Dehydration of Diabetics

Aside from problems directly associated with the condition, those with diabetes are also more at risk of general issues, such as dehydration and heat exhaustion. This is because diabetics have a drastically reduced ability to sweat.

Studies have shown that both type 1 and type 2 diabetes damage the nerve fibers linked to the sweat glands and, as a result, the body is not able to produce enough sweat to stay cool.

To reduce the risk of becoming dehydrated it is important to take on extra fluids, although, obviously, the effect this will have on blood glucose levels needs to be keenly considered. For instance, depending on whether you are concerned with hypoglycemia (where blood sugar levels are too low) or hyperglycemia (where blood levels are too high) you may want to use water (if you are avoiding sugar) or perhaps some form of energy drink (if you are looking to imbibe more glucose.)

Exercise can play a huge role in managing diabetes and warm weather can often make the prospect of a work out more appealing, as activities can be undertaken outdoors. However, to reduce the risk of dehydration it is worth considering scheduling your exercise for periods when heat is less intense, such as the early morning or late afternoon.

Be aware of the symptoms of heat exhaustion, which include headaches, cramping and nausea and be prepared to stop, rest and take on more fluids if necessary.

Insulin in Hot Weather

Whilst some people find they are more at risk of hyperglycemia in hot weather, it is very common for the threat of hypoglycemia to be more of a problem. One of the main reasons for this is that insulin, which makes the glucose in our blood available as a fuel and thus lowers blood sugar levels, becomes more effective when taken in warmer conditions.

This is due to the heat casing blood vessels near to the surface of the skin to dilate, which in turn leads to insulin being absorbed quicker than usual. This can end up making your standard dose too effective at lowering blood sugar, and can lead to hypoglycemia. You should consult your doctor about changes you may need to make to your diet or insulin intake to accommodate this change. You should also take readings more often, at least four times a day.

In is also important that insulin be kept cool, as it can be damaged by excessive heat or bright sunlight. Clear insulin can become cloudy, and cloudy insulin may turn grainy and begin to stick to the glass. Alternatively, insulin may take on a brownish colour if left in the sun. In any of these cases, it should not be taken.

However, alarmingly some diabetics decide that, to avoid damaging their insulin, they should not take it with them when going out. You should always keep your insulin with you, especially as blood sugar can be more unpredictable in the heat. (For the same reason, keep some sugary snacks on your person.) You can use small, reusable cool packs to ensure your insulin remains effective.

Insulin Pumps and Hot Weather

If you use an insulin pump you will want to be careful to keep it out of the sun. Disconnecting the pump to achieve this end is an option, but remember to adjust the intake rate to make up for missed doses if you disconnect the pump for an hour or longer.

If you sweat a lot you may find your pump becomes uncomfortable, as the adhesive securing the infusion set can become loose. A number of products can be applied to the skin to reduce the chances of this becoming a major problem. Some find anti-perspirants work, other use substances likes Mastisol, Skin-Tac H o variants on alcohol swabs.

Daniel Sands writes on many topics relating to diabetes from managing the condition to getting a good health insurance quotes.

It is important to point out here that diabetes has no cure. There are however several methods of treatment to help maintain blood glucose levels.  Being diagnosed with diabetes does not mean that you cannot lead a normal, active life. You can continue to lead a normal life provided you make regular visits to the doctor, take the prescribed medication and watch your intake of food. This is where diabetes and nutrition information would come in handy.

It is your doctor who would be able to specify the treatment that would be best for you. This would typically include either oral medication or insulin injections or sometimes even a combination of the two. You should never try to take any of these drugs without the approval of a doctor. For those of you who also wish to take the help of diabetes and nutrition in the form of herbal remedies, you could try eating specific fruits or green leaves for example, which are known to maintain blood sugar levels.

Diabetes and nutrition is of great importance as the food you consume plays a vital role in maintaining blood glucose levels.  In order to take diabetes and nutrition seriously, you must have a good meal plan so that you would know what food you can consume and in what proportions. Although there is no such thing as a specific diet for diabetics, it is best that you see a nutritionist in order to know what exactly your plan should include for diabetes and nutrition plan. For diabetes and nutrition plans, you would need to take a balanced diet, but one that is of low sugar, salt and carbohydrates.

