Tell Your Friends Who May Have Pre-Diabetes to Take This Simple Online Test

If you're a regular visitor to the Diabetes Health website, chances are you've been diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes for some time. Your experience with the disease has taught you a lot about its warning signs and the lifestyle habits that can make it worse.

Your experience can be valuable when it comes to talking to friends and family members whom you believe may be on track to developing diabetes. One low-key, easy resource to tell them about is the American Diabetes Association's "Stop Diabetes" website. It offers a quick and simple test that visitors can take to determine whether they have pre-diabetes.

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6 Easy Steps to Create a Diabetic Meal Plate

Since the American Diabetes Association no longer uses the food pyramid but instead uses the plate method, here are the six steps in creating your meal plate.

Using your dinner plate:

1. Put a line down the middle of the plate.

2. Then on one side, cut it again so you will have 3 sections on your plate.

3.  Fill the largest section with non-starchy vegetables.

4.  Now in one of the small sections put starchy foods.

5.  And then on the other small section, put your meat or meat substitutes.

6.  Add an 8 oz glass of non-fat or low-fat milk. If you don’t drink milk, you can add another small serving of carb such as a 6 oz. container of light yogurt or a small roll.

You can get more specific info from the ADA's site.

Type 2 Diabetes Diet You Can Live With

By Stephen Choy




A type 2 diabetes diet should always be followed according to doctor's instructions for anyone who has been diagnosed with type II diabetes. There are many diets geared towards those with diabetes, so which one is the right one?


All type 2 diabetes diets should include plenty of vegetables, fruits and lean proteins. They should also stress healthy carbohydrates such as stone cut oatmeal, brown and wild rice varieties, and whole grains. It is important when following type 2 diabetes diet plans, to avoid processed carbohydrates like white bread and rice. Processed carbs are notorious for causing spikes in blood sugar, which in turn, cause type 2 diabetes symptoms to become worse. Carbohydrates are a tricky food category since the body needs carbs to provide fuel to the body. Carbohydrates are also what produce glucose, which is the primary carrier of energy to the body's cells. However, too much glucose is what causes spikes in blood sugar. Therefore, a type 2 diabetes plan should carefully pair the right amount of the right kinds of carbs with both protein and a small amount of fat.


Many dieters trying to control type 2 diabetes symptoms find success in carbohydrate counting. This way of meal planning is an easy way to keep track of the total amount of carbohydrates that a person eats every day. By distributing the number of grams of carbs that the dieter is allowed each day throughout several small meals, a diabetes sufferer can help to control their blood sugar while still eating what they want to eat at each meal.


Since diabetes can lead to heart disease, it is important for a person with diabetes to cut most fat from their diet, especially saturated and trans fats, which clog arteries. In general, type 2 diabetes diet plans should allow the dieter to eat a variety of low-fat diabetes foods without several restrictions. Lean meats including lean red meat (which includes pork), poultry, and fish should be eaten in small portions and prepared by baking, grilling, roasting, or broiling instead of frying in large amounts of oil. Also, low-fat dairy products should be used whenever possible. Of course, learning to cook vegetables without drowning them in high-fat flavorings such as butter, oil and full-fat dairy products will also help keep type 2 diabetes symptoms in check.


By following a low-fat, low-carbohydrate type 2 diabetes diet full of healthy fruits, vegetables, lean meats and fiber, a diabetes patient can help control their type 2 diabetes symptoms and maybe even slow the development of the disease. Maintaining a healthy weight, regular exercise and a healthy eating lifestyle are very important to helping a diabetic live as normal of a lifestyle as possible.


Are you struggling with your weight with fear of developing diabetes? Our newsletter and eBook can give you the guidance you need to get healthy and stay that way through diet and exercise. Click lose weight quickly to find out more!


