Thursday, February 3, 2011

ALTERNATIVE THERAPY SERIES : 59 DIABETES

Kay Kay Healthcare Ltd.

DIABETES


SYMPTOMS

• Excessive thirst and appetite.

• Increase urination.

• Weight loss.

• Fatigue.

• Nausea, perhaps vomiting.

• Blurred vision.

• In women, frequent vaginal infections and perhaps the cessation of menstruation.

• In men, yeast infections.

WHAT IS DIABETES

Diabetes mellitus, the most common disorder of the endocrine system, affects between 10 million and 20 million people in the United States alone. The disease is brought on by disorders in blood levels of insulin, a pancreatic hormone that helps your system convert blood glucose, or blood sugar, into energy. Type 1 diabetes some time called insulin dependent diabetes results from a shortage of insulin. Type 2 diabetes also known as non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus or adult onset or stable diabetes results from the body’s inability to process the hormone effectively. About 90 percent of all diabetics have this form. Regardless of what types of diabetes you have, you need to work closely with your doctor to manage your diet, medication, and activity on a own care will make a huge difference in whether you can control the condition and avoid its potentially serious effects. The many short and long term complications of diabetes can demand as much attention as the disease itself. Most important, you need to watch your blood sugar levels every day to prevent an attack of hypoglycemia, in which available levels of blood sugar are too low to fulfill your body energy needs. Hypoglycemia can easily be remedied, however, once you recognize its symptoms. Hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, can bring on a serious diabetic condition known as KETOACIDOSIS, in which the blood becomes increasingly acidic from the accumulation of toxic byproducts called ketenes that are produce as the body breaks down fat for energy. KETOACIDOSIS occurs in type 1 diabetic if they do not receive adequate supplementary insulin and their bodies are starved for energy sources. KETOACIDOSIS can also occurs in diabetics if glucose and insulin levels are not properly balanced, or if the body comes under sudden physical stress, perhaps from an accident or illness. If you are diabetic, be especially alert for the warning signs of KETOACIDOSIS: nausea, excessive thirst, frequent urination, extreme weakness, abdominal pain, and rapid deep breathing. Failure to respond immediately with injections of insulin and intravenous salt solutions can result in coma or death. Long term complications of diabetes can damage the eyes, nervous systems, kidneys, and cardiovascular and circulatory systems, as well as hinder the body overall resistance to infections. Cuts and sores heal more slowly for people with diabetes, and diabetic can also prone to gum problems, urinary tract infections, and mouth infections such as thrush, caused by an overgrowth of yeast organisms. Complications from diabetes are the primary cause of adult blindness in the United States. Within 10 year after their condition is diagnosed, about half of all diabetics develop an eye disorder called diabetic retinopathy, which can weaken the capillaries that supply blood to the retina, and eventually affect vision. Almost all of those who have had the disease for at least 30 years experience some degree of diabetic retinopathy. Diabetics are also more likely to develop cataracts and glaucoma. People with diabetes stand a higher than normal chance of developing heart disease and circulator problems such as high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes. Poor circulation also make diabetics more susceptible to skin ulcers, cramps, and gangrenous infections. Damage to the blood vessels in the kidney failure. A number of people with diabetes suffer from a condition known as diabetic neuropathy, which causes a gradual deterioration of the nervous system. The condition appears to begin early in both types of diabetes mellitus and affects motor nerves as well as sensory nerves. As a result, diabetics commonly experience a variety of aches and pains. Some develop slowed reflexes, loss of sensation, numbness and tingling in the legs, impotence, and circulatory problems.

CAUSES

In type 1diabetes, the pancreas secretes little or no insulin. Unable to use glucose in the blood, the body tries to produce energy by burning fat and muscle. Type 1 diabetes develops fairly quickly, usually striking people under age 30. Recent research suggest that many type 1 diabetics may have had a genetic predisposition to the disease that was triggered by a viral infection. Type 2 diabetes usually develops in people over age 40, and there appears to be a strong link between obesity and the development of type 2 diabetes. Although this particular group of diabetics may have sufficient or even excessive amounts of insulin in their systems, their bodies are unable to use the hormone effectively. Excessive food intake boosts blood glucose levels, and the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to convert the extra sugar into energy. Sometimes a similar form of this disease, called gestational diabetes, occurs as a temporary condition in women who are pregnant.

DIAGNOSTIC AND TEST PROCEDURES

Your doctor may suspect that you have diabetes if a routine physical examination indicates that excess sugar in your body is being flushed out in your urine. Actual diagnosis begins with an examination of your glucose levels, which the doctor does by taking a blood sample in the have had anything to eat; if your pancreas is producing little or no insulin, or if the body is not producing enough insulin to process blood sugar, your glucose levels will be elevated. Additional test for diabetes include a glucose tolerance test, which measure the body ability to convert glucose into energy. After fasting for a period, you drink a very sweet beverage containing glucose, then have your blood glucose levels checked.

