How to Prevent or Delay Diabetes

Pre-diabetes is a serious medical condition that can be treated. The good news is that the recently completed Diabetes Prevention Program study conclusively showed that people with pre-diabetes can prevent the development of type 2 diabetes by making changes in their diet and increasing their level of physical activity. They may even be able to return their blood glucose levels to the normal range.
While the DPP also showed that some medications may delay the development of diabetes, diet and exercise worked better. Just 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity, coupled with a 5-10% reduction in body weight, produced a 58% reduction in diabetes.
The American Diabetes Association is developing materials that will help people understand their risks for pre-diabetes and what they can do to halt the progression to diabetes and even to, "turn back the clock." In the meantime, ADA has a wealth of resources for people with diabetes or at risk for diabetes that can be of use to people interested in pre-diabetes.

Nutrition
Knowing what to eat can be confusing. Everywhere you turn, there is news about what is or isn't good for you. Some basic principles have weathered the fad diets, and have stood the test of time. Here are a few tips on making healthful food choices for you and your entire family.
Eat lots of vegetables and fruits. Try picking from the rainbow of colors available to maximize variety. Eat non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, carrots, broccoli or green beans with meals.
Choose whole grain foods over processed grain products. Try brown rice with your stir fry or whole wheat spaghetti with your favorite pasta sauce.
Include dried beans (like kidney or pinto beans) and lentils into your meals.
Include fish in your meals 2-3 times a week.
Choose lean meats like cuts of beef and pork that end in "loin" such as pork loin and sirloin. Remove the skin from chicken and turkey.
Choose non-fat dairy such as skim milk, non-fat yogurt and non-fat cheese.
Choose water and calorie-free "diet" drinks instead of regular soda, fruit punch, sweet tea and other sugar-sweetened drinks.
Choose liquid oils for cooking instead of solid fats that can be high in saturated and trans fats. Remember that fats are high in calories. If you're trying to lose weight, watch your portion sizes of added fats.
Cut back on high calorie snack foods and desserts like chips, cookies, cakes, and full-fat ice cream.
Eating too much of even healthful foods can lead to weight gain. Watch your portion sizes.

Exercise
Exercise is also known as physical activity and includes anything that gets you moving, such as walking, dancing, or working in the yard. You can earn the benefits of being physically active without going to a gym, playing sports, or using fancy equipment. When you're physically fit, you have the strength, flexibility, and endurance needed for your daily activities. Being physically active helps you feel better physically and mentally.
Physical activity can lower your blood glucose (sugar), blood pressure, and cholesterol. It also reduces your risk for heart disease and stroke, relieves stress, and strengthens your heart, muscles, and bones. In addition, regular activity helps insulin work better, improves your blood circulation, and keeps your joints flexible. If you're trying to lose weight, a combination of physical activity and wise food choices can help you reach your target weight and maintain it. All of these benefits can be yours even if you haven't been very active before.

What kinds of physical activity should be part of my routine?
A comprehensive physical activity routine includes three kinds of activities:
Aerobic Exercise
Strength Training
Flexibility Exercises
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise increases your heart rate, works your muscles, and raises your breathing rate. For most people, it's best to aim for a total of about 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week. If you haven't been very active recently, you can start out with 5 or 10 minutes a day and work up to more time each week. Or split up your activity for the day -- try a brisk 10-minute walk after each meal. If you're trying to lose weight, you may want to exercise more than 30 minutes a day. Here are some examples of aerobic exercise:
Take a brisk walk (outside or inside on a treadmill)
Go dancing
Take a low-impact aerobics class
Swim or do water aerobic exercises
Try ice-skating or roller-skating
Play tennis
Stationary bicycle indoors
Strength Training
Strength training, done several times a week, helps build strong bones and muscles and makes everyday chores like carrying groceries easier for you. With more muscle, you burn more calories, even at rest. Here are some ways to do it:
Join a class to do strength training with weights, elastic bands, or plastic tubes
Lift light weights at home
Flexibility Exercises
Flexibility exercises, also called stretching, help keep your joints flexible and reduce your chances of injury during other activities. Gentle stretching for 5 to 10 minutes helps your body warm up and get ready for aerobic activities such as walking or swimming. Your health care team can provide information on how to stretch.
Being Active Throughout The Day
In addition to formal exercise, there are many opportunities to be active throughout the day. Being active helps burns calories. The more you move around, the more energy you'll have. These strategies can help you increase your activity level:
Walk instead of drive whenever possible
Take the stairs instead of the elevator
Work in the garden, rake leaves, or do some housecleaning every day
Park at the far end of the shopping center lot and walk to the store