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A Seven Day Meal Plan with Diabetes

One of the biggest problems that I had when I was first diagnosed with diabetes was "What should I eat?". It's a question that I struggled with, as I am sure that most of you do as well. It's tough to make sure that your diet is "diabetes friendly", let alone economical and delicious. I believe that I answered that void here in our new cookbook: A 7 Day Meal Plan with Diabetes.

Here, you'll find a weeks worth of recipes, tips, and lists of healthy, delicious, and easy to make recipes that your whole family will love. These are my core recipes; the ones I make day in and day out, so I know that they're good. It is my sincere hope that you love them as much as we do.

Another great thing about our meal plan is that you'll find full nutritional data for each recipe included. We make it an easy, fun and yummy week! I can't wait for you to try it.

Read More: A Seven Day Meal Plan with Diabetes - Simply Cooking

Diabetes - What Type of Diabetes Diet is Best?

For some, changing your diet can be one of the most difficult processes you will face while controlling our diabetes. The good new is there is not one specific type of diabetes diet. You have a variety of ways to practice healthy diabetic eating and still enjoy the food you eat.

Being committed to healthier eating and controlling your blood sugar begins in your mind. Just like the old saying goes, "If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you can't. There is much truth to that statement. You must make up your mind to take control. If you don't take control of your diabetes the consequences could be brutal and even life threatening.

For me, just thinking about the complications caused by poor diabetes control is enough to motivate me to choose healthy nutrition for diabetes. Blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, and amputations are all primary complications of diabetes. The sad part is that if a person just makes the conscious decision to eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise, the number of these complications could be drastically reduced. Avoiding these horrible complications takes daily management...not just an occasional thought of diabetes control. Eating to control your diabetes rewards you with a much healthier body, and thus allows you to live your life as you choose rather than as your diabetes and health allows.

Understanding Healthy Food Choices

Eating a health diet for diabetes doesn't require a specific type diabetes diet. Today there is not one set diabetic diet. You'll find more than one way to control your food intake to help you control your diabetes. Eating healthy for diabetes involves portion control, and balancing your intake of each of the three main food categories, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Of the three main food categories, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, carbohydrates have the most impact on your blood sugar levels.

Good nutrition for diabetes begins with a basic understanding of how what you are eating affects your diabetes and your blood sugar ranges. Balancing food with your activity levels and your diabetes medications or insulin will help you get your blood sugars closer to a normal range blood sugar. Of the three main food categories, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, carbohydrates have the most impact on your blood sugar levels.

In general eating no more than 45 to 60 carbohydrates per meal is recommended. Try to stay away from processed foods and refined carbohydrates. These foods don't contain the same vital phytonutrients as fresh fruits and vegetables. Processed foods and refined carbohydrates can also cause a spike in blood sugars, making them more difficult to control. Portion control is vital to healthy eating for diabetes. Watching serving size and not overeating will help to control blood sugar as well as help to manage weight.

Learn more about diabetes and nutrition.

Avoid Diabetes Complications

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Diabetes information

Author: john alter

It is sometimes difficult in the United States to find type II diabetes information relating to natural cures or herbal
remedies. We have accumulated some diabetes info that may be of interest to anyone who is interested in dietary or herbalsupplements that have been proven in clinical and laboratory studies to naturally lower blood sugar levels.


Part of the diabetes information is that, there are two forms of diabetes conditions that exist today. The first one is known as diabetes mellitus while the second one is known as diabetes insipidus. Diabetes mellitus refers to the condition where sugar levels in the body rises beyond the levels accepted. This situation is usually caused by the inability of the body to either produce or respond to a hormone known as insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is in charge of allowing the glucose content in the body to enter the body cells so as it can be used to produce energy for the body to utilize. 


Whenever a person suffers from diabetes mellitus he or she usually has symptoms such as, an extreme
feeling of thirst, excessive cases of urination, vomiting experiences and so on.

