Tips For Managing Diabetes

Tips for Managing Diabetes

by Anne Wasson | Jan 13, 2017 | AFMC HealthSpot , Individuals |
EDITORS NOTE: In the eighth in our year-long series on diabetes, the focus is on the specifics of effectively managing this chronic disease.
It is possible to live a long and healthy life, even with diabetes.
The key to living well with diabetes is learning how to manage the disease. Good management helps prevent or slow the progress of the many complications of diabetes: heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness and nerve damage that causes painful hands and feet.
Other articles in this diabetes series have explained the importance of eating healthy and getting regular exercise. Doing both will help keep blood sugar (glucose) at a safe level, and blood pressure and cholesterol under control.
If youve lived with diabetes for a while, you may know how to keep your blood sugar under control most of the time. However, occasionally things get out of whack, for any number of reasons, and adjustments have to be made.
Only about a third of people with type 2 diabetes say they are very successful at managing their diabetes, according to a survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. This article will explain what to do when your diabetes-care routine gets off the rails.
Monitoring and controlling your blood sugar is the most important way to successfully manage diabetes. An A1C test measures your average glucose level over the past three months. Your A1C should be under 7 and your blood sugar should be under 154. If your doctor also does a fasting blood sugar test, it should be between 80 an Continue reading

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Improving drugs for type 2 diabetes

Follow all of ScienceDaily's latest research news and top science headlines !
Scientists are exploring a central component in glucose regulation. Their findings shed new light on the structure of the glucagon receptor, a highly promising target for diabetes drug development.
Beam me up: The new Nature study reports the crystal structure of the full-length human glucagon receptor (GCGR) that plays a key role in glucose homeostasis and serves as an important drug target for Type 2 diabetes. X-ray crystallography yields the complete, detailed, architecture of this class B membrane protein receptor for the first time, dramatically improving the prospects for a new generation of highly specific drugs for treating Type 2 diabetes with greater effectiveness and fewer side effects.
Credit: Graphic by Jason Drees for the Biodesign Institute
Beam me up: The new Nature study reports the crystal structure of the full-length human glucagon receptor (GCGR) that plays a key role in glucose homeostasis and serves as an important drug target for Type 2 diabetes. X-ray crystallography yields the complete, detailed, architecture of this class B membrane protein receptor for the first time, dramatically improving the prospects for a new generation of highly specific drugs for treating Type 2 diabetes with greater effectiveness and fewer side effects.
Credit: Graphic by Jason Drees for the Biodesign Institute
Type 2 diabetes, a prolific killer, is on a steep ascent. According to the World Health Organization, the incidence of the condition has grown dramatically from 108 million cases i Continue reading

Jennifer Stone And 6 Other Celebrities Who Have Type 1 Diabetes

Jennifer Stone And 6 Other Celebrities Who Have Type 1 Diabetes
The start of November also marks the start of National Diabetes Awareness Month and stars living with the condition are usingthis as the perfect time to speak up.
On Wednesday, Disney Channel alum Jennifer Stone revealed that she as diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2013 and thats taken her a while, but shes finally ready to talk about it with the world.
It has been a long road to get to a place where I was comfortable telling you guys about my Type 1, Stone captioned her Instagram post revealing the diagnosis. Today I am finally ready to fill you in on my journey and help others with diabetes feel less alone in this. I want to make the world a better place for those with diabetes and I cant do that by staying quiet!
A post shared by Jennifer Stone (@jenniferstone) on
By sharing her story, Stone joins a list of other celebrities with Type 1 Diabetes who are using their voices to raise awareness.
Here are six other stars living with the condition:
The singer was diagnosed with Type 1 in 2005, but it wasnt until 2007 until he shared the information with his fans. After the news was out, Jonas began to speak openly about the condition and his journey with it.
In 2008, he released a song as part of the Jonas Brothers called A Little Bit Longer, which detailed his feelings about living with Type 1 Diabetes. Hescontinued to be an advocate for the cause in the 10 years since he made his original announcement.
For anyone living with diabetes.. Or any disease that complicates your life in any way.. Just know Continue reading

Type 1 Diabetes Naturopathic Doctor News and Review

The worldwide statistics regarding diabetes are frightening. In 2011, 366 million people around the world were diagnosed with diabetes, and it is projected that, by 2030, up to 552 million people will have itnearly 10% of the worlds adult population. In the US, there are 29 million people with diabetes, and approximately 1.25 million have type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), including 1 out of every 300 children. In fact, the most recent US data indicates the occurrence of T1DM increased by 21% between 2001 and 2009.
Worldwide, there are 70,000 new cases annually, and T1DM occurrence is rising by an estimated 3% each year. Around 24% of T1DM pediatric patients live in European countries; 23% are in Southeast Asia, and 19% are in North America and the Caribbean. Unfortunately, in Sub-Saharan countries where insulin may be difficult to get and use, there is a high mortality rate of 42.6 deaths per 100,000, while in the US, there are only 0.63 deaths per 100,000.1
Aside from pediatric-onset T1DM, adult-onset T1DM is also growing. Known as latent autoimmune diabetes of the adult, or LADA, this type of T1DM is still commonly mistaken for type 2 diabetes. Occurring in patients generally over 35 years old, around 4-14% of patients diagnosed with T2DM have diabetes-associated antibodies or LADA.2
What is driving the increasing incidence of T1DM? There are many factors that are being studied.
There are multiple HLA genes associated with turning on the auto-immune activity directed against the pancreatic beta cells, leading to the lack of insulin secretion that is the keynote chara Continue reading

Playing for Syracuse, Andrew Armstrong keeps a positive view on type 1 diabetes

Playing for Syracuse, Andrew Armstrong keeps a positive view on type 1 diabetes
As many as 3 million adults in the United States have type 1 diabetes, and about 30,000 more individuals are diagnosed with the disease each year . In 1999, I became part of that statistic at 11 years old, and have dealt with it for the 18 years since. Syracuse Orange linebacker Andrew Armstrong received his own diagnosis a lot more recently in life, as a senior at Cardinal Mooney High School.
Everyone deals with diseases -- type 1 or otherwise -- on their own terms. And for me, its only recently been something I discuss openly. However, Andrew was more than willing to take the time to discuss how he deals with type 1. He and I spoke on the phone after Thursday mornings practice.
I was actually diagnosed my senior year of high school, in November, he said. I played my junior year of football prior to being diagnosed. I felt real sluggish throughout the season, had frequent urination, mood swings, I wasnt eating or drinking a ton -- I just didnt feel right.
So when my parents brought me to the doctor and they ran some tests and my blood sugar was in the 400s. They rushed me to the emergency room, and there they diagnosed me with Type 1.
For people with working pancreas, blood sugar levels typically range from 70 or so up to 120/130. Their body produces insulin to help break down sugar in the bloodstream, regulating that number to stay within a certain range at all times. If a non-diabetic eats a lot of sugar, their body balances that out with insulin. And if theyre very active or havent ea Continue reading