How Does Diabetes Affect The Immune System?

How Does Diabetes Affect the Immune System?

Diabetes, as we know, is a complicated disorder. When you have diabetes, there is a host of other diseases that you will be exposed to including cardiovascular diseases, kidney-related conditions, and others. However, diabetes also weakens the immunity system of the patient’s body. It is a metabolic disorder that exposes you to various unwanted infections and other conditions. In this article, we shall try to understand how diabetes adversely affects the immune system.
Following are some of the ways in which diabetes can affect the immunity system of the patient:
– It is a well-known fact that type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder. This indicates that type 1 diabetes weakens the body’s immune system and the same is responsible for destroying the beta cells of the pancreas. It is these cells which enable the pancreas to produce insulin. Without insulin, the glucose from the food cannot be utilized efficiently and patients experience high blood glucose levels.
– Besides, when you have diabetes, the response of the immunity system towards bacteria and viruses also reduces to a great extent, causing infections and other diseases in diabetes patients. Those that have diabetes will normally have more infections and the same will also take a longer time to get healed.
– Another reason why the number of infectious diseases in those with diabetes is high is that the various microorganisms affect the patients with diabetes much more than those who are not diabetic.
– The high levels of blood glucose often experienced by diabetes patients have also been held responsibl Continue reading

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Worst Foods for People With Diabetes

If you have diabetes, watching what you eat is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy. "The basic goal of nutrition for people with diabetes is to avoid blood sugar spikes," says Gerald Bernstein, M.D., director of the diabetes management program at Friedman Diabetes Institute, Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. Candy and soda can be dangerous for diabetics because the body absorbs these simple sugars almost instantly. But all types of carbs need to be watched, and foods high in fat—particularly unhealthy fats—are problematic as well because people with diabetes are at very high risk of heart disease, says Sandy Andrews, RD, director of education for the William Sansum Diabetes Center in Santa Barbara, Calif. Continue reading

Top 10 Herbs and Spices for Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus (DM), commonly referred to as diabetes, refers to a group of metabolic diseases that affect how your body uses blood sugar (glucose).
According to International Diabetes Federation statistics from 2014, an estimated 387 million people worldwide have diabetes. About 90 percent of them have Type 2 diabetes.
There are three main types of diabetes: Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes.
In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin. The exact cause is unknown, however risk increases with certain factors like family history, genetics, exposure to certain viruses like the Epstein-Barr virus, and vitamin D deficiency.
Type 2 diabetes begins when cells fail to respond to insulin properly. Factors that put you at a higher risk include obesity, excess abdominal fat, inactive lifestyle, family history, age, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglyceride levels, and a history of polycystic ovaries.
Gestational diabetes affects women during pregnancy.
Some of the symptoms of high blood sugar include frequent urination, increased thirst or hunger, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, slow healing process and frequent infections. If left untreated, it can cause many complications.
Maintaining normal blood sugar levels is necessary for your overall health. You can do it with a healthy diet, regular exercise, not using tobacco, maintaining a healthy body weight and taking the prescribed medications. You can also try some herbs and spices to ease symptoms and control your blood sugar.
1. Cinnamon
Cinnamon contains bioactive components that can he Continue reading

Type 2 diabetes in newly diagnosed 'can be reversed'

An extreme eight-week diet of 600 calories a day can reverse Type 2 diabetes in people newly diagnosed with the disease, says a Diabetologia study.
Newcastle University researchers found the low-calorie diet reduced fat levels in the pancreas and liver, which helped insulin production return to normal.
Seven out of 11 people studied were free of diabetes three months later, say findings published in the journal.
More research is needed to see whether the reversal is permanent, say experts.
Type 2 diabetes affects 2.5m people in the UK. It develops when not enough insulin is produced in the body or the insulin that is made by the body doesn't work properly.
When this happens, glucose - a type of sugar - builds up in the blood instead of being broken down into energy or fuel which the body needs.
The 11 participants in the study were all diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes within the previous four years.
They cut their food intake drastically for two months, eating only liquid diet drinks and non-starchy vegetables.
Fat loss
After one week of the diet, researchers found that the pre-breakfast blood sugar levels of all participants had returned to normal.
MRI scans of their pancreases also revealed that the fat levels in the organ had decreased from around 8% - an elevated level - to a more normal 6%.
Three months after the end of the diet, when participants had returned to eating normally and received advice on healthy eating and portion size, most no longer suffered from the condition.
It offers great hope for many people with diabetes.Prof Keith Frayn, University of Oxford
Profe Continue reading

Alert dog for diabetes senses blood sugar drop miles away, warns family

(KUTV) Sadie, 4-years-old, has Type one diabetes and Down syndrome, which makes it difficult for her parents to keep her blood sugars stable.
That's until a special Labrador joined the family.
Sadie's Hero has quite the nose. He is a trained diabetic alert dog, so he can tell when her blood sugars are going too high or too low.
When her blood sugars start drop below 100, Hero will whine or nose or paw Sadie's parents in the left hand to let them know there's a problem. When her blood sugars get above 200, Hero lets her parents know using the same tricks, but this time in the right hand.
"I'll hold out my hands and say, what is it? and he'll paw for, paw my left hand for a low, and he'll nose my right hand for a high," explained Sadie's mom Michelle.
But back in December 2015, Hero truly lived up to his name.
Sadie was in her special needs class at Deerfield Elementary School in Cedar Hills while Hero was at home in Pleasant Grove -- more than five miles away.
That's when he started to act out, trying to warn Sadie's mom that the girl's blood sugar levels were dropping.
"He's normally a very quiet dog. Whining is not in his protocol. But he just started whining and he would not stop," Michelle said.
He was alerting to Michelle that Sadie's blood sugars were dropping -- but he was nowhere near Sadie.
Sadie's mom decided to contact the school just in case.
Kimberly Stoneman was teaching Sadie's class when she got the call.
"(Sadie's mom) called me and asked if I could check her numbers and they were fine," Ms.Stoneman explained. "I tested her and it was fine. Then within half Continue reading