Diabetes

There are different types and stages of diabetes Prediabetes: is when your blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diabetes. Simply put, prediabetes puts you at risk of developing diabetes unless you change your lifestyle and bring down the amount of glucose in your blood. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 15 to 30 per cent of prediabetics develop Type 2 Diabetes within five years if they do not change their lifestyle. But just…

You could have no symptoms or you could have one or more of the following symptoms. These symptoms are common for both Type 1 Diabetes (earlier called Juvenile diabetes) and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Increased thirst Frequent urination Blurred vision Extreme fatigue  Weight loss Increased hunger Irritability Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet Frequent skin, bladder or gum infections Wounds that don't heal

Are you at risk of developing diabetes? Yes if you are: 45 years of age or older Overweight with a BMI (Body mass index) of 25 or over.  Is your waist measurement more than 35cm (for women) and 40cm (for men) Physically inactive Have a close relative with diabetes Have a history of gestational diabetes or delivering an overweight baby (> 9 pounds) Have polycystic ovary syndrome High triglycerides or low HDL (good) cholesterol Have had abnormal blood sugar tests in the past Have heart…

Exercise is a key element in managing Diabetes. While some prefer walking or running, others prefer yoga and weight training. You can read how they included Yoga in their regimen. https://www.patientsengage.com/personal-voices/focus-exercise-and-diet-control https://www.patientsengage.com/personal-voices/move-it So we hand picked simple asanas for our members and put it together in this E-book.  You can download it from here: https://www.patientsengage.com/yogabooklet For more…

During the fasting month of Ramadan, Muslims all over the world fast for more than 15 hours a day. Here, 6 possible side effects and how to counter them. It is best to have a check-up before you start fasting for Ramadan. This is particularly important if you have any chronic conditions, like diabetes or migraine. Do remember that the Qur’an exempts the sick from fasting. If your doctor advises against your fasting, speak to your Imam about your situation. Even if you are…

From being in denial to Diabetes Support Group member, Christine Lee, 62, talks about her 22-year tryst with diabetes. She tells us how she changed her life around, and her take on hawker food. When were you diagnosed? In August 1993 when I was about to undergo an operation. I was then 40 years old. What were the early symptoms?  My only symptom was that I always felt very thirsty and loved gulping down F&N Sarsaparilla (aka “Sarsi”). The thought of diabetes never crossed my mind…

Which is the greater evil? How much fat is necessary in your diet? How to read food labels? Registered dietitian and diabetes educator Ujjwala Baxi has all the information.  The human diet is always evolving. And with each evolution comes strong and focused criticism of certain foods. Some decades ago, it was the fat in our diet that was demonised and 0% fat diets and recipes flourished on bookshelves and the dinner table. But very soon, it was realised that going nil…

Maintaining good oral health is more than just about keeping cavities at bay. Your dental health has far-reaching consequences on your body, with oral bacteria being linked to many life-threatening conditions, like cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, renal health and even brain abcess. Oral hygiene and overall good health  Like many areas of the body, your mouth is teeming with bacteria, most of them harmless. Normally the body's natural defences and good oral health can keep these…

Statin therapy appears to increase the risk for type 2 diabetes by 46%, even after adjustment for confounding factors, a large new population-based study concludes. The majority of people in this new study were taking atorvastatin and simvastatin, and the risk for diabetes was dose-dependent for these two agents, the researchers found. Nevertheless, senior author Markku Laakso, MD, from the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital, told Medscape Medical News: "Even if…

We get this question so often from people with diabetes who are worried about eating fruit that we thought we should share this research extract. Please remember every time you eat a cup of fruit (not juice), you are not eating something unhealthy like a packet of chips or a sweet.  Greater consumption of specific whole fruits, particularly blueberries, grapes, and apples, is significantly associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, whereas greater consumption of fruit juice is…