diabetestalk.net

Diabetes, Alcohol, And Social Drinking

Diabetes, Alcohol, and Social Drinking

Diabetes, Alcohol, and Social Drinking

People with diabetes should be particularly cautious when it comes to drinking alcohol because alcohol can make some of the complications of diabetes worse. First of all, alcohol impacts the liver in doing its job of regulating blood sugar. Alcohol can also interact with some medications that are prescribed to people with diabetes. Even if you only rarely drink alcohol, talk with your healthcare provider about it so that he or she knows which medications are best for you.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Alcohol interacts with diabetes medications
Alcohol can cause blood glucose levels to rise or fall, depending on how much you drink. Some diabetes pills (including sulfonylureas and meglitinides) also lower blood glucose levels by stimulating the pancreas to make more insulin. Combining the blood-sugar-lowering effects of the medication with alcohol can lead to hypoglycemia or “insulin shock,” which is a medical emergency.
2. Alcohol prevents your liver from doing its job
The main function of your liver is to store glycogen, which is the stored form of glucose, so that you will have a source of glucose when you haven’t eaten. When you drink alcohol, your liver has to work to remove it from your blood instead of working to regulate blood sugar, or blood glucose. For this reason, you should never drink alcohol when your blood glucose is already low.
3. Never drink alcohol on an empty stomach
Food slows down the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream. Be sure to eat a meal or snack containing carbohydrates if you are going to drink alcohol.
4. Always te Continue reading

Rate this article
Total 1 ratings
Economic Costs of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2012

Economic Costs of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2012

Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study updates previous estimates of the economic burden of diagnosed diabetes and quantifies the increased health resource use and lost productivity associated with diabetes in 2012.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The study uses a prevalence-based approach that combines the demographics of the U.S. population in 2012 with diabetes prevalence, epidemiological data, health care cost, and economic data into a Cost of Diabetes Model. Health resource use and associated medical costs are analyzed by age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance coverage, medical condition, and health service category. Data sources include national surveys, Medicare standard analytical files, and one of the largest claims databases for the commercially insured population in the U.S.
RESULTS The total estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes in 2012 is $245 billion, including $176 billion in direct medical costs and $69 billion in reduced productivity. The largest components of medical expenditures are hospital inpatient care (43% of the total medical cost), prescription medications to treat the complications of diabetes (18%), antidiabetic agents and diabetes supplies (12%), physician office visits (9%), and nursing/residential facility stays (8%). People with diagnosed diabetes incur average medical expenditures of about $13,700 per year, of which about $7,900 is attributed to diabetes. People with diagnosed diabetes, on average, have medical expenditures approximately 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes. For the cost categories analyzed, care for pe Continue reading

National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support

National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support

By the most recent estimates, 18.8 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with diabetes and an additional 7 million are believed to be living with undiagnosed diabetes. At the same time, 79 million people are estimated to have blood glucose levels in the range of prediabetes or categories of increased risk for diabetes. Thus, more than 100 million Americans are at risk for developing the devastating complications of diabetes (1).
Diabetes self-management education (DSME) is a critical element of care for all people with diabetes and those at risk for developing the disease. It is necessary in order to prevent or delay the complications of diabetes (2–6) and has elements related to lifestyle changes that are also essential for individuals with prediabetes as part of efforts to prevent the disease (7,8). The National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education are designed to define quality DSME and support and to assist diabetes educators in providing evidence-based education and self-management support. The Standards are applicable to educators in solo practice as well as those in large multicenter programs—and everyone in between. There are many good models for the provision of diabetes education and support. The Standards do not endorse any one approach, but rather seek to delineate the commonalities among effective and excellent self-management education strategies. These are the standards used in the field for recognition and accreditation. They also serve as a guide for nonaccredited and nonrecognized providers and programs.
Because of the dynamic natu Continue reading

Type 2 Diabetes in Women: Young, Slim, and Diabetic

Type 2 Diabetes in Women: Young, Slim, and Diabetic

Stephanie Yi, 29, had a body most women would kill for. She never had to work hard to maintain her long-limbed, flat-bellied frame—weekend hikes near her northern California home and lots of spinach salads did the trick. She could easily afford to indulge her sweet tooth with the occasional buttery, sugary snack. At 5'7" and 120 pounds, she had, she figured, hit the good-genes jackpot.
But everything changed two years ago, when a crippling fatigue left her sidelined from college classes. Listless, she dragged herself to a doctor, who suspected a thyroid imbalance. A blood test and a few days later, she received the alarming results: Her thyroid was fine; her blood sugar levels were not. She was prediabetic and on the cusp of developing type 2.
Stephanie was stunned. Of course, she'd heard diabetes was a health crisis. (At last count, 26 million Americans had the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.) But weren't type 2 diabetics fat, sedentary, and on junk-food-and-soda diets? Stephanie hadn't been to a drive-through in ages; she didn't touch meat. Yet, somehow, she'd gotten an illness most slim women dodge.
A Growing Threat
The CDC estimates that one in nine adults has diabetes and, if current trends continue, one in three will be diabetic by the year 2050. For decades, typical type 2 patients were close to what Stephanie pictured: heavy and inactive. They were also older, often receiving a diagnosis in middle age or beyond. But while such type 2 cases continue to skyrocket, there has been a disturbing increase in a much younger set.
The n Continue reading

Body Odor & Diabetes: Does Diabetes Cause Body Odor?