One of the first things you should be aware of is the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, which usually occurs in young children and some young adults, occurs when the pancreas is unable to secrete the insulin that is necessary to deliver sugar as fuel to the body's cells. However, type 2 diabetes occurs in older adults (and even more often in senior citizens) of African-American, Latino, and Asian American backgrounds. In these cases it is the cells that become insulin resistant and cannot absorb the sugar necessary for cell energy, and this sugar remains in the blood.


The population of diabetes patients is awesome. They are a pressure group, a lobby and influence the decision of the policy makers. There are statutory rules governing food and consumer items for the diabetes patients that help them in selecting foods for a healthy meal plan.

Now that the risks are there to help one decide whether to get tested or not, there are other diabetes information the doctor will need for proper diagnosis. The doctor may think a patient has diabetes because of the symptoms but to be sure, blood tests are used.The random blood glucose test is also simple. There is no special preparation like an overnight fast. The oral glucose tolerance test is different. It is hardly used now because the other tests are less expensive. This involves an eight hour fast. The patient will be asked to drink eight ounces of liquid that contains about 75 grams of sugar.


Diabetes is actually a metabolic disorder wherein the body feels an acute lack of the energy-producing hormone, insulin. Insulin, which is produced by cells in the pancreas, break down the food we eat and convert it into energy, which helps us carry on our daily activities.Dietary supplements like antioxidants may help reverse deficiencies that have developed as a result of diabetes, protect your body from diabetes-related damage, improve your metabolism so you have more energy, and help to stabilize blood sugar.

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Health Benefits of Dried Beans, Nuts, and Seeds

You need to consume a variety of plant foods to obtain all the amino acids necessary for your body to form complete proteins. In this article, we will discuss ways to maximize your intake of legumes (dried beans and peas) as part of a healthier lifestyle and to make your body stronger. Eating healthy can be part of an alternative treatment against illnesses.

Legumes are a staple food all over the world and are one of the best sources of soluble fiber. Plus, they're low in fat and high in good quality protein -- a great health-saving combination. Beans can be gassy, of course, but there are ways around that. So don't let their "explosive" nature scare you away from some of the best nutrition around.

The soluble fiber in beans helps lower levels of damaging LDL cholesterol in the blood, thus lowering heart-disease risk. And by slowing down carbohydrate absorption, soluble bean fiber fends off unwanted peaks and valleys in blood glucose levels -- especially valuable to people with diabetes.

Beans also provide substantial insoluble fiber, which can keep constipation and other digestive woes away.




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Managing and Coping With Type 2 Diabetes Disease

By Korbin Newlyn


Numerous individuals are examined and diagnosed with type diabetes each and everyday. Diabetes has unfortunately become one of the most prevalent diseases to affect individuals in the world today. When an individual is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes they might get a feeling of being bewildered and overpowered because of the diagnosis. It is crucial then for individuals who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes to understand and comprehend that with some rudimentary alternations in their life style and with careful monitoring coping and living with the disease is totally achievable.

Learning About Type 2 Diabetes


The initial consideration an individual that has type 2 diabetes needs to do is to start to become educated and familiar with their disease and it effects on their body, different complications and ways to get it under control to as much extent as possible. The doctor should assist the patient by starting with some rudimentary instruction and be ready to recommend additional resources of information for the individual. The diabetic should talk to a dietitian that is registered and with a diabetes educator that is certified to further educate themselves about the disease.

Changes In Diet


The person who has been newly diagnosed with diabetes will have to get counseling through a registered dietitian. The dietitian can guide the type 2 diabetic to educate themselves in regards to the foods that they eat and what necessary modifications can be made for the best result to their body functions. There are also many different types of cook books as well as websites that offer recipes for diabetics that will enable a person to consume healthy tasty meals. The diabetic will need to address their dietary changes seriously.

Watching Blood Sugars


The type 2 diabetic will have to get a glucometer so they will be capable of monitoring their blood sugar on a day to day basis within there home. There are numerous different types of glucometers that you can get on the open market today that are highly accurate provided that the person uses them in a correct way. The majority of insurance companies will furnish a monitor with the initial diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. By monitoring closely their own blood sugar levels an individual can in a relatively easy manner see what kinds of foods as well as their activities are giving the biggest effect and make any needed changes accordingly.

