Site of the Month for October 2011 relates to Health Directory. Information on this web site is provided for birth defects, blood disorders, diabetes, dyslexia, genetic disorders, hangover, insulin resistance, musculoskeletal disorders, pregnancy complications and much more.

The best way to prevent diabetes is to make some lifestyle changes:

* Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight raises your risk for diabetes. Calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI) to see if you’re at a healthy weight. If you’re overweight, start making small changes to your eating habits by adding more whole grain foods, fruits, and vegetables. Start exercising more, even if taking a short walk is all you can do for now. If you’re not sure where to start, talk to your doctor. Even a relatively small amount of weight loss – 10 to 15 pounds – has been proven to delay or even prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.

* Eat healthy
o Eat lots of whole grains (such as whole wheat or rye bread, whole grain cereal, or brown rice), fruits, and vegetables.
o Choose foods low in fat and cholesterol. Read food labels. If you eat 2,000 calories per day, you should eat no more than 56 grams of fat each day.
o If you drink alcohol, limit it to no more than one or two drinks (one 12-ounce beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or one 1.5-ounce shot of hard liquor) a day.

* Get moving. Health benefits are gained by doing the following each week:
o 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity
or
o 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity
or
o A combination of moderate and vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity
and
o Muscle-strengthening activities on 3 days

Some suggestions for fitting physical activity in:
o Take the stairs instead of the elevator
o Take a brisk walk on your lunch break.
o Park at the far end of the parking lot and walk.
o Get off the bus or subway a few stops early and walk the rest of the way.
o Walk or bicycle whenever you can.

Diabetes is a disease that is the result of your body not producing enough insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced by your body that helps to turn sugars into energy. The symptoms of diabetes are increased thirst, increased urination, constant hunger, weight loss, irritability, blurred vision, and fatigue. While each symptom alone is harmless, the combination of symptoms could mean that you have diabetes. And, if left untreated, diabetes can become a serious illness and can put you at a higher risk for other, more serious illnesses, such as heart disease and stroke.

Before you begin treatment for any disease or illness, you should see your physician so that you can be sure you are treating the correct illness. There are a series of tests that your physician can perform in order to make a diagnosis of diabetes.

Types of Diabetes Treatments

There are several types of diabetes treatments including medicines, insulin treatments, surgery, alternative treatments, and lifestyle changes. The most important diabetes treatment will be changes in your lifestyle – eating healthy and exercising. A change in your lifestyle should work hand-in-hand with other diabetes treatments to get the most benefit from the treatments.

If your doctor recommends medications for treatment of your diabetes, you should discuss with him/her the potential side effects of the medications and the potential interactions with other medications you may be taking and potential interactions with foods. Many people choose not to take the risks that are involved with some medications and choose to use alternative treatments. You should discuss your choices with your physician and come up with a diabetes treatment that will work for you.

Treating Diabetes with Medicines

Some of the types of medications used to treat diabetes include the following:

* Medicines that are used to decrease the amount of glucose the liver produces
* Sulfonylureas – medicines used to increase the output of insulin
* Symlin and Byetta – medicines that have an effect on glycemic control
* DPP-IV inhibitors
* Medicines used to decrease the amount of carbohydrates absorbed by the intestines
* Meglitinides

Some forms of insulin treatment are:

* Injected by needle
* Pre-filled pens
* Insulin Pump
* Inhaled Insulin

Treating Diabetes Naturally

Many people choose to avoid the risks associated with medications. There are natural treatments for diabetes. You should discuss with your physician so that you can come up with a natural diabetes treatment that is right for you. Some natural diabetes treatments include:

* Cinnamon
* Ginseng
* Magnesium
* Chromium
* Aloe Vera Gel
* Zinc

The Most Important Diabetes Treatment

The most important aspect of your diabetes treatment, whether you choose to treat your diabetes with medications or whether you choose to treat your diabetes more naturally is a healthy diet and exercise. Beginning a healthy diet early in life can help you to avoid many illnesses and diseases that are associated with your body’s digestive system, immune system, and your body’s overall performance.

While some diseases are hereditary and a healthy diet may not prevent them, a healthy diet can delay the onset of the disease. You should begin at an early age to eat a diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables, fiber, and Omega-3 fatty acids. Eat regular meals as close to the same time each day as possible. Be sure you have plenty of time to eat your meal so that you can chew your food sufficiently.

