tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54689620959966846122011-11-27T17:12:15.314-08:00Pola Slodowniknoreply@blogger.comBlogger21100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468962095996684612.post-78640708338977898092009-07-17T13:14:00.000-07:002009-07-17T13:40:18.768-07:00The numbers of people affected by diabetes are rising. In the US alone, approximately 20 milion people has type 2 diabetes. This epidemic is caused by changes in our eating habits, shifting from natural foods, to highly processed, fat-ladden food items, and our lifestyles becoming sedentary and inactive. All these factors contribute to deterioration of our health. One of the leads to an increase in the incidence of obesity, a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes.<br /><br /><strong>Fatigue: </strong>Type 2 diabetes makes you feel exhausted because your body does not get enough fuel into the cells, even though there is plenty of glucose in your blood and plenty of insulin. <br /><br /><strong>Frequent urination and unquenchable thirst: </strong>You feel like you have to go to the bathroom all the time, which dehydrates your body and make you feel thirsty.<br /><br /><strong>Blurred vision:</strong> The lenses of your eyes swell and shrink as your blood sugar levels rise and fall. Our eyes are unable to adjust quickly enoough to these lens changes. <br /><br /><strong>Slow healing of wounds and frequent infections: </strong> Your white blood cells don’t work properly in high sugar environment. These cells are critical in the process of healing and defending your body against infections. Unfortunately, all kinds of bacteria and fungi thrive in that environment, making you vulnerable to infections. Yeast infections are often accompanied by the itching and smelly vaginal discharge. <br /><br /><strong>Numbness and tingling in your feet or legs:</strong> This is caused by a common complication of diabetes, called neuropathy. Neuropathy takes over five years to develop, so if you experience numbness in your extremities, you probably have had diabetes for quite a whie. <br /><br /><strong>Heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease:</strong> These dangerous complications may appear even before you are diagnosable with diabetes. <br /><br />There can be various other symptoms that can raise a red flag such as itchy/dry skin, frequent yeast infections. Although these can be attributed to high glucose levels in the body, they can also be a sign of a different problem; so it's best to have your bloood glucose levels checked periodically.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5468962095996684612-7864070833897789809?l=normalbloodsugar.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Pola Slodowniknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468962095996684612.post-87187042396004186942009-07-16T23:15:00.000-07:002009-07-16T23:25:59.723-07:00If you are reading this, you probably have been told by your doctor that you, or your relative, or a frient, is at risk or has diabetes or prediabetes. Such news may cause surprise, shock or even fear. You may wonder why this is happening.<br /><br />Basically if you have diabetes it means that the level of glucose in your blood (or blood sugar) is too high. Everyone has glucose in the blood. Glucose, the main source of energy for human cells, is a type of sugar that enters your body whenever you consume carbohydrate foods. Glucose levels are regulated by insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas and released into the bloodstream whenever glucose levels rise. <br /><br />Having diabetes means you have more than your body needs – usually WAY TOO MUCH. <br /><br />When you find out about being pre-diabetic or diabetic, one of the first things you need to learn is about normal blood sugar levels, abnormal blood sugar levels, and how to monitor your blood sugar. <br /><br />Measuring your blood glucose has never been easier. There are literally dozens of types of meters that you can use at home or while travelling that allow you to easily and conveniently measure your sugar levels. Your doctor may also recommend a more sophisticated monitoring device that is also easy to use should you need more detailed data than a meter can supply.<br /><br /><strong>Diabetes Blood Sugar Levels Chart</strong><br /><br />I hope the following blood sugar levels chart and explanation will make it easy for you.<br /><br />The following is a simple blood sugar chart that will give you an idea what values you should be aiming for to maintain good health and avoid dangerous complications due to diabetes:<br /><br />- Normal glucose range is between 70 and 150mg; these levels are typically lower in the morning, and rise after meals.<br /><br />- Regardless of when you last ate, a random result of 200 mg/dL or higher means you have diabetes.<br /><br />- A fasting blood sugar level taken, for example, when you wake up in the morning, should be between 70 and 99 mg/dL If it's 126 mg/dL or higher, you have diabetes.<br /><br />When monitoring your blood glucose levels, it is crucial that you observe any patterns in your readings, and pay attention to what types of foods, medications or activities trigger undesirable increase or decrease in your readings.<br /><br />Diabetes is a serious condition can have a devastating effect on the entire body, including eyes, kidneys, hear, nerve, ultimately leading to blindness, kindey failure, amputations, heart disease and stroke. Everyone who has diabetes, whether type 1 or type 2 is at risk, and even people who have pre-diabetes can be affected - so it's never too early to take aggressive preventive measures by changing your lifestyle choices.<br /><br />What is important that you can prevent, and in most cases reverse type 2 diabetes because the disease is largely influenced by the person's lifestyle choices, most importantly dietary choices and physical activity/exercise. Do not wait until it is too late!<br /><br />If your blood glucose levels are out of the normal ranges indicated above - you need to take action TODAY!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5468962095996684612-8718704239600418694?l=normalbloodsugar.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Pola Slodowniknoreply@blogger.com0