An Overview of Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a not a familiar term to me until one of my best friends was diagnosed with it recently. In fact, many women do not aware about this type of diabetes information as they have gone through pregnancies without having any serious problems such as gestational diabetes.

Understand gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that sometimes develops during pregnancy but it usually disappears once the baby is born. Statistic shows that there are approximately 4% of all pregnant women are affected by gestational diabetes. It occurs when the expectant mother’s pancreas cannot make enough insulin, causing the body not able to regulate the glucose and it normally noted in the second or third trimester. Left untreated, gestational diabetes can cause harm to the fetus and also to the mother.

In fact, some women are more likely to develop gestational diabetes than others if they fall on below categories:

• have family history of diabetes
• experienced gestational diabetes during previous pregnancy
• are overweight before pregnancy
• have a history of high blood sugar
• gain too much weight during pregnancy
• have given birth of large baby in the past (over 8 lbs)
• are African descent, Hispanic, or Native American
  

Causes and symptoms of gestational diabetes

During pregnancy, placenta will produce a multitude of different hormones to help the baby grow and develop. These same hormones however make it tougher for the expectant mother’s body to use insulin, causing the insulin resistance. This does not cause a problem in most cases, because the pancreas will step up the production when the need for insulin increases. Anyway, when a pregnant woman's pancreas cannot keep up with the insulin demand, the blood sugar level will get high, resulting in gestational diabetes.

Symptoms of gestational diabetes are actually similar to other diabetes symptoms. They include frequent urination, frequent thirst and hunger, feeling of tired out more than is usual, unusual weight loss, increased fatigue, blurred vision, frequent skin rash or infection and also vomiting.

Gestational diabetes treatment

Gestational diabetes can actually be treated and controlled by simply using a combination of diet and exercise, and most of the time they work. The level of changes that are necessary are depend on how poor of habits the women have to begin with. Normally, their changes consist of going on a low-sugar and low-carb eating plan. This is very important as gestational diabetes brings a risk of the baby of getting too large during its gestational period, causing earlier delivery and other negative impacts both to the mother and baby.

Besides adjust your diet habit and perform regular exercise, it is recommended to include daily blood glucose testing, and if necessary, insulin injections. So, please work closely with your doctor, nurse practitioner or other members of your health care team so that your gestational diabetes treatment can be adjusted as needed.

Conclusion

If you are pregnant or are thinking of becoming pregnant in the near future, kindly take some time to learn about ways to prevent gestational diabetes. Remember, prevention is always a better option than finding ways of solution to high blood sugar level. Of course, we should perform regular exercise and eat healthy diet for overall health purpose. Start practicing now and you should be able to avoid dealing with gestational diabetes in your pregnancy in the future.

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Understand and Cope with Type II Diabetes

According to International Diabetes Federation, the number of people suffering from diabetes (type I and type II diabetes) around the world has skyrocketed in the last two decades, from 30 million to 230 million, claiming millions of lives and severely taxing the ability of health care systemsto deal with the epidemic. That is why we need to understand what the diabetes is all about.

What is type II diabetes

There are basically 2 types of diabetes: Type I diabetes and type II diabetes. When an individual is diagnosed with type II diabetes, they might get a feeling of being bewildered and overpowered because of the diagnosis. As such, it is important for people who are diagnosed with type II diabetes to comprehend that with some rudimentary alternations in their life style besides careful monitoring, coping and living with type II diabetes is totally achievable.

Also known as non insulin dependent diabetes or adult onset diabetes, type II diabetes occurs when our body tissues resists whatever insulin is produced. Since insulin is needed in order to control our blood sugar level, once our body becomes insulin resistant, our blood sugar level will increase without any check as the body is not using the glucose up, and this is the time people diagnose with type II diabetes.

Type II diabetes effects thousands of people each day and usually affects people much older than that of type I diabetes. It is the most common type of diabetes as it accounts for 90-95% of diabetes cases. Typically, it is due to being overweight, but there are exceptions to the rule which genetic, diet habit and lack of exercise also contribute to the causes of type II diabetes.

How to cope with type II diabetes

• Perform regular exercise

Perform regular exercise is helpful for any individual, particularly to people who diagnose type II diabetes. One of the direct results of exercise is the reducing of the blood sugar level. The diabetics do not have to develop a highly complex type of exercise routine to accomplish what you need to. They can just start out with simple exercise such as walking, biking or swimming several times a week. Once their blood sugar levels come under control, they will get rid of type II diabetes.

• Adjust your diet habit

If you do not have any idea of what food should a diabetic takes, consult with a registered dietitian. You can also search through various websites that offer food recipes for diabetics. Basicaly, avoid high glycaemic index carbohydrates such as white rice, cookies, sugar, cakes and eat more food that rich in fiber such as vegetables and whole meal food.

