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Are You at Risk for Diabetes?
By: Renee Kennedy
Diabetes is a disease where the body cannot properly
produce or use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that turns
the foods you eat into energy. If your body cannot turn
food into energy, not only will your cells be starved for
energy, you will also build up glucose (sugar) in your
blood. This will lead you to have "high blood glucose
levels." Over years, the high blood glucose level can
damage major organs like your heart, eyes, and kidneys.
Types of Diabetes:
Type 1 Diabetes is caused by a total lack of insulin that,
in turn, produces high blood glucose levels. Type 1 is
most often is seen in children, but can develop in adults.
If you have Type 1, your health care provider might
recommend scheduled, nutritious meals, exercise,
medication, and frequent blood sugar level tests.
Type 2 Diabetes occurs when the body does not
produce enough insulin or cannot properly use insulin.
This is the most common type. The treatment may be
similar to Type 1.
Pre Diabetes or Borderline Diabetes may occur
before a Type 2 diagnosis. Blood glucose levels will
be higher than normal. Good nutrition and exercise
may be recommended by your health care provider as
treatment for pre diabetes. Even a slightly high blood
sugar level is insidious and could affect major organs
over time.
Gestational Diabetes occurs in pregnant women that have
high blood glucose levels. This type of Diabetes can harm
both Mother and baby. If you have Gestational Diabetes,
your health care provider may prescribe meal plans,
exercise, daily testing and medicine.
Risk Factors:
The exact causes of Diabetes are still unknown. However,
heredity, obesity and lack of exercise may play a role.
Here are some general risk factors:
1. Your siblings or parents have diabetes.
2. You are more than 20% overweight.
3. You do not exercise.
4. You have had gestational diabetes or you have had a
baby over 9 lbs.
5. You have high blood pressure.
6. Your cholesterol level is not normal.
How to care for you Diabetes:
According to the American Diabetes Association, people
with Diabetes have the same nutritional needs as everyone
else. In addition to prescribed medications, well-balanced
meals may help you keep your blood glucose level as normal
as possible.
Also, just like everyone else, exercise is an important part
of staying healthy. Exercising with diabetes does require a few
extra safety steps that your health care professional can make
you aware of.
Nutritious meals, an exercise routine, and using your
NutriCounter along with the help of your doctor may aid you
in controlling your Diabetes. Diabetes will never truly go away,
but with proper nutrition, exercise and prescribed medications,
it can be controlled.
For more information on specific exercise and eating advice
for diabetics, see the following web sites:
American Diabetes Association
http://www.diabetes.org
Canadian Diabetes Association
http://www.diabetes.ca/Section_Main/welcome.asp
Online Risk Test
http://www.diabetes.org/main/info/risk/risktest.jsp
Excellent article about Borderline Diabetes
http://www.diabetes.ca/Section_About/borderline.asp
Am I at risk for Type 2 Diabetes?
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/diabetes/pubs/risk/risk.htm
Safety Tips for Exercising with Diabetes
http://www.diabetes.org/main/health/exercise/safety/25ways.jsp
About the Author
Come and visit the NutriCounter web site for more information on how nutrition influences weight loss, diabetes, pregnancy, heart disease and more! http://www.nutricounter.com
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How to Benefit from the Mind-Body Connection
(excerpt)
You are about to gain insight into the
mind-body connection. The number of
people who truly understand these principles on our
planet are relatively few.
There is an undeniable connection between our minds and
bodies, you can learn to use this fact to your benefit.
Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of "Love, Medicine and
Miracles" was once a distraught cancer surgeon until he
began to understand the greater principles of the mind-
body connection. He felt dragged down by the artificial
barriers that existed between patient and doctor, and the
helplessness he often felt as a result of his inability
to effectively serve those patients. Eventually, those
barriers were disintegrated by Dr. Siegel's recognition
and growing understanding of the mind-body connection and
how it could serve his patients and himself.
Dr. Siegel, or Bernie as he began to have his patients
refer to him, had some
startling realizations as a cancer surgeon. He found that
there were actually
quite a few people in the world that successfully beat
the statistics on cancer
survival. He began to recognize that a patient's ability
to defeat something as
serious as cancer had to do with the patient's mind and
attitude about their
disease.
If you would like to see the rest of
this article, please go here:
http://www.tobeinformed.com/repository/mind-body.html
copyright 2004 - David Snape
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