Simple Health Cures

   They say there no cure. Since the cause of diabetes is the body’s inability to generate or use correct amounts of insulin, there is not much that can be done to physiologically alter the body through medication. Diabetes is a condition which needs to be controlled and managed so that it does not go out of hand.

   To naturally control diabetes should be the aim of the diabetic, so that he or she does not have to resort to regular medication. This natural control is possible if the diabetic is willing to change the way they exercise and eat. It is important to see that you do not add foods to your diet which increase the blood sugar levels in your body.

   So eating foods that help speed up the metabolism and reduce the amount of blood sugar makes more sense. Also it is better to eat four to five smaller meals in the day rather than eat a couple of big meals. This way the surge in blood glucose experienced right after a meal can be controlled and reduced.

   Another way to reduce the glucose in the blood is by using it to create energy when you exercise. That is why it is so important to have a fixed health care and exercise regime when you are a diabetic. These two factors help keep diabetes under natural control.

   Natural healing is possible if you eat the right kinds of foods when you have diabetes. The trouble is we rarely bother with natural foods any more. The fast food which is processed and has hardly any nutritive value has become the food of choice for the present generation.

   There is good chance that you will be able to bring your diabetes under control when you eat the naturally healing foods listed here. The herbs that are added to the foods are also beneficial. Start with increasing the legumes in your diet as they are high in fiber. Vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, green beans are all healthy foods that have a controlling effect on diabetes.

   Onions help reduce blood glucose and are blood alkalizers. They help protect against arteriosclerosis as well. Avocado not only helps maintain an optimum blood sugar level but also reduces cholesterol and balances fat composition in the body. Celery helps to neutralize excessive acids produced by the body due to diabetes.

   Oil bearing nuts such as sunflower or squash seeds give you vitamins B, E and essential minerals. They also give you easily assimilated fatty acids. Another naturally healing food is wheat germ grass. It is extremely beneficial to drink its juice. Its comosition is akin to human blood and it is also called green blood.

   Apple Cider Vinegar is made from by fermenting apple with sugar. After the fermentation takes place the filtered vinegar is used as a health supplement. It is being called a miracle tonic which aids in weight loss as well. As a diabetic how useful will apple cider vinegar be to you to help control your diabetes naturally is what concern us.

   A study published in the American Diabetes Foundation’s journal revealed that apple cider vinegar helped lower the insulin spikes that were common in people suffering from type two diabetes. This is the one caused by obesity.

   It was found that those with blood sugar levels of higher than 90 and lower than 120 were the most likely to benefit from taking 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before eating a meal. Of course you must consult your doctor before you start drinking this pre meal cocktail of vinegar.

   The apple cider vinegar is now available freely in super markets at the health food counters. But before you decide to try it out you must get your blood sugar tested so that you can see the effects in a week and a fortnight to notice the difference. If it helps you continue, if not discard it.

   With the ever present need to manage your blood sugar as a diabetic: your food choices may seem severely limited. However there are a number of things that you can eat and enjoy. Here are a few such foods that a person suffering from diabetes can eat.

   Start with the “five a day” rule for fruit and vegetables. Fresh is best, but canned and frozen will also do. Try and get all the different colors that you can so that you manage to get all the nutrients associated with each color group.

   Choose to eat whole grain and multi grain breads and pastas. While you must limit your carbonhydrate intake as a diabetic, you cannot eliminate it from your diet altogether. Eat sensibly and there should be no major problem to content with.

   Eat smaller portions. The general serving in a restaurant is usually too large to be considered healthy. So don’t finish everything in your plate. Eat till you feel hungry and get vegetables and fruits before you get the sweets.

   Drink soups as they give you the nutrients without giving you all the calories. Use yogurt based salad dressing instead of mayonnaise. Making small healthy choices in your foods will go a long way to keep your diabetes under control.

   Some studies have tried to prove that drinking Green Tea is beneficial for diabetics. Tea is said to have a digestive effect on the body and so may help lower the blood sugar levels. However there is no evidence to prove that regular tea may not be as effective as green tea. Although the antioxidants present in green tea are much higher.

    Caffeine is said to raise blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetics and so it is not a good idea to drink too much coffee if you have diabetes. It was earlier believed that drinking coffee can lower blood sugar levels, but a new study conducted by the American Diabetics Association proves otherwise.

   If you are not yet diabetic, drinking tea and coffee may be good for cutting your risk of getting diabetes. Drinking about 3 to 4 cups of tea or decaffeinated coffee may actually help you reduce your risk of getting diabetes as per a new study. People who drank tea and coffee every day had a 25% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

   The study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, a journal which is owned by the American Medical Association. It was an international research where Australia, France, Netherlands, Scotland and the US took part.