Type 2 Diabetic and Exercises


A very helpful thing for any individual, particularly a type 2 diabetic to do is to establish some kind of exercise program. One of the direct results of exercise is the decrease of the levels of blood sugars. You do not have to have a highly complex type of exercise routine to accomplish what you need to. The person with diabetes can just start out with walking, biking or a swimming regimen. Going for a walk around the neighborhood several times each week will be very beneficial to the overall health of the diabetic in addition to lowering their blood sugar levels.

Taking Medications


The type 2 diabetic should follow all of the advice of their doctor and take their medications as they are prescribed to them. There are numerous types of excellent medications that function very well to control diabetes when working in conjunction with exercise and dietary changes. Type 2 diabetics have to take any and all medication that are necessary in their individual circumstances to stabilize the blood sugars and maintain a high quality of life.

Listen to Korbin Newlyn as he shares his insights as an expert author and an avid writer in the field of health. If you would like to learn more go to Diabetes Type 1 advice and at Diabetes Complications tips.

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Type 2 Diabetes - The Cause And Symptoms Bares All

By Nash Burns


The pancreas is the organ responsible for producing insulin in the human body. Insulin is a hormone in the form of protein. Insulin promotes the absorption of sugar from the blood to the muscles.
It also converts sugar to another form of sugar call glycogen. By need the body cells convert the glycogen to glucose and use it as fuel. Effectively insulin acts as a regulator to regulate the amount of glucose level in the blood.

Diabetes type ii indicates that the cells in the patients do not react to insulin stimulation. There are two out comes of the failure; the body fails to store the glucose in the cells or to use the glucose as an energy source. This phenomena are sometimes referred to as insulin resistance..

The amount of glucose in the blood therefore rises. The body will counter this situation by increasing insulin production. Over a long period of time the body cannot maintain high level of insulin produce and it will eventually decrease.

Why do you get type 2 diabetes?


What is going on when the disease occurs is not entirely known. It may be cause by insulin itself or the cells surface structure. The most common denominator among patients is in the lifestyle.

Too high consumption of sugar and fat -Over-weight -Too less exercise over many years. Therefore diabetes type 2 can be prevented by a right diet and with regular exercise. The high level of glucose in the blood can affect the body in many ways such as: You’ll feel lethargic and tired all the time.

The molecular thickness of the blood increases. This causes water to be pulled out from the body tissues and into the blood. Tissues become dry and increase in the production of urine. Since the body constantly requires energy, the body will get it from another source i.e. protein and fat; causing sudden weight loss and muscle tissue break down.

How do you know when you get diabetes type 2?


This disease is the most common type of diabetes around. Nine out of 10 person are likely to get these type of diabetic disease. There use to be a time when most of the diabetes sufferer are middle age and older, however things are changing. The diabetes type II usually comes in different stages. The symptoms are.

-More urine are produced causing increased frequency of urination.

-Blurred vision and in severe case complete blindness.

-Dehydration and not enough water in the body.

-An increased in appetite

-Any physical injuries which normally heals fast, started to take a long time.

Over time the disease will developed into other types of diseases namely, heart disease and even stroke.
Find out how you can treat type 2 diabetes by controlling your carbohydrate intake. Find out more here and it's FREE.

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Types of Diabetes

Types of Diabetes

By Peter Lenkefi

Before we start discussion about type of diabetes we must know what exactly is diabetes?
Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism—the digestion system of our body for growth and energy. Almost every food we eat broken down to glucose, the form or sugar which is the fuel for our body.

After digestion, glucose passes into the bloodstream, where it is used by cells for growth and energy. For glucose to get into cells, insulin must be present. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, a large gland behind the stomach.

