Diabetes Is Growing By 3 Percent Each Year For Children And Youth

Posted by admin on Dec 31st, 2009 | 0 comments

November 14 is celebrated each year as Children’s Day and World Diabetes Day. This year the theme is “Diabetes in children and youth”. Let me take this opportunity to write about diabetes in children.

Diabetes is one of the most common diseases that affect children. It can strike children of any age, even toddlers and babies. If not detected during early childhood, the disease can have deadly consequences or result in serious damage to the brain. Diabetic child is often completely overlooked. This is the time miss-diagnosed as flu or doctors fail to diagnose it at all. Every parent, teacher, doctor involved in child care should be familiar with the warning signs and be alert to the threat.

The warning signs are Frequent urination, Excessive thirst, Increased hunger, Weight, Fatigue, Lack of interest and concentration, Blurred vision, Vomiting and abdominal pain (often mistaken as the flu).

In children with type 2 diabetes, the symptoms may be moderate or not. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes: Diabetes occurs as a result of problems in production and supply of the hormone insulin in the body. The body needs insulin to use energy that is stored in food. When a person has diabetes their body cannot create insulin (Type 1diabetes) or their bodies cannot use the insulin made effectively (type 2diabetes).

Type 1 diabetes is most common type of diabetes in children. However, as a result of increasing childhood obesity and always lifestyles, type 2 diabetes is also increasing rapidly in children and youth. In some countries type 2diabetes has become the most common type of disease in children.

Type 2 diabetes in children is probably under-diagnosed because it may have no symptoms. To prevent Type 2 diabetes in children, emphasis should be laid on physical activity, less frequent activities such as television and views of a healthy diet. If diabetes is diagnosed, paying close attention to all cardiovascular risk factors, as well as prevention is important. We need to fit in the modern industrial city on a healthy way. Diabetes is a serious health problem and expensive and there is much that can do to reduce its impact. The earliest description of diabetes from the Philippines to 2,500 years ago and the role of obesity, frequent behaviour and dietary factors are known in ancient times. What is needed now is concerted public health action against the risk factors for diabetes.

We can do our bit to prevent diabetes and other diseases. Food for children with diabetes is a minor consideration. A dietician will be able to tell you more but it is certain essential that your child has a healthy, balanced diet, high in complex carbohydrates and fibre. It is necessary to be careful Sweets but it need not be 100 per cent from the menu. Some of the foods planning of goals for children with diabetes are the same as for other children. They must eat food that will help them have good general health, normal growth and a healthy weight. But children with diabetes also have to balance their carbohydrate intake with their insulin and activity levels to maintain their levels of blood sugar under control. In addition, children with diabetes should also eat foods that help maintain the level of lipids or fats in the blood (such as Cholesterol and triglycerides) in a healthy range. Food this way may help prevent some of the long-term health problem that can cause diabetes. These days, with huge amounts of food choices, we need to teach them to read the labels of food, especially the carbohydrate content. They must understand the serving size and how to change one food for another.

Children with diabetes face the same challenges of food everyone – largely sticking to healthy eating habits over time. It can be difficult with so many temptations, so it is important to prepare food that your child enjoys. The food may make you plan vary depending on your child’s diabetes, but to help your child Dietician, you can tailor meals to planning your child’s food preferences and eating habits.

