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Diabetes Test - What Does It Involve?

July 18th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Diabetes is a disease whereby the body is unable to break down the glucose for easy absorption by the cells of the body. As a result, the sugar stays in the blood and creates a host of problems. This condition is called blood sugar disease or Diabetes Mellitus. The symptoms of this disease are manifested through unusual thirst, fatigue, weight loss, excessive urination and the like. If you think you have diabetes, you will need to run a Diabetes Test for confirm it.

Treating Diabetes Will Depend On The Correct Diagnosis

There are many types of diabetes. Your treatment will depend on what type of diabetes you are suffering from. In order to identify it, you will need to undertake a Diabetes Test. There are three types of diabetes tests, i.e. (i) fasting plasma glucose test, (ii) random blood sugar test and (iii) oral glucose tolerance test. Normally, the first two tests are sufficient for diagnosis.  The third test is ordinarily reserved for pregnant women.

1. Fasting plasma glucose test – This is the most common diabetes test used for diagnosis of this disease. You will need to give a little amount of blood (drawn from a vein). You would be required to abstain from taking any type of food prior to this test (minimum 10 hours). The blood thus taken will be checked for sugar content; the test is considered to be positive if the glucose level is more than 126 mg/dl.

2. Random blood sugar test – This test is almost the same as the fasting plasma glucose test. The only difference is that you do not need to fast before the test here. You will be required to eat as usual before taking this test. The glucose content in this case would be a bit higher than the fasting plasma glucose test – however, if the reading is more than 200 mg/dl then you will be recommended for the fasting sugar test for confirmation.

3. Oral glucose tolerance test – this diabetes test is usually conducted to diagnose Gestational Diabetes in pregnant women. You will need to drink glucose mixed in water after which blood will be drawn at regular intervals of three hours each.  Depending on the sugar level in the blood, the diagnosis will be made. This test is very seldom used for diagnosing diabetes for other patients (other than pregnant women).

Once the diagnosis is made, diabetes is a disease that can be controlled well and if the diet and medication is closely monitored, one can lead a very normal life.

Using Diabetes Recipes To Stay Healthy

July 8th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle that will keep your diabetes in control is sometimes difficult and daunting. It is even more difficult when you have diabetes and a family and you are in charge of the cooking. Does everyone have to eat bland food just because your diet needs changing? Or what about if you are the only one in the family who has diabetes and allowances need to be made to everyone else’s diets for you?

 Don’t let the disease make you feel isolated. Rather use it as a way to bring your family closer for the support that you need. Cooking everyday meals with Diabetes Recipes is a great way to keep your health in check and is also a great way to keep the family healthy too.

Flavorful Food

If you’ve just been diagnosed with diabetes you might think that you are in for a lifetime of food that has no salt or sugar in it. Although people with diabetes are advised to reduce sodium intake, completely eliminating sugar from your diet is not necessary. It is still possible to have food that is healthy and tasty.

Using Diabetes Recipes it is possible to find foods your whole family will enjoy and still ensure that you are still following the doctor’s orders. What’s more you will probably be able to find Diabetes Recipes of the foods you’ve enjoyed all this while with a few alterations.

Great For Everyone

A diabetes recipe is no different from an ordinary recipe, there are just a few ingredients such as salt that might be omitted and some extra ingredients that are high in fibre that might sneak up in a diabetes recipe. These little changes however are not only good for the diabetic in the family but for the whole family. These recipes are just basically healthier versions of the originals.

Sugar Not Handled By Diabetes Mellitus

July 6th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Although it is most often referred to by the name diabetes, Diabetes Mellitus is a treatable, chronic metabolic disorder, affecting the body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates. Whether it is due to the body’s inability to produce insulin to disperse the sugar from the blood stream or the inability of the produced insulin to do so is what determines which stage of Diabetes Mellitus from which a person suffers.

 Type I diabetes mellitus is when the body cannot produce insulin due to the destruction of the cells that produce insulin while Type 2 is when the body’s tissues offer a resistance to the insulin being produced. A third type, Gestational Diabetes, typically has its onset during pregnancy. Although considered Type I, 2 and 3 diabetes mellitus, it is not really three separate diseases, but different stages of pancreatic failure.

Failure to properly treat diabetes mellitus can lead to other major health issues, including damage to small blood vessels. Consistently high levels of glucose in the blood will damage the smaller vessels, especially in the retina. The common occurrence of vision loss among those with diabetes mellitus makes it one of the most common causes of blindness among non-elderly in the country.

Complications Compounded If Left Untreated

There are serious life-threatening complications involved with diabetes mellitus, especially if left untreated, or even under treated, as cardiovascular problems such as coronary artery disease and peripheral vascular disease can develop. The disease can also cause damage to the kidneys, leading to renal failure and stroke.

Strokes suffered by those with diabetes mellitus are typically the ischemic type, during which brain cells die due to being oxygen starved, even for a short period of time. Depending on their location in the brain and primary function, there may be no noticeable impairment caused by ischemic stroke. An ischemic chain involves one minor stroke following another, not always in linear order, and some may be in circular motions. This can be diagnoses through the use of MRI examination.

While the complications involved with diabetes mellitus have rendered the illness incurable at this point, it is treatable and many people live a normal lifestyle by taking the necessary precautions so as not to exacerbate their symptoms. Knowing that an increase in blood sugar can lead to a hypoglycemic episode and spark additional health problems, people with diabetes mellitus usually stick with their diet and new lifestyle.

Purpose And Effects Of Diabetes Medication

July 3rd, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Before thirty years of age many individuals get Type 1 diabetes, since their bodies do not make enough insulin it is necessary that they take it as Diabetes Medication. In order for the body to work insulin must help transform food into energy. After the age of forty people may get Type 2 diabetes although some can get it at a younger age. With Type 2 diabetes, a good diet, exercise and weight loss can be enough to correct the problem but if these do not work then one or more types of Diabetes Medication will be needed to help correct the problem.

The Purpose Of Diabetes Medication

Depending on the type of diabetes that needs to be treated, diabetes medication will be taken for different reasons. For Type 1 diabetic’s insulin is needed for giving your body the necessary insulin it needs since the pancreas is no longer producing the necessary amounts. For Type 2 diabetes, the purpose of diabetes medication is typically to help the body correctly use the insulin it is producing. For many individuals the only way to control Type 2 diabetes is with medication. Depending on what is needed a doctor will often either prescribe oral diabetes medication or insulin for Type 2 diabetes patients.

Types Of Diabetes Medication

Diabetes medication typically only comes in two forms: insulin and oral medication. Insulin must be taken by any individual with Type 1 diabetes while only a few with Type 2 diabetes will need to take insulin. Oral medications are only taken by those with Type 2 diabetes and never those with Type 1. Oral medications are typically used by those with Type 2 diabetes in addition to their diet and exercise to help keep blood glucose levels in normal ranges.

Types Of Insulin

Insulin has five main types for use in diabetic patients: rapid-acting, short acting, intermediate acting, long acting and premixed. There are different speeds at which these five types of insulin work and many individuals will have to take two different types. The types are determined by when they reach their peak period of activity and how quickly or slowly they work in a person’s body.

Oral Medication For Diabetes

Blood glucose is lowered in different ways depending on the type of oral medication being taken by the individual. There are six groups of oral diabetes medicine. The pancreas is stimulated to make more insulin with sulfonylureas and meglitinides. The amount of glucose produced by the liver is decreased with biguanides. Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors help to slow the process of absorbing the starches. Sensitivity to insulin is caused by thiazolidinediones. The pancreas is helped to quickly produce more insulin with D-phenylalanine derivatives.

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