Insulin is the most common treatment prescribed for people affected with diabetes. Diabetes is condition where high amounts of glucose prevail in the blood for an extended period of time. However, there are some drugs that offer an alternative to insulin in treating diabetes, which are:

1. Liraglutide: Liraglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drug that causes the body to release greater amounts of insulin so as to facilitate the movement of glucose from the blood to the cells. People with type 2 diabetes generally use this treatment. It slows the digestion process and can cause symptoms of headache and nausea. 

2. Pramlintide: It's an artificially produced version of amylin. It is taken by both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients, facilitates slower digestion of food and therefore, controls release of sugar in the blood. It can cause tiredness and nausea.

3. Dulaglutide:This treatment is for people affected with type 2 diabetes and it is administered once a week. It causes more insulin to be released and pass the glucose to the cells. It can cause loss of appetite, nausea and abdominal cramps as side effects.

4. Albiglutide: This treatment facilitates pancreas to release insulin and limits the glucagon hormone production. It is used by type 2 diabetes patients who have not taken well to other treatments. The side effects are skin reaction, respiratory tract infection and nausea.

5. Exenatide: It is a drug that causes pancreas to release insulin that facilitates movement of glucose to cells. It is a treatment for type 2 diabetes and it restricts release of glucagon in the body. The possible side effects are acidity, constipation and vomiting.

Common Insulin Alternatives

How Thyroid issues affect your weight - When I talk with women suffering with unexpected weight gain, often one of the first questions I am asked is "Is it my thyroid?"

Sometimes, my answer is "Yes" - after all, our thyroid hormones play a huge role in regulating our metabolism and how we use nutrients.

And research shows that even small changes to the thyroid function can cause weight gain. In fact, many women who have been told their thyroid test results are "normal" may still have a reduced thyroid function (subclinical hypothyroidism) that's enough to cause weight gain and other bothersome symptoms.

At the clinic, I work with women suffering from a wide range of thyroid issues from those just starting to suspect they have a thyroid problem to those already taking medication. And I tell each and every one of them how they can benefit from natural thyroid support and a holistic approach that considers thyroid function as part of overall hormonal balance.

The thyroid and unexpected weight gain: an early signal - Unexpected weight gain and difficulty losing weight may be one of the first noticeable signals that you're struggling with hypothyroidism (a sluggish thyroid) or subclinical hypothyroidism. Many women tell me about their frustration with gaining five pounds every year and not being able to figure out why!

Reduced thyroid function may be the result of the thyroid's impaired ability to produce hormones, or the body may have difficulty using the thyroid hormones. Either way, problems with your thyroid hormones may cause the rate at which you use nutrients (your metabolic rate) to slow down.

We are especially prone to thyroid issues and weight gain as women because the thyroid is linked to other systems that affect weight including the proper functioning of our neurotransmitters, reproductive hormones, and adrenal glands.

Thyroid issues affect women of all ages - While we see women of all ages with thyroid issues, there are times in your life when your hormones fluctuate more and when the development of thyroid issues may be even more likely.

If you have any questions related to thyroid, ask me by clicking on 'Consult'.

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Revealed - How Thyroid Issues Affect Your Weight

Infertility is a very common problem among both men and women and it refers to the inability to conceive even after regular unprotected sex. The causes of this can be varied and some of the most prominent ones are:

Causes in Women:

1. Polycystic ovarian syndrome

PCOS is a medical condition in women in which they do not ovulate. It is a major cause of infertility in most women. It can often result in irregular menstruation and an increase in the release of male hormones in the female body. This causes male symptoms like the growth of a beard, hoarse voice etc. in females. The probable causes of this condition comprise being over or under weight, thyroid imbalance etc. It is possible to treat this condition with medical aid and weight management can also prove to be helpful.

2. Lack of sufficient healthy eggs

As you grow in age, the number and health of your eggs decline significantly. This could be a possible reason for your infertility. In this condition, optimizing egg health by maintaining a healthy weight and quitting alcohol and cigarettes can help you get rid of your infertility.

3. Blockage of the fallopian tubes

Blockage of or damage to the fallopian tubes causes the tubal factor that is responsible for infertility in women. The tubal factor can also be a result of endometriosis or any sexually transmitted disease like Chlamydia etc.

Causes in Men:

1. Ejaculatory disorders

Retrograde ejaculation, premature ejaculation, and other issues associated with ejaculation may cause infertility in men. In retrograde ejaculation, the semen enters the bladder instead of emerging out of the penis during orgasm. In premature ejaculation, the ejaculation occurs before the vagina is prepared to receive the semen.

2. Chromosome defects

Disorders like Klinefelter's syndrome can cause abnormal growth of the male reproductive organs resulting in infertility. Other such syndromes include Kallmann's syndrome, Karatagener's syndrome, cystic fibrosis etc. These conditions are mostly genetic.

3. Hormonal imbalance

Male infertility can also be a result of hormonal imbalances like hypogonadism (low testosterone levels), disorders of the testicles, abnormal functioning of the pituitary, thyroid, adrenal and the other glands as well.

6 Common Causes of Infertility That are also Curable

There was an era where we had deadly infections like plague and polio causing death of thousands of people. We still have occasional outbreak of swine flu, but by and large, infections are quite controlled. The new killer diseases are caused because of the lifestyle we have adapted and the damage we have done to the environment. High intake of processed foods, artificial chemicals in our foods, sedentary lifestyle with very minimal to no physical activity, couching over the computers; the list is quite long. All these have led to diseases like diabetes and cancer that were not so common about say few decades ago.