TREATMENT

Treatment for both forms of diabetes mellitus requires adjustments of insulin levels in the body and strict management of diet and exercise. By paying close attention to the content and timing of your meals, you can minimize or avoid the “seesaw effect” of rapidly changing blood sugar levels, which can require quick changes in insulin dosages.

CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE

If you have type 1diabetes, it is essential that you receive supplementary insulin every day, at least twice a day, to promote your body use of blood glucose. Since insulin is a protein and is destroyed by digestive enzymes, it cannot be taken orally. Rather, it must be injected directly into the body at a set intervals. While some diabetics use a computerized pump that administers insulin on a set advise direct injections. Learning to give injections to yourself or to your infant or child may at first seem the most daunting part of managing type 1 diabetes, but the process quickly becomes routine. Most insulin in use today is processed synthetically, although some is still derived from animal hormone. The medication comes in three varieties: short acting; intermediate acting; and long acting. Each injection plan is tailored for the individual diabetic and adjusted to accommodate events such as periods of stress, adolescent growth, and the premenstrual period of a woman’s monthly cycle. By monitoring your own blood glucose levels, you can track your body fluctuating insulin demand and help your doctor calculate the most appropriate insulin dosage. One self monitoring involve a special meter that reads glucose levels in a sample of your blood dabbed on a strips of treated paper. For some type 2 diabetics, diet and exercise are sufficient to keep the disease under control; others require drug therapy, which may include insulin or an oral hypoglycemia medication such as tolbutamide, acetohexamide, glipizide, glyburide, or chlorpropamide. If you take any of these drugs for type 2 diabetes, ask your doctor about possible interaction with other prescriptions drugs, including chloramphenicol, phenylbutazone, oxyphenbutazone, and clofibrate. Maintaining a balanced diet is vital in both type 1 and 2 diabetes, so work with your doctor to set up a menu plan. If you have type 1 diabetes, and the timing of your insulin dosages is determined by activity and diet, when you eat and how much you eat are just as important as what you eat. Usually doctors recommend three small meals and three to four snacks every day to maintain the proper balance between glucose and insulin in the blood. Carbohydrates especially some starches and other complex carbohydrates, which release glucose relatively slowly into the blood stream should make up 50 to 60 percent of your total caloric intake; proteins should compose from 20 to 25 percent; and fats, from 20 to 30 percent. Recommended proportion of carbohydrates, protein, and fats for type 2 diabetes are essentially the same, although patients who are overweight are encourage to lower their intake of fat and eat more complex carbohydrates and fiber. Since type 2 diabetics are usually not concerned with schedule doses of insulin, they do not need to time their meals so carefully. Another crucial element in diabetic daily program is exercise, which can help type 2 diabetic in particular lose excess weight. For people with either type, exercise can also help mitigate cardiovascular complication of the disease, and it may offer stress relief as well. Type 1 diabetic need to remember, however, that exercise lower blood glucose levels. To prevent an attack of hypoglycemia, plan to eat a carbohydrate snack approximately half an hour before you begin exercising, and make sure you have something eat or drink if you start to feel hypoglycemic symptoms. It is also good idea to wear a medic alert bracelet or tag indicating that you have diabetes; this will make others aware of your condition in case you have severe hypoglycemic attack and are not able to make yourself understood, or if you are in an accident or another situation and need emergency medical care. Identifying yourself as a diabetic is important because hypoglycemic attacks can be mistaken for drunkenness, and victims often aren’t able to care for themselves. Without prompt treatment hypoglycemia can result in a coma or seizures. And since your body is under increase stress when you are ill or injured, your glucose level will need to monitored by any medical personnel who give you emergency care.

ALTERNATIVE CHOICES

Since diabetes that is incorrectly treated can be life threatening , you should never try to treat the disease without the help of doctor, and should always discuss any possible treatment thoroughly. Some alternative remedies offer variations of diabetic diets. Other emphasize supplemental vitamin and minerals, prescribe herbs to restore blood sugar levels, or treat secondary effects. Stress reduction practice may also help lower blood glucose levels.

ACCUPUNCTURER

Stimulation of certain points may relieve pain associated with diabetic neuropathy, boost the immune system, and minimize circulatory system complications. Consult a licensed practitioner.

CHINESE HERBS

Chinese herbal medicine including ginseng root are frequently use to alleviate some symptoms of diabetes; consult a practitioner for a comprehensive treatment plan.

