Quote to Card

The main difficulty for diabetics is not the deficiency of insulin, it is the result of the lack of insulin and that result is that the blood becomes ultra-saturated with sugar (or glucose).

Everyone’s blood has glucose in it, the blood carries this energy to the limbs and organs to keep them functioning, but there is a fine balance between adequate and too much.

Insulin regulates that balance, so if you do not make enough insulin, as diabetics do not, your blood becomes dense and sugary. That does not sound too bad on the face of it.

Maybe a diabetic should be able to run further and faster than others with all that extra energy being pumped about the body.

Unfortunately, it does not work like that. The thick, syrupy blood does not get into the fine veins and capillaries, which means a lack of energy in these places, which are frequently at the very ends of your body and in internal and external organs.

Skin, hair, eyes, teeth and toes are all starved of the sugars they require to keep them going, not just to keep them super-fit. The places with the finest blood vessels start to suffer first.

Not only that, but where the blood does reach will be more easily infected, because the bacteria think it is party time with all that additional food/energy in the blood.

A small infection that the body;s immune system could usually have dealt with in a day or two soon gets out of hand. This is a major problem for diabetics and one of the areas that is easily infected is the mouth.

Without the regular dental check-ups that affluent people can afford, the mouth would frequently be infected, as it still is in poorer countries and among poorer groups in rich countries. Children and older people are always needing fillings, extractions and infections sorted out.

For diabetics who do not seek proper dental supervision this can soon become a major problem. Smoking worsens the problem. The concerns truly begin to mount up for smokers over the age of 45 when dental issues normally begin to resurface after 20 odd years of relatively healthy teeth and gums.

Periodontitis is particularly perilous for diabetics. Periodontitis is an infection that has an effect on the bones and gums in the mouth. It manifests itself in receding, bleeding gums. This exposes the blood rich in sugars to bacteria. Diabetics ought to advise their dentist of their condition and go for a check-up every six months.

Diabetics can easily lose all their teeth if they get periodontitis and it is readily done with high blood sugar levels. The first sign of such dental issues is bleeding teeth or gums.

It is imperative to control the blood sugar level to as close to normal as you can to avoid these and other complications and the two first keys to try are diet and exercise, otherwise you might have to resort to medication.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of subjects, and is now involved with diabetic friendly meals. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Cookbooks For Diabetics.

The rate of diabetes is on the increase and has been for years not just in the West but in numerous countries is other parts of the world too. This has been linked to the increasing rate of obesity which in turn has been linked to various factors.

There are several ideas why the number of obese people is raising, the most common of which are elevated prosperity, deskbound jobs, sedentary lifestyle (far too much TV); poor diet (far too much junk food) and food additives.

A sedentary career and lifestyle ultimately often leads to a deficiency of exercise and a poor diet is normally the result of not being able to cook either because of a shortage of time or ability. Junk food fills the gap.

Therefore, two of the main reasons for of diabetes in later life are poor diet and shortage of exercise, which can often be distilled to one major cause: indolence. Can’t be bothered to cook or learn how to and would rather watch a film than go for a stroll.

This is not every diabetic’s reason for being ill, obviously. There are also genetic dispositions and organ failures, but Type II diabetes is linked with obesity which is attaining epidemic proportions.

However, despite the high numbers of diabetics, there is also a pre-diabetic state. This pre-diabetic state is when the blood- sugar levels are greater than standard, but are not life-threatening. This again is most prevalent in the overweight.

A person in the pre-diabetic state will not notice anything, because a doctor needs to do check ups to determine the condition. People can go for years and even decades in this condition with no apparent injury.

However, elevated blood-sugar levels do have harmful side effects. If you are in this condition, it is necessary to rebalance the condition of your blood in order to reduce your chances of becoming diabetic. The condition of having too much sugar or glucose in the blood is called ‘hyperglycaemia’.

Some of the most common symptoms of hyperglycaemia are: kidney damage; intestinal worries; poor circulation in the extremities (so especially the feet), which can produce feelings of tingling or coldness and eyesight impairment (especially cataracts).

The problem for many people is that you have to work closely with your physician to bring your blood- sugar levels back under control. For those who live in remote areas or have little money this can become a big problem.

There are self-testing kits and medication for those who are able and willing to use them and they are much more preferable than having to inject with insulin everyday if you let the situation get too far out of hand. Being pre-diabetic is a loud call to action.

Exercise and a good diet of home-cooked food is the combination that will go a long way to improving the state of your blood. It is necessary to consume slow-burning foodstuffs like (meat and) vegetables rather than fast-burning sugary foodstuffs and it is vital to remove the excess sugar in your blood, if your internal organs cannot regulate it, by burning it off, which is best achieved by physical activity.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a variety of subjects, and is now concerned with Diabetes Cook Books. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Cookbooks For Diabetics.

Diabetes can have different adverse effects on sufferers’ health and one of those bad-effects is dental quality. Diabetics have a difficulty dealing with sugars, which often leads to a condition called hyperglycemia, which means that there is too much glucose / glucose in the blood.

The opposite of having too much sugar in your blood is having too little and that is called hypoglycemia.

Both conditions are regulated in healthy people by insulin and herein lies the diabetic’s difficulty – the body’s automatic production of insulin to control blood glucose levels. Both conditions will have serious consequences.

Too much sugar in the blood can lead to issues with the kidneys, the heart, the eyes and others, while too little sugar in the blood can cause fits and black-outs.

Tooth and gum disease is normal as are any other health problems. Factors that play a part in tooth and gum disease are age, heredity, smoking and oral hygiene, but the diabetic who is often hyperglycemic has a higher probability of developing dental disease.

The diabetic is more prone to infection of any kind and one of the most common is periodontitis, which affects the teeth, the jaw bones and the gums.

One of the visible symptoms of periodontitis is receding gums, which makes the teeth look strangely large, but also exposes the roots of the teeth to the air and food, causing sensitive teeth.

Therefore, diabetics should ensure that they make a special effort to visit their dentist at least twice a year, because periodontitis can cause the complete loss of one’s teeth.

The extra sugar in the blood provides extra food for germs, so they reproduce far more quickly than normal. This rapid build up of bacteria causes red, swollen gums.

One of the first signs of gum disease is frequent bleeding. If your gums start to bleed whilst you brush your teeth, book an early appointment with your dentist.

Diabetics, along with those who have an impaired immune system, run a much higher risk of developing periodontitis and so losing all their teeth, if it is left untreated.

Diabetics who have periodontitis are not certain to lose all their teeth, but it does have to be noticed and treated early because there are several ways that a dentist can cope with the infection.

One of the best tactics is to control your blood sugar levels in the first instance. This has to be achieved in conjuction with your doctor, but it will usually include correct dieting, exercise and taking insulin or a surrogate. Not smoking and maintaining your correct weight are also imperative.

Not all diabetics have to take insulin. There is much more understood concerning diabetes, diet, exercise and their interaction these days. Some diabetics can avoid taking insulin and all the side effects that that would normally entail by not eating sugary or starchy food.

The same effect can be had by consuming low-calorie meals frequently during the day instead of two or three substantial meals and by monitoring your blood-sugar levels.

This is the best means of avoiding the oral difficulties that diabetics can experience.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of topics, and is now involved with 500 Delicious Diabetic Recipes. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Easy Diabetic Meals