4 questions to ask your doctor about diabetes
A diagnosis of diabetes or prediabetes is significant—and it’s vital that you learn to take care of your overall health. Here are questions to ask your healthcare provider so you’re in the driver’s seat
Take ownership of your health
If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes, it’s easy to feel powerless. But the key to living well in the long term and to get the best care possible is to take control of the disease, says Vernon, B.C.-based physician Dr. Maureen Clement, chair of the Clinical & Scientific Section of the Canadian Diabetes Association. “People should be informed as much as they can and be empowered,” she says. “They should feel confident that they can manage whatever part they have in their care.”
Most important? A good relationship with your healthcare team, so that you’re all working efficiently toward a common goal: your best health. And they can’t do their jobs without you doing yours: preparing for appointments and asking questions. “It’s hard to know how to treat a person with diabetes without all the information,” says Dr. Clement. “It’s not a passive interaction.”
Ready to take ownership of your health? Here are some questions to ask your doctor and healthcare team so they can help you stay your healthiest.
5 signs you’ll develop diabetes
Have you ever stopped to take stock of your risk factors for diabetes? By 2012, almost three million Canadians will know they have the disease. Will you be one of them? Here are five signs you might develop diabetes
By Lisa Bendall
1. You’re overweight and underactive
Of all people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, over 85 percent of them are overweight. Abdominal obesity (fat around your middle) in particular is associated with a high risk of diabetes. Putting on weight raises your body’s resistance to insulin. And that causes high blood sugar.
If you’re sedentary – that is, you don’t get much physical activity in a typical day – then your risk of developing diabetes is doubled. The World Health Organization estimates that up to 85 percent of us rarely get off our duffs.
Just by adding activity to your lifestyle, you reduce two risk factors for diabetes. Not only will exercise lower your insulin resistance, but it will also help you shed weight. Research shows that losing even just a few pounds can prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes.
2. You eat all the foods your mom told you to avoid
If you’re a big fan of high-fat, sugary foods and you enjoy them regularly, you’re making yourself a menu for diabetes.
"People don’t necessarily think of their diet – their comfort foods and their regular foods – as putting them at risk," says Dr. Stewart Harris, a family physician who specializes in diabetes and is the Canadian Diabetes Association chair in diabetes management at the University of Western Ontario’s Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry.
But if you make a habit of eating fried foods, drinking pop, slathering on the salad dressing and having a second piece of cake, you’re increasing your odds of gaining weight, which in turn increases insulin resistance and puts you at greater risk of diabetes. You could also develop high cholesterol and high blood pressure, problems that are often found in people with diabetes and are associated with heart disease.
Try eating your favourite foods in smaller portions. Or reach for diet pop or fat-free ice cream when you have cravings.
3. You have a risky family tree
If Type 2 diabetes has been diagnosed in your immediate family – your mom or dad, your brother or sister, or your child – then your chances of getting diabetes yourself are higher.
But when it comes to family history, what many folks don’t know is that your ethnicity also counts towards your diabetes risk. You’re more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes if your background is Aboriginal, South Asian, Asian, African or Hispanic.
You can’t change your genes, but you can change your risk level. Since diabetes runs in families, it makes sense to improve your health as a family. If everyone in your household aims for better food choices and more physical activity, you’re all more likely to succeed.
4. You have certain "female problems"
Certain women are more likely to develop diabetes than others. They include women with polycystic ovary syndrome, a female hormonal imbalance that can cause irregular periods. Mothers who’ve given birth to big babies (over 4,000 grams) may develop diabetes. And pregnant women who have gestational diabetes – that is, diabetes found only during the pregnancy – are seven times likelier to have Type 2 diabetes later in life than moms who didn’t.
But, just like people in other high-risk groups, you can better your odds by watching your diet and staying active. If you have already been diagnosed with prediabetes, a medication to lower your blood sugar may also be of benefit.
5. You’re over 40
Although it’s true that Type 2 diabetes is being diagnosed in younger and younger people, the disease is still most frequently identified after age 40. "That’s when we see the spike," says Dr. Harris. "That’s why we recommend regular routine screening starting at age 40 across the general population."