Diabetes: Critical Information You Should Know

Posted by admin on Dec 28th, 2009 | 0 comments

A patient recently came into my office for a consultation. She was in her early 50s, overweight, and was struggling with constant tiredness and a sense of being overwhelmed. She had tried multiple diets, with little to no success, and when she succeeded in dropping a couple of pounds, they came right back on. She was sick and tired of being sick and tired. She, like countless other baby boomers, is dealing with a physical condition that is nearly epidemic in proportion. If untreated, it has the potential to lead to full blown diabetes. This condition is called insulin resistance.
As I have treated numerous patients who have been diagnosed with diabetes, over and over again the thought occurs to me that the diagnosis of diabetes does not magically happen overnight. It is a process that the body goes through as it compensates for an unhealthy state.
Diabetes and Insulin Resistance
At the outset, we must differentiate between Diabetes Mellitus Type I and Type II. Diabetes Mellitus Type I occurs when the immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas (beta cells) so that an inadequate amount of insulin is secreted and blood sugar rises, with subsequent life-threatening ketoacidosis. Type II Diabetes, on the other hand, is a product of our Western society’s habit of overeating carbohydrates, especially refined carbohydrates (sugar). It is preceded by the condition I described earlier, called insulin resistance.
Before moving on to what procedures I use in my practice to treat diabetes and insulin resistance, let’s look at where this whole problem with diabetes began. This requires us to do some elementary biochemistry. All carbohydrates eventually break down in the body into glucose. As the blood glucose, or sugar, rises, insulin is released from the beta cells in the pancreas. Insulin takes the glucose to insulin receptors on each cell in the body, so that glucose can enter the cell. On the average, 50% of this glucose will be burned as energy, 10% will be stored as glycogen, and 40% is stored as triglycerides. [ii] Glycogen is the storage form of glucose which can be immediately released when the body needs more sugar. Most of the glucose stored as glycogen is in muscle, and the rest is stored in the liver. Triglycerides are a specific type of fat (lipid) molecule that can be burned as energy in the body; however, they are not as easily accessible as glycogen.
When refined carbohydrates (sugar) are ingested (cookies, candies, cakes, Twinkies, PopTarts), especially when taken without fiber, blood glucose levels rise rapidly. This rapid rise in blood sugar is followed by an overshooting of the amount of insulin released from the pancreas, causing the blood sugar to drop or fall below normal. The body does not like the sugar levels to be low, so it triggers a stress response in the adrenal gland. The adrenal gland will release adrenalin, which stimulates the breakdown of glycogen in the liver, slowly causing the glucose levels to rise in the blood.
Another way to relieve the symptoms of hypoglycemia triggered by this overshooting is by the ingestion of another refined carbohydrate. These two corrective mechanisms may cause the blood sugar to overcorrect (that is, the blood sugar’s too high again), with another overcorrection by insulin, and the cycle repeats itself over and over and over … .
Effects of Diabetes on the Body
After years of these glucose swings, the cell wall thickens (there are approximately 30 trillion cells in our body), insulin receptors become less efficient at glucose delivery into cells, and insulin resistance results. By definition, insulin resistance is seen as high fasting levels of glucose and insulin. Normal healthy fasting level of glucose is between 75-80, although any number in the 80s is acceptable. A healthy level of insulin in the fasting state is 0-5, while 5-10 is borderline. Anything above 10 is cause for concern. A diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus Type II is made when the fasting glucose level is greater than 126 or 140 on two separate occasions.
To understand the effects of high glucose levels to the body, we need to understand a principle called glycosylation [iii] . This is a fancy term for the binding of glucose to proteins. Glycosylated LDL (“bad” cholesterol) molecules do not bind to LDL receptors, nor shut off cholesterol synthesis. Glycosylated red blood cells do not carry as much oxygen, are more sticky, and clump together more. Glycosylation of the lens of the eye may lead to cararacts. Glycosylation of the myelin sheath around nerves leads to loss of nerve function, tingling, pain, and numbness called neuropathy. Atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in the blood vessels) is the single biggest complication of diabetes. It may be due to platelet stickiness, glycosylated LDL, glycosylated red blood cells, or glycosylation of proteins in the blood vessel wall.
Atherosclerosis causes a reduction in blood flow, with subsequent organ damage, hypertension, cyanotic feet (with possible gangrene and amputation), retinopathy, and even kidney dysfunction and failure. Poor healing of skin from infection or trauma leads to chronic ulcers or sepsis (bacteria spreading throughout the body through the blood stream). [iv]
High insulin levels affect the body differently. They increase fat formation and storage, while inhibiting fat breakdown to be used as energy. This makes it easy to gain weight, and VERY difficult to lose weight. High insulin also enhances sodium (salt) reabsorption from the kidney, thus promoting water retention and hypertension. High insulin levels also stimulate certain ovarian hormones that result in elevations in free testosterone, with subsequent androgen effects. [v]
Treatment for Insulin Resistance and Diabetes
Diet is the reason we got into this mess and diet is the key to getting out of it! Since all carbohydrates break down into sugar, we must decrease the total amount of carbohydrates coming into the body. This translates into no more than 60-100 grams of carbohydrates per day — the less, the better. We need to look at those foods that are high and low in carbohydrates. As a start, all sugar must be eliminated. The next highest source of carbohydrates comes from potatoes (look out, Idaho!) and grains such as wheat (bread and pasta) and rice. Fruits are the next highest source of carbohydrates; their mostly fructose sugar is converted in the body into glucose. Certainly, whole fruit, with its fiber, and whole grains (rather than refined flour or wheat) for breads and pasta, and whole brown rice are much better tolerated than the refined, processed white foods and low fiber juices.
The legumes, which include beans, peas and soy, have about 1/3 carbohydrates, 1/3 protein, and 1/3 fats. (This is a highly simplified version of these ratios.) Generally nuts and seeds have that same ratio. Vegetables have the least amount of carbohydrates, although corn, tomatoes and carrots (the ones we tend to like the most) are the highest of the vegetables in the carbohydrate category. There are no carbohydrates in meats, cheese, or eggs.
So, the recommendation is: eat less of the breads, potatoes, rice, pasta, and fruit categories, and eat more of the legumes, nuts, seeds, vegetables, eggs, cheese and meat (sparingly) categories.
Nutritional Options
There are nutritional substances that reduce insulin resistance in the body. These include chromium [vi] , vanadium, biotin and alpha-lipoic acid. There is mixed success in reducing carbohydrate cravings with Gymnema or L-Glutamine, but these are certainly worth a try if sugar cravings persist. Vitamin E at 900 IU/day improves insulin action and may prevent many long-term complications. It also plays a significant role in the prevention of diabetes [vii] (the recent vitamin E scare is incorrect). For more information, you may want to visit my blog site, www.drstangardner.com).
Magnesium plays an important role in glucose management, through its effect on insulin. Magnesium levels are lowest in those patients with diabetic complications. Vitamin C is needed for collagen formation, which is at the core of all repair in the body. It also improves insulin sensitivity and is a potent antioxidant. It inhibits glycosylation of proteins. [viii] Vitamin B6 protects against diabetic neuropathy, probably because it also inhibits glycosylation. Some studies indicate it may even resolve gestational diabetes. [ix] Omega 6 fatty acids offer protection against diabetic neuropathy, and omega 3 fatty acids protect against atherosclerosis and augment insulin secretion. Niacinamide may prevent development of Type I Diabetes Mellitus. If taken early enough after onset, it may help restore beta cell function, or slow down their destruction in Type I Diabetes Mellitus. [x]
Exercise enhances insulin sensitivity, perhaps through increasing levels of chromium. Lowered triglycerides and improved weight loss are other beneficial effects of exercise. The benefits of exercise are addressed in another article.
Summary
1 Low carbohydrate diet (no more than 60-100 grams per day).
2. Chromium (200-400 micrograms/day)
3. Vanadium (100-125 milligrams/day long term or 5-10 grams/day, short term)
4. General supplements include:
a) Vitamin C (2000 mg/day)
b) Vitamin B6 (150-200 mg/day)
c) Vitamin E (900 IU/day)
d) Magnesium ( 600-1000 mg/day)
5. If insulin resistance is still present with the above recommendations, add Biotin (9-16 mg/day), Glucophage (500-1700 mg/day). Glucophage needs a prescription.
6. For Type I Diabetes Mellitus, Niacinamide (1000-2000 mg/day) and insulin
This approach puts a much heavier emphasis on treating insulin resistance, the underlying cause of diabetes, rather than treating the symptoms of high blood sugar with medications like sulfonylureas that push the beta cells toward increasing insulin release, irrespective of the glucose level in the blood. More insulin is not what is needed. Less insulin resistance is needed. With this approach, we get away from the problems associated with high insulin levels. We also avoid the potential exhaustion of beta cells because of their chronic high production to handle insulin.
Diabetes is the end result of problems in the body that can be addressed with nutrition. The positive results I have seen in my practice are incredibly successful! It is critical to begin addressing our health issues at the cause level, rather than the end organ damage level.