Detailed observation has revealed that both these new epidemiologic diseases have a close correlation. There are factors, which induce diabetes and diabetes in turn and in some cases, diabetes inducing agents, can cause cancer also. It has also been observed that mortality is severely increased if diabetic patients are diagnosed with cancer. There are two types of diabetes. While type 1 is mostly hereditary, type 2 is lifestyle induced and the age at which this is being diagnosed is taking a severe plunge. Adolescents and teenagers are being diagnosed for diabetes. Cancer, on the other hand, is of various types (leukaemia, melanoma, etc.) and can affect various organs (lung, breast, prostate, stomach, liver, etc.).

The medical community is yet to decipher the disease pattern of both these conditions. While there is no definite correlation between diabetes and all types of cancer, some types of cancer are definitely correlated with a definite reason identified, pancreatic and liver cancer for instance. The high amounts of insulin that diabetic patients are exposed to causes changes in liver and pancreas including fatty liver and cirrhosis, here the incidence of cancer is higher. The linkage is not very clear in lung and intestinal cancers and also there is no link between prostate cancer and diabetes.

Diabetes is considered as a state of chronic inflammation and leads to conditions like hyperinsulinemia (higher levels of insulin in the blood) hyperglycemia (higher levels of sugar in the blood). These are believed to aggravate the neoplastic process of cancer formation, thereby inducing cancer at a greater pace and also increasing the mortality rates.

The following are risk factors that are applicable to both age, physical activity, diet, obesity, drinking and smoking. It is also possible that onset of one can be followed by the other. As noted earlier, more detailed research is awaited to establish a definite linkage, but the correlation cannot be ignored at all.

Both these new epidemics are here to stay and since they have a common set of factors, we need to work on ways to contain them.

Diabetes and Cancer: The New Epidemic?

Pregnancy is a time when women need to be in the best of their health. Yet, there are various kinds of conditions and ailments that a pregnant woman can suffer from. One of them is gestational diabetes mellitus. Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes mellitus that usually afflicts pregnant women who are suffering from high glucose levels in their blood. Let us get to know more about this condition.

Timing: gestational diabetes strikes an expecting mother around the third trimester. This is usually the time when pregnant women exhibit levels that are higher than normal. This may be due to the fact that the placental lactogen can block the action of the insulin receptors, leading to a spike in blood sugar levels.&nbsp;

Past history of diabetes: women who have not previously witnessed a rise in their blood sugar levels or any previous diagnosis of diabetes can also end up contracting gestational diabetes during their pregnancy due to an ineffective insulin response of the body and its chemicals. Also, after suffering from gestational diabetes, women are at a higher risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus, thereafter.&nbsp;

Untreated gestational diabetes: the children born to mothers, who were not treated properly for gestational diabetes, are usually at risk of various other ailments. These children may be prone to complications during delivery. After birth, they are prone to various issues like low blood sugar levels as well as jaundice. These children may not be able to enjoy a normal delivery, and may have to be delivered via caesarean section, and even face premature delivery.&nbsp;

Food: it is important to monitor the blood sugar levels in gestational diabetes. One of the best ways to do this is to follow a proper diet plan. The food in the diet of these expecting mothers should include dietary fibres, carbohydrates and other nutrients like protein, calcium and iron. It is important to break the meals down into smaller portions or mini meals so that the insulin inhibitors can do their work more effectively, even as the body and the baby remain nourished.&nbsp;

Exercise: while most forms of exercise are discouraged during pregnancy, it is always a good idea to remain fit by doing your chores and walking. Pre-natal yoga can also help by introducing certain yogic poses that are good for expecting mothers. Gestational diabetes can also be tackled with the help of exercises like walking.&nbsp;
Gestational diabetes must be treated on time, and properly, so as to avoid complications for the baby and mother during and after birth.


Things To Know About Gestational Diabestes

Can you imagine your life without your cell phone? Difficult isn t it, but did you know that these devices could be harming your sexual health? Most people keep their cell phones in their jeans or trouser pockets or clipped to a belt on their waist. While this does make the phone easily accessible, it also affects male fertility.

There are two main aspects to male fertility; the motility and viability of sperm cells. Motility refers to the sperm cell s ability to swim through body fluids and fertilise the egg. Viability refers to the number of living vs non-living sperm cells and sperm cell abnormalities.

Cell phones are constantly working even when we re not talking into them. They constantly send out and receive electromagnetic frequency radiation to keep your social media accounts updated. Given the close proximity of the cell phone and your body, this energy may be absorbed by your genitals. As a result, the sperm cells may change shape and lose their ability to attach themselves to an egg. The structural abnormality may impede the sperm s ability to swim and thus reduce motility. Semen exposed to this type of radiation also has a high level of free radicals.

In order to produce sperm, the testicles maintain a specific temperature that is ideal for sperm health. Smartphones typically also have a higher temperature than that of the room you are in. Thus, when you keep your cell phone in your pant pockets, they increase your skin temperature in the groin by approximately 2 degrees as well as the temperature within your testicles. This slows down the production of sperm cells and can even kill them thus, reducing sperm cell viability.

In the ideal world, a cell phone should only be carried in a bag, but almost all men may cringe at the thought of carrying a bag. Hence, take your phone out of your pocket whenever possible, for example while driving, at a restaurant etc. The use of Ayurvedic aphrodisiacs can also lower the harmful effects of cell phones. The dried roots of asparagus or safed musli can help increase sperm count and rejuvenate a man s libido. Ashwagandha, shilajit and kawach are also very effective Ayurvedic herbs to treat male infertility. Increasing your intake of food rich in vitamin C and E can also help deal with the stress in sperm caused by phone radiation. The use of these herbs has negligible side effects and hence can be safely used by men of all ages.

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Cell Phone in Pocket - Did You Know It Can Reduce Male Fertility?

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