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10 Tips On How To Lower Blood Sugar Levels
The other situation of great concern is prediabetes which is believed to affect up to an alarming 20% of the population, it is in truth a milder form of diabetes where the insulin produced is not utilised properly by the body resulting in high blood sugar levels, and without taking immediate measures to lower blood sugar levels it will certainly become diabetes per se. Just a few figures to get your attention prior to our 10 top tips to lower blood sugar levels Before I go into any depth on the subject, just let me give you some figures regarding Diabetes is now the sixth biggest killer Worldwide, affecting over 10% of the population, current estimates suggest that over 435 million people will suffer Diabetes by 2030, of these sufferers 65% will die as a direct result of diabetes.! IDF president Jean Claude Mbanya said, "The epidemic represents nothing short of a global health emergency,It is alarming that world leaders stand by while the diabetes fuse slowly burns. The serious impact on families, countries and economies continues with little resistance. Governments, aid agencies and the international community must take concerted action to defuse the threat now, before the diabetes time bomb explodes." Diabetes is not just a minor problem. It can lead to nerve pain, heart attacks, neuropathy and foot problems. High blood sugar can damage the blood vessels in the eyes and result in blurred vision or even blindness. Also, it can cause damage in the kidneys. It's very important to do something about it as soon as possible. Here are a few simple tips you can follow: * Lose some weight: the majority of diabetics are overweight. Losing some pounds will help your body regulate blood sugar. * Take regular exercise: with exercise you will be able to reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels and also control blood pressure. This is very important if you want to keep your body healthy. * Get a good night's sleep: studies have shown that people, who sleep less than 8 hours every night, tend to eat more. If you are a diabetic, remaining slim is essential. Also by getting sufficient sleep you will reduce your stress levels. * Eat foods high in fiber, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grain breads. * Don't skip meals: the worst thing you can do is to eat one or two large meals every day. Try to eat many small meals, to keep your blood sugar steady throughout the day. * Stay away from cakes, cookies and candies. Although there isn't actually any forbidden food for diabetics, these foods can cause a very rapid increase in the glucose levels. If you can't banish them from your diet altogether, at least try not to eat them alone. Prefer eating them immediately after meals. * Avoid saturated fats, such as cheese and butter. * Try to monitor the total amount of carbohydrates you eat every day in order to keep your blood sugar levels in check. * You should drink alcohol only occasionally. * Brewer's yeast, broccoli, sage and fenugreek seeds can be very beneficial. A good diet is the key to good health. While in some cases diabetes is caused due to genetic factors or other triggers, more often than not it is diets rich in sugar that lead to blood sugar problems later in life. Every diet has the scope to be tweaked a little bit so that you can ward off the danger of diabetes. If you are overweight, have high blood pressure, low HDL, and eat a lot of processed foods, you fall in the high-risk category. Everyone ought to slowly wean themselves off highly processed junk food and shift to leaner, more natural alternatives. You can also use the three nature-based remedies listed below: Diabetes and magnesium In a study done in England on 11,000 women in the high-risk category, it was shown that those with a high magnesium intake were 27 per cent less susceptible to diabetes. According to research, magnesium is known to lower blood pressure, relax the heart muscles, and controls homocysteine, which is a known trigger for heart disease and diabetes. Magnesium also catalyzes the enzyme system in the body to convert nutrients into energy. Magnesium also relaxes the muscles and reduces muscle spasms. Dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, avocados and whole graiin are excellent sources of magnesium. Diabetes and Cinnamon Research has shown that using cinnamon in your diet on a regular basis helps reduce blood glucose levels by 18-29%. In addition, it also reduces other diabetes risk factors like triglyceride (which shows a 30% decline) and LDL cholesterol (a 25% decrease). Cinnamon contains an extract called Cinnulin PF. This extract works at the cellular level and increases the sensitivity of insulin cell receptors by three times. Poor response of insulin cell receptors is often a major problem in diabetics, which makes cinnamon an important diabetes inhibitor. TI is advisable to consume about 500mg of cinnamon extract, twice a day. A good diet is the key to good health. While in some cases diabetes is caused due to genetic factors or other triggers, more often than not it is diets rich in sugar that lead to blood sugar problems later in life. Every diet has the scope to be tweaked a little bit so that you can ward off the danger of diabetes. If you are overweight, have high blood pressure, low HDL, and eat a lot of processed foods, you fall in the high-risk category. into energy. Magnesium also relaxes the muscles and reduces muscle spasms. Metformin A popular oral drug for treating Type 2 diabetes. Metformin (brand name Glucophage) is a member of a class of drugs called biguanides that helps lower blood sugar levels by improving the way the body handles insulin—namely, by preventing the liver from making excess glucose and by making muscle and fat cells more sensitive to available insulin. Metformin not only lowers blood glucose levels, which in the long term reduces the risk of diabetic complications, but it also lowers blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels and does not cause weight gain the way insulin and some other oral blood-glucose-lowering drugs do. Overweight, high cholesterol, and high triglyceride levels all increase the risk of developing heart disease, the leading cause of death in people with Type 2 diabetes. Another advantage of metformin is that it does not cause hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) when it is the only diabetes medicine taken. Metformin is typically taken two to three times a day, with meals. The extended-release formula (Glucophage XR) is taken once a day, with the evening