Diabetes Diet, Nutrition and Blood Glucose Meters

Alex Padilla’s message from 2004 ADA video, regarding volunteering and doing outreach for diabetes awareness.
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The Symptoms of Juvenile Diabetes – Do You Know What They Are?

Juvenile Diabetes, also known as type 1 diabetes, is a disease that affects nearly 210,000 children and young adults under the age of 20 with approximately 15,000 new cases diagnosed every year. Diabetes in children commonly occurs during puberty between the ages of 10 to 12 in girls and 12 to 14 in boys and it is also important to note that children whose parents or other siblings have diabetes are at a greater risk of developing the disease themselves.

The sudden onset of juvenile diabetes is caused by the inability of the pancreas to manufacture insulin. It is thought that genetic predisposition and autoimmune dysfunction destroy the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, rendering them unable to produce insulin, which is needed to control blood sugar levels.

Many times the parents are caught unaware and off guard that their child has diabetes. They have many questions asking how this could happen or what they could have done to prevent it. Unfortunately there is no known way to prevent the onset of juvenile diabetes but if the parent is able to catch the tale-tell symptoms early and their child is positively diagnosed there is less chance of long term complications.

The symptoms of juvenile diabetes are much the same as for adults but children may not recognize that something is wrong because they can be subtle. The early warning signs that parents should be on the lookout for include.

1. Frequent bathroom trips – High blood sugar increases the amount of blood that is filtered through the kidneys, leading to an increase in urinary output.

2. Being thirsty all the time – Dehydration caused by the high urine output leads to an increased thirst.

3. Increased hunger and eating – The lack of insulin keeps the sugar in the blood, starving the cells for the energy they need to function. Because of this perceived energy deficit the body responds with hunger pains.

4. Weight loss – Despite the fact that the child is eating more the body will start to break down it own muscle and fat stores to make up for the perceived loss of energy sources, namely blood glucose.

5. Fatigue – The inability of glucose to cross from the blood stream into the cells causes a loss of energy leading to chronic fatigue. The irregularity in protein and fat metabolism can also lead to fatigue.

6. Increased irritability and depression.

7. Vision problems – High blood glucose levels cause an increase in blood volume which can cause the lens of the eye to swell.

These symptoms can occur alone but because diabetes is a disease that affects entire bodily functions there is a good chance that these symptoms will start slowly but will occur as a group. If one is noticeable it is a good idea to ask your child if they are experiencing any of the other known signs.

The sooner the symptoms of juvenile diabetes are recognized the sooner the child can be taken to the doctor for the proper tests to diagnose this disease. Diabetes in children, while incurable, can be managed successfully with a combination of insulin therapy and diet. Left untreated diabetes can cause a whole host of complications that can seriously affect any diabetics ability to live a normal life.

Diabetes Facts Remedies to Cure Diabetes

Are you urinating more frequently than usual? You just feel tired and weak lately? You are experiencing some tingling and numbness in her extremities? And you lose weight so suddenly during the last days? If you say yes to everything, it is likely that you are suffering from a disease known as diabetes. If you are not very familiar with this condition, you might as well start doing your research now to learn more about it and find the natural healing as much as possible.  

Diabetes Facts:
Diabetes is a disorder of health while the body is unable to regulate the amount of sugar, specifically glucose in the blood. Role of glucose, mainly by giving you energy so you can make your day-to-day. But if it regulates the amount of blood sugar, insulin, in turn, regulate it so it will always be at the correct level. And so, when the body does not produce enough insulin or do not use it correctly, then this is where diabetes

Diabetes has three types: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes. In type 1, the body does not produce insulin or produces too little to regulate the level of blood glucose. Meanwhile, in type 2, there is enough insulin but the body is unable to use it partially or completely. And in gestational diabetes, pregnant women experience a sudden increase in the level of glucose in the blood during the second half of pregnancy. This, however, disappears when the baby is delivered.

Natural Cures Diabetes:
Although there are many prescription drugs now, you can always have the option to control diabetes with natural cures. These may include changing your diet, having a healthy lifestyle through the observation of regular exercise, and going to raw food a diet or vegan diet. Change your diet means eating the right amount and eat the right foods. If you like to eat fast food, then it’s time for you to choose healthy snacks instead. And make sure you do not eat too much or too little. But to really control the diabetes, you need to combine good nutrition with regular exercise. It is important that you do various physical activities daily so you will not gain much weight. You should avoid being a diabetic and obese that would mean life and death for you.

Now go to raw foods and vegan diets. More people, including celebrities, have proven that they really work not only in weight loss, but also in the management of diabetes. Fruits, vegetables, snacks and other foods can help you achieve a level of sugar control. So, instead of being dependent on sweet snacks, fast foods, processed foods and drinks with high sugar content, why not go natural raw materials and this time?

