Diabetes
-
Blood
Glucose Diabetes Type 2
Blood Sugar Information About Type 2
Diabetes Living With Type 2 Diabetes
Control Type 2 Diabetes
Preventing Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes Type 2 Treatment
Didn't find what your looking for? Try the Custom 'diabetes' Search
When interpreting your results, take your premeal readings into account
since you are interested in not just
your after-meal
reading but also in
how much your blood glucose level increased because of your food intake
It used to be said that having diabetes aged people an additional 20
years. Today, thanks to better tools for
managing diabetes and
preventing and treating its complications, people with diabetes have the
opportunity
to live longer than ever before.
by
David Kinshuck, Pat Lamb, Urmilla Griffiths (Pat & Urmila: diabetes
specialist nurses, Good Hope Hospital)
Embrace your Diabetes 2
Learning how to control Diabetes 2...take control
What is happening in Diabetes 2
First, there is a shortage of insulin
Second, there is insulin resistance.
Third, there are genes
These factors combine to cause Diabetes 2
Pattern of progression
At the beginning of Diabetes 2 a healthy diet may
be sufficient to lower the sugar and keep the
HbA1c below 7%
Later, metformin is needed.
Later still, add Exanatide if overweight or other drug.
Later still insulin may be required
Testing you sugar/glucose level
See
testing.
If you 'embrace' your Diabetes 2, you will gradually learn to control it
and achieve an
HbA1c of 7% or below.
But to
do this, you need to check to see your
fasting blood sugar (glucose) levels are 4 - 7 mmol/l
(72-126 mg/dl) (when you
wake up)
test your blood glucose levels before meals between 4
and 7 mmol/l (72-126 mg/dl)
remember, you still need tablets if you are ill; if you
are being sick or cannot swallow the tablets,
|let your
doctor
or nurse know.
occasionally test after meals (preferred levels less
than 10 mmol/l) (180 mg/dl )
To achieve very good control (HbA1c 6.5-7.0%) you need a
fasting pre-breakfast glucose
less than 5.5 mmol/l (99 mg/dl ), pre-meal levels at other
times less than 6.0 mmol/l (108 mg/dl )
and
after-meal levels
(2 hours after a meal) less than 8.0
mmol/l (141 mg/dl).
These levels cannot be achieved in all patients..but if
you are well and are prepared to stick to a healthy
diet and
exercise your medication should be adjusted to achieve these
levels, even if that
means starting insulin.
Tight control
means getting as close to a normal (nondiabetic) blood
glucose level as you safely can.
Ideally, this means levels between 70 mg/dl (3.8 mmol/l)
and 130 mg/dl before meals (7.2 mmol/L),
and less than 180 (10mmol/L) two hours after starting a
meal, with a glycated hemoglobin (A1C) level
less than 7 percent. The target number for glycated
hemoglobin will vary depending on the type of test your
doctor's laboratory uses.
In real life, you should set your goals with your
doctor. Keeping a normal level all the time is not
practical.
And it's not needed to get results.
Every bit you
lower your blood glucose level helps to prevent
complications.
Living with tight control
To get tight control, you must do the following:
Pay more
attention to your diet and exercise.
Measure
your blood glucose levels more often.
If you take insulin, change how much you use and
your injection schedule.
It used to be said that having diabetes aged people an additional 20
years. Today, thanks to better tools for
managing diabetes and
preventing and treating its complications, people with diabetes have the
opportunity
to live longer than ever before.
"Average glucose" will soon be a
key part of your diabetes tool kit. Estimated Average Glucose (eAG)
is a new way to understand how well you're managing your diabetes.
Using eAG may help you get a better idea of how well you are taking care
of your diabetes.
And that can help you and your health care provider know what changes
you may need
to make to be as healthy as possible.
finally, to full-fledged
diabetes you need to first
understand how blood sugar control works in a
normal body. Let's look at
that now.
Blood Sugar
Blood Sugar Control- Normal Person The key to understanding blood sugar control is to understand the role
played by special cells
called Beta-Cells. These tiny
cells are
scattered through an organ called the
pancreas which is
located just
under your stomach. The job of the beta cell
is to produce
insulin, store it, and release it into the blood
stream at appropriate
times.
What should a person do to decrease
there chances of developing type 2
diabetes? Click here
Landry.com
by Greg
Landry, M.S
A:
Maintain a reasonable weight, lose weight if you are overweight, and get
moving - have regular
physical activity, and make
healthy food choices
(which helps with
weight loss and maintenance).
Do People with Type 2 Always Deteriorate? Why doctors believe this
toxic myth.