Source-American Diabetes Association

Software to diagnose Diabetes

US-based healthcare firm Medtronic Inc. plans to launch in India, a software for doctors to monitor, track and diagnose diabetes.
Talking to Newspersons in Chennai, Adrian Gut, Business Manager of Diabetes Business of Medtronic said that the software was being developed at Los Angeles, the North American headquarters of the company.
“The software is targeted at doctors, who would be able to analyze the patients blood-sugar level and find the average fluctuations using our pumps, which works on radio-telemetry system,” he said, adding that the software would also suggest how much insulin has to be given at and at what time to the patient.
Adrian said that the software called Carelink, is web-based and a patient can download the information from the device which is a Continuous Glucose Monitaring System (CGMS), to a computer and transmit the data online to their concerned doctor.
“The software would then assimilate the input data and present it a graphical form to the doctor along with the suggestions thus enabling him to monitor and diagnose efficiently,” he added.

Ayurvedic Treatment of Diabetes

According to ayurveda, diabetes is a metabolic kapha type of disorder in which diminished functioning of agni leads to a tendency toward high blood sugar. (Ayurveda recognizes 24 forms of the disease commonly classified under Prameha - 4 are due to Vata dosha, 6 are due to Pitta dosha, and 10 are caused by Kapha dosha. The main causes of these diseases are fat, urine, and Kapha buildups due to foods, liquids, lifestyle and others.)

Ayurvedic practitioners attack diabetes using a multiprong approach. First, they address diet modification, eliminating sugar and simple carbohydrates, and emphasizing complex carbohydrates. Protein is limited, since excessive intake can damage the kidneys. Fat is also limited because there is often a deficiency of pancreatic enzymes, making fat digestion difficult. Since many diabetics have autoantibodies, a cleansing program is instituted. Panchakarma is typically used for this purpose. This begins with herbal massages and an herbal steam sauna, followed by fasting to cleanse the body. This is followed by an herbal purge for the liver, pancreas, and spleen. Colon therapy is next, first to cleanse the digestive tract and then to reconstitute the system.
Ayurvedic practitioners also use several herbal preparations for diabetics. Exercise is another cornerstone of ayurvedic treatment of diabetes. Yoga and breathing exercises are traditionally used.

Herbs
The most important herbs for all doshas are shilajit, gudmar turmeric, neem, amalaki, guggul, and arjuna. Turmeric with aloe vera gel (1 to 3 gms./.035 to .1 oz) is best used during the early stages of diabetes for regulating pancreas and liver functions.
1. Juice of bitter melon or bitter gourd (Momordica dioica, Roxb., Karela), or Rose apple (Eugenia Jambos, Linn., Jambu) or two tender leaves of Bilva (Aegle Marmelos, Corr., Bael fruit) and Neem (Melia azadirachta, Ravipriya, or Indian Lilac) may be taken on empty stomach daily. Juice of Jambu should be taken in an ounce quantity twice daily, and that of Karela in 1-1/2 ounce dose daily. Shilajit (Swertia Decussata Nimmo.) is another useful medicine (250 mg as a single dose) should be taken, twice daily with juice of stone apple.
2. Use turmeric. Fill some 00-size capsules with turmeric, and take 2 capsules 3 times a day, a few minutes before meals. Continue this program for up to a month, and then reevaluate your condition. Clinical observation suggests that a person who is insulin dependent will experience a markedly diminished requirement for insulin; the diabetes can often be brought under control.
3. Take 1/2 teaspoon of ground bay leaf and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, mixed in 1 tablespoon aloe vera gel. Take the mixture twice a day before lunch and dinner.
4. The ayurveda preparation Vasanta Kusumakar Ras, is very good but is extremely costly. Take two grains daily with a tsp. of cream or honey. In certain cases, the said medicine brings down sugar lever quite quickly, hence sugar-levels should be carefully monitored. When sugar has touched its normal range, the dose should be tapered in a graduated manner, and added with 500 mg pill of Chandraprabhavati which is called a 'Poor man's remedy.'
5. Mix and grind seeds of Fenugreek (Methi) 100 gm, turmeric 50gm, Dakhni Mirch (white pepper). Take one teaspoon of this powder with a glass of milk twice daily. Alternately, immerse and soak one teaspoon of fenugreek seed in water. Take this in the morning, with water or with milk.
6. Take twice daily, with powder of rose apple stones (powder of Jambu or Jamun-ki-Guthali).
7. Include decoctions of triphala, fenugreek, musta, arjuna, sandalwood, lodhra, ajwan, gokshura, vidanga, guduchi, haritaki, and chitrak. These may be taken with a small amount of ghee. Gudmar and shilajit are excellent.
8. Amalaki Churna (500mg), Haldi Powder (Turmeric Powder) 500mg and Naag Bhasma (125mg) should be taken with honey, twice daily ( A 12-hourly dose ).

