Online since June 1997!

Diabetes
 

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• Signs You Might Be Diabetic

• How a Diagnosis Changes One's Life -- Learning to adapt, including diet, and what most diabetics have to go through.

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• My Glossary

Nearly 6 percent of the U.S. population-15.7 million people-have diabetes, and one-third of them don't even know it.   Signs You Might Be Diabetic:

Experiencing HYPERglycemia (high blood sugar; onset is gradual and could progress to a diabetic coma):

Experiencing HYPOglycemia (low blood sugar; sudden onset may progress to insulin shock; for which one should immediately eat several hard candies or drink half a cup of orange juice or milk; then, within 30 minutes after symptoms go away, eat a light snack like a peanut butter or meat sandwich and half a glass of milk):

How A Diagnosis Change One's Life

• One should always walk around with hard candy in case of the onset of hypoglycemia.

• For some, it means checking blood-sugar with a glucometer several times a day and possibly taking oral and intravenous insulin.

• If you smoke or drink, stop.

• Exercise is important because of good circulation and losing weight.

• From the American Diabetes Association:  Can I eat foods with sugar in them?  For almost every person with diabetes, the answer is yes! Eating a piece of cake made with sugar will raise your blood glucose level. So will eating corn on the cob, a tomato sandwich, or lima beans. The truth is that sugar has gotten a bad reputation. People with diabetes can and do eat sugar. In your body, it becomes glucose, but so do the other foods mentioned above. With sugary foods, the rule is moderation. Eat too much, and 1) you'll send your blood glucose level up higher than you expected; 2) you'll fill up but without the nutrients that come with vegetables and grains; and 3) you'll gain weight. So, don't pass up a slice of birthday cake. Instead, at the next meal, eat a little less bread or potato and be sure to take a brisk walk to burn some calories.

• From the American Diabetes Association:  Are some fats better than others?  Yes. Monounsaturated fats are the healthiest for your body. Nuts-like almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, and peanuts-and avocados contain this type of fat. Choose olive or canola oil for cooking. Polyunsaturated fat is the next healthiest fat. This is found in margarine, corn oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, and mayonnaise. Avoid saturated fats like butter, lard and meat fat, bacon, and shortening. There are lower-fat versions of saturated fats like sour cream and cream cheese. A healthy diet includes less than 30% of calories from fat, with less than 10% of these from saturated fat.
• From www.vrg.org/journal/diabetes.htm -- Many people are surprised to learn that diabetics can and should eat starches such as potatoes, bread, pasta, and legumes. A high complex carbohydrate diet helps to control blood glucose. The American Diabetic Association recommends that at least 55 - 60% of the calories consumed be from carbohydrate.

DIET -- You have to stop listening to your body when it tells you to eat or drink the wrong things.  You have to become nutritionally aware.  Diabetics have to watch:

• Protein -- This has to do with the kidneys.  I understand that this has more to do with Type I diabetes than Type II.  One source for protein -- if one does not want to consume high-fat foots like red meat (and I can't stand the texture of beans of any kind, except bean curd a/k/a tofu) -- is peanut butter, which can be high and fat and sodium, so be careful.

• Fiber -- While the benefits may be nominal and there is no evidence that this really decreases the chance of colon cancer according to the latest news, a high fiber diet is good for diabetics.  Even though apples have sugar, the fiber (leave the skin on) is good for diabetics, as are other whole foods because of the reduced reliance on simple sugars (www.healthwell.com).  Fiber helps the heart, lowers cholesterol, maintains blood sugar levels and moderates weight.  Fibers are wheat bran, whole grains, seeds and fruit and vegetable peels, etc.  Soluble fiber includes dried beans, oat bran, barley, apples, citrus fruits and potatoes.

• Sugar -- See glossary.  If one's blood-sugar is over 250 regularly, one could lapse into a coma and one should check into a hospital.  If too low, symptoms of hypoglycemia could occur.  I now use sugar substitutes like Equal or Sweet'n Low (saccharin has been removed from the list of known human carcinogens, despite the the Surgeon General's warning on current packages), diet sodas (although I limit soda and try to drink a lot of water).  Carrots and oranges have a lot of fructose (sugar) in them, so one cannot have unlimited amounts of fruits and vegetables either.

• Salt/sodium -- Instead of salt or salt-combination seasonings, I use garlic POWDER, which is better for you and tastes great (although of course can lead one to have body or breath odors).  Avoid sodium-based sauces (although low-sodium soy sauce is available) or use sparingly.  There is probably something a lot healthier that one can use.  

• Cholesterol -- See glossary.  There is a debate as to whether one's intake of cholesterol has a large affect on one's cholesterol level.  There is good and bad cholesterol and if the body does not have enough, it will create it.  I do not eat eggs regularly and if I am called upon to use eggs in my cooking, I will use two egg whites for every egg that is asked and remove the yolk.

• Fat -- I rarely eat red meat and I drink skim milk (which has just as much carbs as whole milk).  I do not use butter or margarine.  I'm not sure how much better it is for me, but I like Shead Spread as a butter substitute.  I heard that butter in a bowl is better for you than the kind in a stick because of the chemicals used to keep it together in a square.