Your diabetes and nutrition plan can include a mixture of fruits, raw vegetables, and one item of starch such as bread or pasta, yoghurt and so on.

It’s always best that you own one of the many diabetes testing equipment so that you can take your own blood sugar readings at home without having to visit a doctor. You can then know whether you need to change you diabetes and nutrition plan or leave it as it is.

Gestational diabetes is something that can and should be controlled by means of diet, exercise and insulin injections. Since the tendency to do a lot of physical exercises is quite low during pregnancy, many women prefer to address the problem of gestational diabetes by changing their diet. Special gestational diabetes meal plans have been invented to keep the blood sugar levels in check during pregnancy.

When you are about to follow a meal plan to control your blood sugar levels during pregnancy, it is essential that you follow a gestational diabetes meal plan and not a normal diabetes meal plan or a pregnancy meal plan. The reason for this is that, as a pregnant woman with diabetes, your condition is different from both the conditions mentioned above. Since you are neither a woman with a normal pregnancy nor a woman with diabetes only, your meal plan should be unique. A gestational diabetes meal plan is carefully designed to cut down on your intake of sugar without compromising your unborn child’s growth and well being.

Gestational diabetes meal plans are usually prescribed by a doctor or a dietitian. This is one of the best ways to obtain a gestational diabetes meal plans as it will be tailor made for each person. Not each person’s diabetes level will be the same during pregnancy. While some can only have a minor case of gestational diabetes, others can be chronic cases. When it comes to minor cases, there is no harm in following a general gestational diabetes meal plan. But when it comes to a more serious case, specific attention should be given to each and every food item and their quantities. In such cases a dietitian has to be consulted with regards to your gestational diabetes meal plan.

Foods which are low in natural sugars and devoid of added sugar and fat are included in gestational diabetes meal plans. A general gestational diabetes meal plan would always consist of a number of meals, rather than the traditional three meals. In this manner a person is not left too hungry and thus, overindulging during main meals is prevented.

The bad news here is that people with diabetes have a 60% chance of developing some form of neuropathy. How this comes about is that excessive consumption of sugar can lead to nerve damage along with organ damage. The good news on the other hand is that neuropathy can be controlled provided you keep sugar intake under very tight control. While this may be easier said than done; remember that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables is key. It is best that you consider doing away with refined and processed foods completely at this point in time.

What is also alarming to note is the fact that even those who are suffering from pre-diabetes may also suffer from neuropathy. Yet this gives you all the more reason to consider preventive measures so that you can keep your limbs safe. The reason why one needs to be more aware of such complications especially, nowadays is because there are increasingly larger numbers of young people who are developing diabetes. Keeping this in mind, it is best that you are aware of what the risk factors are.

One well known risk factor is family history. If your family members are suffering from diabetes then you are pretty much a marked person. Other key markers include obesity. Remember the main aim is to avoid diabetes at all costs. While genetic predisposition is certainly a factor, you can play a role in changing your lifestyle so that you are at less risk. How this can be done is to ensure that you consider a lifestyle that is not sedentary. It is suggested that one should engage in regular and vigorous cardiovascular exercise regimes at least thrice a week.

Additionally, your eating habits also have to change drastically. More often than not, if you are at risk of developing diabetes, it is best that you vet all processed and refined foods from your diet. There is a plethora of foods that you can tap into that are natural and far healthier. For instance you can indulge in a choice range of fruits and vegetables that are full of fiber and nutrients instead of burgers and potato chips. When adopting diet habits, it is best that you do not think of it as a fad thing to do. Rather, you should look at it as a lifestyle that you must embrace fully.

While, it is certainly difficult to do, it is certainly possible. What you must remember is that you consider changing your habits slowly. Once you are aware of the truth as in how harmful junk food can be, you are sure to change your mind. All it takes is some patience and also diligence when it comes to getting yourself on the right path.

There are certainly some employers who would provide diabetes cover, yet this is something that needs to be assessed properly. The main issue with insurance policies is that most people are not aware of what exactly they are eligible for and why. So if you are employed, it is best that you get in touch with the HR department and inquire as to whether you are covered by your employer. While this is certainly an easy exercise to accomplish, if you are not covered by your employer then you need to make sure that you get some form of insurance through a private arrangement, at least.

