All About Diabetes

All About Diabetes: Symptoms, Causes, Types.

Diabetes is a serious disease. But the startling truth is that diabetes is reversible. Diabetes is the number one cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD).Recognizing diabetes symptoms can help you to prevent further devastating diabetes complications. Or, if you are a person in risk for developing diabetes, this can help you to prevent the diabetes onset. Anyway, keep in mind that you may not have all the symptoms of diabetes, maybe just only one diabetes symptom.

While talking about diabetes, you may be frightened from the idea that you may have it. Or maybe, you may have it in the future. You want to know if you are at risk to develop diabetes and anxiously you’re looking to find if you have any diabetes symptom.

Diabetes affects the manner in which the body handles carbohydrates, fats and proteins. If neglected, diabetes can have serious complications. The diabetic people have high blood sugar level. The blood sugar level is regulated by insulin – a hormone produced by the pancreas, which depends on your eating habits.

Diabetes is a serious disease. But the startling truth is that diabetes is reversible. Diabetes is the number one cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). This disease is a condition where the body is unable to automatically regulate blood glucose levels, resulting in too much glucose (a sugar) in the blood. Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects as many as 16 million Americans.

Actually, there is no clear symptom for diabetes. The most common symptoms of diabetes are as follow:

– being all the time thirsty
– frequent urination
– increased hunger
– feeling all the time tired; having an excessive fatigue,

On the other hand, there are some other symptoms of diabetes that are prescribed as diabetes complications in fact. These symptoms are:

– vision changes;
– recurrent skin infections very difficult to heal;
– tingling or numbness you may feel in your extremities;
– gums disorders;
– Hair loss and many others.

There are two different types of diabetes.

Type I Diabetes (juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes): The reason for type I diabetes is due to pancreas unability to produce insulin.

Type II Diabetes (non insulin dependent diabetes or adult onset diabetes): This diabetes is a result of body tissues becoming resistant to insulin. It is usually hereditary.

Type 2 Diabetes is more common than Type 1 Diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a life-long disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. Conditions associated with type 2 diabetes include hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. Type 2 diabetes may account for about 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Up to two-thirds of people with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms. Obesity is the single most important risk factor for type 2 diabetes. An estimated 20% of all cases of new onset type 2 diabetes are in individuals between the ages of 9-19. The more you know about type 2 diabetes, the more you’ll be able to take the right steps to take control of your condition.

If neglected, diabetes can lead to various complications such as damage to the kidneys, heart disease, nerve damage, hypoglycemia (drastic reduction in glucose levels). Diabetes is a serious disease and there is no treatment of it. However, it can be brought under control by proper diabetic diet.

 

 

Regular Physical Activity:

Regular Physical Activity:

Enhancing Physical Health and Fitness Introduction: In today’s fast-paced and sedentary lifestyle, maintaining good physical health and fitness has become a crucial aspect of our overall well-being. Regular physical activity plays a significant role in preventing chronic diseases and promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Incorporating exercise into our daily routine not only improves physical fitness but also boosts mental health, enhances quality of life, and increases longevity. This article aims to explore the power of regular physical activity and its profound impact on preventing chronic diseases, with a specific focus on exercise, physical health, and fitness. Physical Activity and Chronic Diseases:

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines physical activity as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure. Regular physical activity has been proven to reduce the risk of developing various chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Engaging in exercise can help control weight, lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, and enhance overall cardiovascular health.

Moreover, physical activity strengthens the immune system, making individuals less susceptible to infections and diseases. Exercise and Physical Health: Exercise, a structured form of physical activity, plays a pivotal role in maintaining physical health and fitness. It involves repetitive movements targeting specific muscle groups, aiming to improve strength, endurance, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness. Engaging in exercise stimulates the release of endorphins, commonly known as the “feel-good hormones,” which contribute to an improved mood, reduced stress, and enhanced mental well-being.

Regular exercise also promotes better sleep patterns, leading to increased energy levels and overall productivity. Fitness and Exercise: Fitness is a broader concept that encompasses various components, including cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition. Regular exercise can significantly contribute to achieving optimal fitness levels.

