Diabetes And Diabetic Care

Sample 2000 Calorie Healthy Diabetic Diet Meals And Menus

Diabetes Care — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:15:45 +0000

Here is a sample diabetic diet menu (2000 Calorie) of which about 50% of the total calories are from carbohydrates.

Breakfast

1 cup of raspberries
1 cup of skim milk
1/2 cups of unsweetened cereal, with 1/2 sliced banana
1 cup of skim milk
1 slice of whole wheat toast
1 cup of skim milk, coffee or tea
1 teaspoon of jelly

Lunch

1/2 cup of diced tomatoes
turkey pita pocket sandwich (2 slices of whole wheat pita bread, 3 ounces of lean turkey breast )
1/2 cup of green peppers
1/2 cup of shredded lettuce
1 tablespoon of salad dressing
2 fresh, medium-sized peaches
1 cup of skim milk

Dinner

salad:

+ 1/2 cup of sliced carrots
+ 1 cup lettuce
+ 1/2 cup of sliced tomatoes
+ 1/4 cup of sliced mushrooms
+ 1 tablespoon of salad dressing

4 ounces of broiled salmon with 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, sprinkled with paprika
1 dinner roll
1 cup of pasta
6 steamed broccoli stalks with black pepper
1-inch slice of angel food cake
1/2 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries, sweetened with 1 teaspoon of sugar
1 cup of skim milk

Increasing Physical Activity May Reduce Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes In African-American Women

Diabetes Care — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 04:52:33 +0000

African-American women make up a significant percentage of Type 2 diabetes population in US. A recent reseach from Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center found that increasing time spent walking briskly or engaged in physical activity may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes in African-American women. Although many previous studied support the role for physical activity in preventing type 2 diabetes, there has been little attention focused on the impact of this factor in the high-risk population of African-American women.

Data collected by the Black Women’s Health Study found that physical activity was inversely associated with a reduced risk of diabetes. Brisk walking (for five plus hours/week) was also associated with a reduced risk of diabetes. This finding is important because many women don’t have the time to engage in physical activity, but most women can find time to walk. The researchers also found that the risk of type 2 diabetes was increased among women who spent an appreciable amount of time watching television. This increase was apparent whether or not a woman was physical active.

The results confirm that vigorous activity is protective against type 2 diabetes in African-American women

Note : Type 2 diabetes reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. and affects an estimated 20.6 million people. Most of the Type 2 diabetes cases can be controlled through proper diet and exercise alone.

IDM – Infant of Diabetic Mother

Diabetes Care — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:52:47 +0000

An infant of a diabetic mother is a baby born to a mother who has diabetes. The phrase specifically refers to a baby who is born to a mother who had persistently high blood sugar (glucose) levels during pregnancy. The infant is usually large for gestational age. Other symptoms may include:

* Puffy face
* Newborn jaundice
* Blue or mottled skin color, rapid heart rate, rapid breathing (signs of heart failure)
* Poor feeding, lethargy, weak cry (signs of severe low blood sugar)
* Tremors or shaking shortly after birth
* Reddish appearance

All infants born to mothers with diabetes should be tested for low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), even if they have no symptoms. If an infant had one episode of low blood sugar, tests to check blood sugars will be done over several days. This will continue until the infant’s blood sugar remains stable with normal feedings. Early feeding may prevent low blood sugar in mild cases. Persistent low blood sugar is treated with glucose given through a vein.

Prevention of the complications associated with an infant of a diabetic mother requires supportive care of the mother throughout the pregnancy. Good control of blood sugars and and early recognition of gestational diabetes can prevent many of the problems associated with this condition. Careful monitoring of the infant in the first 24 hours following birth may prevent complications due to low blood sugar.

