Thursday, October 25, 2007

Diabetes - What Is Type 1 Diabetes?

Type 1 Diabetes is an auto immune disease that destroys the insulin producing cells of the pancreas. Type 1 Diabetes used to be called juvenile diabetes because it usually struck people under 20. In type 1 diabetes, the beta cells of the pancreas produce little or no insulin, the hormone that allows glucose to enter body cells. Once glucose enters a cell, it is used as fuel.

Type 1 Diabetes is largely inherited.

Without adequate insulin, glucose builds up in the bloodstream instead of going into the cells. The body is unable to use this glucose for energy despite high levels in the bloodstream, leading to increased hunger.

In addition, the high levels of glucose in the blood causes the patient to urinate more, which in turn causes excessive thirst. Within 5 to 10 years after diagnosis, the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas are completely destroyed, and no more insulin is produced making people with type 1 insulin dependent.

Type 1 diabetes can occur at any age, but it usually starts in people younger than 30. Symptoms are usually severe and occur rapidly.

The exact cause of type 1 diabetes is not known. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 3% of all new cases of diabetes each year. There is 1 new case per every 7,000 children per year. New cases are less common among adults older than 20.

The result is Type 1 Diabetics are hungry all the time trying to make up for the shortfall of insulin. Amazingly though since the body cannot process the nutrients weight loss is symptomatic along with extreme thirst and excessive urination. The kidneys try to process the excess glucose to balance things out. Weakness is another symptom.


Jack Krohn is a free lance writer and the #1 author of Home Security Articles in the country according to EzineArticles. His website has great FREE Home Security Information. You can get information on a FREE HOME SECURITY SYSTEM He has had Diabetes, Pre-diabetes and Syndrome X for nearly fifteen years. He speaks from the experiences he has had during that time. His new website is devoted to educating patients of DIABETES

Friday, March 16, 2007

Diabetes Type 1 - Symptoms And Prevention Measures

Juvenile Diabetes Blog Info

The amount of sugar in our body is sometime known as blood glucose level. When foods are eaten, the body will break it down into the simplest form, namely glucose. Glucose is the fuel for our body where it is the primary source of energy for the cells. The cell extract glucose from the blood stream by using insulin. Diabetes Type I occurs when the body loses its ability to produce insulin making the extraction of glucose from the blood stream impossible. As a result the sugar content in the blood increases.

The symptoms for diabetes type 1 may vary for each individual, but these are the more common symptoms.

Often diabetic type 1 occurs without any signs or symptoms.

- Sugar content are higher than the normal blood sugar content
- The urine is laced with sugar
- Drinks unusual amount of water
- Urinates frequently
- Lose weight even though frequently feels hungry
- Eyesight becomes blurry
- Feeling nauseous
- Feels lethargic and weak
- Mood swings

While there are no cure for diabetes, treating it and controlling diabetes will further aggravate the problem to other serious health problems such as heart risk and stroke. To minimize other health risks, it is important that the blood sugar level are maintained to normal as close as possible.

The steps listed below are some of the steps that can be taken to control diabetes type 1:
- Never skip insulin as prescribe
- Eat healthy by watching the amount of carbohydrate you take and follow diabetic diet plan as strictly as possible.
- Watch your blood sugar content without fail
- Get physical exercise and do it regularly

Treating diabetes will help the body maintains as close to normal its blood sugar content. Diabetes type 1 are lifelong illness where there are no cure, as such the treatments is also lifelong. To remain healthy, diabetics must observe lifelong treatments through proper eating and exercising throughout their lives.

Get more FREE INFO on Control Of Type 1 Diabetes from our website http://www.diabetes.factips.com/. Tons of information on diabetes are available for your viewing pleasure

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Diabetes - Type 1

Juvenile Diabetes Blog Info

There are two types of diabetes: the type 1 diabetes and the type 2 diabetes. The first type of diabetes is less common than the first. The diabetes type 1 affects people who are younger, some in their teenage years. This happens because this diabetes type is mainly associated with the lack of insulin in ones body. The first signs of diabetes can be very mild or on the contrary very abrupt. It all depends on the person that suffers from diabetes.

The cause of type 1 diabetes is the islet cells of the pancreas. When your body starts to see one of your tissues as foreign, that is when this type of diabetes happens. This is a mistake of the immune system. In the case of diabetes, type 1, the cells that are seen as the enemy are the ones that produce insulin, the islet cells. The body then starts to fight against them, reducing their ability of producing insulin, thus leading to diabetes. The main cause for this disorder that leads to diabetes is genetics. It can also be a result of a viral infection, measles, rubella, polio that can be the cause of diabetes. Some of the people may also have a genetical tendency to develop diabetes. For example, two people are infected with the same virus, but only one of them develops diabetes. This is because that person is more prone to diabetes than the other. There are some other causes for this type of diabetes, but they are very rare. One of the diabetes causes may be an injury to the pancreas.