Diet
Follow the kapha-pacifying diet. Avoid excess intake of sweets, carbohydrates, and dairy products. Take more fresh vegetables and bitter herbs. Other useful foods include: roasted or fried barley, corn flour, light, bitter vegetables, barley porridge, ghee, rice, and herbs like gokshura, gudmar, triphala, musta, cardamom, fenugreek, or coriander, mixed with honey. Triphala with amalaki juice can also be used to heal prameha. Barley is the main food to heal urinary diseases. Other ayurvedic methods to heal prameha (diabetes) include strenuous exercises, oil massage, steam, sitz or waist bath, and sprinkling of water and ointment. Dry ginger, cardamom, and sandalwood may be used in baths or taken orally. Gudmar is the best herb for digesting sugar in the pancreas. A combination of gudmar and shilajit is an excellent remedy for diabetes that is often prescribed by Ayurvedic practitioners.
Eliminate all objects that contain sugar from diet, like wheat, rice, potato, sugar, sugar cane and its juice, jaggery , sweet fruits.
Reduce fats, especially butter and ghee from diet.
Take barley soaked in a triphala decoction overnight, then mixed with honey and eaten several times a day.
Orange, and lemon, may be taken as and when needed.
Take bitter melon, in any form, without any fear, and Jamun and powder of its seed.
Take plenty of green vegetables, black gram, soy, fish etc.

Copper Water
Put one cup of water into a copper vessel at night, and drink the water in the morning.

Exercise
Take morning and evening walk
Do Pranayama
Do yoga asanas

By Holisticonline.com

Treatment For Diabetes

Treatment of Diabetes

There are several aspects in the treatment of diabetes, each one with a very important role.
The mainstays of treatment are:
1. Working towards obtaining ideal body weight
2. Following a diabetic diet
3. Regular exercise
4. Diabetic medication if needed
Note: Type 1 Diabetes must be treated with insulin. This involves injecting insulin under the skin for it to work. Insulin cannot be taken as a pill because the digestive juices in the stomach would destroy the insulin before it could work. Scientists are looking for new ways to give insulin. But today, shots are the only method. There are, however, new methods to give the shots...Insulin Pumps are now being widely used and many people are having great results.
Working towards obtaining ideal body weight.
An estimate of ideal body weight can be calculated using this formula:
For women: Start with 100 pounds for 5 feet tall. Add 5 pounds for every inch over 5 feet. (If you are under 5 feet, subtract 5 pounds for each inch under 5 feet). This will give you your ideal weight. If you have a large frame, add 10 percent. If you have a small frame, subtract ten percent. ( A good way to decide your frame size is to look at your wrist size compared to other women's)
Example: a woman who is 5' 4" tall and has a large frame.
100 pounds + 20 pounds (4 inches times 5 pounds per inch) =120 pounds.
Add 10% for large frame (in this case 10% of 120 pounds is 12 pounds).
120 pounds + 12 pounds = 142 pounds ideal body weight.