Management of diabetes with natural cures may seem difficult to accomplish in the first place. But if you’re focused on your goal of keeping blood sugar at the right level, you may well have these changes in lifestyle as a challenge.

What is Juvenile Diabetes?

Diabetes means your blood glucose, or blood sugar, is too high. With Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas does not make insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose get into your cells to give them energy. Without insulin, too much glucose stays in your blood. Over time, high blood glucose can lead to serious problems with your heart, eyes, kidneys, nerves, and gums and teeth.
There are two main types of diabetes: juvenile-onset and mature-onset. Juvenile diabetes can affect anyone of any age, but is more common in people under 30 years and tends to develop in childhood, hence its name. Other names for juvenile diabetes include diabetes and insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM).

Normally, the pancreas produces the right amount of insulin to accommodate the quantity of sugar. However, if the person has diabetes either the pancreas produces little or no insulin, or the cells do not respond normally to the insulin. Sugar builds up in the blood, overflows into the urine and passes from the body unused. Diabetes can be associated with major complications involving many organs including the heart, eyes, kidneys, and nerves, especially if the blood sugar is poorly controlled over the years.

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic condition caused by the body’s inability to break down glucose (sugars) and store them properly. When an individual’s system is unable to efficiently process glucose, it will back up in the person’s bloodstream creating multiple health problems.

Over thirty thousand individuals will be diagnosed with diabetes this year alone. It is estimated that over one hundred and twenty million individuals worldwide have diabetes. It is further estimated that approximately five million individuals have diabetes that has yet to be diagnosed. Two types of diabetes exist.
Diabetes is a lifelong disease for which there is not yet a cure.

There are several forms of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is often called juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes. In this type of diabetes, cells of the pancreas produce little or no insulin, the hormone that allows glucose to enter body cells.
Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, and was previously known as juvenile diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar (glucose), starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. Finding out you have diabetes is scary. But don’t panic. Type 1 diabetes is serious, but people with diabetes can live long, healthy, happy lives.

Without enough 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. This leads to increased hunger. In addition, the high levels of glucose in the blood cause the patient to urinate more, which in turn causes excessive thirst. Within 5 to 10 years, the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas are completely destroyed and the body can not longer produce insulin.

Most people are first diagnosed with Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes during the teen years. Although this is a time when fitting in with your friends can be important, “don’t think you’re different because of it,” Ryan says. More than 400,000 new cases are reported in children and adults up to age 24 in the United States each year. And more than 1 million Americans currently live with the condition.

Pregnancy and the Effects of Diabetes

Maternal health and fetal complications are at a much greater risk in women with diabetes who are pregnant. Even the stress of a pregnancy can bring about gestational diabetes, which is a form of glucose intolerance that begins during the pregnancy and resolves itself after the birth of the baby. Whether there is preexisting diabetes or gestational diabetes there is an increased risk of fetal congenital defects and death from hyperglycemia, or abnormally high blood sugar, which must be controlled. Any woman with diabetes that is pregnant should get some form of nutritional counseling from a registered dietician.

There are many changes that occur during a pregnancy that can have detrimental effects on controlling the diabetes and the use of insulin. The placenta produces some hormones and enzymes that reduce the effectiveness of insulin. Insulin from the mother does not cross the placenta but blood glucose will. If too much blood glucose crosses over to the baby the baby’s pancreas will increase insulin production. This increase in insulin leads to a condition that is typical for women with diabetes, macrosomia, or big baby syndrome. Newborns of mother with either form of diabetes can also suffer from respiratory problems, hypocalcemia, hypoglycemia, hypokalemia, or jaundice.

Medical nutrition therapy needs to be individualized based on the mother’s weight and height. The diet plan used by a pregnant woman should include adequate calories and nutrients to meet the needs of both mother and fetus and should be consistent with established maternal blood glucose goals. The impact of meals and snacks on blood glucose levels must be tracked with self monitoring and should be done a minimum of four times a day.

Planning and commitment is required for any pregnant woman with diabetes to have a successful pregnancy. Achieving and maintaining tight blood glucose control before conception and during the first trimester is of paramount importance because this is when most fetal malformation occurs. The best time for any woman with diabetes who is attempting to become pregnant is before conception.

During the second and third trimesters the need for insulin increases because of increased blood glucose levels caused by the increased production of hormones associated with pregnancy that decrease the effectiveness of insulin.

A diabetic pregnancy will require a more focused approach to the diabetic diet plan each day of the pregnancy. Special considerations need to be made for food cravings and nausea during the early weeks of a pregnancy. All meal plans need to be individualized to each woman and need to evolve throughout the pregnancy as insulin and nutritional needs change.