Periodontal Disease And Diabetes

Diabetes Care — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 01:38:48 +0000

The term periodontal disease describes a group of localized infections that affect the tissue surrounding and supporting the teeth. The two most common forms of periodontal disease are gingivitis and periodontitis. Gingivitis, an early and reversible condition, is an inflammation of the soft tissues surrounding the teeth. Persons with gingivitis have tender, edematous, red gums that may bleed upon gentle pressure, such as from toothbrushing.

Periodontitis is a progressive inflammatory condition that destroys periodontal ligament fibers and alveolar bone and can eventually cause tooth loss. Although gingivitis usually precedes periodontitis, not all gingivitis progresses to periodontitis.

For all persons, the keys to preventing periodontal disease are good oral hygiene and regular dental care. A third element crucial to persons with diabetes is good glycemic control; poorly controlled diabetes can invite or promote periodontal disease.

Children And Adolescents Diabetes Care

Diabetes Care — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:55:02 +0000

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases to affect children. Every day more than 200 children are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, requiring them to take multiple daily insulin shots and monitor the glucose levels in their blood. It is increasing at a rate of 3% each year among children and rising even faster in pre-school children at a rate of 5% per year. Currently, over 500,000 children under the age of 15 live with diabetes, according to IDF.

Since diabetes often requires life-long monitoring, care and treatment, is hospital-based approach better than home-based care approaches or a mix of these two approaches for effectively responding to care needs of those with diabetes? Hospital-based approach should be for the management of acute and/or chronic complications arising out of diabetes. But as 99% of diabetes care is self-care, empowering people with right information can make home-based care approach more feasible and economical.

Managing diabetes in children and adolescents becomes more effective when the entire family gets involved. Families should be encouraged to share their concerns with physicians, diabetes educators, dieticians, and other healthcare providers to get help in the day-to-day management of diabetes. Extended family members, teachers, school nurses, counsellors, coaches, day-care providers, and other resources in the community can provide information, support, and guidance regarding skills to cope with the disease. They may also act as resource persons for health education, financial services, social services, mental health counselling, transportation, and home visits.

Depending on their age and level of maturity, children living with diabetes should be encouraged to take care of themselves. Most school-age children can recognize symptoms of hypoglycemia and if they are over 12 years old they may be able to take insulin injections of correct dosage by themselves. They can also be involved in planning their diet chart.

Treatment of diabetes in adolescents is complex and should only be handled by experienced physicians. Also, such patients should be looked after by a team consisting of diabetologist, nutritionist, diabetes educator, and psychologist.

Educating people with diabetes about diet, exercise and drugs is the most important part of the initial management of the disease and should be accomplished in several sessions. Insulin management should be discussed and demonstrated to children and parents, so that they can take insulin injections themselves. Parents, along with their children, should be made aware about healthy eating habits, physical exercise, and dosage management of drugs/ insulin.

Eat Healthy – Less Sugar

Diabetes Care — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 02:13:57 +0000

The food manufacturers use all kinds of code names to disguise sugar in your food. They know that sugar tastes really good to the human taste buds and they try to add sugar to as many foods as possible because it will keep you coming back for more. Pretty sneaky, huh? But when you see “sugar” in the list of ingredients in the food you are about to eat, this is referring to what we think of as table sugar. It’s that bright white, powdery sugar that you see at an old-fashioned diner or use for baking. This table sugar looks all pretty and pristine white… and you probably have fond memories about the snow-white, sugar-covered candy you ate when you were a kid… But this sugar is a highly processed chemical.

Without getting into too much of the technical detail about how they process it, it’s basically a super-concentrated carbohydrate. They take out the sucrose (the natural sugar) from hundreds of beets (yes, those little red vegetables that if eaten WHOLE and in their NATURAL state are very good for you)… But they strip away all of the fiber and vitamins and minerals… leaving only the sucrose (sugar) in an isolated form that would never be found in nature.

Now this super-high concentration of sucrose may come from a natural food, but when you throw away all the other components of the beet – then it is no longer a natural food. It is a man-made, processed food. And that’s BEFORE they even add the extra chemicals to bleach it out to that bright white color, and the additives and preservatives they add to it to keep it from spoiling for years.

