Bilberry tea is such a good herbal tea for those with type 2 diabetes is because Bilberry is often used to treat eye issues such as…diabetic neuropathy.

Sage Tea - There are many medicinal uses for Sage tea and one of them happens to be it’s positive effect on how your body uses insulin.

Studies have shown that Sage has the ability to boost insulin activity in diabetics. Those with type 2 diabetes found Sage to be the most effective.

Along with being an effective aid in Diabetes control, Sage tea is also known for it’s positive effect on liver function. A liver that is not functioning at it’s best can lead to headaches, fatigue, and reduced immunity. So Sage’s positive effect on the liver is one of it’s greatest medicinal effects.

Some Things To Remember About Herbal Teas

It is really important that you check with your doctor before starting to use herbal teas as an aid to control your blood sugar. It could be that your current medical plan is sufficient enough and adding an herbal tea for lowering blood sugar could throw you into an unhealthy low range.

It’s also really important to check out any negative side effects that the herbs contained in the herbal teas may have. You might find that you have another medical condition that the herbal tea would be harmful to. An example of this would be Sage and Epilepsy. Sage is known to actually cause seizures in Epileptics and so they are advised to steer clear of Sage.

Remember, you are not going to drink an herbal tea and suddenly be cured of all that ales you. Don’t give up after trying an herbal tea once and not seeing an immediate effect. Incorporating herbal teas into your daily schedule is just another way of improving your overall health.

Drinking a cup of herbal tea can be a really relaxing…or energizing…or comforting experience that you will look forward to each day.

I’m a regular diet coke drinker and I thought that because there is no sugar in diet coke it was safe for me to drink regularly…I was wrong.

The American Diabetes Association announced the findings of a Duke University study which showed that caffeine raised the blood glucose levels of type 2 diabetics throughout the day and especially after meals. But I thought caffeine was ok for diabetics?

Previous studies on the link between caffeine and diabetes had shown that caffeine consumption lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes. Those who drank the most caffeine were the least likely to develop type 2 diabetes. It was these finding that may have lead to the misconception that caffeine had no ill effect on diabetics.

What the Duke University study is now showing is that in people who have type 2 diabetes, caffeine raised their blood sugar levels throughout the day. So even if they drank caffeine in the morning it had an effect on their blood sugar level throughout the entire day making it difficult to keep it under control.

So what is suggested? Well, if you are a type 2 diabetic such as myself, and you are finding it difficult to keep your blood glucose levels in the normal range you may want to examine the amount of caffeine you are consuming.

Like I said, I am a diet coke drinker. This is the source of any caffeine that I consume. I have been having a hard time controlling my blood glucose levels lately and I have been examining all the parts of my life: fitness, diabetes friendly diet, stress reducing tai chi…stuff like that. What I didn’t take into consideration was the amount of caffeine I was consuming daily.

Now that studies have shown caffeine raises blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetics I will have to monitor the amount of caffeine I consume. Of course, the ideal amount would be zero and that is what I’ll shoot for. But hey, no one is perfect.

So what if you drink tons of caffeine throughout the day but you have no problem keeping your blood glucose level under control? Well, my opinion would be not to change a thing. You have found the right combo of diet, exercise, medicine and whatever else you do to control your diabetes and shouldn’t tinker with it. You know the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it”.

1. Jolt Cola

2. Red Bull

3. Bawls

4. Water Joe

5. Afri-Cola

This caffeine diabetes link is one more example of how research and information can make living with diabetes more manageable. I think it was GI Joe that said “Now you know and knowing is half the battle…Go JOE!”.

Studies are showing that excess levels of HGH can cause some pretty serious health problems. Human Growth Hormone effects many areas of the body which includes effecting the maintenance and function of pancreatic islets. So does this mean that everyone who has used HGH will develop diabetes? Coach Wade Wilson of the Dallas Cowboys did.

No. When used appropriately human growth hormone will most likely not up your chances for developing diabetes. But, we’re not really talking about using human growth hormone appropriately are we? We’re talking about the recent investigation into professional athletes and celebrities using HGH for purposes other than what it is intended for.

Administered at higher doses the human growth hormone can have some pretty positive side effects. These include: lower body fat, increased muscle mass, increased energy, restoring elasticity in skin, positively effecting the general mood of a person, ability to health from injury quicker and the ability to fight off common illnesses more effectively. Sounds pretty good right?

Along with the good comes the bad. Here are some possible negative side effects of HGH when administered at higher doses: pituitary tumors, thickening of bones in the jaw, toes and finger known as acromegaly which in turn causes problems of it’s own, muscle weakness, INSULIN RESISTANCE, TYPE 2 DIABETES, enlarging of the heart, and reduced sexual function. Those are some pretty serious negative side effects caused by HGH. Not to mention all the bad feelings people will have toward you for some reason like all the celebrities taking HGH controversy.

Excess use of the human growth hormone is not only used by celebrities and professional athletes. Body builders have been using HGH for years to increase their muscle gain and the anti-aging aspects of HGH has been catching on like wildfire lately. I guess that’s no so surprising considering the last big craze was to inject botulism into the “problem areas” on your face in order to paralyze the muscle and create a smoother look…botox anyone?

In an age when diabetes has reached near epidemic proportions it’s alarming to me to see that there are people willingly upping their chances of developing diabetes be it for fame, their profession, or for vanity.

For those of us who understand what it is to live with Diabetes, you understand the importance of finding accurate, up to date information as well as receiving support and understanding. This is what makes the Diabetes portal, Diabetic Live, such an outstanding tool for diabetics.

What sets Diabetic Live apart from a lot of the other informational Diabetes sites is that along with getting some really useful diabetes information you are actually able to create your own blog on their site. What this will let you do is share your experiences, struggles, success, ups and downs with others who are also living with diabetes.

Being able to share and also identify with others who are sharing their views about living with diabetes is really a crucial part to successfully dealing with diabetes. We all know that support is key in our fight against diabetes.

Along with the support there is a great Diabetes 101 section on Diabetic Live which is filled with useful articles that deal with everyday situations that diabetics may find themselves in such as traveling, fighting the common cold, proper foot care and dental hygiene. We all know that there are a lot of things that diabetics need to take into consideration in our daily lives and the Diabetes 101 section of the site will make that easier.

Diabetic Live was started in 2006 by Christopher Berry. Christopher is a 33 year old Type 1 diabetic. He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the very young age of 3, so you can imagine the experience and know how he is able to offer to others who are also living with diabetes.

Here at Battle Diabetes we feel strongly that it’s one thing to be educated about Diabetes but it’s a whole other thing to actually live with diabetes. The best type of support and advice comes from those who live it and at Diabetic Live you can be sure that you are getting just that.