While, some companies may side sweep insurance for diabetes saying that it is a pre-existing disease, there are companies that would offer you insurance rather easily. There are companies that would demand you do a physical assessment where your age and status is taken into consideration. Needless to say, this is just the basic assessment. Based on various other aspects, sometimes even gender, you could be either eligible or not for insurance. So it really does depend on the insurance company that you decide to deal with. The best way you can go about finding out the best solution is to open up a dialogue with an insurance company.

Some of the things that you can expect to cover through health insurance are blood glucose testing supplies, blood glucose monitors, blood glucose test strips, lancets, spring loaded lancet devices and glucose control solutions for calibrating meters. Having said so, you must also be aware that, there are certain terms and conditions that are applicable to these benefits. For instance, America’s Medicare system mentioned that that there are certain limitations, which are applicable such as “All patients with diabetes are entitled, upon receipt of a physician’s prescription, to a blood glucose monitor for the life of the monitor”.

The system also offers “100 blood glucose test strips and 100 lancets per month” for those who are insulin dependent. While all of this is certainly great, you need to make sure that you are eligible in the first instance. All in all, you may also want to figure out whether there are plans that offer travel insurance as well. While there is a wide variety of service plans offered by various companies, what you must remember is that there is a great deal of research that needs to be done. This is what matters in order for you to find out the proper type of plan and pricing for your diabetes insurance coverage.

What you need to remember is that while there is a great deal of focus on WHAT to eat when you are a diabetic, it is just as important to consider WHEN to eat, as well. If you are insulin dependent then, you really do need to ensure that you have the right amount of food spaced out strategically so that the food is metabolized fully. While tailor made meal plans can only be fully substantiated by your personal doctor, we can shed insight in to what types of food is ideal for a diabetic and when exactly they should be consumed.

There is that age old adage – you are what you eat – that is rather pertinent here. If you have been a diabetic for long you will remember that the type of food you eat is the key. You will have been advised to give up on refined and processed foods along with sugar for sure. Needless to say, this is just but the first step in ensuring that you get back up on your feet, metaphorically speaking. The reason for such demands being that our bodies have been made to consume natural food such as fruits and vegetables, which is what is desired in the first place.

Your meals should consist of nutrient dense foods along with fiber. Mainly what you need to remember is that fruits and vegetables are the perfect combination when it comes to a diabetic diet. While there is a great deal of groaning and moaning when it comes to such types of food, the truth here is that there is a great deal of inventive things that you can do to enjoy the right foods. For instance, think of recipes such as fruit trifle or Caesar salad. Most of these dishes are mainstream and are enjoyed by even those who are not diabetic.

So while there are main recipes out there that you can certainly enjoy, you must remember that you also need to ensure that you get hold of the right plan to subsist on. For example, depending on your individual needs, you could have just three main meals or five meals with two of them being snacks. Another factor that is sure to affect your meal plan would be the type of insulin that you are on. Additionally, if you are not insulin dependent then you must remember that your meal plans may be far different than those who are insulin dependent.

All in all, while there are online tools and charts that can help you track what your meals should be like, it is best that you get advice from your personal doctor. At the end of the day, your individual case will differ from others and will need to be treated with special care so following a general meal plan will not help.

One well known factor is that if you have a family history of type 1 diabetes then, you need to be extra careful. So in other words you could be genetically predisposed when it comes to such a disease. The other factor that you do need to be careful of would be lifestyle. This is where you may be at the most amount of risk. You see what you must understand is that our diet and physical levels of activity can have a huge bearing on whether or not we develop diabetes.

Firstly, let’s discuss physical activity. One of the most noteworthy markers when it comes to developing diabetes is a sedentary lifestyle. As we grow older, the chances of us developing diabetes are more thanks to our lack of exercise. It is mandatory that at least 45 minutes of vigorous exercise is considered thrice a week. While most of us work hard at our jobs, it is no excuse to avoid exercise. The reason why our ancestors never suffered from the ravaging effects of diabetes was because they were engaged in physical jobs decades ago. And if you were to think about it, they are far healthier than we ever were.

The best way you can go about getting regular exercise amidst a busy work schedule is to gather a group of people from office and get hooked on a sport. Consider tennis, badminton or swimming or something that is cardiovascular in nature. Do not think of it purely from a standpoint of exercise, rather think of it as an excellent way to have fun, de-stress, socialize and meet new people. While exercising is certainly one significant factor, you also need to ensure that you embrace a proper diet. The ideal diet is one that consists of fruits and vegetables along with fiber. What we need to reduce is processed and refined foods that have sugar at the center of it all. Be aware of foods that boast low calories and low fat and learn to read food labels carefully.