By the time it reaches the “table sugar” form that we all know and recognize, the sugar has gone through LOTS of different chemical processes. Now how do you think your body responds to this table sugar when you eat it? Right. It’s the same as taking a hit off a crack pipe.Nothing but a pure, chemical high. No nutrients. No vitamins. No nourishment. Only a rush of super-concentrated carbohydrates and toxic chemicals hitting your blood system as soon as you eat it.

Sounds delicious doesn’t it? So now are you beginning to see why sugar makes you gain so much weight so quickly? Think about it… They have taken out the sucrose from who-knows how many of beets… and concentrated all that sugar down into a single serving. In order to get that much sugar in your body’s system at once, you would have to eat A LOT of beets. And even if you WERE to sit down and stuff yourself with beets, you would at least be eating the fiber and the antioxidants and the vitamins and minerals – all that good NUTRITION you get from eating whole, natural foods.But when you eat table sugar, you are only getting the hit of sugar hitting your system… with NO NUTRITION along with it.

When this much sugar hits your system, your blood sugar spikes up way too high… so high that your body becomes desperate to bring your blood sugar levels back down again. And it does this by storing fat. You can see that after years of this behavior, your fat cells will get bigger and bigger and bigger. And then when those fat cells are so big they can’t get any bigger, your body creates MORE fat cells. And table sugar is not the worst offender… the mega foods industry has mainly replaced sugar with even MORE powerful super-sugars like high-fructose corn syrup.

These super-sugars have an even higher glycemic impact (triggers even MORE fat storage). And if you’ll notice that they are putting this in EVERYTHING from sodas, to baked goods, to frozen dinners, to bread, sauces… things that you would never even think that there would be sugar in it. It’s a never ending cycle towards obesity.

When you are craving for sweet foods the next time … think again!

Diabetes and Oral Health Care

Diabetes Care — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:40:19 +0000

Oral health refers to the health of your mouth, teeth and gums. Because diabetes can affect your oral health, taking care of both your oral health and your diabetes can help prevent problems with your gums and teeth.

How Does Diabetes Affect Oral Health?
• Diabetes can make it harder for your body, including your gums, to fight off infections.
• Poorly controlled blood glucose levels can cause the following oral problems:
- Gingivitis or periodontitis
- Tooth loss
- Thrush, a fungal infection in the mouth
- Dry mouth
• Gum disease may be more difficult to treat when you have diabetes.
• PD(*periodontal disease) can increase blood glucose levels and increase the amount of insulin that you need
• Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to further PD

How Can You Keep Your Mouth, Teeth and Gums Healthy?
• Try to keep your A1C and blood glucose levels within your target range.
• See your dentist at least a twice a year and make sure your dentist knows you have diabetes.
• Brush your teeth twice a day and floss once a day.
• Be physically active and eat healthy.
• Stop smoking, if you do smoke.

* Periodontal disease (PD) is an infection that damages the bone and gums around your teeth. It is the most common oral problem in people with diabetes.

Elminating Sugar In Your Diet

Diabetes Care — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:45:18 +0000

How much sugar do you eat every day? Do you know which foods turn to sugar in your digestive system? The main reason for diabetes setting in after age 40 is a direct result of a lifetime of bad eating habits. Below is a list of the foods you should eliminate from your diet entirely. Eliminate these foods and you will lose weight, gain strength and stamina, and feel like a kid again!

White rice, bread from refined flour,beets, carrots, refined sugar, corn syrup, molasses,honey, sugared colas, corn, and beer.