Body Odor & Diabetes: Does Diabetes Cause Body Odor?

Are you diabetic? Does your body emanate bad breath which it has never done before? Do not worry. You are not the only one experiencing something of this sort. The high level of blood glucose combined with many complications in diabetes tends to cause body odor in the patients. In this article, we shall analyze the reasons and the relationship between diabetes and body odor. Join in for the article Body Odor and Diabetes: Does Diabetes Cause Body Odor?”
What is Diabetes Body Odor?
Diabetes body odor refers to the sudden change of smell that you experience due to diabetes. There are several reasons why diabetes might lead to bad odor in the patients.
There are two main types of sweat one of which could be responsible for the bad body odor in a diabetes patient. One of these sweats is called eccrine which is essentially odorless and is mainly responsible for controlling the temperature of the body. The second of these sweats is known as the apocrine. This is the sweat you generally get under your armpits and is secreted by the apocrine gland. This is the one which is mainly responsible for producing bad odor as when it gets hit by bacteria, there is an unpleasant smell that is emitted. The following paragraph explains in detail the causes of bad odor in diabetes patients.
Causes of Body Odor in Diabetes
There are several reasons and ways in which diabetes can cause body odor in the patients. These reasons and causes of the same are explained in the following points:
People with diabetes are known to be affected by a number of complications in the body. One such complication Continue reading

No more pages to load

Popular Articles

  • Regular drinking can reduce risk of developing diabetes, study suggests

    Drinking alcohol three to four times per week could significantly reduce a person's chances of developing diabetes, according to a new study. Wine is tipped to be the most beneficial, followed by beer, but researchers warn that clear spirits, such as gin and vodka, could substantially increase a woman's chances of succumbing to the condition. Experts argue, however, that the health impacts of alco ...

  • People With Type 2 Diabetes May Benefit From Drinking Red Wine In The Context Of A Healthy, Mediterranean Diet

    The benefits of moderate alcohol consumption have been heavily debated, perhaps no more so than when experts are considering red wine. Compared to white wine, red wine has more phenols — a smaller version of the antioxidant compound known as polyphenols. The latter are what some experts believe helps reduce chronic disease risk, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. So it would stand to rea ...

  • Does Moderate Drinking Lower Your Risk of Diabetes?

    MORE Is alcohol good or bad for your health? With no shortage of contradictory findings, it's understandable if you're left feeling like you've had a little too much to drink. Now, new research from Denmark suggests that moderate levels of alcohol drinking — not binge drinking — may be linked to a lower risk of developing diabetes. But it's not just how much people drink, but how often they dr ...

  • Drinking red wine regularly reduces risk of diabetes

    Drinking red wine three to four times a week lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes according to a recent study by Danish researchers. The study, carried out on over 70,000 people over five years, was published in Diabetologia and monitored how much and how often they drank. The results found that drinking moderately three to four times a week reduced a woman’s risk of type 2 diabetes by ...

  • Eating fruit significantly cuts diabetes risk - but drinking juice INCREASES it, says study

    INDYPULSE Eating fruit significantly cuts diabetes risk - but drinking juice INCREASES it, says study Eating blueberries, grapes, apples and pears cuts the risk of type 2 diabetes but drinking fruit juice can increase it, a large study has found. Experts from the UK, Singapore and a team from Harvard School of Public Health in the US have examined whether certain fruits impact on type 2, which aff ...

  • Drinking a few times a week linked to lower diabetes risk

    Drinking three to four times a week has been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes than never drinking, Danish researchers suggest. Wine appears to be particularly beneficial, probably as it plays a role in helping to manage blood sugar, the study, published in Diabetologia, says. They surveyed more than 70,000 people on their alcohol intake - how much and how often they drank. But experts sai ...

  • Moderate Drinking May Make People Less Likely To Develop Diabetes

    Drinking in moderation three or four times a week appears to help stave off diabetes compared to both heavy drinkers and people who don’t drink. The study, published in Diabetologia, looked at the drinking habits and conditions of 70,551 Danish men and women, each followed on average for slightly less than five years. This result seems to be in line with other studies that suggest alcohol reduce ...

  • Drinking most days may protect against diabetes - new study

    Drinking alcohol most days of the week significantly protects against developing diabetes, a new study suggests. Data from more than 70,000 drinkers found that having a drink on three or four days per week was associated with a reduced risk of 27 per cent in men and 32 per cent in women, compared with abstaining. Wine had the biggest effect, with scientists suggesting that its chemical compounds i ...

  • Weight Loss Health Benefits: Drinking Water Instead Of Diet Beverages May Help Diabetes Patients

    Being overweight puts you at risk for serious health problems such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. According to the American Diabetes Association, dropping just 10 or 15 pounds can make a big difference for your longevity. Patients with Type 2 diabetes looking to drop weight may want to swap out diet beverages for water, suggests a new study pu ...

Related Articles