Everyone should be checked for diabetes after 40. But it may make sense to test even earlier if you fall into one or more of the high-risk groups. Your best bet? Talk to your doctor about the diabetes testing that’s right for you
Diabetes-friendly fast-food meals
6 diabetes-friendly fast-food meals
Whether you're travelling, on a budget or just out for the day, sometimes the only realistic eating option is fast food. Try these tips and options to find a meal that works for you
By Kat Tancock
Eating healthy is easy—when you’re cooking at home, with access to a good grocery store. When you’re out, on the other hand, it can be hard to find the best choices. Restaurant meals are often laden with calories, fat, sugar and salt, and the most popular—and tempting—sides, such as fries or pop, have barely any nutritional value other than calories. Plus, says Janet von Weiler, a registered dietitian who specializes in pediatric diabetes at Saint John Regional Hospital in New Brunswick, “Restaurant portions can be so huge.”
But that doesn’t mean you have to give up on eating well when you’re eating out. The most important thing is to plan ahead. First, says von Weiler, know which restaurants will offer the healthiest choices, and plan to choose them rather than competitors in the same food court or on the same stretch of highway. Second, “do a bit of studying ahead of time” to familiarize yourself with nutritional information online so you’re aware of the best picks. And third, know what to avoid: empty-calorie and sugary beverages; anything from the deep fryer, including any tortilla strips or croutons that are added to salads; and calorie-rich sauces, which can often be substituted or served on the side so you can control what you eat.
All of the meals below have been chosen to hit between 45 and 60 grams of carbohydrates—a “not unreasonable” goal, according to von Weiler—and 400 to 500 calories, with fat and sodium as low as possible for fast-food restaurants. Make sure you’re hitting your personal nutritional targets and balance them out with meals that are light on fat and salt the rest of the day, and speak to your healthcare provider if you have any questions or concerns on how these meals can fit into a healthy diet.
1. Wendy’s
Our pick: Pico Grilled Chicken Fresh Wrap and Garden Side Salad (with Light Classic Ranch Dressing and Gourmet Croutons)
5 easy recipes from a chef with diabetes
7 tips for living well with diabetes
13 tips for eating out if you have diabetes
Calories: 440
Carbohydrate: 44 g
Fat: 18 g
Sodium: 1,250 mg
Protein: 25 g
2. Tim Hortons
Our pick: Egg Salad Wrap, Minestrone Soup and Small Iced Coffee made with milk
Calories: 410
Carbohydrate: 59 g
Fat: 11.5 g
Sodium: 1,165 mg
Protein: 14 g
3. Subway
Our pick: Oven-Roasted Chicken 6-inch Sub and Creamy Garden Cauliflower Soup
Calories: 450
Carbohydrate: 62 g
Fat: 11.5 g
Sodium: 1,380 mg
Protein: 26 g
4. Booster Juice
Our pick: Tuna Wrap on Whole Wheat and Green Hornet Juice (12 oz)
Calories: 460
Carbohydrate: 60 g
Fat: 11 g
Sodium: 1,060 mg
Protein: 33 g
5. Boston Pizza
Our pick: Half a Baja Thin Crust Pizza and a Spinach Salad (starter size)
Calories: 510
Carbohydrate: 46 g
Fat: 27 g
Sodium: 940 mg
Protein: 29 g
6. Starbucks
Our pick: Roma Tomato & Mozzarella Sandwich and a Tall Caffè Latte made with non-fat milk
Calories: 480
Carbohydrate: 59 g
Fat: 15 g
Sodium: 900 mg
Protein: 31 g
Odds are that you know someone with diabetes mellitus, possibly even someone who has to take insulin each day to manage the disease. Diabetes is a growing health problem in the United States and has risen about six-fold since 1950, now affecting approximately 20.8 million Americans. About one-third of those 20.8 million do not know that they have the disease. Diabetes-related health care costs total nearly $100 billion per year and are increasing. Diabetes contributes to over 200,000 deaths each year.