10 Steps To Elminating Sugar In Your Diet

1. Admit you eat sugar in tremendous portions every day!
2. Believe that you can eliminate refined sugar from your diet!
3. Ask your doctor or health care provider if eliminating refined sugar from your diet will be beneficial for you.
4. Check with relatives, friends & family members to see if they eat foods that are high in sugar. Discuss your past diets of high sugar items. Tell them your plan for eliminating certain high sugar foods from your diet. Ask them to tell you about their daily sugar intake.
5. Discuss your plans to eliminate certain high sugar foods from your diet with your doctor or health care provider.
6. Be ready to change your lifestyle and eating habits. You cannot expect different results by doing the same things over and over!
7. Ask your doctor, healthcare provider, friends and family members how you can change your previous bad habits & replace them with new ones.
8. List items that need to be thrown out and replaced in your refrigerator and cabinets. Use Stevia, a natural sweetener, to replace refined sugar. Read all labels at the grocery store for sugar content. Hint: try all fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and organic dairy products and organic meats. Add supplements like Multi Vitamins, Vitamin E, B complex, Vitamin C to your diet.
9. Complete a full day without eating any refined sugar. Have another friend try this new diet with you for support & encouragement.
10. Continue to change your eating habits little by little. It will take awhile before your habits become established. Be patient. If you eat a dessert item, forgive yourself. Try to do better each day. Strive for progress, not perfection.

After you eliminate most refined sugar from your diet, have your doctor take your blood tests with your new diet in mind. You will see an improvement of 40 to 60 precent in your test results! Pass this information on to everyone you know! You have my permission to reprint, reproduce, and forward to your friends and relatives.

List Of Musicians With Diabetes Including Nick Jonas

Diabetes Care — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:17:37 +0000

Whether you love them or you hate them, the Jonas Brothers are everywhere these days. And with a hit song about diabetes and a very public diagnosis story, the youngest band member, Nick Jonas, is giving diabetes awareness a nice boost to children with diabetes. But Nick is just the newest musician on the block to succeed while living with diabetes. Here is a list of famous musicians with diabetes:

Aretha Franklin(The Queen of Soul)
B.B. King
Bret Michaels(Poison)
Curtis Mayfield
David Crosby(Crosby, Stills, and Nash)
Danny Joe Brown(Molly Hatchet)
Dizzy Gillespie(Jazz Musician)
Ella Fitzgerald
Elvis Presley
Elliott Yamin
Giacomo Puccini
Herbert Kahury(Tiny Tim)
Jessica Stone
James Brown(The Godfather of Soul)
Jerry Garcia(Grateful Dead)
Johnny Cash(The Man in Black)
Johnny Darrell(Country music singer)
Mama Cass Elliott(Mamas and the Papas)
Mahalia Jackson
Mark Collie(Country Singer)
Melvin Franklin(The Temptations)
Mick Fleetwood(Fleetwood Mac)
Miles Davis(Jazz Musician)
Nick Jonas(Jonas Brothers)
Patti LaBelle
Peggy Lee(Grammy winner)
Phife Dawg(A Tribe Called Quest)
Randy Jackson(American Idol judge)
Rick James
Shirley Horn
Syd Barret(Pink Floyd)
Tommy Lee(Motley Crue)

Thank you for visiting Diabetes and Diabetic Care website, until next time, take care.

Baked Low-Fat Buffalo Wings Diabetic Recipes

Diabetes Care — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 06:34:47 +0000

Baked Low-Fat Chicken Wings Ingredients :

1 1/2 tbsp hot sauce
1 pinch cayenne
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 lb chicken tenders
Celery sticks

=== DRESSING ===

1/2 cup reduced-fat blue cheese dressing
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
3 tbsp crumbled blue cheese

Baked Low-Fat Chicken Wings Recipe Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a shallow bowl, combine the hot sauce, cayenne, and paprika. Roll the chicken tenders in the mixture. Place the chicken tenders on a small nonstick baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes until chicken is tender. Combine the dressing ingredients. Serve the dressing with the chicken and celery sticks.

Servings : 4 servings (size: 2 ounces chicken)