The best treatment for this diabetes type 1 is with shots of insulin. When you have diabetes, the insulin is injected under your skin, in the fat. This way it is absorbed into the blood and taken to all the cells of the body that need it. This diabetes treatment can not be taken in the from of a pill, because the juices found in our stomach would destroy it even before it would have a chance to work. At the moment there are no other methods for this diabetes treatment besides shots. Scientist are still working to find new ways of giving insulin to patients who have diabetes. Insulin pumps for diabetes are being tested at the moment, but there is nothing certain yet. Using insulin is the only diabetes treatment used in our days.


So, if you want to find out more about what causes diabetes or even about diabetes mellitus please follow this link http://diabetes-info-center.com/

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Diabetic Diets That Could Work For You

Diabetes is when the body does not produce enough insulin to manage blood sugar levels within the body. However, a good way to control this is through a proper diabetic diet. This means that a one would have to try other measures for controlling their blood sugar levels. In addition to a good diabetic diet you should exercise often.

For some people you can also help to ease the troubles of diabetes by taking medication, such as daily injections of insulin or pill forms.

People at risk of becoming diabetic are individuals who are overweight, and don’t leave a active lifestyle. The two of these have been at the leading cause of diabetes worldwide.

You can also be active and slim and still get diabetes, because some people in their family are susceptible to it due to heredity. It is also the lifestyle of a person that contributes to this avoidable occurrence.

Today’s foods are high in fat. People are tempted by the variety of fast food choices out their. The choices we make today last a lifetime. Avoiding exercise, eating lots of fatty foods and sugar within your diet, as well as being overweight, are some of the major contributing factors surrounding diabetes. Diabetes sometime can occur without signs. Common sign might include frequent urination and excessive thirst.

When you have diabetes you are unable to produce insulin correctly throughout the body, which is the important hormone that is responsible for changing sugar, starches and other foods into energy.

One of the best ways to follow a diabetic diet is to eat foods that are from all of the four basic food groups. However, this will not help if you don’t decrease the consumption of alcohol products, fat foods, and sweets in your diet.

Try to be smart! If you incorporate a wide variety of nutritional foods into a diabetic diet, it will pay off in the end.

When eating out at a restaurant, there are several choices that can be good for you. You’re your time looking over the menu and come up with a diet plan that will work for you. Yes! We all know that fried food taste great. But lets try to stick to something a little less in calories. Really try to stay away from foods that are described as being “creamy,” “fried” or “sautéed.” These foods are most likely to contain lots of fats and be a high calorie choice.

Foods that contain a lot of mayonnaise, butter, oil and cheeses should be avoided on diabetic diets. Some other foods that can stray from a good diabetic diet include those that are prepared with sweet sauces. These foods contain high amounts of sugar and carbohydrates. Avoided these food should always be the right choice for you.

A simple method for a diabetic diet should count the number of calories from fat foods as being 25% less than the total number of calories eaten.

Another good tip is to include foods that are low in saturated fats and cholesterol, such as skinless chicken and fresh vegetables.

When your on a diabetic diet, you should stay away from red meats, eggs, and other greasy foods. Diabetic diets are truly setup for people looking for low-fat or fat-free choices.

15-25% of your daily calories on a diabetic diet should come from proteins, such as lean meat, broiled fish, and low-fat dairy products. The rest of your diabetic diet should look like carbohydrates only from whole grain foods, beans, and fresh vegetables and fruit.

Remember that there is no official diabetic diet to follow. Most people succeed when they really want to. Making the right choices is what it is all about. Always try to work closely with a dietician, doctor, or nutritionist. Try contacting someone that is specialized in these areas so that they can help set you up with a diabetic diet that will work for you.

Copyright Troy Francis. Troy is a writer and Personal Trainer for Exercise-Diet. Please, feel free to republish this article. We only ask that you leave the resource box and link. You can see more great articles on Weight Loss, Diet, Exercise, Health and much more by going to: http://www.Exercise-Diet.com/

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Can Eating Cinnamon Help with Your Diabetes?

Cinnamo or cinnamon is a spice which has been used for thousands of years as a herbal medicine. In powder form, it can be used as a flavouring because of its sweet smell and it’s oil has been used as a herbal medicine.

The connection between diabetes and cinnamo has recently been studied scientifically. Dr Richard Anderson at the US Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland found that just half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon a day significantly reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics. The effects of cinnamon on diabetes can even be achieved when you soak a bark of cinnamon in your tea.

The researchers were looking at the effects of food on blood sugar when they stumbled across the benefits of cinnamon. They found that an apple pie spiced with cinnamon helped reduce blood sugar levels. Eating apple pies and cakes covered in cinnamon is not recommended because of their fat and sugar content, but adding cinnamon to your tea can help.

The link between diabetes and cinnamo is not the only benefits of cinnamon. The herb has also been used in fungal infections, stomach ulcers and some allergic reactions. Just as a point to note, cinnamon can also reduce blood sugar in non-diabetic people.

