How to prevent diabetes by proactive measures

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" - Hippocrates (400-377 B.C)

You can prevent diabetes if be proactive and do some simple measures in a wise manner. If not totally prevent the diabetes, you would at least delay this lifelong disease for some years and keep it at lower complication level. Diabetes has so many possible side effects and complications that even a few years of diabetes free life is worth the trouble that you may need to take because the disease is going to stay with you for the rest of your life. The complications are generally directly proportional to the level of blood sugar you maintain with or without medications.

From the review of a lot of medical literature and reading and listening to many experts it is also evident that some people can also control their diabetes and blood sugar levels by taking appropriate steps that they do not need to take any medication. I know this for sure, because I am one of them and I will explain it more in the last paragraph. You may then avoid having to take additional chemicals in the shape of diabetic medications and additional unnecessary side effects from those medicines. It goes without saying that chemicals in all forms, including medications, are one of our large problems in the new life style that we have adopted in the past century or so.

What do you need to do though? There are three simple steps you need to take.

1. Bring your weight to ideal according to the actuary tables of the insurance companies, which are available everywhere. You may also get advice from your doctor or even from Google. If you are obese, reduce your weight as much as is necessary. Even if you are not obese reduction of your weight by only five to ten pounds will make you feel healthy and make difference in your blood sugar levels and lower the need of medication dose.

2. Watch what you eat. Keep yourselves away from carbohydrates as best as you can. Even if you target your carbohydrate consumption to zero, you will still be getting some from vegetables, fruits etc. But surely avoid all processed foods, fruit juices and cola drinks. They are all carbohydrates and some of them have added sugar in large quantities.

3. Avoid sedentary life and exercise regularly if you are an office worker. A regular daily walk of thirty minutes a day will help. Add some resistance or muscle building exercises, which seem to make the muscle cells insulin sensitive. This will result in lowering of blood sugar levels by moving sugar from blood to muscles for energy usage. Lifting some weights or lifting yourselves on the tips of your toes are two simplest examples of the muscle building exercises.

Some people are told that if they have genetic load from family history of diabetes, they are will contract diabetes. This is possible but not necessarily true. Type I and Type II, both do have such genetic load and possibility of having the disease. But even with genetic load, your proactive efforts will help you delay and / or prevent the diabetes for quite some time, hence protecting you from its complications.

With right steps you can revert the diabetes and stop taking all medications and still keep your blood sugars within normal limits and hence avoid complications from diabetes and of its medications. I may site my own example that after taking anti-diabetic medication, Metformin 20000 mg and Actos 45 mg (which are their maximum allowed doses) for almost five years, I have been able to stop all medication and keep my blood sugars and HbA1c within acceptable limits by following these three simple steps. It took me about six months to reach my goal though with strictly following the guide lines. I reduced my weight to my ideal one, stayed very honestly on exercise program and have been asking myself twice before ZI eat anything that should I, or should I not eat this? And the answers was no if it was processed cookie or bread or carbohydrates with added sugar. So, presently I am still a diabetic, but a diet controlled diabetic, not taking any medication. I think such results are distinctly possible for almost everyone if honest proactive efforts are undertaken. Good luck to you in your endeavors.

9 Easy Ways to Prevent Diabetic Foot And Its Complications

Diabetic foot is a long term complication of diabetes mellitus. Foot infections are one of the most common problems in people with diabetes. Because of poor circulation in these individuals, wounds and infections are more difficult to treat. Another problem is peripheral vascular disease which can lead to gangrene. With chronic uncontrolled glucose levels, there can be resulting damage to the blood vessels and nerves in the feet. When this happens, there can be reduced feeling in the feet and even numbness. If the foot gets a blister or a small cut, this may go unnoticed and as a result, the feet may not heal well.

Below are nine ways to prevent diabetic foot and its complications.

First, control diabetes by monitoring blood sugar levels. Your doctor may ask for testing of A1C levels every three months. Generally, the result should be less than seven percent. Using a blood glucose monitor to self monitor your sugar levels can assist you in making proper adjustments to your medications. Discuss with your physician about what is an acceptable range. Be sure that you know what to do if your blood sugar is not within that range.

Next, examine your feet every day. Check for cuts, sores, blister, redness, calluses, corns, ingrown nails, skin cracks, or other problems. If you cannot reach your feet, use a mirror or ask someone to do it for you. Remember that no matter how small or minor the injury may appear, it can be potentially dangerous for diabetics because of the higher risk of infection. It is also necessary to check for changes in the shape of your toes and feet. The foot arch can drop or the toes may start to curl under. Charcot foot is a type of foot deformity due to neuropathy.

Third, keep your skin smooth and soft by using skin lotion on the bottom and over the tops of your feet. Do not apply lotion in between the toes as this may cause fungal growth. Dry and cracked feet can turn to ulcers that may not heal.