For men: Start with 106 pounds for a height of 5 foot. Add 6 pounds for
every inch above 5 foot. For a large frame, add 10%. For a
small frame, subtract 10 percent. (See above for further details).

The Diabetic Diet
Diet is very important in diabetes. There are differing philosophies on what is the BEST diet but below is a guideline with some general principles.
Patients with Type 1 diabetes should have a diet that has approximately 35 calories per kg of body weight per day (or 16 calories per pound of body weight per day). Patients with Type 2 diabetes generally are put on a 1500-1800 calorie diet per day to promote weight loss and then the maintenance of ideal body weight.. However, this may vary depending on the person's age, sex, activity level, current weight and body style. More obese individuals may need more calories initially until their weight is less. This is because it takes more calories to maintain a larger body and a 1600 calorie diet for them may promote weight loss that is too fast to be healthy. Men have more muscle mass in general and therefore may require more calories. Muscle burns more calories per hour than fat. (Thus also one reason to regularly exercise and build up muscle!) Also, people whose activity level is low will have less daily caloric needs.
Generally, carbohydrates should make up about 50 percent of the daily calories ( with the accepted range 40-60 percent). In general, lower carbohydrate intake is associated with lower sugar levels in the blood. However the benefits of this can be cancelled out by the problems associated with a higher fat diet taken in to compensate for the lower amount of carbohydrates.. This problem can be improved by substituting monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats for saturated fats.
Most people with diabetes find that it is quite helpful to sit down with a dietician or nutritionist for a consult about what is the best diet for them and how many daily calories they need. It is quite important for diabetics to understand the principles of carbohydrate counting and how to help control blood sugar levels through proper diet. Below are some general principles about the diabetic diet.
Understanding Food Groups
There are three basic food groups: fats, proteins and carbohydrates. The carbohydrates are the foods that can be broken down into sugar. It is essential to have all three food groups in your diet to have good nutrition.
1. Why count carbohydrates?
Carbohydrate makes your blood glucose level go up. If you know how much carbohydrate you've eaten, you have a good idea what your blood glucose level is going to do. The more carbohydrates you eat, the higher your blood sugar will go up.
2. Which foods contain carbohydrate?
Most of the carbohydrate we eat comes from three food groups: starch, fruit and milk. Vegetables also contain some carbohydrates, but foods in the meat and fat groups contain very little carbohydrate. Sugars may be added or may be naturally present (such as in fruits). The nutrient term for sugars can also be identified by looking for -ose at the end of a word ( i.e. glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc. are all sugars). Look for these on food labels to help identify foods that contain sugar.
Below are some examples of carbohydrate grams for some common food items:
Food Amount - Carb Grams
1 % Fat Milk (1 cup) - 12
yogurt fruited
1 cup
40
Bran Chex
2/3 cup
23
yogurt fruit
1 cup
19
Frosted Flakes
3/4 cup
26
Raisin Bran
3/4 cup
28
fruit juice
1/2 cup
15
bread/toast
1 slice
15
banana
1/2
15
sugar
1 tsp.
4
pancake syrup
2 Tbsp.
30
pancakes - 4
2
15
low-fat granola
1/2 cup
30
sugar-free syrup
2 Tbsp.
4

To make things easy, many people begin carbohydrate counting by rounding the carbohydrate value of milk up to 15. In other words, one serving of starch, fruit or milk all contain 15 grams carbohydrate or one carbohydrate serving. Three servings of vegetable also contain 15 grams. Each meal and snack will contain a specific total number of grams of carbohydrate.
For example: Each gram of carbohydrate provides 4 calories. A diabetic on a 1600 calorie diet should get 50% of these calories from carbohydrate. This would be a total of 800 calories or 200 gms of carbohydrate (at 4 calories per gram) spread out over the day. At 15 grams per exchange, this would be about 13 exchanges of carbohydrate per day.
The amount of food you eat is closely related to blood sugar control. If you eat more food than is recommended on your meal plan, your blood sugar goes up. Although foods containing carbohydrate (carb) have the most impact on blood sugars, the calories from all foods will affect blood sugar. The only way you can tell if you are eating the right amount is to measure your foods carefully. Also, it is important to space your carbohydrates out throughout the day to avoid sugar "loading." Measuring your blood sugar regularly also provides important feedback on how high your sugar went based on what you ate and your level of activity.

