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

Beetroots are packed with nutrients and can be eaten raw, pickled or cooked. Beetroots can even be juiced. It has been used in a number of sweet and savoury recipes. When it comes to beetroots, the root as well as the leaf can be eaten. Here are a few great reasons why you should eat beetroot.

    It's good for the heart: Beetroots are rich in nitrates. This helps relax the arteries and reduces blood pressure. Being rich in fiber and antioxidants enables beetroots to prevent plaque formation in arteries. The antioxidants in beetroots also prevent bad cholesterol from being deposited on the artery walls. Thus it protects against heart attacks and strokes.
    It helps fight diseases: Beetroots are said to boost immunity and fight a number of diseases including cancer, Alzheimer's and liver disorders. Beetroot is rich in betanin that expels cancer triggering agents and prevents the development of tumours on both the skin and liver. It is also said to protect a person from breast cancer. It also helps detoxify the body.
    It helps build strong bones and teeth: Beetroots are rich in silica. This silica is a crucial component required for healthy bones and teeth. Along with silica, beetroots are also rich in magnesium, vitamin C and folate. Beetroots also help prevent osteoporosis.
    It helps control blood sugar: Beetroots are naturally sweet, but can help control blood sugar and help fight diabetes. Beetroots are also rich in soluble fibers that can help regulate blood sugar levels. Drinking beetroot juice thrice a week is the best way to use beetroots to stabilize glucose levels in the body.
    It aids in weight management: Beetroots have a very low calorific value and are rich in fiber. This makes it an effective tool in weight loss. It also helps rid the body of toxins and excess water.
    It slows the aging process: Beetroot adds a glow to your skin. It helps cleanse the blood of toxins and thus makes skin healthier. The anti oxidants in beetroot reduce free radicals and thus slow down the aging process. This pink vegetable also has anti septic and anti inflammatory properties that help heal skin.
    It makes hair healthier: Carotenoids in beetroot give hair a lustrous shine and help fight hair fall. Beetroots are also rich in protein, phosphorus and a number of other vitamin and minerals essential to healthy hair. It helps improve blood circulation in the scalp and helps remove dead skin and excessive oil from the scalp.

Beet Root: Chukandar - How and Why You Should Eat It?

Are you suffering from diabetes? If yes, then it s time for you to be extra careful about your health. Diabetes may cause several other diseases as well. You must check your lifestyle and take medical efforts to get rid of diabetes as soon as possible. 


You are at risk of developing nerve damages (neuropathy), vascular injuries and other heart diseases, regardless of your age, sex or other external or internal factors. Diabetes patients must strive to maintain fasting blood glucose levels less than 110 mg/dL and hemoglobin HbA1C level less than 7%.  Also, diabetes patients should keep a check on blood pressure and cholesterol levels. 


Here s how diabetes can affect your overall health:
1. Check your heart: There is a correlation between blood pressure, cholesterol levels and diabetes. Researchers have found that high bad cholesterol levels act as a hindrance to insulin regulation. People with diabetes are more likely to develop heart-related diseases. About 60% diabetes patients die due to heart attacks. Diabetes is responsible for hardening of arteries or atherosclerosis. This situation is dangerous and can cause heart attacks, strokes or other chronic diseases.


2. Neuropathy: Diabetes leads to impaired nerve function. This is called neuropathy. This condition is of two types: Peripheral (which affects toes, feet, legs, hand and arms) and Autonomic (which affects digestion, bowel, bladder, heart and sexual activity). Symptoms of neuropathy include tingling, weakness, burning sensation, numbness in the limbs, digestive disorders, infection of the bladder and erectile dysfunction.


3. Nephropathy: Diabetes is responsible for causing damage to the kidneys as well. This is called nephropathy. In this condition, the filters in the kidney or glomeruli get damaged. As a result, there is a leakage of protein in the urine. Consequently, kidneys get damaged. Urine showing small amounts of protein is an indication of kidney damage. About 20-40% patients suffering from diabetes die due to renal failure. The symptoms of renal disorder due to diabetes include itching, fatigue, urine with protein, swelling of feet and ankles and pale skin colour.


