Monday, July 25, 2011

A Multitasker's Guide to Diabetes Management

Managing diabetes doesn't have to take over your busy life. Here are some simple ways to incorporate treatment, monitoring, and wellness into your daily routine.

Be proactive when dining out. Choose a restaurant with a varied menu that gives you a wide array of healthy options. And don't be afraid to ask your server for a healthy substitution, like a side salad or steamed vegetable instead of mashed potatoes or the Acai berry instead of other fruit juice.

Find a better way to test. Glocose meter such as the Bayer's CONTOUR® USB is the first plug-in blood glucose meter that opens diabetes management software on your computer. Simply plug it into your computer to track your blood glucose levels at a glance — you can even print out reports to take to your doctor.

   
Shop for the week. If you're worried about making on-the-fly eating decisions, a little preparation can help. Plan your meals for the week in advance so you make sure you're getting adequate nutrition – and avoiding slip-ups with foods that are off-limits.

Download an app. Now you can add diabetes management to the list of ways your smartphone makes life easier. Log your blood sugar, exercise, carbohydrate intake, medications, and more in one convenient application that you can access securely on your phone anytime, anywhere.

Get walking. Exercise has a profound impact on overall health, and is especially essential for diabetics who need to keep their blood glucose levels in check. Walking is a simple, enjoyable, and low-cost way to incorporate physical activity into your daily life. Start small with simple goals, like taking the furthest parking spot or taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

Managing diabetes is essential to staying healthy. Luckily, it doesn't have to interfere with your busy lifestyle. A good glucose meter can simplify your diabetes management — and your life.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Low Carb Diet And Diabetes

While the world has advanced technologically, there has been an unfortunate insurgence of preventable diseases. Blame for such diseases can be put on wrong nutritional intakes by people. The problem is compounded by the fact that even experts and authorities are at times coming up with wrong advices in this regard. Thus despite taking to the suggested low gat, whole grain optimum diet, people are still getting fatter and encountering diabetes as well. A little diet control could have prevented such eventualities and many other preventable diseases.

Diabetes and Low Carb Diet
In recent years, diabetes has emerged as a major threat for people all over the world. No less than 80 million people are suffering from type 2 diabetes or are at the pre-diabetic stages. Many of them are suffering from obesity and overweight problem and that brings up the issues of low calorie diet. But the question is there can be low fat, low protein, low calorie diet as well as low carb and high protein low calorie diet. Which one is the best? In any case, finding out a way to show an escape way from the staggering $150 million spent in United States alone on treatment and medication for diabetes, is the requirement of the day.

Low Carb Atkins Diet and Low Calorie Diets
Basically the low carb diets followed the principles laid down in the Atkins diet where a person would consume not more than 20grams of carbohydrate per day. On the other hand there are other low calorie diets where a man or woman will carry on with a calorie deficit of around 500 calories per day. Atkins plan consists of abundance of meats and eggs with only 20 grams of carbohydrates by shelving fruits, and whole grains. Other low calorie diets are made of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fiber contents. Both diets shelve fats and the later one reduces red meat contents in the food.

Research and Results
Some experiments were carried out by the scientists on two different groups with one group sticking to low carb Atkins diet while the other sticking to the low glycemic reduced calorie diets. While the first group consumed less than 50 grams of carbohydrate on a day to day basis, the second group consumed on average 150 grams carbohydrate per day.

Results were fascinating for the low carb diet consumers. Diabetes medications were reduced or eliminated in over 95% of the consumers using such diet. In addition; the good cholesterol increased by 5.6% in comparison to the other group while he bad cholesterol reduced considerably.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Body Weight Regulates Cholesterol Metabolism in Diabetics

Findings of a study of obese and nonobese subjects indicate that body weight regulates cholesterol metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Cholesterol absorption efficiency is lower and cholesterol synthesis is higher in obese patients.

Simonen and colleagues of the University of Helsinki, Finland, studied cholesterol metabolism in 22 obese (mean body mass index, 33.4 kg/m2) and 20 nonobese (mean body mass index, 24.1 kg/ m2) patients with type 2 diabetes. Age, blood glucose levels, and dietary intake of calories, cholesterol, fat, and plant sterols were similar in the two groups.

Although serum cholesterol levels were similar in the two groups, bile acid
synthesis, fecal neutral sterol excretion, and cholesterol synthesis were higher in the obese patients than in the nonobese patients. On the other hand, sitosterol and cholesterol ratios were significantly lower in the obese than in the non-obese group, suggesting low cholesterol absorption in obese patients.

Sunday, October 31, 2010