• Join a weight loss program

Since obesity is the kick starting point of type II diabetes, losing weight is the ultimate way to get rid of type II diabetes. In a healthy weight loss program, an average of 2 to 4 kg of weight loss results is considered fair enough. In fact, a lot of diabetics enjoy numbers of benefits after losing weight, including gain back normal blood sugar level, beautiful choleterol level, improved body shape and overall health.

Please take it seriously if you or your friend diagnose with type II diabetes. This is because it can cause the body to stop circulating the blood flow properly and that is why many diabetics have to have parts of their body amputated. Besides, diabetics also have a higher chance of developing kidney, pancreas, and other diseases. So, always alert and take early steps to prevent from diagnosed with type II diabetes.

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7 Causes of Diabetes

There are numerous known factors that cause diabetes, including genetic and environment factors. In fact, different type of diabetes is caused by different factors. Below are 7 common causes of diabetes for your reference.

1) Heredity

One of the major causes of diabetes is through heredity. Although it has been known that diabetes can be inherited for centuries, the pattern of inheritance is still not fully understood. Statistic reveals that those with a family history of this disease have 25% to 33% higher risk of developing diabetes, especially type I diabetes than those without such a background.

2) Being Overweight

The other leading cause of diabetes is being overweight. When you are obese or overweight, your body becomes more resistant to insulin. This is particularly true when your Body Mass Index (BMI) is greater than 30%. Studies reveal that 60% to 85% of diabetics tend to be overweight. In the United States alone, there are about 80% of type II diabetics are reported to be overweight.

When your body become more resistant to insulin, the sugar in the bloodstream cannot be pulled into the muscle and tissue cells, causing high blood sugar level in your bloodstream. In fact, older people have higher risk of being overweight due to lack of exercise and loss of muscle tissue when they age. That is why it is normal that many of the elderly people who are overweight develop a mild form of diabetes or type II diabetes. Luckily, they can always lower their blood sugar level simply by losing weight and performing regular exercise.

3) Diet Habit

Diet habit is one of the major causes of diabetes. In fact, eating too much of refined carbohydrates leads to higher risk of developing of diabetes disease according to a study from the University of Wisconsin. Published in Diabetes Care, it reveals that Pima Indians in America are 5 times more likely to develop diabetes than their relatives in Mexico, although their DNA are very closely related. Study shows that there are only 8.9% of Mexican Pimas who diagnose diabetes, compared to 38% of those who stay in the United States. Although both population are similarly obese, it is found that Mexican Pimas are far more active than the American Pimas and eat far fewer refined carbohydrates.

Apart from that, diabetes is also caused by constant overeating. Besides too much of sugar and refined carbohydrates, proteins and fats, which will be transformed into sugar, may also result in diabetes if taken in excess. An interesting point is we can hardly find diabetes in countries where people are poor and cannot afford to overeat. That is why diabetes is direct linked with the over consumption of food, especially of refined carbohydrates such as biscuits, bread, cakes, chocolates, ice cream, junk food and pudding.

4) Medication
There are numerous drugs that can actually lead to the development of diabetes, like Clozapine, Risperidone, Olanzapine, Ziprasidone and Quetiapine. So, beware if you are on medication.

5) Stress

There is a known connection between stress and diabetes mellitus. For example, worry and anxiety resulting from examination, death of a close relative or good friend, loss of a job, business failure and strained marital relationship can cause stress cause stress. All these have a deep influence on the metabolism and thus causing sugar to appear in the urine. As such, those who are under stress need to take adequate precautions and make necessary adjustments in thier daily lives.

6) Smoking

Smoking is another important factor causing diabetes. Study reveals that the risk of developing diabetes for men who smoke is doubled than those who do not smoke. Another study shows the risk of developing diabetes for women who smoke 25 or more cigarettes a day is increased by 40%. So, if you are smoking and also overweight, your risk of developing diabetes is even higher.

7) Lifestyle

It is no doubt that people who are less active have greater risk of developing diabetes. This is because physical activity and exercise help in maintaining current weight, by using up a lot of glucose present in the blood as energy. Anyway, modern convenience makes work easier and less physical activity. People used to walk a lot previously but now they tend not to walk if situation allows. And people tend to overeat nowadays if compared to last time. This unhealthy lifestyle will subsequently lead to overweight, and thus increase the risk of developing diabetes.

Understand the causes of diabetes is a very important step to maintain good health. If you find that most of the situations or factors mentioned above apply to you, you should get tested for diabetes. In fact, perform medical check up at least once a year if you can. Apart from that, maintain a healthy body weight and diet habit as well as perform regular exercise are good ways to minimize the risk of diabetes.

