diabetes 2

If you have diabetes you have to be very careful about what you eat. You need to take extra care in managing your blood glucose levels. You can do this by eating healthy
watching your diet
taking medication prescribed by a physician and getting proper exercise.

What foods should you eat? There is a food pyramid for people with diabetes. The Diabetes Food Pyramid divides food into six groups. At the top of the list is fats sweets and alcohol. Since this is the smallest group this tells you to eat very little from this section. The next group is milk
meat
meat substitutes and other proteins. On the pyramid 2 to 3 servings of milk is suggested and 4 to 6oz of meat/protein is mentioned. Then you have your vegetables and fruits. Veggies choose at least 3-5 servings per day and fruits choose at least 2-4 servings a day. The last group which you should eat the most of is breads grains and other starches. You can check with your doctor to get a copy of the diabetes food pyramid to learn more about the correct servings and portion sizes for you.

What is Type 1 Diabetes? This type of diabetes was previously known as juvenile diabetes and is typically diagnosed in children and young adults. The body does not produce insulin. What is insulin? It is a hormone needed to convert starches
sugar (glucose) and other foods into energy. Energy is needed for daily life activities. Type I Diabetes is a chronic condition with no cure
but the outlook for people living with this disease is far better than it was 20 years ago. There has been much advancement in medicine
research and patient education reducing disabling complications and extended the expectancies of life to those without diabetes. In other words people with diabetes 1 can live just as long as people without diabetes with the proper treatment and educating themselves on this disease.

What is Type 2 Diabetes? With type 2 the body does not produce enough insulin or the cell just simply ignores the insulin. Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes. You need insulin in order for the body to be able to use sugar. The basic fuel for your cells is sugar. Insulin takes the sugar from the blood into the cells. When glucose does not go into the cells but builds up in the blood instead it can cause problems. The problems it can cause are over time high glucose levels could hurt your heart
kidneys
nerves and eyes. What are the most common symptoms for adults with Type II Diabetes? The answer is fatigue
blurred vision
thirst and excessive urination. Do you think you may be diabetic? Check with your doctor. With type II diabetes minor weight loss can greatly improve your blood glucose levels.

So remember if you have diabetes please be under a doctors care. Watch what you eat. Limit your sweets
fats and alcohol. You can still eat good tasting foods and there are many diabetic food recipes on the internet. Get on a doctor approved exercise program and keep track of your glucose levels. Learn all you can about your condition so you can take control of it instead of the disease controlling you.

There is no known reason for what causes diabetes. There are certainly risk factors that
make the likelihood of you being diagnosed with the disease higher. One of the only risk
factors that you have control over is your weight. If you are obese
the single best thing
you can do for your health and the prevention of diabetes is to lose weight. Even in small
increments
when you shed pounds you are increasing your health benefits.

These may be easier said than done. There are new studies that are now showing that
there is a genetic factor or mutation for people who are obese and have diabetes. This
genetic malfunction affects how the bodies use energy and insulin – two key elements in
the functioning of your body and the cause of diabetes and obesity.

The studies also state that this is not a cause and effect case. If you carry this defective
gene you are not guaranteed to be obese or have diabetes. But the link is there and it can
be prevented. You may have to work harder at it than others to maintain a healthy body
weight and put off diabetes but it can be done. Discuss with your doctor options and
ways to prevent or put-off the onset of diabetes.

The gene that researchers have discovered as a precursor to diabetes has been found in
young children. It is scary to know that children in their preschool years are being
diagnosed with obesity and type 2 diabetes due to genetics. But parents can reduce or
prevent these things from happening by giving their children healthy lifestyle choices.
Now that a DNA link has been found
the research can focus on finding a way to fix or
prevent this from happening at some point in the future.