Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body does not properly process sugar. While diabetes often runs in families, its onset and course cannot be predicted or prevented. But, with medication, proper nutrition and exercise, diabetics live healthy lives.

Uncontrolled, however, it can cause heart and blood vessel disorders that may lead to blindness, gangrene, kidney disease, and even death.

There are two basic types of diabetes. Type I, the more severe, is caused by a deficiency of the hormone insulin. With Type II, or noninsulin-dependent diabetes, there may be enough insulin, but the body’s cells have trouble using it.

In either form, excess sugar builds up in the blood because insulin is unable to regulate it. The sugar then “spills” into the urine, where it is excreted from the body. Frequent urination or excessive thirst often signals high blood sugar levels.

Having diabetes means you need to eat foods from each food group. Include breads and cereals, milk products, vegetables, fruits, meat and fish, nuts and legumes, and fats and oils.

Minimize sugars and fats while maximizing starches and proteins. The old standard of avoiding carbohydrates no longer applies. In fact, a diet in which 50 to 60% of total calories is obtained through complex carbohydrates is recommended. Keep fat to 30% of calories.

Control your caloric intake; being overweight makes diabetes worse. Weight management, especially in Type II diabetes, is crucial. Losing even a small amount of weight can improve or even normalize blood sugar levels in older diabetics.

Type I diabetics must eat meals on a regular schedule in order to balance their injections of insulin. All diabetics need to space their meals throughout the day so as to minimize extreme highs and lows of blood sugar levels.

If you haven’t been physically active, start slowly and build the intensity. Consult your doctor before starting your exercise program. Be aware that strenuous exercise can throw you out of balance by lowering blood glucose too much; this could lead to hypoglycemia.

Moderate exercise helps lower blood sugar by “burning” it off, making tissues more responsive to insulin and reducing weight. It also reduces fat and cholesterol in the bloodstream and lowers blood pressure. This is important because diabetics are at high risk for heart and vascular diseases.

Babies born to diabetics have a greater risk of birth defects than others. To minimize the risk:

• Get your body in the best possible condition three to six months before you conceive. If you must lose weight, do it under supervision of your doctor.
• Choose a doctor trained to care for diabetic mothers and their babies.
• Closely monitor your blood glucose before and during your pregnancy.
• Breastfeeding is good for both you and the baby, but it will set up new conditions for controlling blood sugar.

Now imagine how a fat child would feel in a slightly different scenario…never being chosen, or the last chosen, for any type of activity–whether it’s a birthday party or a team sport. No one chooses to be overweight or obese, particularly a child.

In fact, if you took a poll and posed the question “Why Be Fat?” to a number of adults, they’d be unable to come up with one reason! Yet, ask them the advantages of being slim and trim, they could come up with three to ten reasons right off the top of their head.

Despite the availability of weight loss programs, low-fat foods, and diet pills, Americans are still gaining weight.

Although carrying around a few extra pounds is not dangerous, too much fat poses significant health risks. Even moderately overweight people may experience weight-related health problems.

Shortness of breath when walking or climbing stairs is one of the first signs that your body is struggling under too much weight. Carrying unnecessary weight burdens your back and legs, and may worsen conditions such as degenerative arthritis and varicose veins. Excess fat can crowd the inner organs, making it difficult for them to function fully or properly. Also, it causes the liver to produce more triglycerides and cholesterol, which increases the risk of developing gallstones. In addition, high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases have all been associated with an excess accumulation of body fat.

Additionally, studies suggest that being overweight increases the chances of having a stroke. Strokes occur when fatty deposits accumulate in arteries that supply blood to the brain, interfering with the blood flow. Eventually, a clot can entirely block the path of blood, resulting in serious disability or death.

Hormonal disruptions caused by excess weight also put overweight women at increased risk for breast, uterine and ovarian cancer and irregular menstruation; overweight men are at an increased risk for prostate cancer.

More than $50 billion a year is spent on health care for weight-related ailments.

