Dawn Phenomenon: How To Control High Morning Blood Sugars

Dawn phenomenon: How to control high morning blood sugars

The dawn phenomenon is a normal, natural rise in blood sugar that occurs in the early morning hours, between roughly 4 and 8 a.m. The shift in blood sugar levels happens as a result of hormonal changes in the body.
All people experience the dawn phenomenon to one level or another, which can vary day by day. People without diabetes may never notice it happening, as a normal body's insulin response adjusts for the rise without intervention.
A person with diabetes is more likely to experience symptoms from the rise in blood sugar levels, however.
How does it affect people with diabetes?
Dawn phenomenon is a normal rise in blood sugar released by the liver. The release happens as the person's body is preparing to wake for the day.
The rise in blood sugar is normally handled with insulin. For people with diabetes, insulin is not produced in high enough quantities, or the body is unable to use the insulin properly.
As a result, a person with diabetes will feel the effects of having high sugar levels in the blood.
These effects can include:
faintness
nausea
vomiting
weakness
disorientation
feeling tired
extreme thirst
Managing the dawn phenomenon
Managing blood sugar levels is nothing new to most people with diabetes. A combination of diet, exercise, and medication often help keep the symptoms and problems under control.
In the case of dawn phenomenon, there are some additional changes that may help prevent issues caused by the spike in blood sugar.
Some steps people with diabetes can take to manage the dawn phenomenon include:
changing medication entirely or making adjustments wi Continue reading

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Diabetes, Foot Care and Foot Ulcers

Some people with diabetes develop foot ulcers. A foot ulcer is prone to infection, which may become severe. This leaflet aims to explain why foot ulcers sometimes develop, what you can do to help prevent them, and typical treatments if one does occur.
Why are people with diabetes prone to foot ulcers?
Foot ulcers are more common if you have diabetes because one or both of the following complications develop in some people with diabetes:
Reduced sensation of the skin on your feet.
Narrowing of blood vessels going to the feet.
Your nerves may not work as well as normal because even a slightly high blood sugar (glucose) level can, over time, damage some of your nerves (neuropathy). Read more about diabetic neuropathy.
If you have diabetes you have an increased risk of developing narrowing of the blood vessels (arteries), known as peripheral arterial disease. The arteries in the legs are quite commonly affected. This can cause a reduced blood supply (poor circulation) to the feet. Skin with a poor blood supply does not heal as well as normal and is more likely to be damaged.
What increases the risk of developing foot ulcers?
If you have reduced sensation to your feet (see above). The risk of this occurring increases the longer you have diabetes and the older you are.
If your diabetes is poorly controlled. This is one of the reasons why it is very important to keep your blood sugar (glucose) level as near normal as possible.
If you have narrowed blood vessels (arteries) - see above. The risk of this occurring increases the longer you have diabetes, the older you become and also Continue reading

Research suggests type 2 diabetes could be transmitted like mad cow disease

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It is estimated that about 6 percent of the world's population suffers from type 2 diabetes. Labelled a global health epidemic by the World Health Organization, rates of the disease increased dramatically from about 30 million cases in 1985 to around 390 million by 2015. A new study has now found a previously undiscovered mechanism that raises the possibility of type 2 diabetes being transmitted in a way similar to infectious diseases such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (mad cow disease).
Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 is known to develop with age and is generally thought to occur as a result of lack of exercise and obesity. The dramatic increase in the disease all across the world over the past 50 years is still not clearly understood by scientists.
Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, these six comfort food favorites from Eggland's Best ...
A team of researchers at the University of Texas has been focusing on a number of abnormal protein deposits found in over 90 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes. It was identified that this large majority of patients suffering from the disease had aggregates of a misfolded form of the protein islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP).
Small amounts of misfolded IAAP proteins were then injected into mice and the researchers found that this induced the formation of protein deposits in the animal's pancreas. Most striking was the observation that within weeks of receiving the misfolded IAAP aggregates the mice displayed several symptoms associated with type 2 diabetes, from elevated blood glucose levels to a loss of pan Continue reading

Top 10 Worst Diet Choices if You Have Diabetes

If you have diabetes, in many ways your diet is your medicine. As diabetes educators, we help patients understand what food and beverage choices are best to avoid. When foods are high in carbohydrates, fat and sodium, they increase your risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, weight gain, heart disease and uncontrolled sugar.
Top 10 offenders
Sweetened drinks. These include regular pop/soda, fruit punches and iced teas. These are loaded with sugar and calories, and they usually have little or no nutritional value. Instead, try infusing plain water with different berries and fruits so you can enjoy the natural sweetness.
“Designer” or specialty coffee drinks – including frappuccinos or cappuccinos. That “once a day special treat” can add up to lots of extra sugar, calories and saturated fat. Instead, go for straight java, either black, with artificial sweetener or a small splash of skim milk.
Whole milk. It has too much fat, which can lead to weight gain. Switch to 2 percent, 1 percent – or even better: skim milk. Keep in mind that one cup of skim milk has 12 grams of carbohydrates. If you don’t like milk or are lactose intolerant, you can drink almond milk, rice milk or soy milk instead—but remember to get the low sugar varieties.
Hot dogs. These grilled little favorites are still high in saturated fat and sodium—yes, that even includes turkey dogs! Try to avoid them or eat them only occasionally.
Packaged lunch meats. These are also high in saturated fat and sodium. Check your deli for low sodium meats—or better yet use sliced meat that you’ve Continue reading

Why does my breath smell like acetone?

People often associate strong smelling breath with the food someone has eaten or poor dental hygiene. But it may reveal much more than that.
If a person's breath smells like acetone or nail polish remover, it could indicate health conditions, including diabetes.
The way a person's breath smells can be an indicator of their overall health. This article explores why a person's breath might smell like acetone and what this might mean about their health.
Contents of this article:
How diabetes can affect breath
Diabetes can affect the way a person's breath smells and can cause bad breath, or halitosis. In a 2009 study, researchers found that analyzing a person's breath helped to identify prediabetes when diabetes is in its early stages.
There are two conditions associated with diabetes that can cause bad breath: gum disease and a high ketone level.
The proper name for gum diseases in periodontal disease, and its forms include:
Diabetes can be associated with an increased risk of gum disease, which may cause a person's breath to smell bad. However, gum disease does not cause a person's breath to smell like acetone.
If a person has diabetes and their breath smells like acetone, this is usually caused by high levels of ketones in the blood.
Diabetes and acetone breath
When diabetes is not managed well, the body does not make enough insulin to break down glucose in the blood. This means that the body's cells do not receive enough glucose to use as energy.
When the body cannot get its energy from sugar, it switches to burning fat for fuel instead. The process of breaking down fat to Continue reading