Category: Diabetes News

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Diabetes News

Individually Planned Low Cholesterol Food List

The inclusion of low cholesterol foods can be a real benefit to help control dieabetes. Rather than listing only foods low in cholesterol and leaving out the undesirable ones, why don’t you come up with a list of all the foods you enjoy eating, in a hierarchy? This way you are not truly leaving the “sinful” food choices, and feel deprived too. This approach on how to control cholesterol can be adapted by patients who are having a hard time sticking to strictly outlined diet plans. Below is an example of a low cholesterol food list:

1. No Cholesterol Foods – Plant derived foods are virtually cholesterol free. Some could contain certain levels of oil and pack on calories, but oils coming from plant foods are healthy while high calorie fruits and vegetables are relatively filling. This should be your base list, where you will be taking the majority of you food intake. Try to come up with creative and delicious low cholesterol recipes from the list:

a. Fruits – Avocadoes, Oranges, Pineapples, Peaches, Nectarines, Mangoes, Melons, all Berries and Grapes and, importantly, Bananas

b. Vegetables – Spinach, Broccoli, Carrots, Mushrooms, Corn, Turnips, Olives, Tomatoes, Onions, Peppers, Cucumbers, Lettuce, Squash, Kale, Cauliflower and Cabbage.

c. Legumes, Peas and Beans of all types – Lima, Pinto, Borlotti, Kidney Beans, White, Split, Black Eyed, Mung, Chickpeas, Seri, Lentils and Soy.

d. Spices, Herbs and other seasonings – Chilli, peppers, garlic, vanilla, basil, cloves, chives, sage, dill and rosemary.

e. Grains and Cereal – Bran, oats, barley, rice, bulgur, quinoa and whole wheat.

2. Cholesterol Lowering Foods – This is a special food group because they actually reverse the cholesterol count in the body. This is one of the most effective ways on how to lower cholesterol naturally. Except for the oily nuts and olive, consumption in this food group is unrestricted.

– Apples, all nuts, garlic, fish, brown rice, olive oil, oatmeal, cinnamon and soybeans.

3. Healthy Foods with Considerable Cholesterol Content – These are relatively healthy foods but are heavy on cholesterol. Limit consumption to two or three servings a week. You can also opt to find healthier substitutes for some of them.

– Cheese, lean red meat, poultry meat, bitter chocolates, eggs, milk, yogurt and potatoes.

4. Cheat Foods – This list should be the shortest. Limit your entries to those that you foods that you consider your frivolous indulgence.

– Seafood, Devil’s Food Cake, Ice cream, ham and bacon, liver pate

Take note that this diet is designed for a relatively healthy and active individual who wants to find a way on how to lower cholesterol naturally and might not be applicable to all. Always consult with your doctor and a professional dietician on coming up with your low cholesterol food list together with the allowable cheat foods. Make sure that you discuss with them your goal and your present health condition. These are important factors in designing a diet for you.

Indulging on your favourite unhealthy food once in a while is acceptable as long as you can compensate it by being extra active and by eating more healthy foods from your low cholesterol food list.

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Diabetes News

Medical Procedures of Diagnosing Diabetes

There are proper medical ways of diagnosing diabetes. Self testing and diagnosing is discouraged as this might do more harm than good to the patient. Always seek the help and opinion of medical practitioners to ensure proper medication and treatment.

What is diabetes? Medically referred as diabetes mellitus, this is the metabolic illness caused by the inability of the body to absorb and process glucose. Due to lack or ineffectiveness of insulin in the body, sugar level is uncontrollable. The most common type of diabetes is the one that is due to the inefficacy of insulin in the body developed during adulthood or the Type 2 diabetes. The type of diabetes that usually afflicts the young is the Type 1 diabetes and this is mainly due to the body’s failure to naturally produce insulin.

Nine out of every ten diabetics have Type 2 diabetes. Most of the causes are coming from unhealthy lifestyles and indulgence of fatty foods. The most notable complication of the Type 2 diabetes is the rare and extremely painful diabetic amyotrophy. Below are the most common contributing factors in developing the disease:

1. Obesity 2. Unhealthy diet 3. Inactive lifestyle 4. Smoking 5. Abusive drug use 6. Excessive alcohol intake

It takes a while to fully develop Type 2 diabetes. Symptoms that may indicate the disease as well as the need of diagnosing diabetes are the following:

1. Insatiable hunger and thirst 2. Fatigue 3. Dry mouth 4. Gradual blindness 5. Yeast infections 6. Pestering sores, blisters and wounds 7. Frequent urination 8. Darkening of the skin around the groin area, armpits and neck 9. Drastic weight gain or loss

The most common medical procedures of diagnosing diabetes are:

1. Fasting Plasma Glucose Test – FPG is also known as fasting blood glucose test. This is the most convenient medical test and is usually the initial testing done. A fasting period of at least eight hours is required prior to taking blood samples. Glucose levels that are 99mg for every decilitre of blood are considered healthy. 100-125mg levels are classified pre-diabetes stage and over 125mg of glucose in the blood is already a case of diabetes. Further test will be needed to confirm the diagnosis.