________________________________________
[i] Cecil Textbook of Medicine 19th Edition pp. 1296-1302.
[ii] Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, Tortora, Grabowski. 10th Edition pp. 928-9
[iii] Textbook of Natural Medicine, Joseph E. Pizzoni Jr, Michael T Murray p. 1200.
[iv] Ibid pp. 1200-2.
[v] Lukaczer, Dan. “Nutritional Support for Insulin Resistance.” Applied Nutritional Science Reports, 2001.
[vi] Anderson R et al. “Beneficial effects of chromium for people with Type II Diabetes.” Diabetes 1996; 45: 124A/454.
[vii] Salonen JT, Jyyssonen K, Tuomainen TP. “Increased risk of non-insulin diabetes mellitus at low plasma Vitamin E concentrations. A four-year follow-up study in men.” Br Med J 1995; 311: 1124-27.
[viii] White JR, Campbell RK. “Magnesium and Diabetes. A Review.” Ann Pharmacother 1993; 27: 775-80.
[ix] Solomon LR, Cohen K. “Erythrocyte O2 transport and metabolism and effects of vitamin B6 therapy in Type II diabetes mellitus.” Diabetes 1989; 38: 881-886.
[x] Pocoit F, Reimers JI, Anderson HW. “Nicotinamide-biological actions and therapeutic potential in diabetes prevention.” Diabeto Logia 1993; 36: 574-76.

