Help For Diabetics - An Action Plan for Emergencies

Have you ever had a really low blood sugar emergency? These episodes can vary in severity, ranging from very mild to very severe. All diabetics, type 1 or type 2, need to be aware that these episodes can occur very quickly, and sometimes result in unconsciousness, but there is usually a simple step that can be taken to correct the situation.

First, we will take a look at the symptoms of low blood sugar. These symptoms are usually rapid heart beat, weakness or trembling, and blurry vision, and can be accompanied by confusion. This emergency can be brought on by eating too little, by taking too much insulin, or going too long between meals.

The good news is that in most cases the situation can be remedied by simply eating or drinking something that contains sugar, such as a small candy bar, glass of juice or soda. The most desirable solution is to carry fast acting glucose tablets with you at all times. These glucose tablets work very effectively and do not raise your blood sugar levels too high like a candy bar or glass of juice.

In more drastic cases, such as when a person passes out from a low blood sugar episode, it is a good idea to always have a glucagon emergency kit. This kit contains one vial for glucagon injection and one hyporet diluting solution which can be mixed for the emergency injection. This enables a partner or friend to mix the solution and inject to revive the unconscious person.

To avoid these emergencies, a diabetic must always be aware of the signals your body is giving you and be ready to react quickly.

Is a Low-Glycemic Index Diet Healthier for Type 2 Diabetics?

The glycemic index is often touted as "the answer" for Type 2 diabetics, but the numbers on the glycemic index (GI) are not all you need to consider for controlling your blood sugar levels and your weight.

The GI is a measurement of how fast a food can be digested into glucose by the human body. Nutritional scientists recruit volunteers in groups of ten. They are asked to fast, and then they are given 50-gram (slightly less than 2 oz) samples of a single food, their blood sugar levels taken at various times after they eat. The average time for digestion is then compared to the digestion of either glucose or bread.

The problem with this system is that nobody makes a meal of just 50 grams of, say, raw turnips, and nothing else, and if foods are mixed, glycemic indices can change dramatically. Adding a pickle to a piece of white bread, for instance, changes the GI from 100 to 45. Cold foods have a much lower glycemic index than hot foods. Hot instant mashed potatoes sometimes are rated 110, their sugars entering the bloodstream even faster than room-temperature glucose, but cold mashed potatoes can have a GI as low as 58.

Nor does the system account for the fact that your body may be able to maintain normal blood sugar levels if you eat a small serving of a high GI food, but not if you if eat a large serving of a low glycemic index food. This measurement system will never take the place of common sense or portion control.

Even though the glycemic index research gives us some insight into how foods react in our bodies, there are many inconsistencies in relating this index with the actual response of the body. This makes the GI difficult to rely on entirely.

However, as a general rule, lower glycemic index foods, eaten in small portions, are preferable to high glycemic index foods. If a food has valuable nutrients, however, such as berries, then eat up to one serving per meal, and limit yourself to one high glycemic index food at a time.

You can make any food a lower glycemic index food if you just take a little vinegar, either directly, drinking a shot glass of vinegar, or indirectly, in the form of a vinaigrette over a salad, at the beginning of any meal. The acidic vinegar becomes alkaline bicarbonates after it has been digested, greatly slowing down the absorption of sugars digested from other foods giving you a lower glycemic response.

The Latest From Juvenile Diabetes Research

Health shows are abuzz with alarm over how juvenile diabetes research finds that children who have high blood pressure, a cholesterol problem and weight issues, are very likely to develop Type II diabetes as soon as they enter adulthood. If you are a parent, this should alarm you too. Scientists have been trying to work out all the consequences that are to be expected from the child obesity epidemic we are going through right now. Doctors classify a child is having a metabolic syndrome when they see a bunch of really unhealthy trends in certain high risk areas. If there is high blood pressure, not enough good cholesterol, fat around the tummy, triglycerides that are running amok and high blood glucose, it tells them that a child is on his way to juvenile diabetes. About 20 years ago, it was unheard of for a child to come down with diabetes. Now, it isn't uncommon.

Even with all this juvenile diabetes research though, it's kind of hard for doctors to accurately identify kids with a metabolic syndrome. Other doctors feel that it doesn't really make sense to diagnose a child in this way, because there's no telling how many kids diagnosed thus might go on to develop full-blown diabetes.