Because your nails protect the toes from trauma, it is important to keep the nails in good condition. The nails should be smooth and pinkish. If your nails appear thick and brittle, this can mean onychomycosis or nail infection. Get this treated without delay. When cutting the toenails, trim them straight across and smooth the edges using a nail file or emery board.

Fifth, if you notice any wart or growth, do not attempt to self treat. Never use a nail clipper, scissors, nail file, or chemicals to remove calluses, corns, or warts by yourself. See your foot doctor for proper management.

Sixth, it is important to protect your feet. Never walk barefoot and avoid anything that can hurt your feet. Avoid hot water, heating pads, and electric blankets that can burn or numb a skin area without you noticing it. Do not wear socks that are too tight.

Seventh, wear comfortable shoes that fit well and cushion your feet. If you have new shoes, do not wear them for more than a couple of hours at a time to break them. This would avoid the possibility of developing sore spots that could turn worse later on. Check inside your shoes before wearing them to see if there are little stones or objects inside that can cause injury. Make sure the lining is smooth and that there are no tears that can irritate your feet.

Eighth, see your doctor regularly. Consult immediately if you notice any changes in your feet or if you have increasing pain of numbness in the feet. Your podiatrist will examine your feet, check for blood circulation, and test for nerve damage.

And lastly, keep your home and workplace safe. Remove any clutter and keep the floor free from litter to avoid accidents.

By simply taking these basic practices, you can prevent diabetic foot and its complications. See a podiatrist for proper management of the feet. The best place to get the best treatment is at a specialized wound care center.

Lorinne Yen specializes in medical and health care articles.

How To Control Diabetes and Prevent Unwanted Health Complications?

Diabetes, also known as Diabetes Mellitus, is a metabolic disorder that is becoming increasingly common among people. The carbohydrates consumed by us are converted in to glucose and are made to enter the muscle, fat and liver cells. This fuels or energizes you to perform day to day tasks. An organ pancreas secretes insulin which allows the transportation of glucose from blood stream to the body cells. If this chain of phenomena gets disrupted due to some reason, glucose builds up in blood, leading to diabetes. Diabetes may be classified in to the following types:

1. Type1 diabetes: In this type, body produces less insulin. The amount produced is not sufficient for moving the glucose from blood stream to body cells. As a result glucose collects in blood making you diabetic.

2. Type1 diabetes: In this type, the body cells become unresponsive to insulin. Consequently they fail to absorb the glucose from bloodstream.

3. Gestational diabetes: This type affects women who are pregnant.

Diabetes produces symptoms like excessive thirst, excessive hunger, frequent urination, weight loss, fatigue, blurry vision, irritability and slow healing of wounds. The possible diabetes triggers are heredity, aging, obesity, consumption of high fat diet, pregnancy, excessive alcohol intake, over-eating habits, stress, hypertension, high blood triglyceride levels and physical inactivity. Diabetes can lead to life-threatening complications like, heart disease, stroke, renal failures, blindness, leg ulcers and nerve damage.

Ways to control diabetes:

1. Self monitoring is now possible with devices like Glucometer. This is a boon. You can check your blood glucose levels any time you want and at home. This will help you to take timely precautions and control your soaring blood glucose levels.

2. You can control your diabetes by using external or implanted insulin pumps.

3. Intake of oral hypoglycemic drugs like Thiazolidinediones, Meglitinides, Sulfonylureas, Biguanides etc would help you to keep your glucose levels in check.

4. Consume a diet low in saturated fat and concentrated sweet and rich in fiber.

5. Exercise regularly to do away with obesity, inactivity and also for accelerating the metabolic rate. Brisk walking is quite beneficial as a diabetes control measure.

6. Give up alcohol drinking and smoking.

7. Relieve your stress through yoga, meditation, deep breathing or spas.

8. Learn from a professional the method of injecting insulin. You have to sincerely stick to the routine of taking insulin injections daily. Generally a patient has to take 2-3 insulin injections each day prior to meals.

9. Go for regular medical check ups. It will help you in controlling your diabetes.

10. You can try out the following home remedies for diabetes control:

a) Drink bitter gourd juice every morning to control your diabetes.
b) Chew fresh curry leaves two times daily to get rid of diabetes.
c) Soak fish berries in water overnight. In the morning, crush the berries to extract the juice. Drink it to lower your blood glucose levels.
d) Mix half teaspoon each of dry, powdered bay leaf and turmeric powder with 1 tablespoon Aloe Vera juice. Take the mixture twice daily to check your diabetes.
e) Boil 10-15 mango leaves in 1 glass water. Keep overnight. In the morning, strain and drink the water in empty stomach.