2. Oral Glucose Tolerance Test – The OGTT is the confirmatory test of diagnosing diabetes. If done properly, test results are highly accurate and reliable. More than the required fasting period, the test also necessitates the patient to be in good health, cases of flu or simple colds will be not be allowed. In addition to solid food, coffee, fruit juices and any sweetened drinks, smoking is also restricted. For OGTT, glucose is introduced to the body before timed intervals of blood samples will be taken. The blood sample taken at the 2hr interval should indicate below 140mg glucose. 140-199mg is an indication of pre-diabetes, while 200mg of glucose level is indicative of diabetes.

Patients in the pre-diabetes bracket are in heightened risk of acquiring Type 2 diabetes. With proper care, healthier lifestyle and following the type 2 diabetes diet and eating foods low in cholesterol, this can still be prevented. If symptoms persist, diagnosing diabetes as soon as possible will facilitate early and more effective treatments.

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Diabetes News

Tips And Tricks For Dealing With Diabetes

Some people think their lives will be tremendously affected because they have diabetes. If you have this disease, the suggestions in this article will help you manage your symptoms and learn to live life fully. You have to choose for yourself that you want to follow this advice.

When talking about nutrition and foods, Cholesterol is one of the most prevalent subjects to take into consideration. Avoid diets that require you to ingest higher amounts of fat, even if we’re speaking about good fats. The reason here is that ingesting fat can be habit forming, and after a while your cholesterol levels will start to increase, and although thinner, you may be at higher risk for heart disease.

High blood sugar symptoms are easy to detect, especially if you have an idea about what to look for. These include excessive thirst, blurred vision, and a general lack of energy. If you notice a symptom, check your sugar levels, and inject insulin if needed.

If you smoke and have diabetes, try quitting. Smoking is really bad for those with diabetes because it has the ability to raise blood sugar dangerously high. The highly addictive nature of nicotine can make quitting a very difficult process. Seek advice from your doctor.

If you are traveling, always have your insulin on your person wherever you go. Never place insulin in baggage that is checked because your luggage could be misplaced or unintentionally exposed to extremely hot or cold temperatures. Don’t worry about the insulin spoiling if you leave it in your carry-on. Insulin can last for up to 30 days if it’s not exposed to extremely hot or cold temperatures.

Sometimes a quick snack, like a chocolate bar from a snack machine, or other goodies around the house, may be hard to avoid, diabetic or not. You need to do everything that you can though to avoid this temptation, and instead eat some veggies, fruit, or any other complex carbohydrate.

Although childhood diabetes is uncommon, effective treatments are available. If your child has been diagnosed, you can get through it! Diabetes is quite common, and there is no reason your child can’t maintain a high quality of life after being diagnosed. The world’s oldest living diabetic has lived for 90 years and has been around since before the current medical advances.

Visiting your doctor regularly is key in treating and maintaining control of your diabetes. Diabetes is a health issue that basically has no cure. This makes scheduling regular appointments with your medical practitioner absolutely crucial when it comes to ensuring that your diabetes is well-managed. You can live a normal life with diabetes, if you manage it properly.

A diabetic should be aware of the the indicators of elevated blood sugar. Whether it be excessive hunger and thirst or lack of energy and blurry vision, these symptoms are important to recognize. If you experience these symptoms, test your sugars immediately, and give yourself an insulin injection if necessary.

One myth regarding diabetes is that it’s necessary to always avoid sugar. You do not have to eliminate sugar from your diet, but you need to be smart about sweets. You can treat yourself to small servings of dessert on special occasions. If you’ll be enjoying some sweets, eliminate other carb containing foods to fit the sweets in.

You mustn’t overeat if you suffer from hypoglycemia. Although it is true you need to eat enough to take in adequate sugar from food, the detrimental effects of high blood sugar caused by overeating must also be avoided.

If you think you might have gestational diabetes, let your doctor know. You can damage the health of you and your baby if you do not seek treatment for your gestational diabetes. Your doctor will be able to tell you what you should eat and perhaps give you some medications.

Try to keep a tight schedule in order to simplify your life and allow your body to get used to normal cycles. By having your supplies in the same location, and by eating and checking your levels at the same time, you can function like clockwork and worry less about serious complications. Keep to the same routine every time you test so you never miss a step, and you don’t have to think twice about recording your levels.

When you are diagnosed with the disease, everyone will have a story for you about a relative, friend or acquaintance who suffered devastating effects. While these things can happen, the majority of the time they will not. Just because you have been diagnosed with diabetes, this does not mean that your life has to be less productive.

We hope that reading this article has been useful to you, and will be of benefit to your health. In fact, you most likely already thought of some valuable ways to start using this advice. You will soon see results that will motivate you to make more changes.