MNrural Health School

Archive for the ‘Diabetes’ Category

In today’s day and age, obesity is becoming more and more common. With this rise in obesity, we have seen a rise in diabetes. The experts have recognized the link between diabetes and obesity. This link is causing the life span of those who are obese and diabetic to be decreased by 10 or 20 years depending on the severity. The worst part of this is that many of those who are obese and diabetic are children and those in their teen years.

However, this type of situation can be prevented. Many times obesity is caused by overeating and inactivity. Preventing this type of situation can be handled rather simply. Watch what you and your children eat and get active. Watching what you eat does not mean that you can’t eat what you want. It just means that you must eat in moderation. Don’t overload your plate because you think you are starving. The key is to start out small and stop when you no longer feel hungry. Eat small meals so that your body has a chance to digest everything properly. This will help to avoid overloading your body on sugars and fat.

Being active doesn’t mean that you should be out there working out every day and running 5 miles every morning. All you need to do is get up and move around. Go for a walk, do some extra cleaning, take a bike ride, and so on. These little things can add up quite easily and before you know it you are feeling better, loosing weight, becoming fit and healthy. A little activity goes a long way. Including the whole family or a buddy to do things with can help bring the support you need and make it more fun. Diabetes and obesity are related but they don’t have to be related to you.  Read more...

Diabetes is a disease that affects more and more people every day, and it afflicts both the young and old alike. Type 1 diabetes typically begins earlier in life, while a diabetes type 2 diagnosis is associated with older adults. Luckily, seniors and their professional caregivers professional caregivers can reduce the risk of a diabetes type 2 diagnosis by primarily improving diet and exercise.
A recent study proved that seniors with a diabetes type 2 diagnosis can delay or prevent the disease by getting thirty minutes of exercise five times per week combined with a low-calorie, low-fat diet to manage weight. The study showed that people 60 years and older reduced a diabetes type 2 diagnosis by 71 percent.
Homecare companies are becoming increasingly aware of the problem of diabetes in older adults, and are taking the necessary steps to prevent a diabetes type 2 diagnosis in their elderly clients. With over eight million Americans living with diabetes over the age of 60, including twenty percent of those over 65 who have a diabetes type 2 diagnosis, professional homecare agencies know how destructive the disease can be and how it is linked to physical inactivity, eating habits, and family history.
Professional caregivers assist seniors with managing their diabetes type 2 diagnosis by subtly but significantly changing their lifestyle. This includes:  Read more...

• Regularly monitoring blood glucose levels so the senior knows how much food they can eat, what they can eat, how much exercise they need each day, and how much insulin they need.
• A balanced diet for a senior with a diabetes type 2 diagnosis, which includes knowing which foods both positively and negatively affect blood glucose levels.
• Medication compliance, since medications are essential to controlling diabetes. A home caregiver will ensure that medications are taken exactly as they are prescribed by the senior’s physician.

During pregnancy a mother may need up to three times more insulin for glucose to leave the blood and transform to energy. When body is not able to use insulin due to insulin resistance it develops into Gestational Diabetes. Glucose builds up in the blood to high level, it is called hyperglycemia.
Gestational diabetes affects the mother in late pregnancy and the baby too. Insulin does not cross the placenta, as glucose and other nutrients do. Extra blood glucose passes through the placenta that gives the baby a high blood glucose level. It results the baby’s pancreas to make extra insulin to get rid of the blood glucose. Since the baby is getting more energy than it needs to develop and grow, the extra energy is stored as fat. It can lead to Macrosomia i.e. “Fat” baby. At birth this fat baby develops problem in breathing or may develop hypoglycemia due to over production of insulin.
Gestational diabetes can harm you and your baby, so you need to consider about it seriously and start caring at once. The main aim of gestational diabetes treatment is to keep blood glucose levels equal to those of normal pregnant women. It needs a planned meal and scheduled physical activity, even blood glucose testing and insulin injections if required. If gestational diabetes is taken care of properly, reduces the risk of a cesarean section birth that high weight babies may require.  Read more...

If your dog has diabetes, you may be concerned, not only with how your dog feels, but also with how much treating dog diabetes costs.

The one thing I can assure you, is if you stay with mainstream veterinary care, it is likely to cost you several arms and legs.

However, holistic veterinary care is not only far less expensive, it is also far more effective. Of course, this is my view, as a holistic practitioner, and the view of all other holistic practitioners, as we are a bit biased.

But holistic practitioners are always taught to look for the cause of any ailment. This is less often considered in mainstream veterinary care, who are taught more about which drugs to use with each condition.

You may have heard of the expression ‘you are what you eat’. In other words, what you eat has a direct impact on your health.

Holistic veterinarians have found that when dogs are fed according to natural laws, their health improves almost beyond belief. Which implies that the majority of food that dogs are fed, is actually making them unhealthy.

Remove the cause and the problem disappears.

So how much does dog diabetes cost? It may not cost you anything if all it takes to cure it, is a switch to a natural diet.

Contrary to popular belief, feeding a dog naturally tends to cost less that feeding a commercial dog food.

If your dog has had diabetes a long time and has been given medical drugs, you’ll be well aware of the cost of this, not only in monetary value, but also in the welfare of your dog.

Even at this late stage, switching to holistic care is likely to bring down the cost, although the treatment may be more complicated.  Read more...

When one’s body is incapable of producing/using insulin, then the level of blood glucose tends to rise. This can directly cause problems that may be severe in nature like coma, organ damage or even death! Such blood sugar fluctuations are commonly called diabetes. There are two categories of diabetes; Type I and Type II.

Symptoms for Type I are increased urination along with unusual thirst. There can be blurry vision along with unexpected and unexplained weight loss. Unrelieved and more than normal fatigue is also a sign of Type I. On the other hand, Type II can be classified through symptoms like weakness, extreme fatigue, prolonged healing duration, swollen and red gums as well as nerve damage. Type II is the most commonly found category among diabetic patients.

It is not necessary that one would suffer from diabetes only if he/she has higher blood glucose level. Contrary to this, lower sugar level of blood would also cause this problem. So, the normal level of glucose has to be maintained in order to stay fit and healthy and never face this problem. Better is to control your blood glucose level to normal as preventing the problem is a good solution over curing it.

One thing to keep in mind is that diabetes has the power to squeeze out even the last drop of sweetness from your life. So, instead of facing those times, it is better to reach a doctor and get yourself checked whenever you notice early signs of diabetes. These can be unexplained hunger pangs, dizziness, sweating and shakiness. It you are suffering such minor and seemingly normal changes in your routine, then you need to reach a doctor as quickly as can be. If ignored (which commonly happens), it can easily become a big trouble for the rest of your life.