Search
Related Links

 

 

Informative Articles

Menopause and Loss of Libido
As reported by numerous females, menopause, the final stage in the cycle of female menstruation, contributes to a significant loss of libido. One of the more common complaints from women (and their partners) is the loss of sexual desire and drive....

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Menopause
Maintaining a proper balance of dietary fats may decrease the levels of bone loss associated with post-menopausal osteoporosis, according to a recent study by scientists at Purdue University and the Indiana University School of Medicine. Estrogen...

Ten Of The Best Supplements That Men Need For Optimum Nutrition Today...
There are many nutrition supplements at your local health food store. So many to choose from so confusing which ones are the right ones. How many should you take? Here you will learn what you need to take for the best health benefits. A word of...

The Essential Oil Home Medicine Chest – Part I: The Oils
Essential oils provide a wonderful natural-medicine alternative to common ailments we see at home. Their actions are broad and diverse, ranging from topical antiseptics and anti-inflammatories to analgesics, digestive system tonics, and...

What is Total Body Load?
'Total body load' is the phrase used to describe a principle that relate to factors that bring stress onto the body that lead to an overload on the body which results in illnesses. 'Total body load' is one of the most important body...

 
Diabetes Facts and Statistics

What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease where the body cannot properly produce or use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that turns the foods you eat into energy. If your body cannot turn food into energy, not only will your cells be starved for energy, you will also build up glucose (sugar) in your blood. This will lead you to have "high blood glucose levels." Over years, the high blood glucose level can damage major organs like your heart, eyes, and kidneys.

Statistics:
According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 18.2 million people in the United States with Diabetes. That's 6.3% of the population.

Diabetes is found in both men and women over the age of 20. About one-third of Diabetics do not know that they have it. African Americans are 1.6 times more likely to have diabetes than Whites. Latinos are 1.5 times more likely to have diabetes than Whites.

Type 1 is most often found in children, with the peak incidence at puberty. Type 2 is generally found in adults, however an alarmingly growing number of children are now diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes. One of the main causes is overweight.

Types:
1. Type 1 Diabetes is caused by a total lack of insulin that, in turn, produces high blood glucose levels. Type 1 is most often is seen in children, but can develop in adults. If you have Type 1, your health care provider might recommend scheduled, nutritious meals, exercise, medication, and frequent blood sugar level tests.

2. Type 2 Diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or cannot properly use insulin. This is the most common type. The treatment may be similar to Type 1.

3. Pre Diabetes or Borderline Diabetes may occur before a Type 2 diagnosis. Blood glucose levels will be higher than normal. Good nutrition and exercise may be recommended by your health care provider as treatment for pre diabetes. Even a slightly high blood sugar level is insidious and could affect major organs over time.

4. Gestational Diabetes occurs in pregnant women that have high blood glucose levels. This type of Diabetes can harm both Mother and baby. If you have Gestational Diabetes, your health care provider may prescribe meal plans, exercise, daily testing and medicine.

Symptoms:
The main symptom of diabetes is the lack of insulin activity or the inability for the body to create insulin.

Other symptoms include:

1. increase in urine production
2. blurry vision
3. irritability
4. extreme hunger
5. excessive weight loss
6. increased fatigue

Causes and Risk Factors:



The exact causes of Diabetes are still unknown. However, heredity, obesity and lack of exercise may play a role. Here are some general risk factors:

1. Your siblings or parents have diabetes.
2. You are more than 20% overweight.
3. You do not exercise.
4. You have had gestational diabetes or you have had a baby over 9 lbs.
5. You have high blood pressure.
6. Your cholesterol level is not normal.

Treatment Options:
According to the American Diabetes Association, people with Diabetes have the same nutritional needs as everyone else. In addition to prescribed medications, well-balanced meals may help you keep your blood glucose level as normal as possible.

Also, just like everyone else, exercise is an important part of staying healthy. Exercising with diabetes does require a few extra safety steps that your health care professional can make you aware of.

Nutritious meals, an exercise routine, along with the help of your doctor may aid you in controlling your Diabetes. Diabetes will never truly go away, but with proper nutrition, exercise and prescribed medications, it can be controlled.

