Glaucoma And Diabetes: Can Diabetes Affect Your Eyes?

People with diabetes are twice as likely to be at risk of having glaucoma compared to people without diabetes. We will first look at how the eye works, what glaucoma is, followed by the relationship between glaucoma and diabetes.
Clara’s story
Clara’s eyes were feeling tired all of the time. She was attributing the tiredness to her Type 2 diabetes, but she wasn’t too sure about it. That’s why she contacted TheDiabetesCouncil to raise her concerns about the increasing pressure in her eyes.
Her left eye had suddenly become red, and she was experiencing sharp pain in her eyes. She had somewhat of a headache, too. After hearing about Clara’s symptoms, she was advised to see her eye doctor for an examination, as glaucoma was suspected.
Clara got in touch with us to report that she had been to her ophthalmologist, and she had been diagnosed with the most common type of glaucoma, open-angle glaucoma. She was using some drops in both eyes, and she relayed that she was feeling better, and that the pain in her eye and other symptoms have subsided.
To help others in Clara’s situation, we have written this comprehensive guide about glaucoma and diabetes.
How does the eye work?
If you want to understand eye diseases, specifically glaucoma, it’s important to understand how the eye operates.
It’s an incredible, wonderful organ! Without our eyes, we could not see the world around us. The eye is a spherically shaped organ that has a tough outer surface. The covering in the front of the eye is curvy. This covering is called the cornea. The cornea is responsible for focusing l Continue reading

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Can diabetics eat bananas?

When a person has diabetes, they need to carefully consider the contents of each meal. This can be especially true for carbohydrate-containing food, which not only includes desserts and other sweet treats, but bread, pasta, and fresh fruits.
One fruit that traditionally has been on the "avoid" list for those with diabetes is bananas. However, for the most part, bananas eaten in moderation can be safely enjoyed when a person has diabetes.
Bananas grow on banana plants that can have anywhere from 50 to 150 bananas in each bunch of fruit. The individual bananas are sold in varying sizes, from small to extra-large, the size-grading being determined by their length.
Nutritional breakdown
Overall, bananas are low in saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol. They also have a good mix of nutrients, including vitamin B6, potassium, and manganese.
However, some doctors and dietitians may give bananas greater nutritional scrutiny when considering them for people with diabetes, because bananas are high in sugar relative to their calories.
One medium banana has an estimated glycemic load of 11, according to Harvard Health Publishing on glycemic loads. Glycemic load is a measure of a food's impact on blood sugar. A glycemic load of fewer than 10 is considered low, while one above 20 is high.
Can you eat bananas if you have diabetes?
Examples of lower-sugar fruit options include apples, grapes, and pears. Fruits with higher sugar levels include papayas and pineapples.
However, those with diabetes do not have to eliminate bananas from their diet, or any other fruit for that matter. Their oth Continue reading

The Best 7-Day Diabetes Meal Plan

This 1,200-calorie meal plan makes it easy to follow a diabetes diet with healthy and delicious foods that help to balance blood sugar.
The simple meals and snacks in this 7-day plan feature complex carbohydrates (think whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables), lean protein and healthy fats. We limited refined carbohydrates (like white bread, white pasta and white rice) as well as added sugars, which can spike your blood sugar quickly. We've also cut back on saturated fats and sodium, as they can negatively impact your health if you eat too much. The carbohydrates are balanced throughout the day with each meal containing 2-3 carb servings (30-45 grams of carbohydrates) and each snack containing around 1 carb serving (15 grams of carbohydrates). The calorie and carbohydrate totals are listed next to each meal and snack so you can swap foods with similar nutrition in and out as you like. Eating with diabetes doesn't need to be difficult—choose a variety of nutritious foods, as we do in this meal plan, and add in daily exercise for a healthy and sustainable approach to managing diabetes.
Day 1
Breakfast (294 calories, 41 g carbohydrates)
• 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1/2 cup each 2% milk and water
• 1 medium plum, chopped
• 4 walnut halves, chopped
Top oats with plum and walnuts.
A.M. Snack (96 calories, 18 g carbohydrates)
• 3/4 cup blueberries
• 1/4 nonfat plain Greek yogurt
Top blueberries with yogurt.
Lunch (319 calories, 37 g carbohydrates)
Turkey & Apple Cheddar Melt
• 2 slices whole-wheat bread
• 2 tsp. whole-grain mustard, divided
• 1/2 medium apple, Continue reading

Gestational Diabetes: What You Need to Know

This pregnancy complication is more common than you might think. Learn who's at risk for it, how it's detected, and what can be done to treat it.
For years, doctors believed that gestational diabetes affected three to five percent of all pregnancies, but new, more rigorous diagnostic criteria puts the number closer to 18 percent. The condition, which can strike any pregnant woman, usually develops in the second trimester, between weeks 24 and 28, and typically resolves after baby is born. If gestational diabetes is treated and well-managed throughout your pregnancy, "There's no reason you can't deliver a very healthy baby," says Patricia Devine, M.D., perinatologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. But gestational diabetes that goes untreated, or isn't carefully monitored, can be harmful for both mother and baby. Consult our guide for risk factors, signs of gestational diabetes, and treatment options.
What is gestational diabetes?
Gestational diabetes, or diabetes that is diagnosed during pregnancy in a woman who previously did not have diabetes, occurs when the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar efficiently. "A hormone produced by the placenta makes a woman essentially resistant to her own insulin," Dr. Devine explains.
How does gestational diabetes differ from type 1 or 2 diabetes?
Gestational diabetes affects only pregnant women. People who have type 1 diabetes, sometimes referred to as juvenile diabetes, are generally born with it. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 95 percent of all cases of diabetes in the U.S.; it occurs in Continue reading

Diabetes: Heart attack risk due to loss of small blood vessels around the heart

People with diabetes have a significantly higher risk for heart attack. Now, new research suggests that diabetes damages the small blood vessels around the heart, and this might explain the link to heart attack. In a study reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the researchers also propose a solution may lie in gene therapy.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that arises either because the body does not produce enough insulin (typical of type 1 diabetes) or because it cannot effectively use the insulin it produces (typical of type 2 diabetes). Around 90 percent of people with diabetes have type 2.
Insulin is a hormone that helps keep blood sugar (glucose) under control. Uncontrolled diabetes results in high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, which, over time, damages many parts of the body, including nerves and blood vessels.
The number of people with diabetes worldwide was estimated to be 422 million in 2014, up from 108 million in 1980. The disease is a major cause of blindness, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and lower limb amputation
In the United States, there are now more than 29 million people with diabetes, up from 26 million in 2010.
Another 86 million people have prediabetes, a condition in which blood sugar is higher than normal but not yet in the range for type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes affects small cardiac blood vessels
The global prevalence of diabetes among adults rose from 4.7 percent in 1980 to 8.5 percent in 2014.
Once a disease seen only in adults, the number of children with type 2 diabetes is increasing.
The total medical costs and lost Continue reading