At present 3 out of the 5 people are suffering from diabetes and it is the 7th leading cause of death worldwide. Moreover, it is no more restricted just to adults and affects children as well. Diabetes is a metabolic disease resulting in increase in the level of glucose in the body. Glucose is a source of energy for the cells making up the muscles and other tissues in the body. But if the level of glucose goes up, it shows the sign of danger. Diabetes is of 2 types: 

1. Type 1: body fails to produce insulin.
2. Type 2: Body fails to produce enough insulin which is required by the body.

There are no definite signs of diabetes. It simply varies from person to person. In many of the cases it goes unnoticed. Such signs are as follows:

1. Sudden weight loss: You might experience a sudden weight loss of 5 to10 kgs within a month. This happens when sugar metabolism ceases very quickly.  Insufficient insulin prevents the body from taking in glucose in the body cells from the blood to use as energy. In such a scenario the body starts burning fat and muscle for energy. This results in weight loss.

2. Intense hunger: The cells in your body might not get enough energy either due to absence or improper functioning of insulin in your blood. This makes you hungry quite often.

3. Excessive urination and thirst: Due to diabetes, the glucose level in the body goes up. The kidneys are overloaded with the burden of working overtime for filtering and absorbing the excess glucose in your body. The excess sugar, which the kidney cannot store is excreted out of your body. This makes you urinate frequently.  Due to frequent urination the body gets dehydrated which makes you feel thirsty more often.

4. Blurred vision: Due to the high level of glucose in your body tissues gets pulled away from the lens of the eyes. This results in vision issues. If not treated on time, it may even lead to blindness.

5. Increased fatigue: The cells in your body might not get enough energy either due to absence or improper functioning of insulin in your blood. This makes you restless more often and you may even feel too weak to do your regular activities.

If you notice any of these signs, get the level of sugar in your checked and take the required remedies. It is good to get it treated as early as possible rather than facing immense trouble in future.

5 Common Signs of Diabetes That Often Go Unnoticed

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!

13 Wonder Foods to Fight Diabetes

Nutritious and healthy food is capable of arresting or even reversing diabetes. Here is a list of 13 such wondrous foods that, if eaten consistently, will ward off diabetes -

1. Sweet potatoes: Unlike regular potatoes, sweet potatoes are rich in fiber and Vitamin A along with a low Glycemic index.

2. Tomatoes: Tomatoes offset diabetes with its nutrients like Vitamin C, E, and iron. They can be eaten raw as well as cooked.

3. Fish: Consume fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, and halibut etc that are rich in omega 3 fatty acids. Cook them in a simple way rather than deep-frying.

4. Apples: Apples are full of fiber and low in calories. Thus, they are able to effectively fight bad cholesterol and diabetes. It is best to eat them with their skin.

5. Avocado: This fruit comes packed with monounsaturated fats and balances blood sugar level. It also contains good fat that is capable of reversing insulin resistance.

6. Berries: Almost all kinds of berries are rich in antioxidants and fiber. They boost the production of insulin and lower down blood sugar.

7. Broccoli: Broccoli contains chromium that stabilizes levels of blood sugar.

8. Carrots: Carrots are extremely rich in beta-carotene that is known to lower the chances of diabetes.

9. Flaxseed: These are rich in fiber, protein, magnesium and good fats. They are known to helps cells in absorbing insulin.

10. Yogurt and Skim Milk: These dairy products are rich in calcium and protein for fighting against insulin resistance that leads to diabetes.

11. Oatmeal: Oatmeal comes loaded with soluble fiber that helps in delayed conversion of consumed carbohydrate into blood sugar.

12. Almonds: Regular intake of 4-5 almonds daily reduces the risk of diabetes as well as cardiovascular disease.

13. Garlic: Garlic is known to elevate the insulin level in the blood. It is rich in Allicin and vitamin B thiamine that activates pancreas for the production of insulin.

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13 Wonder Foods to Fight Diabetes

There s a lot that nutritionists around the world don t agree on, but most of them advise you to have more vegetables than fruits and more water- based vegetables like bottle gourd in summers.

Let s take a look at why this is so.

Bottle gourd keeps you hydrated and cool in summers: Bottle guard has always been regarded as one of the healthiest vegetables, and for a reason. This versatile vegetable is full of about 92 % water and minerals and is the best that nature can offer to keep your body hydrated and cool. It s a good idea to have bottle gourd or  lauki  as a juice because cooking deactivates the minerals and vitamins found in it. The juice keeps your stomach cool and reduces body heat or  pitta . You can also eat boiled lauki with curd to get its cooling benefits. This vegetable helps replenish the water lost due to sweating during summers and is also a great remedy for any kind of heat-related ailment like nose bleeding, pimples or ulcers according to Ayurveda.
Helps control weight: It helps control weight as Bottle gourd is excellent for you if you are trying to lose weight. The vegetable is packed with fibre which helps in keeping you full for longer, thus reducing food cravings that make you pile on the kilos. It is also a low-calorie vegetable with no fat and thus helps you lose weight too. Bottle gourd is prescribed by Ayurvedic medicine to reduce flab as fibre is the key to weight -loss.
 Storehouse of essential vitamins and minerals: Bottle gourd contains essential vitamins and minerals like Vitamin C, B, K, A, E, Iron, Folate, Potassium and Manganese. These play a critical role in metabolism and body functions.
Treats urinary tract infections: Freshly made bottle guard juice mixed with lime juice is one of the best natural remedies for treating pesky UTIs.
Cure for stomach problems: Bottle gourd helps in curing constipation and also treats diarrhea. This is due to the fact that the vegetable contains a lot of water and fibre which helps in cleaning your digestive track and allows easy bowel movement. One of the best home remedies for treating diarrhea is to drink bottle gourd juice with a pinch of salt. This helps in maintaining the electrolyte balance of your body, as well.
Bottle gourd helps in controlling diabetes: Bottle gourd juice is also beneficial for diabetic patients as it stabilizes blood sugar levels and maintains optimum blood pressure. The best time to have it is in morning before breakfast to reap this benefit. Also, take care to consume the juice immediately as it oxidizes quite fast.