Cardiovascular exercises such as running, swimming, or cycling improve heart and lung function, while strength training exercises like weightlifting or resistance training enhance muscular strength and endurance. Flexibility exercises such as yoga or stretching routines increase joint mobility and prevent injuries. By incorporating a well-rounded exercise routine, individuals can improve their overall fitness and enjoy the benefits associated with a healthier body.

The Importance of Regular Physical Activity: Adopting a sedentary lifestyle is detrimental to our physical health and increases the risk of chronic diseases. Regular physical activity is essential for maintaining a healthy weight, as it helps burn calories and build lean muscle mass.

Moreover, exercise improves blood circulation, lowers the risk of developing high blood pressure, and reduces the likelihood of developing obesity-related conditions, such as metabolic syndrome. Engaging in physical activity also enhances bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures, especially in older adults.

Furthermore, regular exercise has a positive impact on mental health. It has been proven to alleviate symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress by boosting the production of endorphins and reducing the levels of stress hormones. Exercise also provides a sense of accomplishment, improves self-esteem, and enhances cognitive function, thus positively impacting overall mental well-being.

Conclusion:

The power of regular physical activity cannot be overstated. By incorporating exercise into our daily routines, we can significantly improve our physical health, enhance fitness levels, and prevent chronic diseases. Engaging in regular physical activity not only benefits our bodies but also positively impacts our mental well-being, leading to an overall improved quality of life. So, let us prioritize exercise and make it an indispensable part of our lives, reaping the countless benefits it brings to our physical health, fitness, and overall well-being.

 

Weight Loss, Exercise, Healthy Eating

Weight Loss, Exercise, Healthy Eating

 

The Key to Achieving Your Weight Loss Goals

In today’s fast-paced world, weight loss has become a priority for many individuals striving to lead a healthy lifestyle. While there are numerous diets and weight loss programs available, it is essential to focus on sustainable a solutions,  Incorporating exercise and healthy eating habits into your daily routine is a tried and tested approach that can help you achieve your weight loss goals.

 

In this article, we will delve into the significance of exercise and healthy eating for weight loss and explore how these three components are interconnected.

 

Weight Loss: Weight loss is a process that involves shedding excess body fat to achieve a healthier body composition. It is crucial to approach weight loss with a realistic mindset, understanding that it is not an overnight transformation. The key is to adopt a holistic approach that includes exercise and healthy eating habits. While exercise plays a significant role in burning calories and boosting metabolism, healthy eating ensures that your body receives the right nutrients to support weight loss.

 

Healthy Eating: Healthy eating is the foundation of any successful weight loss journey. It involves consuming a balanced diet that is rich in essential nutrients while limiting the intake of unhealthy foods. A well-rounded diet should include a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. By prioritizing nutrient-dense foods, you provide your body with the fuel it needs to function optimally. One important aspect of healthy eating is portion control. It is essential to be mindful of the quantities of food you consume. By practicing portion control, you can enjoy your favorite foods while still maintaining a calorie deficit necessary for weight loss. Additionally, it is crucial to stay hydrated by drinking an adequate amount of water throughout the day. Hydration not only aids in digestion but also helps curb unnecessary food cravings.

 

Exercise: Exercise is a powerful tool when it comes to weight loss. Engaging in regular physical activity helps burn calories, increase metabolism, and build lean muscle mass. There are various types of exercises you can incorporate into your routine, including cardiovascular exercises, strength training, and flexibility exercises. Cardiovascular exercises, such as running, swimming, or cycling, elevate your heart rate and increase calorie expenditure. These activities are particularly effective in burning excess fat and improving cardiovascular health. Strength training, on the other hand, helps build muscle, which increases your resting metabolic rate. This means that even when at rest, your body burns more calories. Lastly, flexibility exercises, such as yoga or Pilates, improve your range of motion and help prevent injuries.