HERBAL THERAPIES

Check with a practitioner to make sure herbs are appropriate for your condition. Remember: if you need insulin to manage your diabetes there is no herbal substitute for the hormone. Blueberry leaves in a decoction may lower blood glucose level and help maintain the vascular system. This remedy may also help to keep the blood vessel of the eye from the hemorrhaging if you develop diabetic retinopathy. Diabetics in one study who ate crackers made from the powdered form of burdock after a starchy meal had a lowered incidence of hyperglycemia. A cream made with cayenne may relieve pain associated with peripheral neuropathy, a type of diabetic neuropathy. Supplementing a diet with fenugreek seeds has been shown in clinical and experimental studies to reduce blood glucose and insulin levels while low erring blood cholesterol. Garlic may lower blood pressure as well as levels of blood sugar and cholesterol. Ginkgo extract have been used to stem deteriorating vision in patients by maintaining adequate blood flow to the retina. Other reported benefits of ginkgo include reducing the risk of heart disease, hypertension, and elevated cholesterol levels.

LIFESTYLE

In laboratory test, exercise have been shown to increase the tissue levels of chromium, which the body uses to regulate blood glucose and cholesterol levels. For type 1 diabetics, exercise has also been found to increase the body ability to use available insulin so that fewer insulin injection are needed. WARNING: if you have type 1 diabetes, keep in mind that exercise lowers your blood glucose; eat a carbohydrate snacks before exercise and eat or drink again if you feel the warning symptoms of a hypoglycemic attacks. Type 2 diabetes who need to lose weight can benefit from moderate exercise. However, if you are type 2 diabetic, you should avoiding weight lifting or other form of exertion that involve pushing or pulling heavy objects; these activities raise blood pressure and may aggravate any eye problem that stem from diabetes. If you are diabetic, be sure to take good care of your teeth and floss regularly; diabetes can exacerbate gum disease.



MIND/ BODY MEDICINE

Any sort of practice that will lower your stress level, such as biofeedback, meditation, hypnotherapy, or other relaxation technique, may help lessen your insulin requirements.

NUTRITION AND DIET

Some practitioner claim that diabetes is a disorder of western lifestyles, pointing out that when people in other culture abandon native foods for diet of refined and processed foods, diabetes rates begin to rise. The high carbohydrate high plant fiber diet is an alternative to the conventional diet plan for diabetes. The HCF diet calls for diabetes to follow these daily guidelines in planning their meals: eat 70 to 75 percent complex carbohydrates, 15 to 20 percent proteins, and only 5 to 10 percent fats. A modified version of HCF diet further restricts what foods may be eaten but increases the allowable amount of complex carbohydrates. One university study indicate that a high carbohydrate, high fiber diet could reduce the insulin demands of type 1 diabetes by 30 to 40 percent, and of type 2 diabetes by 75 to 100 percent. Diabetes should avoid sugar, as it can lower the body glucose tolerance and worsen circulatory problems. Chromium supplements can be very helpful for people with diabetes. Chromium not only lowers blood glucose levels and improves glucose tolerance but it also lower insulin levels and helps hold down blood cholesterol levels. Instill, a B- complex vitamin, has been shown to help protect diabetes from peripheral neuropathy by reliving numbness and tingling in the hands and feet. Biotin also called vitamin H, may improve glucose metabolism in diabetes. Vitamin B6 may help decrease the severity of diabetic neuropathy and reduce insulin demands in type 2 diabetic. Vitamin B12 may help treated diabetic neuropathy; injections may prove more beneficial than oral doses. Diabetes may need supplement of vitamin C to make up for low blood levels of insulin, which normally works to help cells absorbs the vitamin. Proper amounts of vitamin C help the body maintaining good cholesterol levels, fight off infection by bolstering the immune system, and prevent cataracts. Vitamin E may help limit damage to the vascular system and improve blood cholesterol levels. Manganese helps the body metabolize glucose; diabetes often have a serious manganese deficiency. Magnesium supplement may help control diabetic retinopathy and reduce the possibility of cardiovascular damage. Zinc may help increase glucose tolerance, and potassium may improve a diabetic ability to utilize insulin. Copper supplements may help improve cardiovascular fitness. Okra and peas can help stabilized blood sugar levels and provide fiber in a high complex carbohydrate diet. Some research suggest that cinnamon can lower insulin requirements in type 2 diabetic; seasoning your food with as much as ¼ tsp. at every meal may help regulate blood sugar levels.

PREVENTION

Because of the apparent link between obesity and type 2 diabetes, you can do a great deal to help reduce your chance of developing the disease by slimming down if you are overweight. This is especially true if diabetes runs in your family. A good exercise program and a nutritionally balance diet can greatly limit the effects of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. If you smoke, quit; smoking can significantly increase the risk of heart disease, particularly for diabetes.

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