However, being overweight is less of a health concern than being obese. But the impact of being moderately overweight can still be significant. Studies indicate that being 2 to 6% above ideal weight can shorten your life span.

Although we can’t see the damage we’re causing to our health when our diets consists mostly of high fat and high sugar foods, that doesn’t mean we aren’t causing damage to our bodies. We may not feel or notice any changes when, for instance, our insulin levels go through the roof, but our pancreas, liver, heart and brain sure feel the strain, and are constantly trying to make adjustments for our unhealthy dietary lifestyle choices. Ultimately, even the strongest body will crack under this type of constant pressure.

Medical science has proven that many conditions such as heart disease, cancer, weight problems, arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure are caused by the wrong diet, and can be treated or reversed to some degree by foods. Dietary modification is the weapon of choice against these diseases that would have been treated mainly with prescription drugs a generation ago.

Of course, along with any dietary change you must prepare for it mentally. Even though logically we know that what we are doing is harmful to our body it has become such a habit that we may feel helpless to break the cycle.

Diets come in all forms and one that many people have had success with is the low Glycemic Index Diet. Following the Glycemic Index (GI) recommendations offers a healthy way for anyone to lose weight. Low-GI diets are easy to put in practice, using a “This for That” approach, and they don’t restrict variety as many traditional diets. Eating the GI diet way is absolutely healthy for the body as well as the mind.

The best thing you could ever do is to start now and learn how to control your Glycemic Index and then pass these recommendations on to your family. By starting these habits with your children while they are young you will be instilling in them a lifetime of good health. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know that your children may never have to struggle with weight issues or the threat of diabetes? And as they age and continue in this lifestyle they may avoid so many other diseases and serious health issues.

Here’s a health quick tip for you. Along with maintaining a healthy weight and getting regular exercise, the best way to control diabetes is with a glucose or sugar-steadying diet.

People with diabetes are usually advised to eat a lot of whole grains, legumes, and other food high in complex carbohydrates. The traditional “diabetes diet” consists of 60 percent carbohydrates, between 15 and 20 percent protein, and 25 to 30 percent fat.

Some experts believe, however, that it’s equally important to eat carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, such as low-fat yogurt or rice bran. These foods gradually release glucose into the blood, which is easier for the body to manage and helps keep glucose levels steady. This is important because high levels of glucose may damage tissues throughout the body, including in the eyes, kidneys, and blood vessels.

It’s good advice, but things aren’t quite this simple because every carbohydrate acts differently in the body.

The glycemic index was first developed in 1981, when researchers compared rises in blood glucose that occurred when people ate specific foods. Pure sugar, which is almost instantly turned into glucose, was given a score of 100; every other food was compared to that.

High-GI foods (with a GI of 55 or above) contain carbohydrates that cause a dramatic rise in blood sugar levels. Foods with a low GI (below 55) contain carbohydrates with much less impact.

Most experts believe that the glycemic index is a useful tool for controlling diabetes, but they don’t always recommend it for their patients.

It’s more complicated than other diabetes plans because it requires people to think about numbers when they choose among hundreds of carbohydrate-rich foods.

But as a rule of thumb, you don’t have to memorize long lists of glycemic values in order to manage your glucose levels. Foods with the most fiber are also the ones with the lowest glycemic numbers. The fiber in fruits, vegetables, and other complex carbohydrates break down slowly in the intestine, which slows absorption of glucose in the bloodstream.

To make things even more complicated, the same food may have different glycemic values, depending on ripeness and other factors. An overripe banana, for example, has a glycemic index of 84; one that’s underripe is valued at 51.

Experts also worry that people who follow this plan will avoid nutritionally rich foods, such as grains or potatoes, if they happen to have high glycemic numbers.

The most recent findings concerning the use of glycemic index for diabetics is that it’s all about balance. Keep your blood sugar levels just right by eating a combination of low and high GI foods. This allows your body’s metabolism to function as nature intended.

The bottom line is that if you have diabetes, your main concern is to achieve the proper balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Once you’ve done that, it’s fine to use the glycemic index as an additional aid to planning a healthful diet.