 

The Interconnection: Weight loss, healthy eating, and exercise are interconnected components that complement and reinforce each other. While exercise aids in burning calories, healthy eating provides the necessary nutrients for energy and recovery. Conversely, engaging in physical activity boosts metabolism, making it easier to create a calorie deficit through healthy eating. Moreover, exercise has been linked to improved mental health and mood. Regular physical activity releases endorphins, which are known as “feel-good” hormones. This can help combat stress, anxiety, and depression, which often contribute to weight gain or hinder weight loss progress. By incorporating exercise into your weight loss journey, you are not only improving your physical health but also enhancing your overall well-being. Conclusion: Achieving weight loss goals requires a comprehensive approach that includes exercise and healthy eating. While it may seem challenging at first, adopting these habits gradually and making small, sustainable changes will yield long-lasting results. Remember, the key is consistency and perseverance.

 

By prioritizing weight loss, healthy eating, and exercise, you are taking proactive steps towards a healthier, happier you. So, lace up those sneakers, plan your meals, and embark on a journey of transformation that will not only help you shed those extra pounds but also improve your overall quality of life.

Exercises to Strengthen Your Heart

Exercises to Strengthen Your Heart

Cardiovascular diseases can be life-threatening. It is critical to keep a healthy heart and avoid the dangers of heart problems, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, or stroke. Making regular exercise a part of your daily routine for life and being physically active can go a long way in preventing most heart health

One of the most important organs in our bodies, the heart, is also a muscle that gets stronger and healthier with regular physical exercise. But you don’t have to be an athlete to be heart-healthy. You just have to make exercise a part of your daily routine for the rest of your life. Even walking for at least 30 minutes every day will be hugely beneficial to your long-term health.

While physical exercise is really important for the heart, not all exercises are created equal. Some exercises may focus on giving your body other benefits like flexibility or balance, but not dramatically contribute to helping you to keep a healthy heart for life.

Aerobic Exercises

 Aerobic exercise is identified as the most beneficial exercise for an individual’s cardiovascular health. It is also known as “cardio” and it helps improve circulation, which results in lower blood pressure and heart rate. It utilizes the repetitive contraction of a large group of muscles, making the person’s heart beat faster. It also increases aerobic fitness, which can be measured by a treadmill test. Aerobic exercise helps the heart pump better, aiding cardiac output.

30 minutes of daily aerobic exercise for a minimum of five days a week is considered the ideal. Aerobic exercise reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and for those already diagnosed with diabetes, helps them to manage their blood glucose level. Some examples of aerobic exercises are running, brisk walking, cycling, swimming, playing sports. The best type of aerobic exercises are heart-pumping activities conducted for a minimum of 150 minutes per week.

Resistance Training

 Resistance training is also known as strength work. It helps to strengthen the muscles, by making them work against a force or weight. People carrying more body fat can reduce fat more effectively and create leaner muscle mass with resistance training, as it has a more specific effect on body composition.

Combined with aerobic exercise, it can work even better as there are studies that support that combining both exercises (aerobic exercise and resistance training) can help raise HDL (good cholesterol) and minimize LDL (bad cholesterol). This reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular health problems.

 There are different forms of resistance training, including the use of free weights, resistance bands, weight machines, and even the person’s own body weight (e.g. yoga). Training 2-3 times a week can prove to be the most beneficial and effective for people who want to get fitter and healthier with resistance training.

Stretching (for Flexibility) and Balance Exercises

 It may not first appear that flexibility exercises or balancing exercises directly benefit an individual’s heart health. But both can go a long way in benefitting cardiovascular fitness, through how it benefits our musculoskeletal health. Flexibility helps us to do our exercises more effectively and avoid injuries. With sufficient flexibility, we may prevent joint pain, cramps, or unnecessary injuries that could potentially arise from more strenuous exercises like aerobic exercise or resistance training.

Flexibility exercises play an important role as they put our bodies in the right condition for conducting either aerobic exercises or resistance training without unnecessary strain or injury.