Outlook:
There is no cure for Diabetes, but the treatment options are becoming better than they've ever been. Self-monitoring devices for blood glucose levels and administering insulin are the areas that have seen the most improvement. The following are a list of new treatment options that are currently being researched:

1. Insulin Pump Implants - a permanently implanted pump that will measure blood sugar levels and deliver the exact amount of insulin needed.

2. Insulin Capsule Implant - an insulin capsule that can be implanted to continuously release insulin into the bloodstream.

3. Insulin Inhaler - a rapid-acting insulin that is inhaled into the mouth. Currently in clinical trials.

4. Insulin Pill - Currently, the pill form has only been tested in animals.

5. Continuous Monitoring Device - The GlucoWatch Biographer, a wristwatch-like device, has been approved by the FDA. It is intended as a companion for the fingertip blood test to monitor glucose, in order to ensure accurate results.

6. Islet Cell Transplant - For people with Type 1 Diabetes, helps patients become insulin free for up to 14 months after treatment. Currently in clinical trials.

7. Gene Therapy

8. A Diabetes Vaccine - To prevent or slow the progress of Type 1 Diabetes.
About the Author

Visit Just-Diabetes.com for discussions, news, articles, and resources related to Diabetes.

 

National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Library of Medicine offers access to health information for consumer, patient, and physicians ...
www.nlm.nih.gov
 
Health and Medical Information produced by doctors - MedicineNet.com
Doctor-produced health and medical information written for you to make informed decisions about your health concerns.
www.medicinenet.com
 
Medicine in the Yahoo! Directory
Collection of sites for health professionals, with sections on specific disciplines, organizations, continuing education, conferences, publications, ...
dir.yahoo.com
 
MedlinePlus Health Information from the National Library of Medicine
Health information from the National Library of Medicine. Easy access to Medline and Health topics, medical dictionaries, directories and publications.
medlineplus.gov
 
Medicine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Medicine is a branch of health science and the sector of public life ... The practice of medicine combines both science as the evidence base and art in the ...
en.wikipedia.org
 
Journal Home - Nature Medicine
Nature Medicine has a vacancy for a Locum Assistant Editor for six months. The position involves working in all aspects of the editorial process, ...
www.nature.com
 
The New England Journal of Medicine: Research & Review Articles on ...
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is a weekly general medical journal that publishes new medical research findings, review articles, and editorial ...
content.nejm.org
 
eMedicine Clinical Knowledge Base
eMedicine features up-to-date, searchable, peer-reviewed medical journals, online physician reference textbooks, and a full-text article database in 62 ...
www.emedicine.com
 
Open Directory - Health: Medicine
the entire directory, only in Health/Medicine. Top: Health: Medicine (11429). Description · Medical Specialties (4888); Surgery (2265) ...
dmoz.org
 
the www virtual library biosciences medicine
www.ohsu.edu/cliniweb/wwwvl/ - Similar pages
 
Medicine - home
Bimonthly journal covering the latest results in clinical investigation relevant to hospital and office practice.
www.md-journal.com
 
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine serves as adviser to the nation to improve health.
www.iom.edu
 
ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News
Medical Research News. Health news on everything from cancer to nutrition. Full-text, images, updated daily.
www.sciencedaily.com
 
Google Directory - Health > Medicine
Search only in Medicine Search the Web. Medicine. Health > Medicine, Go to Directory Home. Categories. Alternative Medicine (6308) Basic Sciences (66) ...
www.google.com
 
the world wide web virtual library biosciences medicine
www.mcb.harvard.edu/biopages/medicine.html - Similar pages
 
PLoS Medicine - A Peer-Reviewed Open-Access Journal
PLoS Medicine is a peer-reviewed, international, open-access journal published ... Every issue of PLoS Medicine contains a selection of readers' responses. ...
medicine.plosjournals.org
 
Medicine On-Line - Medicine Online -The International Medical Journal
Medicine Online - independent and peer reviewed journal published by Priory Medical Journals - priory.com.
www.priory.com
 
Entrez PubMed
PubMed is a service of the US National Library of Medicine that includes over 16 million citations from MEDLINE and other life science journals for ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 
Stanford University School of Medicine
Home Page of the Stanford University School of Medicine.
med.stanford.edu
 
Medicine OnLine
Meds.com offers medical information and education on cancer (lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, leukemia) and HIV / AIDS for patients, ...
www.meds.com