The single most dangerous idea you are likely to encounter
as you begin your struggle to live a healthy
life with diabetes is the
belief
that science has proven, beyond a doubt, that no matter what you
do,
your Type 2 Diabetes will get worse.
Whether you are newly diagnosed or simply in need of more
information about diabetes, this website –
created by UCSF's
Diabetes
Teaching Center – can help. Diabetes management is
a lifestyle,
and while we understand it is not a lifestyle
that you would have
chosen, it is one that you can master to
stay healthy.
Choosing a
healthy lifestyle can help you improve your
health and reduce your risk of heart disease and
diabetes.
Healthy lifestyles include eating a healthy
diet, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising
regularly,
quitting smoking (or not starting),
and minimizing stress. (Note: Specific guidance
for maintaining
a healthy lifestyle may change
over time as new scientific recommendations
become available.) Learn more about each of the
factors that affect your lifestyle.
Excess body fat leads to health
problems such as type 2 diabetes, high
blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
Health professionals use a
measurement called body mass index (BMI)
to classify an adult's weight
as
healthy, overweight, or obese.
BMI
describes body weight relative to height
and is correlated with total body fat
content in most adults.
Having excess abdominal body fat is
also a health risk. Men with a waist of
more than 40 inches around
and women
with a waist
of 35 inches or
more are at
risk for health problems.
More than 60 percent of U.S. adults
are either overweight or obese,
according to the Centers for
Disease
Control and
Prevention (CDC). While the
number of overweight people has been
slowly
climbing since the 1980s, the
number of obese adults has nearly
doubled since then.
Excess weight and physical inactivity
account for more than 300,000 premature
deaths each year
in the United States,
second only to deaths
related to
smoking, says the CDC. People who are
overweight or obese are more likely to
develop heart disease, stroke,
high
blood pressure,
diabetes, gallbladder
disease and joint pain caused by excess
uric acid (gout). Excess weight
can also
cause interrupted
breathing during sleep
(sleep apnea) and wearing away of the
joints (osteoarthritis).
To lose weight, you must eat less and
move more. Your body needs to burn more
calories than you take in.
Exercise improves heart function, lowers blood pressure and blood
cholesterol, helps manage diabetes, and
helps
control weight.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute (NHLBI) at NIH recommends that
adults get at least 30 minutes of
moderate physical activity on
most days
of the week.
Talk to your doctor about what forms
of exercise are best for you.
For more information about exercise
and physical fitness, see:
Choosing a
healthy lifestyle can help you improve your
health and reduce your risk of heart disease and
diabetes.
Minimize Stress The link between stress and coronary
heart disease is not entirely clear.
However, people who have too
much stress
or who have
unhealthy responses to
stress may be at greater risk of having
coronary heart disease.
Facts about stress and coronary heart
disease:
Stress speeds up
the heart rate.
People with heart
disease are more likely to have a
heart attack during times of stress.
People sometimes
respond to stress with unhealthy
habits such as smoking or eating
salty or high-fat foods.
-Glycaemic control review - Assessment of co-morbidity - Review of all medications - Attention to modifiable cardiovascular
risk factors - Management of long term complications - Management plan for next 12 months - Arrange review date
Tightly controlling your blood glucose levels soon after being diagnosed
with Type 2 diabetes can lead to
lower risks of
diabetes complications—including heart disease and death—years
later.
Website
Education- NDEP Control diabetes by controlling glucose,
Nearly 65 percent of people
with diabetes will die from a heart attack or
stroke; because of a lack
of available
information,
two out of three people
with
diabetes are unaware of their heightened risk.
In order for those with
diabetes to stay heart healthy, having the most
up-to-date information is
crucial. Now, there's
a place
where people can go
for the latest
resources that can help them
control their
diabetes, as well as monitor their blood
pressure and cholesterol levels.
When those with diabetes take
steps to also ensure good cardiovascular health,
they can live long, healthy lives.
The National Diabetes
Education Program is a federally funded program
sponsored by the
U.S. Department of Health and
Human
Services' National Institutes of Health and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and
includes over 200 partners at
the federal, state,
and
local levels, working together to reduce the
morbidity and mortality associated with diabetes.
Group with Fasting Blood Glucose of 110-124 mg/dl or 6.1-6.9
mmol/L had the same cardiovascular
and metabolic syndrome
incidence as
people with diabetes in the following study:
To learn more about the
diabetic food pyramid visit
http://www.diabetes-diabetic-diet-plans.com
,
a popular website devoted to
help
people with diabetes live a healthier
life. The website provides tips
on
diabetic food, cooking and diet
plans, as well as
information several
complications
associated with the
disease.
Diabetic Food
The diabetic food pyramid
outlines in detail what those suffering from the disease
should eat, and
what they should avoid.
