Reprinted Articles

Diabetes can present two main categories of problems, in the form of short term ill-effects and longer term harm. Minimizing both areas requires discipline.

Ups and downs in blood sugar can be unpleasant, resulting in nausea, muscle weakness, disorientation, dizziness, and other effects. Some diabetics have trouble keeping their blood glucose always steady. Certain practices can help minimize the chance of sudden changes in blood glucose.

Monitoring is sometimes painful and burdensome, but is an absolute must. Many glucose monitoring devices now reduce or eliminate the need for painful finger pricks.

Some contain tiny, powerful lasers that create a hole through which blood oozes. They produce only a mild tingling sensation. One recent device senses glucose level through the skin using an infrared beam, requiring no blood sample at all.

The goal is to keep the glucose-insulin balance as close to normal levels as possible. Non-diabetics have a fasting glucose level under about 99 mg/dL. Even after a heavy meal, when glucose may rise to over 200 mg/dL, insulin is released which brings it back down within a couple of hours. That means that keeping the glucose level right isn’t so much achieving a static number as maintaining the correct dynamic balance.

Part of a long-term glucose monitoring strategy should encompass regular physician visits with a quarterly A1C test. Several tests exist to measure blood glucose level at a given time. The A1C test provides a picture averaged over a period of months. The name comes from HbA1c, an abbreviation for glycated hemoglobin.

Hemoglobin’s role is to carry oxygen from the red blood cells to the tissues. Hemoglobin is glycated when there is extra glucose in the blood. The A1C test can give an average glucose level, because glycated hemoglobin remains.

The effects of diabetes continue over the long-term. In the past, many diabetics would suffer from kidney damage, blindness, nerve damage and ills within a decade or so of the condition’s onset. Luckily this need not occur. Modern medical knowledge enables most diabetics to lead nearly normal lives, with few ill effects.

Most diabetics can achieve a proper glucose-insulin balance with the help of diet and exercise.

Keeping body fat low through proper diet and exercise will help. Body fat plays a role in how the body reacts to glucose levels, as well as affecting hormone production and release. While the mechanisms are still being investigated, many studies show there is a clear correlation between body fat and the severity of diabetes effects, as well.

Lowering body fat also has the positive effect of lowering the blood pressure. Long-term high blood pressure contributes to many of the ills experienced by diabetics: eye and nerve damage, heart attacks and strokes.

With diligence a diabetic can lead a normal life, one very much like those fortunate enough not to have the condition. A little attention a few times a day can lead to not having to pay too much attention at all.

Last 5 posts by Julia Hanf

• Diabetes and Exercise - June 5th, 2008
• The Winning Solution - June 4th, 2008
• Clarity of Cause, Clear as Mud - May 25th, 2008
• 24 Hour Insulin - May 22nd, 2008
• Dieting and Diabetes - May 20th, 2008

Tags: Diabetes