4. Foot ulcers and amputations: Diabetes causes non-injury amputations as it affects the nerve in the limbs, especially foot. Usually, minor infections in the foot may lead to ulcers and later require amputation. In rare cases, Charcot joint or Charcot foot may also occur. This is called neuropathic arthropathy. The symptoms include swelling and reddening of the foot. The bones of the affected foot have a tendency to develop cracks, deforming the entire region.


5. Retinopathy: Diabetes leads to blindness in adults. The eye disorder caused due to diabetes is called retinopathy. Patients with diabetes develop cataract easily. The capillaries and blood vessels in the retina get damaged or obstructed, resulting in damage to the entire retina.

Diabetes: It Can be the Reason Behind Other Disorders


Many overweight and obese people have darkened and a rather flaky texture behind neck, darkening in armpits and other parts of body with creases and folds like elbows, knees or knuckles. This is commonly mistaken as smudge of dirt, uncleanliness or lack of hygiene. Some people think that it is due to repeated friction caused by necklace or chains etc. In fact it is a sign of'diabetes' which is already developed or might develop in future.

This darkening is due to excessive cell growth and differentiation of fibroblasts caused by excess of insulin in the body especially in obese individuals and type 2 diabetes patients.

In obese individuals and type 2 diabetes patients excess amount of fat especially abdominal fat (tummy fat) causes resistance to action of insulin secreted by pancreas and tends to hamper its action. In return, body produces more and more insulin from pancreas to keep blood sugar under control. This excess amount of insulin secreted by body promotes this skin cell growth leading to the visible condition called'acanthosis nigricans' in medical terms.

After producing excess amount of insulin pancreas start exhausting, this converts into diabetes. At this stage diabetes can be prevented by simple lifestyle modifications &amp; focussed weight loss.

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Are Dark Cracks Behind Neck A Sign Of Diabetes?

Diabetes is also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic diseases, which raises the glucose level in the blood. If suffering from diabetes, parts of your body might get affected with other diseases as well, like bad eyesight, etc. 

Diabetes is of 3 types:

1. Type 1 Diabetes: where your body stops insulin production.

2. Type 2 Diabetes: where your body does not produce enough insulin to function on or where the cells of your body do not react toward the insulin produced

3. Gestational Diabetes: This is the diabetes you or your partner may suffer from during pregnancy.

Suffering from diabetes can make your lifestyle extremely difficult as you will have to go through a lot of restrictions. In order to avoid diabetes and its various outcomes, here are some tips you can follow:

1. Keep your weight in control: Make sure you are of the right weight according to your height. If you are more than what you should weigh, and you are creeping towards obesity, you have a high chance of succumbing to diabetes. If you are already obese, start working towards losing weight. Even if you lose 5% of your weight, you will slash the risk of having diabetes by 70%. 

2. Walk: No exercise is better and easier than walking. Try walking as much as you can. Walking will help you reduce the risk of getting affected with diabetes. If you walk for around 35 minutes every day, you are cutting down the risk of diabetes by almost 30%. Walking, being an exercise, helps your body use the insulin produced in your body more efficiently. 

3. Drink coffee: Coffee, unlike common belief of being harmful, is actually very beneficial when it comes to keeping diabetes at bay. Coffee contains caffeine, which is believed to improve metabolism. Coffee also has potassium, magnesium and various antioxidants which enable the cells to absorb glucose. Drinking coffee regularly might lower the risk of diabetes by 29%.

4. Get proper rest at night: If you sleep for less than 6 hours every night, then the risk of you suffering from diabetes is doubled. But that doesn't mean you are supposed to oversleep. If you sleep more than 8 hours, the risk of being affected with it rises to almost 75%. Hence sleep at least for 6 to 8 hours each night for a healthy life sans diabetes.

4 Tips to Keep Diabetes at Bay

The disease itself may not discriminate on the gender basis, but when it comes to healthcare for patients with diabetes, women find themselves at a disadvantage as compared to men. Studies indicate that diabetes, a disease that affects over 371 million people worldwide takes a greater toll on women than men. Though, hormones in women do account for some of the unique challenges they have to face, but there are other societal factors as well that bring in the differences.