Gestational diabetes occurs in women who are not diabetic prior to pregnancy, but who develop insulin resistance during their pregnancy. Women who develop gestational diabetes are unable to produce enough insulin for their bodies. Since not enough insulin is available to convert the glucose in the blood stream into energy for the body, the glucose levels increase causing hyperglycemia. This can be a serious condition if it goes undiagnosed and untreated. If the pregnant woman is getting appropriate prenatal care, her health care practitioner is checking for glucose in the urine routinely, and some perform a finger stick as well.

Gestational diabetes may not be as serious as an insulin dependent diabetic going through pregnancy and delivery, but it can’t be ignored either. A proper diet is essential in controlling blood sugar levels in gestational diabetes, as well as regular exercise and keeping weight gain under control. These factors all contribute to the birth of a healthy baby. According to www.diabetes.org, if a mother with gestational diabetes does not keep her blood glucose levels under control, the developing fetus will be required to make more insulin to process the extra blood glucose that is transferred to it via the placenta. The fetus has no real use for this extra energy so it is stored as fat. This extra fat can cause the infant to be large or macrosomic, which can lead to complications during delivery, such as shoulder dystocia or dislocation. The infant can be so large that it must be delivered via Cesarean section because it is too large to pass through the birth canal. The newborn infant of the mother with gestational diabetes can also be prone to having low blood sugar values after birth, and must be monitored for signs of hypoglycemia. A macrosomic baby is also prone to obesity and to potentially developing Type II diabetes later on in his adult life.

Gestational diabetes can be managed, and doesn’t have to be an issue at all during pregnancy. Women are encouraged to check their blood sugar levels throughout the day and instructed to administer insulin if it is required. If women with gestational diabetes can keep their blood glucose levels under control, they are less likely to have complications during the birth of their baby. Most women do not continue to have high blood glucose levels after pregnancy, but some do go on to develop Type I or II diabetes later on. Gestational diabetes usually occurs with subsequent pregnancies as well. If you are pregnant and have developed gestational diabetes, it is very important that you keep your regular prenatal appointments and follow through with all recommendations made by your health care provider. It is all in the best interest of you and your baby.

One of the most undemanding and most workable ways to lower your blood sugar levels, lower the risk factors of developing cardiovascular disease, and perk up your health is exercise.

In spite of that, in today’s inactive world where many jobs can be carried out online from an ergonomic chair in front of a computer, or with a streaming line of messages from a fax machine, exercising can be a hard argument to win over.

The Weight of Exercise

Everyone should exercise, yet health experts tell us that only 30% of the United States population gets the recommended 30 minutes of daily physical activity, and 25% are not active at all. In fact, inactivity is
thought to be one of the main reasons for the surge of type 2 diabetes in the U.S.; because inactivity and obesity promote insulin resistance.

The good news is that it is never too late to get moving, and exercise is one of the easiest ways to start controlling your diabetes. For people with type 2 diabetes in particular, exercise can improve insulin sensitivity, lower the risk of heart disease, and promote weight loss.

Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is on the rise. The number of people diagnosed with diabetes every year increased by 48% between 1980 and 1994. Nearly all the new cases were Type 2 Diabetes, or adult-onset, the kind that usually develops around middle age. Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes include increased thirst, appetite,
and need to urinate, feeling tired, edgy, or sick to the stomach, blurred vision, tingling or loss of feeling in the hands.

The causes of type 2 diabetes are complex and not completely understood, although research is discovering new clues at a rapid pace.

However, it has already been proven that one of the reasons for the boom in Type 2 Diabetes is the widening of waistbands and the trend toward a more deskbound and inactive lifestyle in the United States and other developed countries. In America, the shift has been striking; in the 1990s alone, obesity increased by 61% and diagnosed diabetes by 49%.

For this reason, health experts encourage those who already have Type 2 Diabetes to start benefitting from the  wonders that exercise can do for them. Without exercise, people have the tendency to become obese. Once they are obese, they have a greater chance of developing Type 2 Diabetes.