It is advised that you speak to a trained healthcare professional, such as your doctor, before you start taking any herbal treatments to combat your diabetes or any other medical condition.

In the study that was done (Journal reference: Diabetes Care (vol 26, p 3125) some of the diabetics’ blood sugar levels started to creep up after they stopped taking cinnamon. But in general, all people in the study responded within weeks; having blood sugar levels that were on average about 20 per cent lower than those of the control groups!

The connection between diabetes and cinnamo is being studied further. With a disease like diabetes, it is important to speak to a health professional before you start treatment as there are other things that can affect the condition (e.g. weight, lifestyle etc).

Wasuk Jones is the owner of http://www.mydiabetesdata.com/, a website which helps those who have been diagnosed with diabetes answer those niggling questions.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Type 1 Diabetes-How to Manage Diabetes at School

You have just found out that your child has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. You and your family spend the next two days getting a crash course in how to take care of your child so you can prepare him or her for living with type 1 diabetes the rest of their life. Then it dawns on you. Who is going to take care of my child while they are at school? You think surely the school nurse is well trained and able to handle anything that comes his/her way. Right? That is what I thought when my son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. We quickly learned that our school does not have a nurse on staff to give injections. Our health room aide was only able to monitor my son checking his blood sugar.

My first reaction was anger! How could one of the largest school districts in the state of Missouri not have a nurse at my son's school? Should I take legal action? No, my wife and I decided the best way to handle this was by educating the health room aide in diabetes care. She even graciously agreed to attend a diabetes class hosted by our local Children's Hospital. We then came up with a health care plan that outlined when and how our son was to be taken care of while at school. This plan included us meeting with the principal and teacher before the school year started. The teacher was given an alarm clock so she could set it to the times when blood sugars needed to be checked. A children’s book about juvenile diabetes was also provided to the teacher as a tool to educate the other students on our son's disease. One of the most important items we gave to the teacher was a laminated picture of our son. It is used to identify our son for when a substitute teacher is in class. These are just some of the things we used to administer his health plan. Be creative and adapt to the situation. Now you are probably wandering who ended up giving my son his daily injections at school. As luck would have it the school district hired my wife as a teacher at his school. This gave her the ability to be there when he needed a shot.

My suggestion is to do your research when making plans for diabetes care at school. We got lucky when the school district hired my wife. Jump on a search engine and search for diabetes bill of rights. This will give you lots of ideas on how to handle your school. Legal action is not always the best or right answer. Every situation is different but being and advocate for Type 1 Diabetes is important as your child progresses through school.

Brad Stott is the father of a child with Type 1 Diabetes. His goal is to help inform other parents and children to the issues that may arise during the care of your child. His goal is to support Type 1 Diabetes research through education and advocacy. A website has been created that contains information on Type 1 Diabetes at http://www.andrewsarmy.com/

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Type 1 Diabetes - the Signs and Symptoms

When my daughter, Alissa, was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 11, there was no-one more surprised than us.

Yet, when we looked back, there were some key signs and symptoms that we had simply missed. Whilst everyone is different, here’s our own story, in the hope that it might help other parents.

Weight loss

We barely noticed it at the time, but, looking back Alissa probably lost about half a stone. We just thought she looked thin and tanned in our holiday photos, but that was because she was unable to gain energy from her food and instead was burning up all her stored fat.

Headaches or migraines

A few months before diagnosies Alissa was diagnosed with migraines.

We now wonder whether this was her body slowing down it’s production of insulin, and whether these headaches were caused by ketones.

Thirst

This is probably one of the most common symptoms in individuals diagnosed with diabetes. Whilst your body is trying to create a balance, the increasing levels of ketones will make you continually thirsty.

Frequent urination

This can be a side-effect of drinking so much – as the body is trying to heal itself, but is simply unable to do so.

We overlooked this as it wasn’t the first time that Alissa had needed us to stop on journeys, we just hadn’t had to stop so often when making long car journeys! We’d even considered the fact that she regularly got cystitis on longer journeys when sat down – but hadn’t carried out the simple tests available to see whether this was indeed the cause.

Exhaustion

I’d say tiredness, but Alissa started to look drawn and worn out. She suffered a lack of energy that became really apparent when we went on a walking holiday in Switzerland.

This is because her body was unable to turn the food that she was eating into energy properly.

Smell of Pear Drops

When the body is releasing ketones as a result of too much glucose in the bloodstream, a very unusual symptom is that the breath that smells like pear-drops. This is often a way that medical staff can tell straight away whether someone may be diabetic, although their family may have simply got used to the smell over a period of time.

When to take Medical Advice

These are just some of the symptoms which may be an indicator of type 1 diabetes. If you or your child experience these, it's important to seek medical advice.

Your health care professional will be able to administer a very accurate, quick blood or urine test to tell whether or not it is likely to be diabetes.

You can check out Alissa’s story of how it felt to experience the symptoms of diabetes or read Jen’s online blog.