This World Diabetes Day is about promoting the significance of affordable care for diabetes and equitable access for all women at risk or living with diabetes to essential medicines, technological information and self-management education they require and achieve an optimal outcome to strengthen their adequacy to prevent type-2 diabetes. Because it's your right to a healthy and disease-free future!

So, how will you know if you are suffering from this deadly disease   Diabetes?

Symptoms

Women with diabetes experience many of the same symptoms as that of men. However, there are some that are specific to women.

Symptoms experienced by both women and men:

Frequent urination

Increased thirst and hunger

Unnecessary weight loss or gain

Blurred vision

Fatigue

Wounds that heal slowly

Skin infections

Nausea

Breath that has a sweet or fruity odor

Irritability

Reduced feeling in hands or feet

Symptoms unique to women:

Vaginal yeast infections

Urinary infections

Vaginal thrush

Polycystic ovary syndrome

Female sexual dysfunction

Diabetes is the ninth leading cause of death in women globally, causing 2.1 million deaths each year. Two out of every five women suffering from diabetes are of reproductive age. Women with diabetes have more difficulty conceiving and may have poor pregnancy outcomes.

Diabetes and Pregnancy

The affect of Diabetes, in a pregnancy, will not be great, if controlled properly. Women with diabetes should talk to their gynaecologists while planning to conceive so that they can control their blood sugar levels even before getting pregnant. Your gynaecologist will help you control and monitor your diabetes and blood sugar levels during pregnancy.

And, if you fail to get your blood sugar levels under control during pregnancy, you may experience severe risks:

Miscarriage

Premature delivery

Difficult delivery or cesarean section (C-section)

Birth defects

Having a large baby

Preeclampsia (high blood pressure usually with protein in the urine)

Low blood glucose in a newborn

Breathing problems in the newborn

Yellowing skin and eyes (jaundice) in a newborn

Worsening diabetic eye problems and kidney problems for the mother

Urinary or bladder infections

What is Gestational Diabetes?

When diabetes occurs in women during pregnancy, it is called gestational diabetes. It is usually diagnosed at the first week of pregnancy. Like in type 1 and type 2 diabetes, blood sugar levels become too high. When a woman is pregnant, more glucose is required to nourish the baby developing inside her womb. During this time, the body needs additional insulin, which is produced by the pancreas. In some women, the body does not produce enough insulin to meet this need, and blood sugar levels rise, resulting in gestational diabetes. 

Fortunately, for most women, gestational diabetes will go away once the baby is delivered. However, women who have had gestational diabetes are at increased risk of developing type-2 diabetes. Further, people suffering from PTSD are at higher risk and should consult their doctors immediately and those who are presently affected with Diabetes should consult for pre-conception consultation.

Risk Factors for Diabetes in Women

You are at risk for type-2 diabetes if you:

are overweight or obese

are older than 45

have a family history of diabetes (parent or sibling)

have had gestational diabetes

have had a baby with a birth weight of more than 9 pounds

have high blood pressure

have high cholesterol

have other health conditions that are linked to problems using insulin, such as PCOS

Diabetes Treatment Options

Medications

There are various medications you can take to control the symptoms of diabetes. These include:

Insulin therapy

Sulfonylureas like chlorpropamide, which increase pancreatic insulin secretion

Metformin (Glucophage), which reduces blood sugar

Lifestyle changes

A change in your diet and lifestyle can also help women control their diabetes

Exercise and maintain a healthy weight

Monitor your blood sugar

Eat a diet focused on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains

Strictly avoid smoking cigarettes

Alternative remedies

Women with diabetes can try other alternative remedies to treat the symptoms, such as 

Eat more broccoli, buckwheat, sage, peas, and fenugreek seeds

Take supplements like chromium or magnesium

Take plant supplements

But, always remember to consult with your doctor before trying any new treatment. Even if they are natural, they can intrude with your on-going treatment or medications. So, this World Diabetes Day, take a pledge towards healthy living... because your health is important to someone else!



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Diabetes In Women - Because It's Your Right To A Healthy Future!

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