Diabetes

 Diabetes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes, whether type 1 or type 2, is a condition of long term elevations in blood sugar far above the normal level. About 80% of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, a condition associated more strongly with lifestyle than type 1. Type 1 diabetes has been historically considered a disease of the young, while type 2 diabetes was thought to be a disease of adults. This is changing now - young people are developing type 2 diabetes at alarming rates and some adults with diabetes are now known to develop some signs of type 1 diabetes.

What causes diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes is less associated with antibodies and is more associated with the development of resistance to insulin.

Diabetes is caused by a combination of factors including genetics and lifestyle. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which the body makes antibodies against its own insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone required to move sugar from the blood stream and into the body organs and muscles; without insulin blood sugar stays very high.

Type 2 diabetes is less associated with antibodies and is more associated with the development of resistance to insulin. Visualize a locked door with sugar on one side (in your bloodstream), trying to get through (into your cells). Normally you can put a key (insulin) into the lock (insulin receptor) and go right through. But with insulin resistance is it as though someone put chewing gum in the lock! In addition to insulin resistance, a reduction in insulin production and release also occurs in type 2 diabetes. 

What can I do to improve my health with diabetes?





IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF SELF-CARE:

1. Exercise

Why should I exercise?

What if one change would reduce your risk for heart disease, stroke, and cancer, reduce your blood sugar, elevate your mood, improve your self-esteem, make you stronger, and help you feel younger?  The supplement is exercise and it can be free.


When you can’t get out to exercise, find ways to stay active. Walking a few blocks to work or to the store, standing instead of sitting, take the stairs instead of the elevator, getting up to stretch and move all count toward activity.


Try to get 30 minutes of exercise per day as a starting goal.







2. Diet



 What is the glycemic index ,

First let’s talk about some basic nutrition:

1. Carbohydrates are one type of basic nutrient. Starchy foods like potatoes, rice and pasta, and also sweet foods like sugar and honey, are high in carbohydrates. Carbs come in two basic varieties: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are sugars and refined flours, while complex carbohydrates consist of starches and fiber. Fiber is a special form of carbohydrate because we don’t digest fiber and therefore it binds fat and sugar, slowing or blocking absorption of some fat and carbohydrate from our food.

2. Protein is another basic nutrient. Animal foods like meat, eggs and cheese are high in protein as are beans, nuts and whole grains. Protein is a building block of our muscle tissue and is required for essentially every biologic process in the human body.

3. Fat is the third basic nutrient. Cooking oils, butter, animal fat on meat. and oils in nuts are typical sources of fat in the diet. Fat has more calories per gram than carbohydrates or protein, which is why fats are to be eaten sparingly.

The mistake most people make with weight loss is they go on a diet rather than fundamentally changing the way they eat.

So what should you do? The mistake most people make with weight loss is they go on a diet rather than fundamentally changing the way they eat. This is why most people regain the weight they lost very quickly once they stop the diet; they have not made lasting changes and the weight quickly returns. So my recommendation is to make lasting changes by doing the following:

Diet Tips


Eat 6-8 servings of vegetables and fruit per day.

Replace red meat with  fish and lean poultry.

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Replace fried, broiled or oven fried foods with steamed, poached, boiled, or baked foods.

Replace fatty spreads like mayonnaise, butter, and cream cheese with a little olive oil, or plant-sterol enriched spread.


3. Stress Management


. Instead of listening to the traffic report and the world news, classical music or inspirational CDs can be listened to instead. Driving can be a time to focus intention on breathing, being present with yourself and your surroundings.

Be mindful. Thinking about how your actions and decisions help or hinder those around you can help reduce tensions and ease decision-making.


Be patient. Urgency is a state-of-mind that can be eased by efficiency.

4. Self-monitoring of Blood Sugar

Knowledge is power. Self-monitoring of your blood sugars leads to knowledge about how different foods, food combinations, exercise, and stress influence your blood sugar. Frequent monitoring helps identify patterns and then gives you power to make changes to improve your health. Combining self-monitoring with a diary of food choices, stress, and exercise can lead to quicker identification of your patterns!Diabetes,
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