Why Plus-Size Moms Need To Look Out For Gestational Diabetes

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of American women in the age range 22 to 44 are overweight and a third of them are considered obese.
Overweight women are more likely to experience health complications during pregnancy. What makes it all the more alarming is that excess weight can also risk the baby’s chances of a healthy development inside the uterus.
According to Dr. Vivian Dickerson, director of women’s healthcare and programs at Hoag Memorial Hospital in California, “Obesity is a disease, and as with many diseases, there’s a greater chance of problems during pregnancy”.
On your nine-month journey, your doctor will be more concerned by your BMI and not by your weight. But a high BMI score does not necessarily mean you should expect medical issues down the line. Plenty of overweight mothers had smooth pregnancies, so it is a risk, not a certainty.
If you are planning to be or are currently pregnant, knowing what to watch out for is the first step for achieving a smooth sailing pregnancy.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes is a form of temporary high blood sugar experienced by many women during their pregnancy.
This medical issue normally affects up to 15% of obese women. If this problem is left uncontrolled, gestational diabetes can cause congenital heart problems and other risks of fetal birth defects. If your doctor says you are at risk for this problem, you have to listen and take preventative measures to stay healthy, not just for your sake but for your unborn child’s as well.
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Role of Fenugreek in the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus in prediabetes

Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders
It is hypothesized that dietary supplementation with Fenugreek modulates glucose homeostasis and potentially prevents diabetes mellitus in people with prediabetes. The objective of present study is to determine whether Fenugreek can prevent the outcome of T2DM in non diabetic people with prediabetes.
A 3-year randomized, controlled, parallel study for efficacy of Fenugreek (n = 66) and matched controls (n = 74) was conducted in men and women aged 3070 years with criteria of prediabetes. Fenugreek powder, 5g twice a day before meals, was given to study subjects and progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was monitored at baseline and every 3months for the 3-year study.
By the end of intervention period, cumulative incidence rate of diabetes reduced significantly in Fenugreek group when compared to controls. The Fenugreek group also saw a significant reduction in fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial plasma glucose (PPPG) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) whereas serum insulin increased significantly. It was observed that controls had 4.2 times higher chance of developing diabetes compared to subjects in the Fenugreek group. The outcome of diabetes in Fenugreek group was positively associated with serum insulin and negatively associated with insulin resistance (HOMA IR).
Dietary supplementation of 10g Fenugreek/day in prediabetes subjects was associated with lower conversion to diabetes with no adverse effects and beneficial possibly due to its decreased insulin resistance.
FenugreekPrediabetesImpaired Continue reading

Type 2 diabetes: What happens if symptoms go undetected? How to avoid dangerous outcome | Health | Life & Style | Express.co.uk

Diabetes: What happens if symptoms go undetected?
High glucose levels can damage blood vessels, nerves and organs
Often symptoms may seem harmless, but the NHS, which outlines these symptoms to watch out for, also warns what untreated diabetes can lead to.
The public health service says: High glucose levels can damage blood vessels, nerves and organs.
Even a mildly raised glucose level that doesnt cause any symptoms can have long-term damaging effects.
From diabetic retinopathy to kidney disease, these are just a few of the complications that can arise if diabetes is left untreated.
Diabetes: Feeling very thirsty and tired are symptoms
Diabetes: Untreated diabetes can lead to other serious conditions
The likelihood of you developing heart disease or stroke is five times bigger if you have diabetes.
The NHS says: Prolonged, poorly controlled blood glucose levels increase the likelihood of atherosclerosis, where the blood vessels become clogged up and narrowed by fatty substances.
This may result in poor blood supply to your heart, causing angina, which is a dull, heavy or tight pain in the chest. It also increases the chance that a blood vessel in your heart or brain will become blocked, leading to a heart attack or stroke.
This is when the retina, the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye, becomes damaged.
The NHS says: Blood vessels in the retina can become blocked or leaky, or can grow haphazardly. This prevents light fully passing through to your retina. If it isnt treated, it can damage your vision.
Diabetes: High glucose levels can damag Continue reading

Regular, early lifestyle changes key to reducing type 2 diabetes & cardiovascular disease

Regular and early lifestyle changes key to reducing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in young South Asians, study suggests
Regular and early one-to-one educational sessions on healthy diet and lifestyle could reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in young South Asians, a new research published today in BMC Medicine suggests.
Unlike previous studies which have focussed on high risk older people, researchers from King's College London and the Diabetes Association of Sri Lanka looked at almost 4000 people aged between 5 and 40. The results suggest regular and realistic interventions with high risk younger people - especially if done before 18- may be more successful, and cost-effective than less-intensive and irregular sessions.
Asia is a major site of Type 2 diabetes, accounting for 60 per cent of people with the disease worldwide. South Asians are predisposed to develop the disease early on, with a third of future cases predicted to occur in those aged below 45 years old.
Participants in the study from Colombo, Sri Lanka had been screened out of a total of 23,298 people, and identified as being at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and CVD, but not yet diagnosed. Out of the 4672 participants aged between five and 40 who began the study, 3539 were eligible for analysis after three years.
Participants were randomised into two groups; pragmatic lifestyle modification (P-LSM) programme and control lifestyle modification programme (C-LSM). There were no significant differences in age, gender, clinical or biochemical char Continue reading

The Future of Diabetes Management

One in eleven persons has to cope with diabetes worldwide on a daily basis
According to the latest estimates of the WHO, 422 million people suffer from diabetes worldwide – and the number is growing steadily. It means that one person in eleven has to manage the chronic condition on a daily basis, which might lead to stroke, blindness, heart attack, kidney failure or amputation. There are two types of diabetes: when the body does not produce enough insulin (type 1 diabetes) and when the organism cannot utilize the generated insulin (type 2 diabetes). While the latter can be prevented with conscious lifestyle choices, the former is a mystery to the medical community. But if someone has diabetes, that means having a constant companion.
In both cases, the treatment of the symptoms requires constant blood glucose control, which usually requires a kind of insulin intake at regular intervals, as well as blood pressure control and/or foot care. It is a truly technologically dependent condition: you need to monitor your blood glucose level, your blood pressure, your weight, follow a meal plan, test your blood every now and then. Luckily, there are so many digital health innovations for diabetes patients out there that diabetes management has been improving for years steadily – and it will significantly change in the coming years.
But technology in itself is insufficient: you need people to utilize it – and diabetes patients do. It is one of the largest and most motivated communities both online and offline, sharing their experiences on social media and other platforms. I belie Continue reading