• Carbohydrates -- See glossary.  Carbohydrates are complex sugars from what I understand.  They cause blood sugar to rise with a delayed reaction.  I now do not eat bread with my meals if I already have a starch.  While I don't like whole wheat breads, they are supposed to be better.  I noticed that sourdough bread, which has no fat, is lower in carbs than other kinds of bread.   Because I'm Italian, I already have a lot of starch in my diet with pasta, which I now cook without salt.

ANATOMY to pay particularly close attention to:

• Kidneys -- Too much protein can hurt the kidneys.

• Gums -- Diabetics are more prone to gum disease.

• Heart -- Limiting cholesterol helps.  Avoid egg yolks and shellfish.

• Feet --  One should have one's feet checked regularly by a doctor who understands diabetes (not necessarily a podiatrist or endocrinologist).  One should not go barefoot anywhere, not even in one's home.  There is the potential amputation if neglected and gangrene sets in.  Tingling in the extremities could be a bad sign.  Diabetes is the leading cause of amputations.  Wash feet every day.  Apply lotion to top and bottom of feet, but not between toes.  FILE your toenails (do not clip).  Shake out shoes for little objects that could hurt your feet.  Wear comfortable shoes.  Check feet daily for cracks, bunions, etc.  Cotton or wool socks are good for keeping feet dry.  Do NOT use heating pads on feet.  Do not use sharp objects to remove calluses or bunions yourself.  War compounds can damage skin and cause infection (I think this might have happened to my finger).

• Infections -- Bacteria LOVE sugar.  If your blood sugar is high and you get an infection such as the abscess I had in my leg, it will turn from a small pustule to a huge sore that will require emergency treatment.  Boils can be created by an ingrown hair.

• Eyes -- blurred vision could be the onset of blindness

• Blood pressure -- can hurt eyes, heart, kidney and feet

Links

• American Diabetes Association -- www.diabetes.org 

• Diabetes.com

• www.lowcarbtreats.com 

• Diabetes Dictionary

• Yahoogroups.com -- Do a search like I did.  I subscribed to the following:

  • Diabetics List

  • Diabetes List

  • Diabetes International List

  • List for Gay Bear-identified men with Diabetes

• Diabetes Educator

• Diabetic Lifestyle

• See my Main Health Page for more links.

Glossary

See Diabetes Dictionary for more.

• Abscess/Boil -- A collection of pus (white blood cells) underneath the skin which may need to be lanced.

• Blood-Sugar -- The main sugar that the body makes from the three elements of food-proteins, fats, and carbohydrates-but mostly from carbohydrates. Glucose is the major source of energy for living cells and is carried to each cell through the bloodstream. However, the cells cannot use glucose without the help of insulin.

• Carbohydrate -- One of the three main classes of foods and a source of energy. Carbohydrates are mainly sugars and starches that the body breaks down into glucose (a simple sugar that the body can use to feed its cells). The body also uses carbohydrates to make a substance called glycogen that is stored in the liver and muscles for future use. If the body does not have enough insulin or cannot use the insulin it has, which are the basic problems in most forms of diabetes, then the body will not be able to use carbohydrates for energy the way it should.  Sometimes abbreviated CHO.

• Cholesterol -- A fat-like substance found in blood, muscle, liver, brain, and other tissues in people and animals. The body makes and needs some cholesterol. Too much cholesterol, however, may cause fat to build up in the walls of the larger arteries and cause a disease called atherosclerosis. Butter and egg yolks are examples of foods that have a lot of cholesterol.

• Endocrinologist -- A doctor who treats people who have problems with their endocrine glands.  Diabetes is an endocrine disorder.

• Fructose -- A type of sugar found in many fruits and vegetables and in honey. Fructose is used to sweeten some diet foods. It is considered a nutritive sweetener because it has calories.

• Gangrene -- The death of body tissue.  It is most often caused by a loss of blood flow, especially in the legs and feet.

• Gingivitis aka Periodontal disease -- An inflammation of the gums that if left untreated may lead to periodontal disease, a serious gum disorder. Signs of gingivitis are inflamed and bleeding gums.

• Glucometer -- A device to measure blood sugar.

• Glucose -- Sugar.

• Hyperglycemia -- Too high a level of sugar in the blood; a sign that diabetes is out of control.  Many things can cause hyperglycemia.  It occurs when the body does not have enough insulin or cannot use the insulin it does have to turn glucose into energy.

• Hypoglycemia -- Too low a level of sugar in the blood. This occurs when a person with diabetes has injected too much insulin, eaten too little food, or has exercised without extra food.  A person with hypoglycemia may feel nervous, shaky, weak, or sweaty, and have a headache, blurred vision and hunger.  Taking small amounts of sugar, sweet juice, or food with sugar will usually help the person feel better within 10-15 minutes.

• Insulin -- A hormone that helps the body use sugar for energy. The beta cells of the pancreas (in areas called the islets of Langerhans) make the insulin.  When the body cannot make enough insulin on its own, a person with diabetes must inject insulin made from other sources, i.e., beef, pork, human insulin (recombinant DNA origin), or human insulin (pork-derived, semisynthetic).

• Podiatrist -- A foot doctor.

• Protein -- One of the three main classes of food. Proteins are made of amino acids, which are called the building blocks of the cells. The cells need proteins to grow and to mend themselves. Protein is found in many foods such as meat, fish, poultry, and eggs.