You'll find
lots
of starches, grains and breads on the pyramid that was
first released by the USDA in 2005.
And if you're
looking for recipes, they can be found practically
everywhere you look. Search the internet,
open a book,
magazine or
newspaper, or just turn on the television
and you'll no doubt find more
tasty recipes than you
could ever hope to try.
A quick trip to the public
library
will add even more treats to your list.
The main thing that needs to be avoided is sugars,
and given how tempting many desserts can
be this is
harder than it seems.
Those with
a mild case of diabetes
might be able to grab a nibble of sugared foods on
occasion,
but not too often. Those with moderate to
severe cases of
diabetes should avoid them completely.
The
diabetic food pyramid is much like the regular food
pyramid. The difference of course being
that the diabetic food pyramid
is
designed to limit sugars in the diet.
Foods
high in water and fiber, like fruits and
vegetables , are the so-called high-volume
foods.
They add bulk to your meals and help
fill
your stomach.
High-Water,
High-Fiber Foods Help Curb Hunger. Lean Protein
Can Reduce Hunger
Graftjacket. This treatment helps our body to repair the wound
quickly by providing immediate
coverage to the wound and a way to
rebuild the area of
missing tissue
The Glycemic Index On-line,
the University of Sydney's GI Website, is a comprehensive and
authoritative guide to the glycemic index.
Dr. Jennie
Brand-Miller, who authorized me to summarize her work in 1995 or
1996, finally has a
Web presence in November 2000.
And what a
presence it is! Her site is now the key Internet resource on
this subject. The URL is http://www.glycemicindex.com
Here's another excellent glycemic index resource for
athletes. Cycling Performance Tips:
Glycemic Index shows how
athletes can make
use of the glycemic index. The URL is http://www.cptips.com/gi.htm
A
glucose tolerance test in medical practice is the
administration of
glucose
to determine how
quickly it is cleared from the blood.
The test is
usually used to test for
diabetes,
insulin resistance,
Much of the information on this site is taken from Michel
Montignac, (1999), Eat yourself Slim,
Montignac Publishing (UK) Ltd.
Information about the book, the method, and the Glycćmic Index can
be found at the Montignac
website.
How does your glucose level compare
with your HbA1c
HbA1c %
Average blood glucose level
mg/dl
Average blood glucose level mmol/l
13
324 mg/dl
18
mmol/l
12
306 mg/dl
17
mmol/l
11
270 mg/dl
15
mmol/l
10
234 mg/dl
13
mmol/l
9
216 mg/dl
12
mmol/l
8
180 mg/dl
10
mmol/l
7
141 mg/dl
8
mmol/l
6
125 mg/dl
7
mmol/l
5
90 mg/dl
5
mmol/l
HbA1c levels by coincidence nearly equate to glucose levels. So
an HbA1c level of 10% means the average
glucose level for the
previous
10 weeks was 234 mg/dl (13 mmol/l ).
But at lower levels there is even less difference, so an HbA1c
of 7% means the average glucose
level was 141 mg/dl (8 mmol/l).
OSTPRANDIAL BLOOD GLUCOSE GOALS Ideally, your plasma glucose level about an hour after finishing a meal
or snack should be in the
range specified here.
BLOOD GLUCOSE AND HbA
1c
CORRELATIONS
You can convert your
glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c)
result into your average plasma glucose
levels over the past 2–3 months.
The glycemic index of a food is a measure of how quickly it raises blood
glucose after eating.
The higher the number, the faster
it raises blood
glucose.
The glycemic index of a food is a measure of how quickly it raises blood
glucose after eating.
The higher the number, the faster
it raises blood
glucose.
Type 2 diabetes can sometimes be turned around with
weight loss, a healthy diet and exercise.
If your
doctor feels that is the case,
then positive
lifestyle changes that help you lose the excess
weight,
and regular daily exercise may be enough.
With medication or not,
diabetes still requires a
healthy diet
and physical activity for optimum
health.
Medications are usually prescribed in addition to
lifestyle changes. The medications work in different
ways
but their effect is to lower
blood glucose and
help the body's own insulin become more effective.
If oral medications are not enough, insulin
injections may be used to
help gain control of
glucose levels.
A diagnosis of diabetes can really derail your lifestyle. All of a
sudden, there are a lot of new things to
learn and many changes
that
have to take place. Where do you start?
Diabetes is a condition where people don't produce enough insulin to
meet their body's needs or
their cells don't respond properly
to
insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is mainly caused by insulin resistance.
Symptoms
Treatment
Frequent measurement of blood glucose levels is the best way to know
whether blood glucose
levels are in the target range.
This is easily
done at home with a blood glucose monitor.
By
Dr Michael Hutch PhD