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that over 80% of people with Type 2 Diabetes are clinically overweight. Therefore, it is high time that people, whether afflicted with Type 2 Diabetes or not, to start doing those jumping and stretching activities.

Getting Started

The first order of business with any exercise plan, especially if you’re a “couch potato,” is to consult with your doctor. If you have cardiac risk factors, your doctor may want to perform a stress test to establish a safe level of exercise for you.

Certain diabetic complications will also dictate what type of exercise program you can take on. Activities like weightlifting, jogging, or high-impact aerobics can possibly pose a risk for people with Diabetic
Retinopathy, due to the risk for further blood vessel damage and possible retinal detachment.

If you are already active in sports or work out regularly, it will still be to your benefit to discuss your regular routine with your doctor. If you are taking insulin, you may need to take special precautions to prevent hypoglycemia during your workout.

Start Slow

For those who have Type 2 Diabetes, your exercise routine can be as simple as a brisk nightly neighborhood walk. If you have not been very active before now, start slowly and work your way up. Walk the dog or get out in the yard and do some yard work like raking leaves. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park in the back of the lot and walk. Every little bit of exercise helps; in fact, it really helps a lot.

As little as 15 to 30 minutes of daily, heart-pumping exercise can make a big difference in your blood glucose levels and your risk of developing diabetic complications. One of the easiest and least expensive ways of getting moving is to start a walking program. All you need is a good pair of well-fitting, supportive shoes and a direction to head in.

Indeed, you don’t have to spend money on costly health club memberships, or on the latest piece of  exercise equipment to start your exercise program. What you need is the willingness and the determination to start exercising to a healthier Type 2 Diabetes-free life.

The results will be the sweetest reward for the effort expended.

Diets come in all forms and one that many people rely on is the low Glycemic Index Diet.

The Index is a number value or scale, from 0 to 100, that tell us how quickly the carbohydrate in a certain food will raise blood sugar in the body. The low level on the scale is 55 and below, medium index levels are between 56 and 69, and high on the index scale is 70 and above. Different carbs (carbohydrates) will convert to glucose (sugar) and enter the bloodstream at different rates, and therefore vary in how much of a blood sugar spike you experience.

This blood sugar spike is important because a sudden flood of glucose into the blood puts a demand on the pancreas to release a corresponding amount of insulin. Insulin will bring our blood sugar back to an acceptable level by transferring the glucose from the blood and into your cells where the cells use all they need for energy, with the excess being stored as fat. Excessive levels of both blood glucose and insulin have been associated with many health concerns, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.

Foods with a high glycemic index rating are those that fill you up quickly, give a fast burst of energy, but then leave you feeling hungry, lethargic, sleepy, moody, and irritable a short time later when you crash from the “sugar high”. These foods include white bread, pasta and white rice. These are the same foods that many nutritionist refer to as “bad carbs”.

Food with a low glycemic index reading, on the other hand, fill you up, but raise blood sugar slowly and steadily, giving you a longer feeling of being full and continuous energy. These are also foods containing carbohydrates, but are considered “good carbs” as found in fruits and vegetables.

Obviously diabetics must concern themselves with these numbers for better control over their condition. However, having some familiarity with the glycemic index ratings of foods can be effective for those who are attempting to lose weight. Many physicians are recommending Glycemic Index Diets because short-term studies show that consuming foods with a low glycemic index (gi) number can be an effective approach to long term weight loss, as foods with a low gi makes you feel full longer and stay satisfied longer, thus you are less likely to overeat, and because the body is actually utilizing the amount of glucose being produced, there is no excess glucose being stored as fat.

Eating a low Glycemic Index Diet is not about avoiding carbs all together, but focusing on the more healthful carbs. Foods with low glycemic index make it possible to enjoy all foods, even those that rank high because combining these two together helps to balance out the count, with index levels in the medium range. So if you crave foods with more sugar, try eating them with foods that rank lower on the scale so that your health will not be compromised. Remember, it’s the overall diet that counts, and not individual foods.