Top 5 things all diabetics must do

As you are aware, diabetes is an increasingly common problem not only in adults but with children and young people too. Preventing or delaying diabetes is possible with a few lifestyle changes. And for those who have been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes, changes in lifestyle can prove beneficial to keep it under control. This is important and should not be taken lightly as diabetes can lead to other serious health complications. There are few simple things which if done regularly can keep you safe and absolutely fine.

5 ways to combat diabetes.

1) exercise - do minimum 45 to 30 minutes of exercise like brisk walking (for people with heart ailments make sure that you have done stress test/tmt). Keep yourself physically active all the time this will help you in losing weight, controlling blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol. It will also improve insulin sensitivity in your body. 
2) high fiber diet - include high fiber foods like fruits, vegetables, leafy vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, cinnamon, green tea in your diet. This will improve your blood sugar level and also reduce your risk of developing diabetes and helps you to lose weight. Do not get into fad diets and tv commercials as they are often misleading.
3) reduce stress - tension and worry releases certain chemicals (stress hormones) which can increase your blood sugar level. Try relaxation therapy like meditation, yoga, music and soundful sleep.
4) restrict intake of alcohol - alcohol increases body weight, triglyceride (cholesterol) level and blood pressure. They may make you unaware of symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar which may be dangerous). They are empty calorie with no nutritional value. Permissible limit is 2 drinks (60ml) a day for men and 1 drink (60ml) for women, it is also not advisable to smoke.
5) regular check-ups - make sure that you regularly check your blood sugar levels and modify treatment from your diabetologist doctor (if required.) your body and your friend/ relative / colleague's body are different, so is your need of medicine for diabetes as well. What works best for them may not be right for you. So it is my sincere request is to avoid any self medication as it can be dangerous. Regularly undergo screening for early detection of diabetes complications like eye, nerve, heart, foot, kidney.

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Top 5 Things All Diabetics Must Do

Treatment for Kidney stones varies depending on the size and type of the stone or the symptoms caused by it. In case of small stones, medication and simple changes in lifestyle can be enough to treat it, but surgeries and extensive treatments are required if symptoms are severe. 

Following are treatment options for kidney stones:

Small stones with minimal symptoms 
1. Drinking water
Drinking around 3 liters of water a day will regulate your urinary system and can effectively eliminate small stones. Unless your doctor advices otherwise, drinking ample amount of fluids, usually water, is one of the commonest way to get rid of small kidney stones. 

2. Pain relievers
There might be a considerable amount of pain and discomfort associated with passing the stone through urine. Your doctor may recommend pain killers like Ibuprofen, Naproxen sodium or acetaminophen. 

3. Medical therapy
In order to eliminate the kidney stone, your doctor may administer medical therapy. Medication like alpha blocker helps in passing the kidney stone with least pain and more quickly. It relaxes the muscles in the ureter and makes the process relatively easy. 

Large stones with severe symptoms
 
1. Using sound waves to break up stones 
In this technique, a procedure called Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL), is employed. ESWL uses the help of sound waves to create vibrations which breaks the stones in smaller pieces. This procedure takes about an hour and can cause mild pain and discomfort. Your doctor may administer sedatives to reduce your sensitivity. ESWL has side effects like blood in urine or bruising in the abdomen. 

2. Surgical removal of kidney stones 
Surgical removal of stones is done with the help of a procedure called nephrolithotomy. It uses small telescopes and other instruments which are inserted in your back through a small incision. It is generally done in case of large stones and when ESWL fails. 

3. Ureteric Calculi (Using a scope to remove stones) 
A thin illuminated tube called ureteroscope is used to remove a comparatively smaller stone in the kidney or ureter. The ureteroscope is equipped with a tiny camera which determines the location of the stone which is then broken into pieces with the help of other instruments. It may require general or regional anesthesia.

Treatments For Kidney Stones

Diabetes is growing to be the epidemic of modern days. The challenge here is it is not just about managing your sugar levels, but the whole lot of symptoms that diabetes brings with it. From bones to teeth to kidneys to wounds, diabetes affects all body systems. It is therefore very essential to watch out for symptoms of diabetes and curb it in its early stages. This will help control diabetes significantly along with its effects on the whole body.