A daily exercise regimen is also important for your overall health and will help you prevent or delay the onset of many illnesses and diseases. By adhering to a regular exercise regimen, you are keeping your body in good working condition – and should the onset of an illness or disease occur, your body would be better able to fight the illness. So, the best plan of action should you be diagnosed with diabetes is a healthy diet and exercise combined with the diabetes treatment that you and your physician feel is right for you.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the most common forms of diabetes. Millions of Americans suffer from this aliment. It occurs when the pancreas fail to produce sufficient amounts of insulin. Also, the patient’s tissues become resistant to high or even normal levels of insulin. This results in high levels of glucose in the blood.

Some oral medications can improve the body’s response towards insulin or increase the insulin production in the body. In some cases, where the anti-diabetic drugs fail, doctors often prescribe insulin therapy. These conventional treatments can keep a check on your blood sugar level but they have several negative side effects. It is preferable to follow a proper diet and exercise regime to maintain a near-normal blood glucose level, rather than depend only on drugs.

The Adverse Effects of Insulin Therapy

Several patients suffering from type 2 diabetes are treated with only insulin treatment or insulin treatment plus oral medication. The major ways of insulin intake are insulin injections, insulin pumps and insulin jet injectors. Some possible side effects of insulin treatment inlcude:

* Degradation of blood glucose level, resulting in hypoglycemia.
* Confusion, tiredness and sleep disorders.
* In severe cases, the patient may experience slurred speech, blurred vision, cold sweats, unconsciousness, headache and drunken behavior.
* Weight gain because sugar is directly forced into body cells.
* Rashes, itchiness, redness or thickness of skin at the injection site.
* Moderate to severe allergic reactions, leading to faster pulse rate, squeezing sensation throughout the body, wheezing and shallow breathing.
* Sustained nausea and vomiting are also symptoms of insulin allergy.
* If you are using an insulin pump, you may experience problems in the upper-respiratory tract, such as coughing and persistent respiratory infections.

Also, insulin may cause complications by interacting with other medications, such as acebutolol, nadolol, penbutolol, furazolidone, phenelzine, hydrocortisone and octreotide. Insulin overdose can be very dangerous and intake should be carefully monitored.

It is important to know that Actos is a serious drug with serious side effects. This year the most popular diabetes drug Avandia was removed from the market in Europe due to the fact that it causes direct heart attacks. This is not a small thing this is critical to your heart health. The Avandia drug destroyed the valve of the heart. When this happens your legs swell and you have shortness of breath. This should matter to you because Actos side effects have been found to cause the same heart problems.

Sadly while Avandia has received all the publicity for being a deadly drug Actos has been found to do the very same thing. A recent scientific research study found that Actos works to reduce blood sugar the same way Avandia did, but it also causes the heart to have deep trouble. All diabetes drug are dangerous and will ruin the heart, this is due to the pathway that is used to lower the blood sugar. It must be noted that diabetes medications have never proven to help a type 2 diabetic more that lifestyle changes. In fact a recent diabetes type 2 study showed that lifestyle changes beat a popular diabetes drug in reversing type 2 diabetes. The Actos heart problems and side effects may be avoidable.

Type 2 diabetes can be reversed when the source of the problem is heal. The problem is not sugar or eating fast food. The pancreas of the diabetic is failing and the body is not producing good insulin.

This can be cured without the dangerous of medication. The danger of diabetes and obesity drugs are causing problems to many people and must be avoided if possible. If you can reverse this without drugs do so. The Actos side effects and heart problems can possibly be avoided by lifestyle changes.

There are many studies showing that natural diabetes treatment from herbs, oils and their by-product are very effective in maintaining healthy blood sugar levels and controlling the effects of diabetes. This is not to say that one should stop consulting their medical practitioner. In fact consulting your doctor and exploring a natural cure for diabetes should not be mutually exclusive, both options should be followed in tandem.

Before medicines, diabetes was always treated by natural means. However, the need for speed and immediate gratification has allowed for medical science to speed the process up with medicine.

In 90% of the cases, diet and nutritional balance can prevent diabetes, and the right food and nutrients has also shown to cure diabetes, or should I say reverse the effect of diabetes on the body.

There are 2 secret natural diabetes treatment , while these may be known to some, to some they are new, and therefore secret.