Immunization or prevention tips against diabetes

Posted by admin on Dec 25th, 2009 | 0 comments

If you are interested to prevent diabetes then you should have basic diabetes knowledge:
Diabetes means your blood glucose is too high. Diabetes is the inability of the body to ‘produce insulin – type 1 diabetes’ or ‘proper use of insulin – type 2 diabetes. If we know the causes of diabetes then, we can take care ourselves from diabetes. Causes of diabetes are of two types: causes that we can’t overcome and that we can overcome. If you already have diabetes, then it is advisable to have diabetes medication and follow below mentioned diabetes care tips.

Causes can’t be prevented:
Hereditary – It is strongly believed that due to some genes which passes from one generation to another. If a mother has diabetics then there is 2 to 3% chances for her child, but if father has diabetic, the risk is more than the previous case and if both has diabetic, the child has much greater risk for diabetes.
Age – Increased age is a factor which gives more possibility than in younger ages. This disease may occur at any age, but 80% of cases occur after 50 year.

Causes can be prevented:
Obesity – Most of the sedentary life diseases are caused by obesity, one among them is diabetes.
Stress – Either physical injury or emotional disturbance is frequently blamed as the initial cause of the disease. It had been reported in many studies that there is direct relation between high systolic pressure and diabetes.

Diabetes care & handling or preventing tips

Obesity: Maintain your BMI (Body Mass Index) in normal range, that your weight with related to you height. Also your waist size should be below 40 inches for men and below 38 inches for women.

Eat healthy foods: follow healthy food triangle or pyramid. That is eat less – fat, sugar and alcohol, eat moderate – milk, meat and other proteins, eat more – vegetable, fruits, beans, grains and starchy foods.

Physically active: Make you physically active by slight changes in you daily activities by avoiding lifts, vehicles for short distances, play with your child, do some gardening, clean your vehicle or house and do some exercises (walking, aerobics, swimming, playing sports and weight exercises).

Care when sick: Type 1 diabetes is caused by auto immune disorder that is our body attacks our own body consider it as enemy. Mostly it is caused by viral infection such as mumps, rubella, cytomegalovirus, measles, influenza, encephalitis, polio or Epstein-Barr virus.

So I request you all to unit and work together to fight against the biggest life threading evil diabetes and conquered it. Best of luck

Living With Borderline Diabetes

Posted by admin on Dec 22nd, 2009 | 0 comments

It can send a chill up anyone’s spine being informed by your physician that you have borderline diabetes. This is a disease that can literally alter your life. But, each year, hundreds of thousands of Americans are being told just that as the number of diabetes cases continually rises. Currently, there are over 18 million known case of diabetes in the U.S. that have diabetes. It’s estimated that there’s approximately 6 million more people that have diabetes and don’t know it. And it remains a serious health problem costing patients billions of dollars in health care every year.

What exactly is borderline diabetes? Sometimes called pre-diabetes, it’s a condition where a person has glucose levels between normal levels and levels that would identify them as diabetic. The reason that many people don’t know they have the condition is that it’s relatively free of symptoms. In a person without diabetes, the body will produce insulin to help the cells break down food into energy. In diabetics and pre-diabetics, however, either the body is unable to create insulin or it is unable to utilize the insulin. This is one reason why people with borderline diabetes tend to be tired much of the time. They are eating, but their body is unable to break down the food into usable energy.

Many doctors have stopped using the term borderline diabetes to describe this condition as, in their minds, a person who exhibits the symptoms of pre-diabetes is, in truth diabetic. and they see no real medical reason to obfuscate the diagnosis. They also feel that telling a person that he or she has borderline diabetes will cause the person to not take the diagnosis seriously – since it is only borderline. Others feel that the condition of these patients is more accurately described as insulin resistant or impaired glucose tolerance. Other doctors, however, still use the term and find it useful to keep the distinction between pre-diabetes and diabetes.

