10 Symptoms Of Diabetes That Are So Subtle You Might Totally Miss Them

Diabetes is a chronic condition where your blood sugar (a.k.a., glucose) is too high, often because your body doesn’t make enough insulin (the hormone that helps you process sugar) or process it well. While you might think you’d recognize something’s up, many people don’t. “Many times when sugars are not extremely high, you may not have symptoms,” says Poorani Goundan, M.D., an endocrinologist at Boston Medical Center. “Of the total diabetics in the U.S., a huge proportion are undiagnosed.” That’s why, she says, everyone over the age of 45 and younger people who have risk factors—including being overweight, having a family history of diabetes, or having gestational diabetes during pregnancy—should be screened regularly.
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In the meantime, even noticeable diabetes symptoms are often mild and can easily be written off as something else. Here are a few common but sneaky symptoms of diabetes every woman should know about:
As with other sign of diabetes, this classic symptom is caused by excess sugar circulating in your body. “When your blood sugar is high, your body is trying to dump it out of your system. Water follows sugar, so you end up having high-volume urine loss,” says Vouyiouklis Kellis, M.D., an endocrinologist at Cleveland Clinic. If you notice you’re suddenly peeing more often and in greater volumes for no real reason—especially if you’re waking up a few times during the night to take a whiz—it’s time to talk to your doctor, say both Goun Continue reading

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Diabetes is even deadlier than we thought, study suggests

Nearly four times as many Americans may die of diabetes as indicated on death certificates, a rate that would bump the disease up from the seventh-leading cause of death to No. 3, according to estimates in a recent study.
Researchers and advocates say that more-precise figures are important as they strengthen the argument that more should be done to prevent and treat diabetes, which affects the way sugar is metabolized in the body.
“We argue diabetes is responsible for 12 percent of deaths in the U.S., rather than 3.3 percent that death certificates indicate,” lead study author Andrew Stokes of the Boston University School of Public Health said in an interview.
About 29 million Americans have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are two forms of the disease: Type 1, in which the pancreas makes insufficient insulin, and the more common Type 2, in which the body has difficulty producing and using insulin.
Using findings from two large national surveys, the study looked mainly at A1C levels (average blood sugar over two to three months) and patient-reported diabetes. In the latest study, researchers compared death rates of diabetics who had participated in these surveys to information on their death certificates.
The authors also found that diabetics had a 90 percent higher mortality rate over a five-year period than nondiabetics. This held true when controlling for age, smoking, race and other factors.
“These findings point to an urgent need for strategies to prevent diabetes in the general population. For those already affected, Continue reading

Fighting Statin-Induced Diabetes with CoQ10

Statins are cholesterol-lowering drugs sold under trade names such as Lipitor® and Crestor®.
They have been shown to benefit people at risk for heart disease caused by elevated LDL-cholesterol and/or C-reactive protein.
For appropriate patients, statin drugs reduce cardiovascular death and disability rates.1-3
But despite these benefits, evidence suggests that statins, especially high doses of potent statins, may increase the risk, especially in older patients, of developing diabetes.3-6
Compelling data reveals that supplementing with CoQ10 can significantly reduce these glucose control issues.
Facts about Statins and Diabetes
Studies show that some statins, such as rosuvastatin (Crestor®), are associated with a 27% increased risk of developing new-onset type II diabetes.7 This is just one of many studies showing this harmful connection.4-6
One meta-analysis that utilized results from 13 statin studies involving more than 91,000 participants demonstrated an across-the-board increased diabetes risk of 9%,8 and found the highest risk in trials involving older subjects. Another meta-analysis showed that those taking higher doses of statins had a 12% higher risk of developing diabetes compared with subjects receiving “moderate” doses.9
These two alarming studies have made it apparent that older patients on more intensive statin regimens are at the greatest risk of developing diabetes from their treatment.3,10 Naturally, this poses a dilemma for anyone who is on, or considering starting, statin therapy. Is lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease worth the risk of deve Continue reading

Carbohydrates — Part of a Healthful Diabetes Diet

A common nutrition myth is that individuals with diabetes need to avoid carbohydrates. While individuals with diabetes must be mindful of how much carbohydrates they eat, they don't need to avoid it altogether. Carbohydrates are the body's main source of fuel and are necessary to maintain proper cellular function. The type of carbohydrates and portion size are what matter most.
There are three types of carbohydrates: starches, sugars and fiber. Starches are found naturally in foods such as bread, cereal, rice, crackers, pasta, potatoes, peas, corn and beans. Sugars are found naturally in foods including fruits and milk and are also concentrated in processed foods such as candy, cake and soda. Fiber is the roughage in plant foods and helps keep the digestive tract healthy. Soluble fiber, found in foods including oatmeal and fruit, can help maintain a healthy cholesterol level.
Individuals with diabetes should choose most of their carbohydrates from nutrient-rich whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, beans, whole grains and dairy products. Sweets and sugary beverages should be saved for special occasions. And, spreading carbohydrates evenly throughout the day helps prevents spikes and dips in blood sugar. A registered dietitian nutritionist can create a specific meal plan that harmonizes individual preferences with the special needs of someone with diabetes.
To get a general idea of how much carbohydrates to eat, consider someone on a 2,000-calorie meal plan. For 2,000 calories, an RDN may recommend that one meal contain about 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates. Carbohydrat Continue reading

New Links Between Late Night Eating and Disease

The late night snack has become a Western tradition. Many people reach for a bite to eat before heading to bed at night—often something sweet. In addition, modern life often requires that workers eat dinner late at night after a long day at jobs, school and on the freeways. The result is that eating late at night is extremely common, practiced perhaps by a majority of people. However, a new study suggests that late night eating can have serious health consequences, contributing to diabetes, heart disease and other serious illnesses.
Why do people crave food, especially unhealthy food, late at night? Experts suggest that people are primed to eat these foods late at night as this practice allowed ancient humans to store calories more efficiently. However, most modern people do not need to store more calories as fat. Our circadian rhythms are not primed to digest and use nutrients late at night as they are during the day. Researchers looked at the eating habits of people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease as well as those without these health issues. People who have these diseases are far more likely to be late night snackers. In fact, eating at night appears to be a potential risk factor for these diseases.
The exact reasons for this connection are not known. However, there are a few hints. Late night snackers have been shown to gain weight more easily. This is a phenomenon that is seen even in lab animals. In addition, people who eat later at night have significantly higher triglycerides, which have been linked to both Type 2 diabetes and heart disea Continue reading