While this is certainly easier said than done, it is a lifestyle shift that we must all turn to engage. In this day and age when we are bombarded with so many brands and types of food that looks tantalizing, avoiding indulgence is rather difficult. Yet when it comes to diet, we need to consciously assess what we are about to do and remember that even one overindulgence can take us a step closer to developing diabetes. The only way in which we can understand temptation is to be aware and educate ourselves. This would help us make a note of what is right for our bodies and what is not. After all, why sacrifice our health for just a moment of tasteful indulgence?

William R. Brody, M.D., Ph.D., president of the Salk Institute, believes that these types of discoveries can be helpful when it comes to improving the health conditions of diabetics.

The studies also revealed that a set of enzymes known as histone deacetylases or HDACs, play a role in controlling the energy balance of the body by stimulating sugar production when glucose levels are low due to fasting. There needs to be balanced between excessive storage of glucose in fat tissue and muscle and the production of glucose in the liver.

If this balance is not strictly regulated then glucose levels in the blood can fluctuate leading to damage in tissues and cells. Marc R. Montminy, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology at Salk, likens the metabolic system of our bodies to a hybrid car, “In the daytime we use glucose as high-octane fuel, but at night we switch to the ‘battery,’ which in this case is stored fat.”

However, in diabetics the liver produces glucose even when glucose levels are high. Using mice with diabetes, the Salk researchers found that the suppression of HDACs led to the normalizing of blood glucose levels. Reuben J. Shaw, Ph.D., a Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientist and an assistant professor in the Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory at Salk, believes that this suppression of HDACs via certain drugs could be used any potential drugs for those suffering from diabetes.

The identification of this regulating gene could help drugs target the gene specifically when treating such illnesses. According to Tim Spector of King’s College London, the chief author of the study, this new research can be considered as a major study and the first of its kind, which shows how minute changes in one master gene can lead to metabolic effects in various other genes.

A gene known as KLF14, that is linked to Type 2 diabetes and cholesterol, has already been identified by scientists. However, it is only now that they have found out the exact role it plays. Spector and his team analyzed over 20,000 gene samples from fat, taken from 800 female twins. A link between KLF14 and other genes in fat tissue have been identified highlighting the fact that KLF14 plays the role of a “master switch” in controlling these genes. These findings were compared against 600 fat samples from volunteers in Iceland.

In a report, the researchers stated that KLF14 is linked to metabolic traits such as cholesterol, obesity, body mass index, glucose levels, and insulin. Mark McCarthy from Britain’s Oxford University, who was also one of the researchers on the study, stated that KLF14 acts as a controller when it comes to “processes that connect changes in the behavior of subcutaneous fat to disturbances in muscle and liver that contribute to diabetes and other conditions”.

As McCarthy went onto say, the main focus now should be how this research can help improve the treatment of such metabolism-related conditions.

These significant findings by scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and University of California-San Diego School of Medicine could pave the way for future studies into new drugs that could battle these diseases. According to Xiaodong Cheng, a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at UTMB and principal investigator, “This study applied a powerful protein structural analysis approach to investigate how a chemical signal called cAMP turns on one of its protein switches, Epac2.”

The molecule known as cAMP has the ability to control physiological processes such as the production of insulin in the pancreas, contractility and relaxation in the heart to learning and memory in the brain. What cAMP does is that it switches on certain receptor proteins, which, in turn, switch on other signaling pathways.

Diseases such as heart failure, cancer and diabetes, are caused by a series of inaccuracies in cell signaling. The researchers believe that understanding this cell signaling, where Epac2 is a key player will help facilitate new strategies in focusing on cAMP-Epac2 signaling parts.

This research was possible thanks to a collaborative effort between Cheng’s research team and UCSD professor of medicine Virgil Woods Jr. and staff at UCSD, who are regarded as being the pioneers in the expansion and application of the technology known as hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (DXMS). DXMS, when compared to other protein-analysis techniques, is far more effective in analyzing the structural motion of specific proteins. It was thanks to this particular technique that the binding of cAMP morphs the protein’s shape in a precise way.