Bottle Gourd (Lauki) - 6 Amazing Health Benefits You Never Thought Of!

High blood sugar occurs when the insulin in the body fails to metabolize the sugar from the food, which raises the amount of glucose in your blood. It is a metabolic disorder which can be managed effectively with the help of lifestyle modifications such as exercise and food. This article is going to focus on the foods that you can eat to lower your blood sugar levels.

Here are 9 foods that you can use to reduce blood sugar levels:

Cinnamon: Cinnamon is a herb which is very effective in getting your blood sugar down to manageable levels. You can simply sprinkle cinnamon on your food before eating it.

Fenugreek (methi): Fenugreek is a common spice which is used in almost all Indian cuisines. It has a number of health benefits, one of which is reducing blood sugar levels. Soaking fenugreek in water and then drinking it the next day is a very effective remedy in combating sugar problems.

Garlic: Not just for sending away the vampires!, it is also very effective in blood sugar control. Extracts of garlic have been shown to increase insulin in the body which is required to metabolize the sugar in the body.

Heart Healthy Fats: Heart healthy fat based foods such as nuts and seeds are good for increasing the good cholesterol levels (HDL) in the body. Avocadoes contain nutrients which lower the risks of various diseases such as diabetes. In a nutshell, these fats make the cells of the body less resistant to insulin.

Blueberries: Blueberries contain anthocyanin (water soluble pigments) which is very good for your health. They also contain fiber in large amounts which make you feel fuller faster. This fruit has also been shown to improve insulin sensitivity in the body.

Vinegar: Vinegar is an age old remedy to control blood sugar levels; it contains acetic acid which causes a reduction in certain harmful enzymes in the stomach. Vinegar is also known to prevent blood sugar spikes when consumed with food.

Complex Carbohydrates: Complex carbohydrates raise your blood sugar but not like its cousin, simple carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates cause an immediate spike in your blood sugar levels where as complex carbs provide a steady stream of energy. So drop that packet of refined flour and get that whole wheat variant.

Cherries: Cherries, especially tart cherries and dark sweet cherries, are full of anthrocyanins. Insulin resistance prevents insulin from working properly to control blood sugar in normal ranges. Eating a diet high in anthrocyanins can mean improved use of insulin and lower blood sugars.

Nuts: People who eat nuts regularly have lower rates of heart disease than people who don't eat them. Even among the healthiest eaters, the ones who also eat nuts boast the best health record.

9 Foods That Can Reduce Your Blood Sugar Level

Diabetes refers to the condition when there is an excess of glucose in your body. Though glucose is beneficial for the proper functioning of the body, an excess can lead to serious consequences. Over the years, diabetes has over the years emerged as one of the fatal diseases, one that once developed has no known cure. This condition is preceded by various perceptible symptoms, some of them are-

1. Insatiable thirst

The onset of diabetes is almost always accompanied by a nagging thirst, one that refuses to be quenched despite drinking plenty of water.

2. Frequent tendencies of urination

A frequent tendency of urination is one of the primary precursors of diabetes.

3. Acute hunger

Having bouts of acute hunger is one of the most predominant premonitions of diabetes.

4. Exhaustion and fatigue

In case you are suffering from diabetes, you will inevitably feel tired and exhausted all the time.

5. Blurring of vision

Diabetes is one of those rare conditions that threaten to affect and damage the eyesight. The blurring of vision comes hand in hand with the onset of diabetes.

6. Sores which take a long time to heal

One of the most fatal symptoms of diabetes is when the sore that you have suffered from takes a longer time than necessary to heal.

Some of the complications which diabetes invite are-

1. Cardiovascular problems

Diabetes considerably increases the risk of a host of cardiovascular problems and ailments like heart attacks, chest pain, and stroke.

2. Damage to the kidneys

The pair of kidneys that human beings are endowed with has the responsibility to remove the toxins from the body. An excess of diabetes in the body unsettles the purging ability of the kidneys.

3. Damage to the eyes

The onset of diabetes, among other things, puts your eyes at great risks. The condition tends to damage the blood vessels of the retina and can even cause blindness in some.

4. Skin disorder

Diabetes puts your skin at great risks. You may suffer from various bacterial and fungal infections among other ailments, due to an excess of glucose in your body.

Symptoms and Complications of Diabetes

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