When we eat, the pancreas automatically produces the right amount of insulin to move glucose from blood into our cells. For the people having diabetes this is the place of disorder, there pancreas either produces little or no insulin, or the cells do not respond appropriately to the insulin that is produced.

Types of diabetes: The three main types of diabetes are

Type 1 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes
Gestational diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes (previously known as insulin-dependent diabetes)

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease results when the body's system for fighting infection stops in a part of body. In diabetes, the immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and destroys them. The pancreas then produces little or no insulin. A person who has type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily to live.

Type 2 Diabetes (previously known as non-insulin dependent diabetes)

The most common form of diabetes is type 2 diabetes. Nearly 90 to 95 percent of people with diabetes have type 2. This form of diabetes is strongly genetic. About 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight.

Type 2 diabetes is increasingly being diagnosed in children and adolescents. However, type 2 diabetes in youth are not in common.

When type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, the pancreas is usually producing enough insulin, but for unknown reasons, the body cannot use the insulin effectively, a condition called insulin resistance. After several years, insulin production decreases. The result is the same as for type 1 diabetes—glucose builds up in the blood and the body cannot make efficient use of its main source of fuel.

Gestational Diabetes: (Gdm)

Gestational diabetes develops only during pregnancy. Like type 2 diabetes, it occurs more often in African Americans, American Indians, Hispanic Americans, and among women with a family history of diabetes. Women who have had gestational diabetes have a 20 to 50 percent chance of developing type 2 diabetes within 5 to 10 years.

For more more information about types of diabetes please visit [http://www.diabetic-help.net]

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Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 – Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

By Knut Holt



Special areas in the pancreas gland, the Islets of Langerhans, produce a hormone called insulin. This hormone is a protein of small size. Insulin stimulates muscle cells and other body cells to take up glucose from the blood and convert the glucose to glycogen, a kind of starch, and then store the glycogen. By need the body cells convert the glycogen to glucose and use it as fuel. In this way insulin keeps the glucose level in the blood at a normal size.

By diabetes type 2, the cells in the body do not react properly by stimulation from insulin. Therefore they do not take in enough glucose from the blood to store it or to use it as energy source. This condition is called insulin resistance. The amount of glucose in the blood therefore rises. Also the insulin production can rise to regulate the glucose amount down, but this effort to reduce the blood glucose is not effective enough. If the disease persists for many years, the insulin production may tire out, so that the amount of secreted insulin decreases.

THE CAUSES AND MECHANISMS OF DIABETES TYPE 2

The exact mechanism that causes the disease is not known. There may be an autoimmune response to insulin or to the molecules on the cell surfaces that the insulin connects to. However, these lifestyle factors can cause the disease:

-Too high consume of sugar and fat


-Over-weight


-Too less exercise over many years.

Therefore diabetes type 2 can be prevented by a right diet and with regular exercise.
When the glucose uptake into the body cells is reduced, but glucose instead accumulates in the blood, the following physiological effects occur:

-The body cells do not get enough fuel for the work they shall do.

-The molecular thickness (osmality) of the blood increases. This causes water to be pulled out from the body tissues and into the blood. The tissues thus get dried out and the urine production increases.

-The tissues begin to break down protein and fat to get energy, causing weight loss and muscular reduction.

The symptoms of diabetes type 2 are a consequence of these mechanisms.

THE SYMPTOMS OF DIABETES TYPE 2

Diabetes type 2 is the most common kind of diabetes, actually 10 times more common than diabetes type 1, where the insulin production is reduced or stopped.  The disease usually appears after the age of 50, but the high sugar and fat consume in western countries nowadays also causes young persons to acquire the disease. Symptoms of diabetes type 2 come gradually. The symptoms are.

-Increased urine production


-Dehydration, that is a lack of water in the body


-Abnormal high thirst


-Dry mouth


-Increased appetite


-Slow healing of physical injuries


-Itching in the skin


-Infections caused by yeasts


-Impaired vision

In the long turn, the disease can cause atherosclerosis with blood vessel narrowing, heart disease and stroke.