For medical care physicians that continue to use the term, borderline diabetes is diagnosed when a person’s glucose level, as determined by glucose tests, fall between 100 to 125 milligrams per deciliter.

Unfortunately, in most cases, a person who has borderline diabetes will see the disease progress to diabetes. In some cases, however, with a change of eating habits and other healthy lifestyle changes, the disease will be reversed.

Many health experts believe that pre-diabetes is a preventable disease. Studies have shown a distinct correlation between the increase in the amount of fast foods that we eat and the new incidences of type II diabetes. Likewise, there is a correlation between our increasingly sedentary lifestyles with increases in the number of people diagnosed with diabetics. Making the defeat of diabetes even more urgent is that a person with pre-diabetes or diabetes is at greater risk for a host of other diseases including heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and more.

Luckily, researchers have begun to identify and catalog the many risk factors that predispose one towards developing diabetes. Hopefully, in the near future, diabetes will be looked upon as a long forgotten disease of the past.

Diabetes Pathophysiology – How Environmental Changes Can Influence the Incidence of Diabetes

Posted by admin on Dec 19th, 2009 | 0 comments

Pathophysiology is that branch in science that deals with the study of the changes in mechanical, physical and biochemical functions brought about by a disease. One such disease that brings pathophysiologcal changes is diabetes. Diabetes pathophysiology therefore deals on the various changes brought by the incidence of diabetes as a disease.  

As there are three types of diabetes, the diabetes pathophysiology will also vary in relation to the symptoms and complications involved in each type of diabetic condition wherein, the gestation type is only a prelude to type 2 diabetes.  

What Recent Studies Show about Diabetes Pathophysiology in the American Population

About 65% of Americans today are considered as overweight and that it is estimated that 1/4 of the US population is suffering from diabetes, which is estimated to be around 21 million Americans.

The US ranks third in the world for having the most number of people afflicted with diabetes, trailing behind India who ranks as number one and China as the second. It is reported that the epidemic is concerned more with obesity being an underlying cause of diabetes.

Those born after the year 2000 are said to be already at risk of developing diabetes and this concerns 33% of the male population, 39% of the female wherein 50% of this will be Hispanic women. Based on assessment of medical facts and figures, the results indicate that cardiovascular diseases will be the eventual cause of fatalities.

Asians who were not among those included in high statistics before has now a high incidence of diabetic suffering population. Where the existence of the American fast food chains being considered, like in Korea where 10% of the population is diagnosed as diabetic.

Diabetes Type 1

The underlying causes of Type 1 diabetes, being genetic disposition, environmental exposure to virus, toxins, stress factors  and how it affects the beta-cells of the pancreas to produce insulin are all likely influences of diabetes pathophysiology in the society or community.

In short, the present day generation acquired their insulin deficiency from parents counted in the previous diabetic statistics. 

With these factors considered, diabetes today commonly occurs from puberty age of 10 to 14 years of age, and the majority of those who developed diabetes type 1 became full-fledge diabetics before they reached the age of 30.

The basic characteristics evident among the sufferers are the symptomatic signs of hyperglycemia or borderline diabetes, intense thirst and unstinted hunger, frequency in urination, weight loss and low energy levels.

Diabetes Type 2

In Diabetes Type 2 where the sufferer is insulin resistant, the changes in the environment caused an individual to gain weight and develop all sorts of fat found in all the wrong places, wherein belly fat is the most harmful. In fact, childhood obesity has grown into epidemic proportions globally and early diagnosis treatment and management is now a global concern.

The genes among these children were not in question but their habits as they grew older as influenced by their current environment have changed. As they enter obesity at an early age, more and more substances are produced by the body to cause insulin resistance. Hence, the current statistics of type 2 diabetes include those belonging to the age range of 10 to 19. 

It is quite evident therefore that eating habits and lifestyle as influenced by a society where children are now more engaged in less activity like video games and virtual recreations. Diabetes pathophysiology can include organ malfunction which may start from the liver resulting to insulin resistance.

Hence, parents who are supposed to be more knowledgeable should become aware of the fact that over feeding their young ones and keeping them confined in front of video consoles are not the best methods of providing a good future for their children.

Alvin Hopkinson is a leading health researcher in the area of natural remedies and diabetes natural treatment. Discover how you can reverse your diabetes for good using proven and effective home remedies, all without using harmful medications or drugs. Visit his site now at http://www.minusdiabetes.com