New juvenile diabetes research published in the Archive of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine seems to be right on cue to change all that. In new reports published in that journal, they've used surveys tracking thousands of children with metabolic syndrome and found that there certainly is a way to predict the onset of full-blown diabetes if a child has the metabolic syndrome while still very young. 20% is the figure they've arrived at. Having a parent with type II diabetes sends up a child's risk of developing it himself too.

So what does this mean - should parents be taking their children in to have their hemograms done when they are still five? Perhaps not. But you could keep an eye on a few things. According to the latest juvenile diabetes research, they recommend that you keep an eye on your child's blood pressure. You should be sure that your pediatrician takes your child's blood pressure each time you make a visit with your child. If that doesn't seem normal to you, you can just take a casual reading when you happen to stop by at the pharmacy.

It's absolutely vital that you know your child's body mass index. Calculating the BMI of your child is easy. You just use the CDC's childhood and Teen BMI calculator. If your child is healthy, the BMI rated should fall somewhere between the 5th and 85th percentile. Of course, if one of your child's parents has type II diabetes, that raises your child's risk of coming into that himself. If you find yourself in doubt or any of these issues, it's time for you to stop by at your pediatrician's.

Free Glucose Monitor - How To Get A Free Glucose Monitor From Your Insurance

A free glucose monitor is the least insurance companies can do for diabetes patients. Diabetes patients already pay too much for diabetic supplies. Test strips can cost around $1 each, and if you test your blood 10 times every day, the costs can add up quickly, averaging about $300 per month. For that reason, most medicare covers a free glucose meter.

How to get a free monitor from your insurance company?

You can get a free glucose monitor by simply inquiring with businesses that provide these free meters. They do require that you have medicare in order to receive your free glucose monitor.

Why do they give them away?

They give away glucose monitors because they hope that you will then continue to buy your test strips directly from them. It's a way for them to develop a business relationship with you, thus being a win-win situation.

What businesses give away glucose testers?

If you do a search on the Internet you can find a lot of different medical companies giving away glucose meters. Just type it into your search bar.

How long will this last?

To be honest, I don't know. Fortunately you can get a glucose meter pretty easily right now, but I would act quickly if I were you. These things can be taken off the Internet without any notice, especially with so much for offer online these days.

What do I need to qualify?

To qualify for a glucose meter you need to have medicare. This is important because your insurance company will pay for your glucose meter.

The Glycemic Index, Diabetes and Obesity

The traditional classification of carbohydrates as either simple or complex has limitations regarding the practical applications involving dietary analysis and prescription.

Knowledge of the glycemic index(GI) and glycemic load of foods has greatly increased our understanding of the relationship between the composition of dietary carbohydrates, physiological effects and possible health outcomes.

The Glycemic Index and Health

The GI of foods appears to have profound effects on metabolism and as such may dramatically affect the risk of development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. As these diseases are highly prevalent in society the health of the population in general could be significantly improved simply by adjusting the diet to include predominantly low GI foods.

It is interesting to note that foods containing refined carbohydrates such as sugar do not necessarily have a high glycemic index and that the inclusion of a moderate intake of sugars at 10-12 % of total calorie consumption is not related to obesity, insulin sensitivity, micronutrient deficiency or altered lipid profiles.

Diabetic diet and Low Glycemic Index Foods
The traditional approach to the treatment of diabetes has been to completely exclude sugar while other aspects of carbohydrate-containing foods such as the fiber and fat content have been somewhat neglected. Expanding the diet to include small amounts of sugars and foods containing them in the context of an overall low GI and glycemic load, may help to increase variety and flexibility in the diet and from a holistic point of view this may actually promote a healthier attitude towards dietary change that ultimately results an overall healthier diet.

The Glycemic Index and Obesity

Conversely it is important to consider the complete nutritional profile of the foods in conjunction with their glycemic index as some foods that have a low GI may be very high in calories and/or fat and contribute little to the micronutrient intake such as commercially produced cakes, chocolate bars and other snack foods.

These types of foods are also more likely to be eaten in excess and will likely contribute to the development of obesity and the associated increased risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis and certain cancers. Diets containing more than very small amounts of these types of foods will also tend to be high in fat and calories and low in fiber, factors associated with insulin resistance and the development of type 2 diabetes.