Where do you get carbohydrate information?
The "Nutrition Facts" label on most foods is the best way to get carbohydrate information, but not all foods have labels. Your local bookstore and library have books that list the carbohydrate in restaurant foods, fast foods, convenience foods and fresh foods. You will still need to weigh or measure the foods to know the amount of grams of carbohydrates present.
How do you count carbohydrate?
Carbohydrates can be counted in number of grams or can be counted as exchanges. One carbohydrate exchange equals 15 grams of carbohydrate. A good reference for learning how to count calories in this manner will be on line here
soon including a calorie computer.
Free Foods:
These are foods that you can eat without counting. A free food or drink is one that contains less than 20 calories and 5 grams or less of carbohydrate per serving. If your serving or a food contains more than 5 grams of carbohydrate, you should count it in your meal plan.
Examples of free foods:
Bouillon or brothCarbonated or mineral waterClub soda Coffee or teaDiet soft drinksDrink mixes, sugar-freeTonic water, sugar freeSugar-free hard candySugar-free Jell-OSugar-free gumJam or jelly, light or low-sugar, 2 tsp.Sugar free syrup, 2 tsp.
You should spread out free foods throughout the day and not eat them in one sitting.

Fitting Sugar in Your Meal Plan
It is commonly thought that people with diabetes should avoid all forms of sugar. Most people with diabetes can eat foods containing sugar as long as the total amount of carbohydrate (carb) for that meal or snack is consistent. Many research studies have shown that meals which contain sugar do not make the blood sugar rise higher than meals of equal carbohydrate levels which do not contain sugar. However, if the sugar-containing meal contains more carb, the blood sugar levels will go up.
Does this mean I can eat cake and not worry about it?
No! A slice of white cake with chocolate icing ( 1/12 of a cake or 80 gram weight) will give you about 300 calories, 45 grams of carb and 12 grams of fat. That is three starch servings and over 2 fat servings. Before you have a slice of cake, ask yourself the following questions: Will that small piece of cake be satisfying or will I still be hungry? How it will fit into my meal plan? Do I have 300 calories to "spend" on this? Are there other choices I could make which would contribute less fat? A 1/12 slice of angel food cake has less than 1 gram of fat and only 30 carb. This may be a better choice.
Controlling all carbohydrates
It is important to realize that sugar is not the only carbohydrate that you have to "control". The body will convert all carbohydrates to glucose - so eating extra servings of rice, pasta, bread, fruit or other carbohydrate foods will make the blood sugar rise. Just because something doesn't have sugar in it doesn't mean you can eat as much as you want. Your meal plan is designed so that the carbohydrate content of your meals remains as consistent as possible from day to day.
A word of caution:
Although sugar does not cause the blood sugar to rise any higher than other carbohydrates, it should be eaten along with other healthy foods. If you choose to drink a 12 ounce can of a sugar-sweetened soft drink, that would use up about 45 grams carb - and you wouldn't have gotten any nutrition (protein, vitamins or minerals). What a waste of calories! High sugar foods are more concentrated in carb. Therefore the volume would be smaller than a low sugar food. High sugar foods might not be a good choice if they will just tempt you to eat more. If you would rather eat larger portions, select low sugar choices. Look at the differences in portion size you get for equal amounts of carbohydrate in these cereals!
Granola
Frosted Flakes
Corn Flakes
Cheerios
Puffed Wheat
1/4 cup
1/3 cup
3/4 cup
1 cup
1 1/4 cup

In addition, many sugar-containing foods also contain a lot of fat. Foods such as cookies, pastries, ice cream and cakes should be avoided largely because of the fat content and because they don't contribute much nutritional value. If you do want a "sweet" - make a low-fat choice, such as low-fat frozen yogurt, gingersnaps, fig bars or graham crackers and substitute it for another carbohydrates on your meal plan.


Source - EndocrineWeb Home Page
Also Visit - http://www.diabetics.blogspot.com