Diabetes Complications-

Long-term complications of diabetes develop gradually. The longer you have diabetes   and the less controlled your blood sugar   the higher the risk of complications. Eventually, diabetes complications may be disabling or even life-threatening. Possible complications include:

Cardiovascular disease. Diabetes dramatically increases the risk of various cardiovascular problems, including coronary artery disease with chest pain (angina), heart attack, stroke and narrowing of arteries (atherosclerosis). If you have diabetes, you are more likely to have heart disease or stroke.
Nerve damage. Excess sugar can injure the walls of the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that nourish your nerves, especially in your legs. This can cause tingling, numbness, burning or pain. Left untreated, you could lose all sense of feeling in the affected limbs. 
Kidney damage. The kidneys contain millions of tiny blood vessel clusters (glomeruli) that filter waste from your blood. Diabetes can damage this delicate filtering system. Severe damage can lead to kidney failure or irreversible end-stage kidney disease, which may require dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Eye damage. Diabetes can damage the blood vessels of the retina (diabetic retinopathy), potentially leading to blindness. 
Foot damage. Nerve damage in the feet or poor blood flow to the feet increases the risk of various foot complications. These infections may ultimately require toe, foot or leg amputation.
Skin conditions. Diabetes may leave you more susceptible to skin problems, including bacterial and fungal infections.
Hearing impairment. Hearing problems are more common in people with diabetes.
Alzheimer's disease. Type 2 diabetes may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease. 
The following are some of the basic must do's if you have diabetes. These can go a long way in preventing adverse diabetic side effects.

Diet: Whether diabetic or not, it is always important to watch your diet. You are what you eat. Eat what your body needs, reduce refined foods, processed foods and increase the amount of whole grains and fruits and vegetables. Eating small frequent meals goes a long way in managing sugar levels than binging at one meal and starving the rest of the day. Reduce intake of saturated fats; include more lean meats. Choose grilling and steaming over frying and roasting. Diet is very important in diabetes. Recommended foods - Healthy carbohydrates, Fiber-rich foods, Heart-healthy fish and Good fats. Foods to avoid - Saturated fats, Trans fats, Cholesterol and Sodium
Exercise: Every week, make sure about 2 hours is dedicated to physical activity. This could include any exercise of your choice, brisk walking, swimming, cycling, aerobics, hiking, jogging, skipping, gymnastics, or playing games like football or basketball. While in most cases, the person can do these on their own, in some people, supervision may be required.
Watch your weight: For a diabetic person, controlling weight to a desirable level of BMI of 18 and 23 is very important. Obesity is one of the predisposing factors for diabetes, and reducing weight controls the onset of diabetes and helps the progression of symptoms in diabetics.
Smoking: Another risk factor for diabetes onset, quitting is the best option. If not feasible, reducing smoking and gradually quitting should be aimed at. Not just diabetes, the effects on overall health will be evident almost immediately after quitting.
Stress management: One of the main risk factors for diabetes, there is no getting away from stress. Everybody has their stresses but the trick is to manage it well. Whether it is music or meditation or medication or counselling, make sure stress levels are managed. This also helps prevent diabetic complications like heart disease and stroke and promotes well-being.
Constant Checkups: Periodic check-up of blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels, eye exam, dental checkup, foot checkup to test for nerve damage are all extremely important. Take your medications regularly without fail.
Diabetes requires a change in lifestyle, which may seem tedious initially. But after a while, it will become the norm and then diabetic control does not feel like something additional that is to be done.

Diabetes - 6 Ways You Can Prevent it

Exercise has a considerable number of benefits to offer people who have diabetes. As a result of doing exercise on a regular basis, the blood sugar level stays in check. Managing diabetes without indulging in any physical activity is near to no good as exercise is the backbone of diabetes treatment. Here are the ten exercises that prove to be great for people with diabetes.

Walking: Walking is considered to be one of the best exercises for treating diabetes and the most prescribed physical activity for people with Type 2 diabetes. A daily brisk walking of at least 30 minutes can be the easiest way of increasing one s physical activity level.
Running/jogging: By jogging or running daily, people can control their blood pressure and ensure good heart condition. It proves to be extremely beneficial for diabetes people who often develop risks of heart attacks or high blood pressure.
Weight training: As regular weight training helps in building the muscle mass, opting for this becomes necessary for people with Type 2 diabetes. Because losing muscle mass means difficulty in maintaining the blood sugar levels.
Tai Chi: Tai Chi helps in relaxing the body and mind as well as ensures trouble-free body movements. Tai Chi plays a crucial role in reducing stress and nerve damage, which is a common complication in diabetes.
Swimming: Swimming helps in relaxing and stretching the muscles, without exerting any pressure on the joints, which is why it is a great exercise for diabetic people. Often diabetic people lose sensation in their feet, which makes swimming the best option for them.
Yoga: Helping in lowering the body fat, improving the nerve function, and fighting the insulin resistance, yoga can benefit people suffering from diabetes in a lot of ways. By controlling the stress, it indirectly helps in lowering the blood sugar levels.
Stationary bicycling: A form of aerobic exercise, stationary bicycling ensures a strong heart and well-functioning lungs. Burning lots of calories, it improves the blood flow to the legs, which is important for diabetic people.
Water aerobics: Water aerobics, too, has a lot of benefits to offer to the diabetic people in terms of regaining the right body balance and strengthening the muscles.
Playing: For those who enjoy playing tennis or basketball, treating diabetes with exercise can be an easy job. All one has to do is play rigorously on a daily basis, and the body will stay fit and the blood sugar levels well controlled.
Dancing: Dancing can be a great way of doing exercise for the diabetic people as it helps in improving the flexibility of the body, reducing stress and lowering the blood sugar levels.
By including exercise as a regular part of their daily life, people with diabetes can not only experience positive effects on their diabetic condition but can also achieve an overall good health with desired fitness.

