Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Travelers with Diabetes: five quick pre-travel tips!


Planning ahead if you are a traveler with diabetes reduces stress. This is particularly important for a diabetic. These 5 diabetes travel tips are simple to implement and crucial to your diabetic management. They are particularly important if you are traveling abroad.

1) Have a pre-travel check-up. Make sure your A1C blood sugar levels; your blood pressure and your cholesterol levels are OK. Get the appropriate shots for any country you plan to visit.

2) Wear a diabetes medical ID. Ideally it should be in the language spoken in the country you're visiting. Not everyone speaks your language and you don't want medical problems through misunderstandings.

3) Keep your medication and glucose snacks in your hand-luggage. Check-in baggage does, unfortunately, go astray. Don't risk your diabetes medication by packing it in your main luggage.

4) Keep your medication in its original box, complete with pharmacy labels. It will prevent misunderstandings about why you are carrying drugs and, if you are on insulin, syringes.

5) Be aware of time zone changes, especially when altering your watch. Remember when you travel east your day becomes shorter; if you travel west your day becomes longer. You may need to alter the timings of your medication.

Traveling need not be traumatic. A sensible attitude and a bit of pre-travel planning can make things go far more smoothly.

Travelers with diabetes need to plan ahead to be safe and we want you to travel safely!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Six Ways to Help Manage Diabetes

By Terry Stanfield

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a disease that affects roughly 90%-95% of all people who have diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes is also known as non-insulin dependent diabetes because you do not need to take daily insulin shots to control it.

Type 2 Diabetes can be easily managed by doing several things in your normal daily routine such as watching your diet, eating at the same time every day, and doing some type of exercise several times a week. Just keep in mind that you must take control of your non-insulin dependent diabetes and don't let it take control of you.


There are so many different ways to manage every type of diabetes mellitus out there today. So what we are going to do here is take a look at just a few of those ways. In doing this it should help you gain a little more understanding into what you can do to help make living with diabetes just a little bit easier.


Avoid oils such as vegetable, seed, and bean that were heated during their processing. Only use cold pressed or unheated varieties such as olive oil.


Avoid any bean, seed, or vegetable oils that were heated for cooking purposes especially those that were grilled, roasted, or fired. The hotter they get the larger the amount of trans fats that will be present.


You should definitely avoid any and all fats and oils that have been processed. Some examples of these processed fats and oils are: any type of margarine, any hydrogenated fats, as well as any of the aforementioned fats and oils. This list also contains soy and canola oil.


You should use olive oil in any salads or salad dressings that require oil for the recipe. This would also include any raw food recipes as well.


You can also use raw linseed oil as long as it is cold pressed. You will find this oil packaged in dark bottles and nitrogen sealed. You should consume the contents of the bottle within two weeks of opening to gain all the health benefits.


When looking for eggs choose those that come from healthy free range chickens if possible. This may sound rough but you need to take in three or more of these daily in raw form.


Keep in mind that this is only a short list of what can be done with your diet to help you manage diabetes mellitus. So next time you put together a shopping list consider adding these items to it to help aid in smooth flowing arteries. Those hardened arteries will do nothing but cause you long term problems and can even lead to death.


Visit Geromatrix's site for information on [http://www.geromatrix.com]nutraceutical solutions and [http://www.geromatrix.com]Healthy Blood Sugar Supplements.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Diabetes Help: Controlling Blood Sugars

Controlling blood sugar (glucose) levels is one of the most important aspects of diabetes management. It will make you feel better in the short-term and it will help you to stay fit and healthy in the long term.


People who do not have diabetes keep their blood glucose levels within a narrow range for most of the time. The beta cells in the pancreas are able to produce just the right amount of insulin at the right time and they are constantly fine-tuning the blood glucose level. People with diabetes do not have this fine control over their blood glucose levels.


This might be because the beta cells have been destroyed and there is no insulin production at all, as in Type 1 diabetes. Alternatively, it may be that the body does not respond to the insulin and/or not enough insulin is produced when it is needed, as in Type 2 diabetes.

The approach to managing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes is slightly different, but whichever type of diabetes you have, you will still need to step in and take over that fine-tuning of your blood glucose level.


