Diabetes And Pregnancy: Fluctuating Hormones And Glucose Management

Diabetes and Pregnancy: Fluctuating Hormones and Glucose Management

Being pregnant is known to be a roller coaster of hormonal changes. If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, the hormonal thrill ride can also affect your glucose levels in unexpected ways.
Not only will your blood sugar readings likely be different from what you are used to, but they can also fluctuate week to week as your body goes through the different stages of pregnancy.
If you know what to expect, you can plan and talk over concerns with your doctors and dietician. Your diabetes-care team, who knows your history and needs, may have different recommendations than the ones offered here.
Unusual Tendencies
Your blood glucose levels may fluctuate in new ways through different stages of the pregnancy. For instance, during the first trimester, some women notice their glucose levels are lower than usual. This is why keeping all medical and obstetrics appointments, and asking relevant questions, are important.
If you have type 1 diabetes, your body’s need for insulin may increase, especially during the last trimester. This is owed to hormones produced by the placenta. The placental hormones help the baby grow but also block the effectiveness of Mom’s insulin, so she may need to take more.
If pregnant with type 2 diabetes, your physician might have already switched you from oral medications to insulin, or may recommend doing that now. The safety of oral diabetes meds during gestation has not been determined, and increased insulin resistance during pregnancy can lower the effectiveness of oral medications.
Insulin does not cross the placental barrier so it is safe to take dur Continue reading

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Diabetes-Friendly Mini Cheesecakes!

We heard you — loud and clear! Finding diabetes-friendly desserts can be difficult. And there’s no reason why people with diabetes should have to miss out on yummy sweet indulgences altogether.
According to the Mayo Clinic, there isn’t a whole lot of mystery surrounding a “diabetic diet.” There definitely aren’t any special potions or magical elixirs that people with diabetes have to take to stay healthy. And while there are foods to avoid, moderation is essential to maintaining a healthy diet, whether you have diabetes or not.
That being said, we all get a sweet tooth every now and then. Plus, no one wants to miss out on the fun of celebrating certain occasions with a little bit of indulgence. And here’s where that difficulty finding diabetes-friendly desserts (or those that will have less of an impact on your blood glucose control as their traditional counterparts) comes in.
Well, look no further!
Here’s an easy, diabetes-friendly dessert anyone can make and enjoy.
Individual Miniature Cheescakes
Makes 10 Servings
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup 5% fat ricotta cheese
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 medium egg
¼ cup light sour cream
½ tsp cornstarch
⅛ tsp vanilla extract
fruit puree (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 10 muffin cups with muffin paper cups.
In a food processor, combine ricotta cheese, cottage cheese and sugar; puree until smooth. Beat in egg.
Blend in sour cream, cornstarch, and vanilla until well mixed.
Divide batter among muffin cups.
Set muffin tin in larger pan; pour in enough hot water to come half Continue reading

Here is the Fruit that beat Diabetes and Prevents Breast Cancer Cells Growing and Spreading (VIDEO)

Bitter melon has been used traditionally for high blood pressure, skin infections, painful menstruation, kidney stones, colic, malaria, glaucoma, high cholesterol, diarrhea, stomach cramps, hemorrhoids, and fever. Bitter melon is rich in alkaloids, glycoside, peptides, acids, cucurbitins, charantin, cucurbitacins, momordine, momorcharins, and proteins. The primary compounds responsible for the hypoglycemic properties are: charantin, cucurbutanoids, momordicin, and oleanolic acids. Recent scientific research revealed the hypoglycemic and anticancer effects of bitter melon.
The researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica have proved the efficacy of treating Type 2 diabetes with bitter melon.
Bitter melon contains certain chemical compounds that activate AMPK which encourages the movement of glucose transporters to the surface of cells.
Source: http://livingtraditionally.com/one-fruit-that-kills-diabetes-and-stops-breast-cancer-cells-from-growing-and-spreading/ Continue reading

UT Health San Antonio team cures diabetes in mice without side effects

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, U.S.A. -- A potential cure for Type 1 diabetes looms on the horizon in San Antonio, and the novel approach would also allow Type 2 diabetics to stop insulin shots.
The discovery, made at The University of Texas Health Science Center, now called UT Health San Antonio, increases the types of pancreatic cells that secrete insulin.
UT Health San Antonio researchers have a goal to reach human clinical trials in three years, but to do so they must first test the strategy in large-animal studies, which will cost an estimated $5 million.
Those studies will precede application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Investigational New Drug (IND) approval, Bruno Doiron, Ph.D., a co-inventor, said.
U.S. patent
The scientists received a U.S. patent in January, and UT Health San Antonio is spinning out a company to begin commercialization.
The strategy has cured diabetes in mice.
"It worked perfectly," Dr. Doiron, assistant professor of medicine at UT Health, said. "We cured mice for one year without any side effects. But it's a mouse model, so caution is needed. We want to bring this to large animals that are closer to humans in physiology of the endocrine system."
Ralph DeFronzo, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Diabetes at UT Health, is co-inventor on the patent. He described the therapy:
"The pancreas has many other cell types besides beta cells, and our approach is to alter these cells so that they start to secrete insulin, but only in response to glucose [sugar]," he said. "This is basically just like beta cells."
Insulin, which lo Continue reading

12 Things You Wish Your Friends Wouldn’t Say About Diabetes

Ahh, we love our friends, don’t we? They’ve let us crash on their couch throughout times of transition. They’ve helped us change a flat tire. They’ve been at every birthday celebration you can remember. The really good ones are there to be a shoulder to cry on when times are tough, and to make you laugh until you cry when times are great!
In short, our friends have been there for us, through thick and thin.
But not necessarily when it comes to diabetes.
Why is that? Why is it that when it comes to diabetes, it doesn’t seem that they’re capable of giving support? The answer usually comes down to this: they’re misinformed. It isn’t that they don’t want to give us their support; it’s that they don’t know how. And it’s frustrating, isn’t it? The insensitivity of it all can make you feel like you’re going through life alone, right?
But you’re not. It happens all the time, and to many of us managing our managing our diabetes. So much so, in fact, that it constitutes a list! Below, you’ll find twelve of the most common things we’ve heard from our non-diabetic friends. Check ’em out!
12. “Holy crap, you have to take shots every day? Seriously? Every day?”
11. “My grandma had diabetes. She lost her leg. Then she died. It was awful.”
10. “I need to cut back on my sugar intake, otherwise I’m gonna give myself diabetes, too.”
9. “How do you have diabetes? You look normal.”
8. “Go do that somewhere else. I’ll pass out if I see blood.”
7. “Well, it’s your fault, right, for eating too much and not exercising?”
6. “I don� Continue reading