A. Blood Cleansing – included in a good herbal total body cleanse.

Our bodies are bombarded with toxins on a daily basis, not to mention our entire lives. We should from time to time undergo a complete body detoxification, especially a blood detoxification. In fact, I personally undergo a complete body detoxification annually, and I remain on a smooth colon cleanse system continuously. This process is important to rid the body of all the bad food we have ingested, and the effects on the environment on our aging bodies. The blood cleanse usually incorporated in a total body cleanse will in fact rid the blood of toxins which are contributing to elevated blood sugar.

B. Flaxseed Oil and Omega-3 Flaxseed Oil and Cottage cheese mixed together and in a small protein shake can reduce the effects of diabetes. Incidentally while this has been promoted as a natural cure for cancer, I have had people tell me that it has worked for them and reverse the effects of their diabetes, so much so they hail it as a natural cure for diabetes. Fish oil is also rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, which a beneficial in fighting against cardiovascular disease and other complications related to diabetes.

Many Natural Diabetes treatment are found in herbs. Many herbs have always been used in the treatment of the disease. However, as is well known, herbs work but for them to do so effectively they have to be taken consistently. This should ot be a problem, because herbs are foods from mother nature and therefore as a proposed natural cure for diabetes, the positive results with be long term and sustained. Some herbs, such as ginkgo biloba, cinnamon, garlic, onion, barberry , burdock root are all effective as a natural diabetes treatment. Night time teas before bed with some of these herbs will promote regular sugar levels the next morning.

Finally, ultimately the best form of diabetes cure and relief is the reduction of sugar intake. Sugar is in all food we eat and if you are diabetic you must have already been advise of what foods to stay way from. If you are not sure which foods to stay away , we can guide you.

Not sure what Type 2 diabetes is? Well to start with, even if you have just been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes,

you have probably been living with it for many years. Often it is not diagnosed until it is found by a routine blood

test, or maybe by a symptom such as a slowly healing infection. The symptoms of Type 2 diabetes can be so

subtle they slip past the radar, pretty much unnoticed in an otherwise healthy person.

Type 2 diabetes is different to Type 1, in that there is plenty of insulin. During the 1950′s medical researchers

discovered insulin resistance and so Type 2 diabetes was born. Insulin resistance is where, although there is

plenty of insulin in the bloodstream, the cells no longer respond to the body’s insulin.

Type 1 generally develops in childhood or in young adults, and occurs when the body’s white blood cells attack

the cells of the pancreas and destroys it’s ability to produce insulin. Therefore very little or no insulin is produced.

In both cases glucose is unable to enter the cells, therefore, in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes blood sugar levels

rise and there is too much sugar in the bloodstream. The key thing is to control these levels and bring them back

as close to normal as possible.

Your diabetes care plan will include learning how to monitor your blood sugar levels each day. Blood sugar

testing is one of the most important self-management tools you can ever have as it allows you to know exactly

where your blood sugar levels are at any given time. This means you will be able to spot problems pretty much

straight away.

Suggested Times to Monitor Your Blood Sugar Levels:

* when you are newly diagnosed
* if you give yourself insulin injections it is ideal to check before every meal and at bedtime
* if you start a new medication
* if you start reducing calories, reducing starches and carbs, you may want to check before and after some

meals to see the effect
* if your blood sugar levels are between 75 to 125mg/dL (4 to 7mmol/L) and you are taking oral medications,

or following a diet and exercise plan, test your blood sugars twice daily
* when you blood sugar levels become stable, your doctor may suggest testing three times a week, rotating

the times around
* if you eat foods not usually in your diet or
* if you exercise, be sure to test your sugar levels then to see if it’s really working

It’s rare for people with Type 2 diabetes to experience low blood sugar reactions, which can include fainting at

unfortunate times, such as while driving. Exceptions to this may include diabetics who are taking hypoglycemic

drugs and particularly those who are taking insulin.

Blood Sugar Levels:

* non-diabetics usually have levels between 80 to 100mg/dL (4 to 5mmol/L)
* diabetic’s blood sugars can bounce around during the day but tend to follow a trend
* illnesses or infections can raise blood sugars
* it’s normal to have up/down swings but if levels are high for long periods, there’s the possibility of

complications
* levels will vary for every diabetic and so will the control… it depends on the age of the diabetic

The American Diabetes Association suggests:

* fasting levels or preprandial (before meals)… 90 to 130mg/dL (5 to 7.2mmol/L)
* two hours postprandial (after eating)… below 180mg/dL (10mmol/L)
* just before bedtime…100 to 140mg/dL (5.6 to 7.8mmol/L)