Balancing exercises on the other hand help to maintain stability and prevent falls that could likely happen also when conducting strenuous exercises. Achieving balance and improved flexibility are still very important in making sure our body can sustain the cardiovascular exercises it needs to stay fit and healthy.

Stretching exercises may not always be the most interesting, but they can be done in the comfort of your home with some videos from the internet, making them really convenient and easy to learn. Flexibility exercises and balancing exercises are both important in building up and strengthening our cardiovascular health.

 

 

Carbohydrates and Type 2 Diabetes

Carbohydrates and Type 2 Diabetes

There is a much research that shows a low-carb diet leads to rapid and healthy weight loss. Human beings are overweight and obese more than ever before. Type 2 diabetes also happens to be much more of a problem now than it has in the past. The highly-processed meal plan that many living in modern, westernized countries consume regularly is also common.

It is no small coincidence that the simple carb profile of the Standard American Diet (SAD) is linked to overweight and obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, conditions that are largely avoidable by trading “bad” carbs for “good” carbohydrates.

Are All Carbs the Same?

In the 1970s and 80s Hollywood churned out “evil twin” TV series episodes by the dozens. From Knight Rider to Star Trek, Bonanza to The Bionic Man and a long list of soap operas, a mustache, beard or simple hairstyle change was all that was needed to turn a hero into his or her otherwise identical-looking villain.

What does that have to do with carbohydrates and diabetes?

Hollywood’s evil twin episodic device still popular today shows us that two similar or even identical appearing entities can be vastly different. This is true with carbohydrates. There were the good and bad twins played by David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider, and there are good and bad carbohydrates.

Simple Carbs Are Mostly Bad Carbs

Simple carbohydrates are absorbed quickly into your bloodstream. They have a very simple molecular composition, so your body can take them apart very easily. In other words, the good and not so good chemicals, nutrients and compounds in simple carbohydrates (bad carbs) are rapidly absorbed by your body.

This is a good thing for those healthy nutrients and vitamins that are found in simple carbohydrates. The problem is, due to their molecular construction, there aren’t very many essential nutrients your body requires in most foods that are full of bad carbs. Processed, simple carbohydrates found in soft drinks, white rice, white bread, cookies and a long list of processed foods are full of sugar but contain few of the nutrients needed for health.

Sugar is a simple carb, and is rapidly processed by your body. It enters your bloodstream and is broken down to glucose. Glucose is needed by your body to produce energy so that you can walk, and think, and move and exist. However, when you get too much glucose in your bloodstream, you cause a blood sugar spike, something that diabetics and non-diabetic individuals should look to avoid.

With many of the processed and sugar-laden “foods” on offer today, it takes only a very small amount to cause elevated and unhealthy blood glucose levels. Reduce or eliminate the bad carbohydrates in your diet and replace them with good carbs, and you have taken a big and healthy step to diabetes management.

Complex Carbs Are the Good Carbs

Complex carbohydrates are more difficult to break down. This is a more natural process, and how our bodies are designed or have evolved to digest the foods we need for optimum health. They usually contain plenty of healthy nutrients, minerals, enzymes, vitamins and other natural goodies your body craves and needs.

Complex carbohydrates are often plant-based foods that are also high in fiber. Fiber is recommended for diabetes management, as it helps regulate a healthy body weight, lowers cholesterol levels, controls blood sugar levels and reduces your risk of developing heart disease.

Because of their complex construction, these good carbs take longer for your body to digest. This makes you feel full longer after you are through eating complex carbohydrate foods. This can lead to a reduced daily consumption of calories and assist with body weight management which is important to both diabetic and non-diabetic individuals.

Complex carbohydrates are in abundance in fruits and vegetables, nuts and whole grains.

Eat these foods fresh and raw whenever you can. Even steamed, boiled or broiled, fruits and vegetables will deliver healthy complex carbohydrates and essential minerals and nutrients your body needs to prevent diabetes development, as well as effectively manage diabetes if you are diagnosed. Plant-based diets have even proven successful in reversing diabetes, so start getting more of these healthy carbohydrates in your system today, and learn to shun the sugar treats.