Diabetes Awareness: Ill Wait til it Hurts

By the time many type 2 diabetics (and often their doctors)
realize action is necessary, the disease, with its destructive
high blood sugars, has been silently damaging their body for
years.

Complications to the blood vessels and tissues of your eyes,
feet, heart, kidneys, and other organs, are likely well underway.

You visit the doctor because you feel bad, and you wish to feel
better. You react to the symptoms of perceived illness. This is
understandable, but does not allow much room for prevention or
early detection of diabetes.

Of course this idea, "Don't see the doctor 'til it hurts,"
comes from our "busier-then-ever" lifestyles. But to blame, to
point fingers after the damage has started is as pointless as is
the leaping bungee-jumper's complaint that his equipment has just
failed. It's a little late to talk about why. Some problems are
better prevented.

If you have type 2 diabetes, you know most of the time you don't
feel very bad. You might think that because you don't feel very
bad, it isn't very serious, and you don't have to do anything
about it just now. "I'll wait 'til it hurts" ...You couldn't be
more wrong.

Diabetes damages your body with high blood sugars. It doesn't care
whether your sugars are high from type 2, type 1, or some other
cause - if they're up, they're doing damage. Type 2 diabetics
who let their sugars run "because they don't feel bad" are doing
serious damage to their eyes, kidneys, hearts, and nervous
systems.

Suppose you have diabetes, and don't want the complications.
Suppose you don't know you have diabetes, but you're from a
high-risk group (maybe someone in your family has or had diabetes),
and you want to cut the risks. Or, suppose you just want to feel
better.

It's all the same - Your early detection, education, and prevention
work best.

Don't wait 'til it hurts. Ask your doctor about diabetes and have
your blood sugar checked several times a year.

For more information about diabetes, including a Diabetes Quiz and
a Free booklet, visit our website at:

http://hope4diabetes.com/info

This 20 page FREE booklet will provide you with in-depth information
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Yours absolutely FREE - No Risk! Share it NOW with the people you
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David Anderson
Freelance healthwriter at Hope4Diabetes.com

Humulin or Lantus, Which Insulin For Your Child?

Humulin or Lantus? When my daughter, who was 8, was first diagnosed the Children's Hospital that was treating her put her on an insulin program of short acting Humalog NPH and long acting Humalin N. You should have seen me that first day of training after a long night in the emergency room where she was diagnosed. I was a raving lunatic to begin with so my brain was mostly mush at that point. Add to that everything began with "H". Mix this "H" with that "H" but first charge this "H" with air, then draw this "H" first followed by that "H" but make sure you roll this "H" between your palms and for crying-out-loud don't shake that "H". Anyway I guess osmosis worked and all of that information finally seeped in. We were officially diabetic now.

For those of you who may not be familiar with it, Humalog and Humalin (short and long acting insulins) are mixed in the same syringe and injected 3 times a day usually before meals. Your child is allowed a certain amount of carbohydrates for each meal that the doctor figures out based on age, weight, etc., and that's your number. My daughter's was 65 carbs max per meal and 35 max per snack. However your child hits their magic number that's it. Whether it's 65 slices of ham or half a pop-tart. Plus she had to eat 6 times a day at certain times everyday.

Well the time came when she decided she wanted a little more freedom of choice and asked me about trying Lantus. My first thought was if it's not broke don't fix it. But I can have a cupcake whenever I want so I decided my opinion was secondary. So we looked into it. Lantus is a long lasting insulin. One shot at night and she had a 24 hour basal dose of insulin. "One shot" I'm thinking to myself "that's great". But wait, you also have to take a shot of short acting insulin (a bolus) everytime you eat. 10 meals 10 shots, 3 meals, 3 shots. Even I could figure that out. You base the amount of short acting insulin on the number of carbs you are about to eat. Talk about freedom! Compared to what she had been doing it was like being re-born. she didn't care that it would mean more shots. All she heard was she could eat what she wanted when she wanted. Birthday cake, pizza parties, popcorn at the movies, boy she was ready to go. The first thing she wanted to have was a Blizzard from Dairy Queen. I looked at the chart on the wall and it read 125 carbohydrates. That was half a days carbs in a paper cup! After a couple of days of gluttony things got back to normal pretty quickly.

Remember that freedom I mentioned, it came at a price. This insulin regime is a lot of shots. Add those to the required blood tests and your talking about a lot of holes per day in a little girl. One more thing, her nighttime Lantus shot was 19 units. that's a lot of insulin all at once. In her case it went in like battery acid. These shots are no fun. However, after several months on the Lantus regime her life and the rest of my family's lives are pretty close to pre-diagnosis normal. All in all it was the right thing to do. If your doctor is suggesting Lantus or your child is asking about it, consider all of the above. We're glad we did it.

Russell Turner is the father of a 10 year old diabetic daughter. He realized early on that he could find all the medical information about diabetes he could ever need on the internet. What he couldn't find was information that told him how to keep his family's life normal after the diagnosis. He started his own website dedicated to just that. Visit http://www.mychildhasdiabetes.com Prepare you child for life with diabetes!

Insulin and Diabetes

Insulin has two critical roles in the body that we cannot live without, yet it can be the root of many health problems, including diabetes. Insulin carries sugar (glucose), fat and protein into your cells where they are used for energy and the repair of your cells. When you eat, a certain amount of the food will be converted into glucose and enter the bloodstream. As the sugar levels rise, the body senses it and the pancreas secretes insulin to lower the sugar. This is insulin's second main function.

