Blindness is an affliction which everyone dreads. But if you are a diabetic then it is a real fear, as diabetes in one of the leading causes of blindness in the US. In fact every one in three cases of blindness is caused by diabetes.
Therefore it is absolutely essential to have an eye exam at least once a year, this is if you are controlling your diabetes. If it is not controlled then the exam should take place between 3 and 6 months intervals.
Glaucoma is the main culprit, but diabetics also have a high risk of the development of cataracts and retinopathy. It is so important to detect these diseases at an early stage. Therefore make sure that the eye exams are carried out at exactly the recommended intervals, you owe it to yourself. Diabetes is not a desired state but blindness is a lot worse!
Earlier this year it was reported that 6 new genes had been found which could make people more likely to develop diabetes. The conclusion was that this could help to treat diabetes and possibly prevent it.
There are now sixteen genes which are possibly linked to the development of Type 2 Diabetes. These all have significance on the control of blood sugar and how that control can go wrong.
“These genes are all brand new finds” claimed one of the researchers at Oxford University. He went on to state that each gene could provide opportunities to dicover new treatments or cures.
In diabetes the blood sugar levels are raised which if untreated can go on to damage kidneys, eyes, and then develop heart problems, strokes and circulation problems in the extremities.
Over 90% of all diabetes sufferers have type 2 diabetes, obesity is closely associated.
Not everyone has all the six genes found, but if they are all found in one person their propensity to develop diabetes is 2 to 3 more likely to develop the disease.
A surprise was the discovery of a Gene named jazf1, this is also known to play a part in the development of prostate cancer! A double whammy!!
Many men, women and children are diabetic and if they do not take measures to control blood sugar levels, complications can arise. For the majority diagnosed with this condition it can be reversed with a type 2-diabetes diet, exercise plus medication, if necessary.
Type 2 is the most widespread type of diabetes mellitus. It occurs when the body does not make enough insulin or the cells can’t use the insulin. When you eat food, sugars and starches are broken down into glucose. Insulin transports the sugar from the blood into the cells. If glucose builds up in the blood instead, it can cause your cells to lack energy, and overtime this can affect your health and may damage your kidneys and lead to renal failure, or affect your heart, nerves, or eyes.
There are many websites, and books where you can find recommendations for a type 2 diabetes diet.
The American Diabetes association has a brilliant website which contains guidelines, tips and diet information for type 2 diabetes and they also publish many books for any patient who needs help controlling diabetes. They say it is particularly important to control blood cholesterol and weight with low cholesterol, low -saturated-fat diet, and that you will benefit if you take regular aerobic exercise, don’t smoke and you should lower high blood pressure.
On this website you will also find:
- A typical diet menu for type 2 diabetes
- Type 2 diabetes diet product information
- 12-week program for diabetics
- Sign up for monthly newsletter to receive menu and recipe suggestions.
- A review of recommended books containing type 2 diabetes diet health plan, weight loss plans, plus sample recipes from each book.
- Expert articles on how to plan a diabetic meal and many other topics of interest
- Testimonials and personal stories
Being diabetic doesn’t necessarily mean you will have to take a drug or pills as treatment, and give up all the foods that you like. Although there is no need to eat special diets, you can’t have it all your own way if you have this complaint, or are a borderline diabetesit and you need to make certain lifestyle changes.
Diet for type 2 diabetes from American Heart Assn recommends good nutrition and measuring the amount of carbohydrate in your daily diet.
Carbohydrates are found in a vast number of everyday foods including sugar, fructose, bread, pasta, cereals, beans, vegtables, rice and other grains. The more carbohydrates you eat, the higher your blood glucose will be. Carb control for a type 2 diabetes diet is easier if you measure your food and read nutrition fact labels, and exchange lists.
The Mayo Clinic website is another well worth a visit.
Atkins diet and the type 2 diabetic, and the South Beach Diet are all used to achieve weight loss and there is an article in the Los Angeles Times available online, which compares low-fat and high-protein diets.
Research is always looking for a risk free product, new therapy and ways to prevent diabetes. Breakthroughs are happening all the time. Scientists at a Canadian clinic researching children with type1 diabetes found evidence to suggest that the nervous system is one of the factors which helps trigger diabetes, consequently when they injected diabetic mice with something to offset the faulty pain neurons in the pancreas they became healthy overnight.
The National Centre of Homeopathy (homopathic assn) reports in one of its articles that a study to weigh up the association between alternative and complementary medicine in prevention and in conventional medical services in adults with diabetes found that it may not be a barrier to treatment.
If you are on a Type 2-diabetes diet you might not have to use insulin as well, but if you do you many be interested that scientists have been working on making a patch that uses ultrasound waves, electrical currents, and chemicals to help transport insulin transdermally, but it may be sometime before they are available in pharmacies.