10 Exercises That Will Surely Help Diabetic Patients!

The pair of kidneys that human beings have, forms an important part in the excretory system. They perform specific and important functions. They excrete urine as well as help in eliminating the toxins, which accumulate in the body. Kidney stones occur when the minerals present in the urine without being discharged, keep on accumulating. This gives rise to an extremely painful and uncomfortable situation. Though sometimes the situation gets revoked all by itself, many a times it requires medical intervention. 

Some of the symptoms of kidney stones are: 
1.  Excruciating pain in the back
2.  Pain while urinating
3.  Tendencies to vomit
4.  Dizziness
5.  Fever 

However, there are several preventive measures which you can undertake in order to avert the situation. Some of them are:
1.  Drink lots of water
Kidney stone is one of those rare conditions that once occurred, always carry the latent threat of recurring again. Therefore, drinking water in large quantities becomes essential. The more you drink water, the more frequently you would urinate, thereby curbing the chances of the minerals settling in the kidneys.
2.  Avoid certain foods
Food like beets, spinach, those which are replete with calcium oxalate should be avoided in order to minimize chances of having kidney stones.
3.  Change your diet
If you are trying to avoid the eventuality of developing kidney stones, it is imperative that you change your diet a bit. It is recommended that you exclude animal protein as much as possible and assiduously avoid the intake of salt as much as possible.
4.  Take less calcium supplements
Calcium generally is considered a nemesis to your kidneys and is prescribed by doctors to be avoided. However recent research has thwarted this claim. Calcium does not pose a threat to kidneys. However calcium supplements definitely do and therefore, should be avoided.

All About Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are caused when certain minerals of your urine are retained and are not fully released, causing them to amalgamate and form a stone. Passing a kidney stone is one of the most painful experiences you may face physically. Its magnanimity is often compared to childbirth, and those who are suffering from kidney stones dread having this experience. If you are not yet affected by kidney stones and do not want to, read further to know what type of diet you need to follow in order to prevent it.

1. Drink lots of water: On an average, a person must be drinking at least 3 liters of water every day. If you live in a more hot and humid climate, your water intake must be even more than that, so that on an average, 2.5 liters of urine is passed throughout the day, which decreases the chance of unnecessary retention of minerals from the urine and release them more easily from the body.

2. Continue eating foods rich in calcium: It is a common misconception that calcium accelerates the formation of kidney stones. Calcium is digested by the intestine, only excess calcium cannot be digested by the intestine and is sent to the kidney. Continue consuming calcium rich foods unless your doctor prescribes you against it. Make sure your diet includes enough dairy products such as milk, cheeses, etc., or other calcium rich foods, such as oats and broccoli.

3. Limit intake of oxalic acid: Oxalic acid is mostly found in foods obtained from plants. It restricts the absorption of calcium in the intestines and as a result, more calcium is passed into the kidneys; thus, forming calcium oxalate, or oxalate stones. Try to avoid foods, such as rhubarb, Swiss chard, nuts, tea, sweet potatoes, etc.;mainly leguminous plant products.

4. Decrease the ingestion of sodium salts, sugar and meat protein: Salts and sugars, mainly found in packaged foods are used to prevent them from expiring. They increase the release of calcium and oxalates into the blood, which thus increases the chance to develop kidney stones. Meat contains fibers which affect certain nutrients in the kidney, thus aggravating the formation of stones.

5. Increase the consumption of insoluble fibers: Insoluble fibers are those rough fibers which are not soluble in water during the process of digestion. They are found in rice, wheat, barley, etc., and are found to decrease calcium absorption in the kidney. They attach themselves to the calcium and oxalates, which enable them to be released as stool instead of urine.

Kidney Stones and Your Diet

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