If you eat too much of any food, especially carbohydrates (starch and sugar) the levels of glucose in the blood rise to very high levels. In turn this triggers a large release of insulin from the pancreas. Your cells will take what they need and then insulin will begin the process of converting the excess glucose, fat and protein into fat and then put it all away in your fat cells. By combining foods the right way for your body, you will maintain optimum levels of insulin throughout the day.

The best way to control insulin and fight sugar cravings is to eat protein snacks when you are hungry or when you have severe "sweet" cravings. Also, try to limit yourself to three carbohydrate-containing meals per day and try to eat vegetables with most meals and snacks.
A particularly good snack is non-fat cottage cheese and salsa. The only vegetables to avoid in the evening are corn, yellow or orange squash, peas, beets and carrots. They have high simple carbohydrate (sugar) content.

Good natural sources of protein for meals or snacks are:

Chicken breast
Turkey
Fish
Lean Pork
Lean Steak
7% or less Ground Beef
Egg whites
Egg Beaters
Tofu
Non-fat cottage cheese
Non-fat cheese
Non-fat cream cheese
Non-fat sour cream
Fat-free Ham or Canadian bacon

You can also try protein powder and protein bars.

I recommend Labrada ProPlete Protein powder. It is low fat, low carb and high protein. It comes in several flavors and you can probably get it at GNC stores or any vitamin store. It does not have artificial sweeteners. It is sweetened with Stevia, which is all-natural and it made from the root and leaves of the Stevia plant.

Labrada also makes good low-carb, sugar free protein bars. Other good protein bars are Ultimate Lo-Carb, Ultimate Lo-Carb2 and Premiere Elite. These are good as a "pretend candy bar" when you're having a craving. Just don't over do it. The last three bars I mentioned do have artificial sweeteners. You can find them at GNC, Trader Joe's and many vitamin stores.

The key is to eat frequently throughout the day and also have a real sweet treat once a week if that will help you stay away from sweets the rest of the week.

My fat loss and fitness plan "Every Body Loses" will give you the tools you need to begin a healthy weight loss program. The style of eating and exercising outlined in my book is one that you can follow for life without feeling deprived. If you're serious about losing fat and getting fit go to www.aim4nutrition.com and get started TODAY!

Good Luck and Be Well,

Aimee Deak
Personal Trainer & Nutrition Analyst
AIM 4 NUTRITION
www.aim4nutrition.com

Causes of Hypoglycemia

Causes of Hypoglycemia
by Timothy Gower




Keeping blood sugar from rising too high is the goal for anyone with any variety of diabetes. But hypoglycemia (high po gly see me uh) is, in a sense, the result of too much success. This term for very low blood sugar is a combination of three Greek words: Hypo = under, glykys = sweet, and haima = blood. Anyone can become hypoglycemic, but for people with diabetes, curbing the threat of nose-diving blood sugar is part of daily life.



When glucose levels drop off, cells throughout much of the body can adjust by living off fat and protein, at least temporarily. But one very important organ -- the one located between your ears -- can't use fat and protein for energy. Since the brain needs glucose to survive, it regards a sugar shortage as a crisis. Early symptoms are no big deal. You feel hungry and a little shaky and nervous, like you had too much coffee. But soon you begin to feel woozy and need to sit down. Your heart thumps, and you break into a cold sweat. Unless you take the proper steps, you may become confused and talk incoherently. Your vision blurs and your head feels ready to burst. In a sense, it is: In extreme cases, hypoglycemia causes convulsions and even comas.




What causes a plunge in blood sugar? In a person who does not have diabetes, hypoglycemia is fairly uncommon, since the body comes equipped with an efficient system that keeps blood sugar levels balanced. When blood sugar begins to drop, the pancreas senses trouble and slows down insulin production, so the body doesn't use up glucose so quickly. For an added boost, the pancreas makes the hormone glucagon, which signals the liver to convert some glycogen to glucose, then release the sugary stuff into the blood. It all happens so quickly that a dip in blood sugar is brief and goes unnoticed.

This system can get out of whack if you have diabetes, making it tricky to maintain balanced blood sugar. That's especially true if you inject insulin or take sulfonylureas or meglitinides, two widely used medications that perk up insulin production in the pancreas. Getting the proper dose of these therapies exactly right is something of an art. To avoid frequent bouts of hypoglycemia, you must become expert at tweaking your dosage when necessary and knowledgeable about the steps you can take to help keep your blood sugar from plummeting.

Using insulin or insulin-stimulating medications increases the risk for low blood sugar, but the problem can be triggered by other conditions and circumstances. If you develop symptoms but your glucose levels appear to be safe (and you know your glucose meter is working properly), talk to your doctor. Hypoglycemia can also be caused by:

-Other medications, including aspirin, sulfa drugs (for treating infections), pentamidine (for serious pneumonia), and quinine (for malaria)
-Alcohol, especially if you go on a bender. Heavy doses of booze interfere with the liver's ability to release glucose.
-Other illnesses, including diseases of the heart, kidneys, and liver. Also, rare tumors called insulinomas produce insulin, which would raise levels of the hormone too high, causing blood sugar to drop.
-Hormonal deficiencies. More common in children, a shortage of glucagon, as well as other hormones (including cortisol, growth hormone, and epinephrine) can cause hypoglycemia.






ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Timothy Gower is a freelance writer and the author of several books. His work has appeared in many magazines and newspapers, including Prevention, Health, Reader's Digest, Better Homes and Gardens, Men's Health, Esquire, Fortune, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times.