meal. The most common side effects of metformin are nausea and diarrhea, which usually go away over time. A more serious side effect is a rare but potentially fatal condition called lactic acidosis, in which dangerously high levels of lactic acid build up in the bloodstream. Lactic acidosis is most likely to occur in people with kidney disease, liver disease, or congestive heart failure, or in those who drink alcohol regularly. (If you have more than four alcoholic drinks a week, metformin may not be the best medicine for you.) Unfortunately, many doctors ignore these contraindications (conditions that make a particular treatment inadvisable) and prescribe metformin to people at increased risk for lactic acidosis. The early symptoms of lactic acidosis include unusual fatigue, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, muscle pain, and breathing difficulties. If you experience any of these symptoms while taking metformin, be sure to call your doctor at once. Metformin therapy should be stopped at least 48 hours before surgery and resumed only when you are eating normally again. Metformin changed the landscape of diabetes treatment when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it for marketing in 1994. At the time, there were only two other types of medicine available in the United States for treating Type 2 diabetes: insulin and sulfonlyureas, a class of oral drugs that lowers blood glucose by stimulating the pancreas to secrete more insulin. Since metformin was approved in the United States, a number of other classes of diabetes medicines have come to the marketplace that lower blood glucose levels through a variety of mechanisms. These include alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, which slow the absorption of carbohydrate in the small intestine, causing a slower rise in blood glucose level after meals; thiazolidinediones, which enhance insulin sensitivity; and meglitinides, which stimulate rapid insulin secretion from the pancreas after meals by a different mechanism than that of older sulfonylureas. Because these pills have different mechanisms of action, doctors often combine different classes of medicines for a more powerful blood-glucose-lowering effect. Since metformin is often prescribed together with other diabetes drugs, some manufacturers have started combining two drugs in a single pill for more convenient therapy. Glucovance, a single-pill combination of metformin and the sulfonylurea glyburide, became available in 1999. In 2002, the FDA approved a combination dose of metformin and the sulfonylurea glipizide, called Metaglip, as well as a combination pill of metformin and rosiglitazone (a thiazolidinedione) called Avandamet. In 2005, the FDA approved Actoplus Met, a combination dose of metformin and the thiazolidinedione pioglitazone. Anyone taking one of these pills should be alert to the symptoms of lactic acidosis. Standard medical treatment protocols for Diabetes 2 always mention "lifestyle changes" and then quickly proceed to medication options. While diet is sometimes mentioned , the critical, decisive importance of diet revision and exercise is not emphasized and in practice, diet revision is often neglected in favor of drug treatments. Drug treatments of Diabetes 2 do not have a good track record. The main problem is the false belief that a drug or combination of drugs can rescue an individual from a disease-causing lifestyle. While there are benefits to be had with the newer medications, a diabetic should learn expert self-management skills and exercise all the therapeutic and preventative options available before considering medications. The most negative aspect of medication is that a drug prescription may be taken to mean that the patient is passive, dependent and has been excused from making all the important changes that will preserve body parts and ultimately save his or her life. If the drug is taken as permission to postpone or forego the vitally important changes in food choices, eating behaviors and exercise, then the prescription has done a great disservice. Drugs to Lower Blood Sugar Our perspective is that the drug treatment of diabetes is lacking in convincing long-term efficacy and there are an number of important concerns about side effects and long-term adverse effects. Oral medications should not be considered as primary treatment. MDs tend to be drug prescribers and do not teach self-management skills. There is also uncertainty about the different mechanisms at work in diabetic patients and the selection of medication is not based on solid foundation of understanding who benefits from what pharmacological interventions. The current choice is between a group of drugs which improve glucose clearance from the blood but do not raise insulin levels and another group of drugs (sulphonylureas) which increase insulin secretion. A drug which would restore the function of insulin sounds like a good idea. A single, ideal drug with long-term benefits may never be found since there are likely to be many different mechanisms behind the failure of insulin to work properly and the dietary and environmental determinants of this failure are likely to be multiple and very potent. Medical treatment plans often give lip service to the life-style changes that are required to control this disease and seldom are realistic about the difficulties encountered by anyone who attempts major diet change. Medical treatment plans also are unaware of or underestimate the intensity of habitual eating patterns and the compulsive eating aspect of the diabetic experience. Drugs are prescribed as soon as a patient fails to achieve diet control and often provide a false of security that the problem is being handled. Drug-taking patients continue to eat too much of the wrong food and exercise too little. We realize that the task of changing and then controlling eating behaviors long-term is not an easy one. The task is to realistically assess your own eating behaviors, understand what has to change and then recruit the necessary resources to make this change. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com My name is Mia, I am a registered nurse in the UK also a Qualified Ayurvedic practitioner, I run a Natural Health & Fitness Ayurvedic resort in Morocco, we have helped many people overcome numerous diseases that conventional medicine cannot cure. To find out more about all things Holistic, Natural Health & Fitness or Ayurveda please see: www.simplyayurveda.com/#/diabetes-mellitus/4538679295 Simply Ayurveda: " Dedicated to Providing Good Health for All" |
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