Dealing With Diabetes

I have Type 2 diabetes and have been battling it for several years. So far,so good.I have it under control but I also take medication.My objective is to get off the medication. It sounds simple enough, but it requires a real commitment to accomplish.The solution theoretically is simple–lose weight,alter your diet,and exercise regularly.It can be done but it takes will power.What gave me the will power to do something about it was a stern warning from my cardiologist–either fix your diabetes problem or look forward to a shoterned, very disabling departure from this mortal coil.It’s not like I was a young man and had a long life ahead of me. I’m 60 now and the years remaining are precious! So I turned over a new leaf–diet and exercise became part of my daily life. You can do it if you have the motivation.You can beat diabetes naturally if you change your lifestyle. It’s interesting to note that there are cultures of people in the world today where Type 2 diabetes is virtually non-existent. So why is it so prevalent here in the U.S.?

What Exactly Is Diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes is the one that some people are either born with or develop as young children. This type of diabetes requires insulin injections and daily blood sugar monitoring with immediate corrective measures if blood sugar swings are too extreme.Type 1 diabetes cannot be cured–just managed. But only 5% 0f all diabetes cases are Type 1. Type 2 is the one we can beat, or at least control.

So just how serious is diabetes? Very! Early symptoms of diabetes are the result of elevated blood sugar levels. Excessive levels of blood sugar reult in higher levels of sugar in your urine. This increases the urine output, which leads to dehydration and increased thirst. Other symptoms include blurred vision, extreme tiredness, and stuborn infections that just seem to take forever to clear up.I myself used to feel lttle sharp pains in my feet and fingers. These feel like lower level shart pin pricks. Later stages of diabetes are nasty–amputation of toes and legs, kidney failure, even blindness.

Another form of diabetes, known as gestational diabetes, occurs in some women during pregnancy. It is a temporary condition caused by pregnancy and usually occurs in the later stages, once the baby has formed but is still growing

Although there is currently no cure for diabetes mellitus, it can be controlled successfully with an active treatment plan. The potential benefit of pancreas transplants and islet cell transplants in Type 1 patients is being investigated.

What Are The Symptoms Of Diabetes?

Most Type 1 sufferers get it early in their lives. The classic signs of diabetes include:

1. Frequent urination, because the body is trying to get rid of the excess sugar in the blood
2. Excessive thirst, since your body experienced increased urination and loses fluids
3. bigger appetite, because the cells need nutrients
4. Loss of weight,because the body begins to starve without insulin.

Type 2 diabetes usually sneaks up on people and many don’t discover they have it until symptoms are evident. Most Typ2 2 sufferers don’t know they have it until symptoms develop. It results from inactivity and a poor diet. It used to be called “Adult Diabetes” because adults got it as they grew older, gained weight and became more sedentary. Ubfortunately we’re seeing teenagers and younger children with Type 2 diabetes due to obesity and couch-potato lifestles.

Your weight affects so much of your body’s condition. When someone is overweight, his body can’t make all the inulin it needs to offset the higher levels of blood sugar. It can also lead to hypertension. The Diabetes Prevention Program, a three-year clinical trial conducted on diabeste patients last year, showed that losing even a few pounds can help reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes because it helps your body use insulin more effectively. In the DPP, people who lost between 5 and 7 percent of their body weight significantly reduced their risk of type 2 diabetes. So here’s a little bit of info–if you lost twenty pounds, kept it off, started to exercise on a regular basis, your blood sugar levels would drop significantly!

Published by Heart Wellness Store