LIFESTYLE TREATMENT OF DIABETES TYPE 2

The treatment of diabetes type 2 is most often diet with a low sugar and fat amount, and with the amount of sugar and carbohydrates strictly controlled. A weight reduction program is a part of the treatment for over-weighted persons. An exercise program is also an important component of the treatment, both in order to get rid of excessive blood sugar levels and to loose weight.

A general healthy diet will also help. Such a diet contains food sources like fish, fouls, seafood, mushrooms, whole corn cereals, whole corn bread and vegetables. The following fat and sugar containing food types are recommended in moderate amounts: Nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, eggs, spawn and fruit.

These fat types are also recommended in moderate amounts: Olive oil, walnut oil, rape oil, sunflower oil. Soy oil, corn oil and butter can be used in small amounts, but these fat types should not be your only fat source. If you only use these fat types, you will not get all essential fatty acids that the body need to work properly. Things to be avoided in the diet are: Snacks, fast food, fat read meat, cookies, margarine, chemically altered fat and sweet beverages.

The listed measures will usually lighten the burden upon the blood sugar control of the body so that it manages to normalize the blood sugar levels.

The listed lifestyle measures will also prevent diabetes type 2, but for prevention the control of the daily carbohydrate intake does not have to be controlled so strictly
.
MEDICAL TREATMENT OF DIABETES TYPE 2

If lifestyle measures do not work good enough, medication to lower the blood sugar is used. There are several classes of medicaments against diabetes type 2 to be taken by mouth and that work in different ways:
-The first class of drugs against diabetes type 2 developed, and which are still in use, are the sulfonylureas drugs like Glucotrol® and Micronase®. These drugs stimulate the pancreas to make more insulin. Side effects from these drugs that may occur are: Low blood sugar levels, water retention, edema, weight gain, heart problems and allergic reactions. Law blood sugar levels occur more easily if the drug is used together with alcohol.

-The biguanides like Metformin make the liver to slow down the brakedown of stored complex carbohydrates to glucose, and thus lower the blood glucose level. This drug class also help to control weight. Possible side effects form this drug class are lactic acidosis, nausea, appetite loss, diarrhea, abdominal gas and metallic taste.

-Alpha-Glucosidase Inhibitors like Precose® and Glyset®, inhibit breakdown of complex carbohydrates in the gut to simple sugars and the uptake of sugars from the gut into the blood, and thus lower the content of sugar in the blood. They may give side effects like abdominal gas and diarrhea.

-The thiazolidinediones like Avandia® and Actos® make body cells more sensitive to insulin and thus make skeletal muscle take up glucose form the blood. Side effects that may occur by this class of drugs are anaemia, head-aches, muscle aches, tooth aches, sore throut, increased upper respiratory tract infection rate, water retention, edema, weight gain, heart problems and liver injury.

-Meglitinides like Prandin® are taken by meals and controls the blood sugar levels after meals by stimulating the pancreas to make more insulin when the sugar from the meal comes into the blood. Possible side effects are low blood sugar levels, increased risk of upper respiratory tract infection, headache, joint and back pain, nausea, diarrhea, constipation and weight gain.

If the insulin production is reduced, insulin injections are also used.

There are also natural products in the market that can help to normalize the blood sugar level by diabetes type 2. Those products cannot heal the disease, but they can help the body to regulate the blood sugar. These products contain minerals that are working components of enzymes that stimulate the glucose metabolism in the body. They also contain herbs that have been used for a long time in traditional medicine to regulate the glucose level and have proven their effects in scientific studies.

About the Author:

Knut Holt is an internet consultant and marketer focusing on health items. TO FIND supplements for support by diabetes, anti-aging supplements, medicines against acne, eczema, rosacea and other skin problems and natural medicines against heart disease, hypothyroidism, hemorrhoids, depression and other common health problems, PLEASE VISIT http://www.abicana.com/shop2.htm



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