Diabetes Releif

What is Diabetes?

noreply@blogger.com (chappy76) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:18:00 +0000

What is diabetes?

Diabetes develops when your body does not produce enough insulin, or when your body does not effectively use the insulin that it does produce. Your body needs insulin to break down sugar for energy.
Diabetes and your heart
Diabetes increases the risk of high blood pressure, atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries), coronary artery disease and stroke, particularly if your blood sugar levels are poorly controlled. It can also result in circulation problems caused by damage to the blood vessels.
Women with diabetes are much more likely to have heart attacks, angina (chest pain) or heart surgery than men with diabetes. Although the cause is not fully understood, it may have something to do with the interaction of female hormones with blood sugar and insulin.
Three types of diabetes

Type 1 diabetes usually develops in children, teenagers, young adults and even people in their 30s. It occurs when the pancreas no longer produces insulin, which the body needs to break down sugar for energy. It is treated with insulin. 10% of people with diabetes have Type 1.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the body does not effectively use the insulin that is produced. It often develops in overweight adults. 90% of people with diabetes have Type 2.
Gestational diabetes occurs in 2 to 4% of women during pregnancy and usually disappears after the birth of the baby. It can increase the risk of the mother and the baby developing diabetes later in life.

Reduce your risk
If you have diabetes, the best way to reduce the impact it can have on your health is by controlling your other risk factors.
Here's how:

If you are 40 or older, have a family history of diabetes, are overweight, have high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol, ask your doctor to test your blood sugar levels.
Achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Ask your doctor to refer you to a registered dietitian to learn about healthy eating. Follow Canada's Food Guide.
Work closely with your healthcare team to set goals for your blood glucose and know your target levels.
Learn how to monitor your blood sugar and tell your doctor if you cannot keep it in control.
Become physically active. Work with your doctor to design a program that's right for you.
Visit the Canadian Diabetes Association website for more information or contact your local branch of the Canadian Diabetes Association.

My personal problem with diabetes

noreply@blogger.com (chappy76) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:37:00 +0000

Over thirty years ago I fell down a set of stairs at work! I think I passed out for a minute! I had been having these spells for a while and I decided to go on a holiday with my family to Hawaii! Before I went on my holidays, I went to see my doctor. The day before I went , I received a call to see the doctor before I went! I saw him and he told me that I had type 2 diabetes! I wasn't that surprised as my mother, grandmother and sister all had it!
In those days, there was no blood test, only a urine sample with as small test strip! I was also put on Metformen pill and checked myself each day! In a few years, a new system for checking with a blood test kit and about ten years ago,I was put on insulin! Since then, I check my sugar levels three times a day and with a new insulin pen and rather than the conventional needle! I take insulin twice a day, once in the morning and once at suppertime!
I try to keep my sugar levels down and am fairly good at it! We now have a Diabetes Clinic in the same building as the doctor and I get lots of help from them! My worst problem for the last couple of years has been with my feet. I have problems with neuropathy, and itching feet! Recently the doctor gave me a new pill that has been a good help although, I sometimes have the problem and I don't sleep at night.
I am constantly checking the internet for any help and I get some good ideas from it.
That is why I started this blog 1. to get new information and 2. to maybe assist someone who has the same malady or concerned about getting it!

Dick Chapman

noreply@blogger.com (chappy76) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:18:00 +0000

Dr Bernstein

noreply@blogger.com (chappy76) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:50:00 +0000

Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution

Finally, the revised edition of the low-carb bible for people with diabetes

Dr. Richard K. Bernstein sets such a high standard that even to his friends like Charlie Suther he sometimes appears inflexible and a zealot. His low-carb diet is so low that it’s a wonder he has been able to stick to it. He prescribes 6 grams of carbohydrates for breakfast and 12 each for lunch and dinner. In addition, he allows 12 grams per snack, but since the snack and the following meal must be on an empty stomach — 4 hours apart — this diet allow no more than a grand total of 42 grams carbohydrate each day.

Dr. Bernstein is a remarkable man who developed type 1 diabetes in 1946 at the age of 12. He suffered from years of chronic fatigue and debilitating complications.

Educated as an engineer, in 1970 he was the first diabetes patient ever to use a blood glucose meter, as I recounted in the fascinating story at http://www.mendosa.com/memories.htm.