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Breast-Feeding Reduces Diabetes Risk

From the health point of view for the babies and mothers, breast-feeding is definitely advantageous as both of them may be protected against developing of diabetes disease and other health issues.

Diabetes (type I diabetes and type II diabetes) is a disease that has affected over 18 million people in United States alone, where another 15 million may not yet be diagnosed. In fact, diabetes has become one of the biggest cash cows of the medical industry, reaping in a staggering 10 million plus dollars a day. The cause of diabetes is that the body does not produce the insulin necessary for the body to absorb glucose, leads to persistent elevated blood sugar levels.

Breast feeding refers to a woman feeds her baby or a young child with milk produced from her breasts. Breast milk is actually a food so perfectly balanced to provide nutrition, hydration, and protection that it is impossible to replicate synthetically. As breast milk confers many health benefits to both babies and feeding mothers, expects recommend to have breast feeding if the mothers do not have transmissible infections.

In fact, studies conducted by Harvard Medical School show that the longer the women nurse, the lower their risks of developing type II diabetes. Besides, studies also reveal the advantages of breast-feeding in protecting the child against insulin dependent diabetes as well as other health issues such as allergy, asthma, Crohn's disease and some forms of childhood cancers.

Study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that women who breast-fed have less risk in developing type II diabetes. During the study, a total of 157,000 nurses has participated for 12 years and they need to answer periodic health questionnaires. Study indicates that those women who breast-fed for at least one year are about 15% less likely to develop type II diabetes than those who never breast-fed. Besides, for each additional year of breast-feeding, there is an additional 15% decreased risk in developing this type of diabetes.

In fact, Researchers explain that breast-feeding may change metabolism of mothers which may help the body more sensitive to the blood sugar-regulating hormone named insulin, and thus keeping blood sugar levels at a stable level. This theory is based on some evidence that are shown in rats and humans that are breast-feeding. It is found that the mothers who breast-fed have lower blood-sugar levels than those who do not breast-fed.

Even though some people claim that more studies are needed to support the above study findings, there is no doubt for scientist to mutually agree on benefits of breast feeding for babies and feeding mothers. Since breast feeding helps in reducing risk in developing diabetes and other health problems, it is always recommended to do so if you have babies.

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What is Type I Diabetes

Type I diabetes is far less common than type II diabetes and it will affect younger individuals. That is why it is also known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes. The chances of developing type I diabetes is 3.7 to 20 per every 100,000 people. In fact, over one million Americans have type I diabetes and some 10,000 new cases are being diagnosed every year. It is normally found in puberty usually between ages 10 to 12 years old in girls and 12 to 14 years old in boys, even though is can be seen in adults in their late 30s or early 40s.

Diabetes is a serious issues and type I diabetes is the worst. The reason why people develop type I diabetes is due to the autoimmune disorder. The body will start to see it's own tissue as a foreign object and then it destroys the body's ability to produce insulin. In another word, the autoimmube disorder will cause the dysfunction of the pancreas where it will just stop producing insulin which the body needs to maintain a normal glucose level in the blood. This cause your glucose level is too high in the bloodstream, which is known as hyperglycemia.


The most common symptoms of diabetes type I include frequent hunger, frequent urinating and frequent thirst. People will feel always hungry is because their body cannot use glucose as an energy source. That is also why they are tired out easily. Since the body cannot absorb sugar or glucose into the blood cells, individuals need to release it through frequent trips to the bathroom, which subsequently lead to frequent thirst.

Apart from that, you will also experience blurred vision, fatigue, weight loss, low healing power as it takes you a long time to heal a wound or cut, dry mouth, dry or itchy skin, and you could even have impotence for men. Besides, you should look out for other symptoms such as muscle cramps, which are often caused by an electrolyte (calcium, sodium, potassium, or bicarbonate) imbalance and numbness or tingling in both the hands and feet. In addition, your immune system will become weak and you will be able to pick up infection easily.

Scientists claim that what triggers type I diabetes are genetic make up and environmental factors such as certain viruses. You may simply have the disorder because an immediate family member has it. Study shows that if parents are suffered from diabetes, whether is type I or type II diabetes, the higher chances of their children will be diagnosed with type I diabetes. That is why we need to take care of our health before we plan to have our own kids.

As for treatment, type I diabetes normally involves injections of insulin. It is absorbed in the blood stream and absorbed by the cells that need insulin and it will then control the levels of blood sugar. Apart from properly monitoring insulin level of the patient, their diet should also be well managed, including checking of the spacing of meals and the content and sugar composition of their food.
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