Can Coffee Reduce The Risk Of Diabetes?

Baristas all have a style of their very own and each cup of coffee will taste completely different due to its roast, the grind, the quantity used, the water, the temperatures and many other things. We have all tried to make these coffee delights at home the way we think they're done, however do we really know the real manner they are supposed to be made to get the enchanting flavors correctly?

Coffee Minimizes Possibility of Diabetes

Studies suggest that individuals who drink coffees are less likely to have type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a disease wherein the human body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a bodily hormone which is needed to convert sugar, starches as well as other nutrients directly into energy needed for daily life. The root cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and ecological factors such as weight problems and lack of physical exercise appear to play roles.

The researchers wanted to see whether there is a connection between diabetes and drinking coffees and green, black, and oolong tea. Individuals completed a detailed list of questions about their wellness, lifestyle habits, and how much caffeine and tea they consumed. The list of questions was repeated at the end of the 5-year follow-up time period.

As soon as other factors have been accounted for, researchers discovered that the more green tea and coffee participants drank, the lower the probability that they were to have diabetes. Men and women that drank 6 cups or more of green tea or three or more glasses of coffee every day were about one-third less likely to get diabetes. The link was stronger in women than in men. No pattern was seen with black or oolong tea.

Vitamin D and Calcium May Lower the Risk for Type 2 Diabetes in Women

A lack of vitamin D and calcium might be linked to getting type 2 diabetes. Over 80,000 women who took part in the Nurses' Health Study. During the period of 20 years, more than 4,800 women developed type 2 diabetes. The experts found that a combined consumption of more than 1,200 mg. of calcium and over 800 units of vitamin D has been connected with a 33% lower possibility for type 2 diabetes (as compared to women who took much smaller amounts of calcium and vitamin D). The results indicate that taking in higher amounts of vitamin D and calcium assist lower the risk for type 2 diabetes in women.

Diabetes is a disorder characterized by hyperglycemia or increased blood glucose (blood sugar). Our bodies perform best at a specific level of glucose in the bloodstream. In case the level of glucose in our blood runs way too high or too low, then we typically feel bad. Diabetes is the term of the ailment where the blood sugar level regularly runs too much. Diabetes is the most common endocrine illness.

Symptoms of Diabetes - 3 Symptoms for Serous Concern

Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes have many symptoms in common. Having a right knowledge of diabetes symptoms can be highly helping for a diabetic to take timely treatment. Here is a focus on three warning symptoms that are usual in case of diabetes of any type.

Weight loss: Noticing unusual weight loss is one of the warning symptoms of diabetes. Body weight loss is a usual phenomenon with a back screen of multilateral factors. What is inherent with diabetes that makes a diabetic helpless when thrown to weight loss is our main concern. It's nice to reason that eating more beyond optimal peak triggers the system to gain weight. But, when the food intake is not burnt as a whole in a diabetic body to gear up the energy, the body remains lazy in structural make up. So, the weight goes down instead of gaining.

Weight gain: In the list of signs and symptoms of diabetes, gaining over weight otherwise known as obesity is equally as bad as losing weight. Gaining body's weight is also a fraternal factor when a person is prone to diabetes. What is consumed should undergo the process of conversion into energy with the help of insulin secretion. It is the sympathy with a diabetic that the internal combustion of the consumed food is weak and there is the failure of regeneration of the body cells. Consequently, the diabetic patient suffers a degeneration of vigor lacking vital sources for energy. Naturally, he feeds his stomach with no justification and this added food intake sky rockets the body weight. Having on hand AWH (Age - Height - Weight) chart for reference may be helping at all occasions to keep fit with optimal weight.

Frequent urination: This is another warning symptom of diabetes for concern. When the body takes in food for energy, the normal process of the body mechanism is expected to burn the food for regenerating the millions of body cells. With type 2 diabetes, this mechanism fails to function satisfactorily and the consumed food remains stagnant in the blood stream in the form of blood glucose. Excess amount of saturated sugar accumulated in the body strives to find an exit from the system. Urination is one channel through which the excessive deposit of saturated sugar is let out frequently. Though there is less water intake, the density of glucose sugar gives pressure to be let out through frequent urination.