Controlling blood glucose levels is a bit like trying to lasso an unruly animal. Blood glucose is dynamic; it changes constantly and it is influenced by a host of factors including your choice of food, how much you eat, the timing of your medication or insulin, your emotions, illnesses, your weight, and your body's resistance to insulin.


Some of these factors are relatively constant from day to day and are quite easily accounted for; some factors are more variable. No two days are ever exactly the same, or entirely predictable, and this makes it difficult. So, blood glucose is not easily lassoed.


In practical terms, you will need to learn about those things that raise your blood glucose level and those things that lower your blood glucose level. Then you will need to balance these factors on a day-to-day and possibly even hour-by-hour basis. This means coordinating medication, food and activity levels, whilst making appropriate allowances for stress, illness or changes in your daily activities.


You will be aiming to avoid the extreme highs and lows, trying to manipulate your blood glucose toward the normal range. You will be doing regular finger-prick blood glucose tests and using these results to help balance those things that make your blood glucose rise with those that make it fall. When you have evened out your blood glucose level you will still need to keep an eye on it and continue to make adjustments.


Controlling blood glucose is a continuous process and it will require your attention from now on, for the rest of your life. Don’t worry! It may sound daunting to you right now, but it will soon become second nature.


People who do not have diabetes have blood glucose levels between 4 and 8 mmol/l for most of the time. In general, people with diabetes should try to aim for test results between 4 and 10 mmol/l most of the time. Some people – pregnant women, for example – will need to aim for tighter control. Other people – young children, the elderly, or those at risk of severe hypoglycemia, for example – will need to aim for higher levels.


Your diabetes team will give you individual guidance on the blood glucose levels that you should be aiming for.


In the short term, controlling blood glucose levels is important in order to avoid diabetic emergencies – very high or very low blood glucose levels. Both of these conditions are unpleasant and can be dangerous, so they should be avoided if at all possible.


High blood glucose levels in Type 1 diabetes, if caused by a lack of insulin, can lead to a condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis or ‘DKA’ which can be fatal if it is not treated in time.

Incidentally: do you understand the Glycemic index and it's value to those of us with diabetes?

Get the best information you can!

Correct diabetes information may save you from lots of troubles
by Javier Fuller.


Diet is the cornerstone of your diabetic treatment; let it not become the headstone! I might sound rude to you for passing on this sort of crude observation, but in the interest of your health and well-being, I feel it as my utmost duty to forewarn you!

It sets the diabetes man thinking-each spoon of liquid that he sips, each ounce of food that he offers to the taste buds-what will be the result when it goes to the stomach? He lives in a state of fear psychosis. Food is the necessary evil for him, for his existence, not a source of enjoyment!


The diabetes man needs to budget his day according to his food requirements. You are advised to take small quantities of food at periodic intervals, than take two heavy meals. Be flexible in this and do it as per yours lifestyle. Don't take food as a punishment. Enjoy it, every particle of it. It is your food for both-your mind and body!


The population of diabetes patients is awesome. They are a pressure group, a lobby and influence the decision of the policy makers. There are statutory rules governing food and consumer items for the diabetes patients that help them in selecting foods for a healthy meal plan.Food guides, food labels for identifying the food choice, information about dietary supplements, what foods to be used by the weight loss seeking people, are available in plenty in the health market concerning diabetes.


Diabetes is a serious type of disease, often warranting utmost care, for many of its 'tribesmen'. Its valiant supporters are waiting in the wings to attack and overpower you! To name a few of them: Heart diseases, certain types of cancer and osteoporosis. These diseases believe in giving two types of punishments to the diabetes patient-serious types of disability and death.So, the diabetes patients need to be fully armed with complete information about diabetes, their present state of health and lay down for themselves, unassailable rules for living. Your paramount aim should be to maintain an optimum, healthy weight.


Secondly, don't be lazy, lying down on the couch, relaxing on the bed. This extra rest that you are forcing on yourself may ruin your health. As for the food, take plenty of fruits and vegetables. Let sprouted pulses be the part of your diet.


You must have the up-to-date nutrition information based on the latest research reports. I presume you must be getting a news letter from a diabetic association of which you are a member.Correct diabetes information may save you from lots of troubles. A stitch in time saves nine!

What nine? You need to know them by your own experience of handling your diabetes!To get detailed information on Diabetes and more visit http://www.diabitieslife.com

[Courtesy of the Ultimate Article Directory]