To understand diabetes, you first need to know about how your body uses a hormone called insulin to handle glucose, a simple sugar that is its main source of energy. In diabetes, something goes wrong in your body so that you do not produce insulin or are not sensitive to it. Therefore, your body produces high levels of blood glucose, which act on many organs to produce the symptoms of the disease
In this article, we will examine this serious disease. We will look at how your body handles glucose. We'll find out what insulin is and what it does, how the lack of insulin or insulin-insensitivity affects your body functions to produce the symptoms of diabetes, how the disease is currently treated and what future treatments are in store for diabetics.
Diabetes has emerged as a major healthcare problem in India. Rapid urbanization and industriallsation have produced advancement on the social and economic front in developing countries such as India which have resulted in dramatic lifestyle changes leading to lifestyle related diseases. Indians develop diabetes at a very young age at least 10to15 years earlier than the western population. An early occurrence of diabetes gives ample time for development of the chronic complications of diabetes. The incidence of diabetes increases with age. In India the life span has increased, hence more number of people with diabetes is being detected.The deferent causes for diabetes are:Family history, central obit, physical inactivity and sedentary living. Insulin resistance, urbanization, stress
To meet the challenge of managing diabetes the natural way, chemical resources a 100% export oriented unit approved by government of India and an ISO 9001:20087 NSF- USA GMP certified company lunched FENFURO, a group of furostanlic spooning. Derived from TRIGONELLA FOENUM GRAECUM by innovative process FENFURO a novel product marks a technology breakthrough in the field of diabetes management.
FENFURO is an innovative and first phytopharmaceutical product with single ingredient. We all know that diabetes is a chronic disease and it result in many complications FENFURO is our endeavor to meet the challenge to manage diabetes which is spreading like an epidemic.
The company claims that the product is absolutely safe and is in use as a dietary supplement in USA from last many years.
IT’S FACT ON Diabetes
346 million people worldwide have diabetes, in 2004 an estimated 3.4 million people died from of high blood sugar. more than 80 % diabetes deaths occur in low and middle income countries, WHO projects that diabetes deaths will double between 2005 and 2030,healthy diet regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight and avoiding tobacco use can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.
OBESITY A silent killer
Obesity is one of the major problems in the industrialized world it is affecting all age group and is one one’s body.
Health impact of obesity: associated with an increased risk of:
IT’S FACT ON OBESITY
worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980., overweight and obesity are the 5th leading risks for global death 165 % of the world’s population lives in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight, at least 2.8 million adult 20 and older were overweight of these over 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese, nearly 43 million children under the age of 5 were overweight in 2010.
An answer to growing menace of excess body fat
furoslim irvingla gabonensis is the molecule to improve the sensitivity of leptin which is the main cause of obesity leptin resistance plays a major role in the development of abdominal obesity leptin is the hormone that regulates our appetites and our metabolism. It also regulates how much fat we are going to store and how much fat we are to burn .it is the hormone that regulates our body’s set point that is the weight that our body naturally wants to settle at.
Leptin resistance is a chemical imbalance caused by yours resistance to the harmony leptin so even if you have enough leptin it is not being used properly. This is very similar to insulin resistance these are both Harmon. Which are essential to metabolism and if they do not work properly it is impossible to regulate our weight efficiently?
FUROSLIM irvingla gabonensis not only reverses leptin resistance but also facilitates the breakdown of body fat by reducing an enzyme that enables glucose to be stored as triglyceride in adipactes irningla gabonensis also increases the insulin sensitizing hormone adiponectin to be broken down and absorbed into bloodstream.
Current studies indicate irvingla gabonensis is completely safe and extremely beneficial product real weight loss results the best part is that studies have also indicated irvingla gabonensis is also benefical for overall health by lowering and inhibits the digestive enzyme amylase that allows ingested carbohydrates
And balancing cholesterol levels and maintains blood sugar levels.
FUROSLIM helps to improve metabolism, regulates appetite reverse leptin resistace,blunts fat storage, decreases carbohydrate conversion to glucose, reverses leptin resistance by reducing plasma CRP levels’