   China is said to have the largest population of diabetic people after a recent study conducted by the government. However it was estimated that there were many people who suffered from the disease but were unaware of the fact as they had not yet been tested for diabetes.

   While a number of people in the west are aware of the risks that diabetes can put you at, many people in the east are unware of these consequences. There is wide spread ignorance about the disease and millions don’t even know that they have diabetes.

   The only way to combat diabetes in the third world is by spreading the word about diabetes. The largest diabetic population was earlier found in India with 50 million diabetics, but now after a study recently it was found that one in ten adults in China is believed to be diabetic. Even at conservative figures that will put the Chinese diabetic population at 92 million.

   The tragedy is that a large number of this diabetic population have not been tested and are not aware of the fact that they have diabetes. A number of health complications related to diabetes can be expected in the next decade due to this negligent attitude.

   If you are a diabetic you may make things worse for yourself by missing out on regular hours of sleep and being stressed all the time. In a study that lasts two weeks volunteers were given a shortened sleep schedule and developed insulin resistance and impaired glucose tolerance.

   And there were healthy people who did not have diabetes, so imagine what lack of a proper sleep schedule will do to someone already having insulin deficiency in the body. A study in 2007 showed that sleeping less than 5 hours or more than 9 hours a day put you at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

   In facts it was ideal to get 7 hours of sleep according to this study. And then there is the stress hormone Norepinehprine to content with as well. Stress has long been linked with an increased chance of diabetes. Stress makes the body go on full alert. It is not just mental stress as most people assume.

   So to stay healthy you need to relax and what better way to do that than to get your 7 to 9 hours of regular sleep each day. Avoid stress, eat well, sleep regularly and keep your diabetes under control.

   While being diabetic may not be that hard to manage if it is combined with some eating disorders it can be very difficult to control. Eating disorders are psychological diseases like anorexia, bulimia and compulsive overeating. These are common eating disorders found more predominantly in girls than in boys.

   The eating patterns associated with these eating disorders are overeating or binge eating followed by purging or starving one self. As you can imagine any of these eating disorders will play havoc with the tight control on dietary intake that is needed when you have diabetes. The overeating can bring about a surge of glucose in the blood which can be quite dangerous for the diabetic individual.

   The other dangers associated with the eating disorders are mainnutrition or deficiency in the proteins, minerals or energy needs of the body. Several health risks are associated with malnutrition including but not limited to infections, kidney failure, blindness, heart attack, and even death by starvation.

   Other ill effects of eating disorders include dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, hyponatremia, lanugo, muscle atrophy, paralysis, tearing of esophagus, reflux, cancer, insomnia, hyperacidity, swelling and a whole lot more. If you feel that someone has an eating disorder it is important to get them timely medical attention.

   If you suffer from diabetes mellitus or type 2 diabetes, diabetic ketoacidosis is a potential life threatening complication that you can face. It can also occur in those with type 2 diabetes under some special circumstances. It is also known as DKA.

   It is caused by an absolute shortage in the body of insulin. The body then reacts to the lack of insulin by burning fatty acids and this causes acidic ketone bodies to enter the blood and cause complications and a lot of problems.

   Some of the symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis including vomiting, dehydration, deep gasping breaths, confusion mentally, and occasionally even coma. the treatment of the condition involves intravenous fluids to correct the dehydration. Insulin to suppress the ketone production in the blood. Also treatments for infections that the patient may have.

   Remember DKA is a medical emergency and you need to get the person to the hospital. Without instant intervention the person can die. Timely treatment will help the person to survive. Till insulin therapy was introduced in 1920 this condition was usually considered the last stage of a terminal illness and the coma was fatal.

   However with new medication it is possible to treat the person with DKA related drugs, but only if he is brought into the hospital in time.

   When the blood sugar levels in the body are abnormal, there is a danger of the diabetic person slipping into diabetes induced coma. There are essentially three different different types of diabtic comas. There are ketoacidotic coma, hyperosmolar coma and hypoglycaemic coma.

    Ketoacidotic coma is common in people with type 1 diabetes. It is triggered by increased concertration of chemicals called ketones in the body. Ketones are stored in the liver and are caused due to missed insulin doses or acute infection. The blood becomes very acidic in this case.

   Hyperosmolar coma is caused by a combination of severe dehydration and very high blood glucose levels. It can be caused by increased intake of sugary foods, forgotten diabetic medication or illnesses such as the flu or pneumonia.

   Hypoglycaemic coma if the blood sugar falls very low the person may lose consciousness and seizures may also occur. The low blood glucose levels can occur if the person drinks too much alcohol without eating food, or misses a meal or takes an extra or increased dose of diabetic medication. It can even occur if the person exercises strenuously and dose not reduce their insulin intake.

   That is why it is essential to monitor the blood glucose level at regular intervals.