Lowering your Blood Sugar

“If your doctor tries to discourage you from lowering your blood sugar, find a new doctor”.

An Accord study has been used to indicate that by lower your blood sugar that it could increase the risk of heart attacks.  Sulfonylureas, Actos and Avandia was some of the drugs used for the tests and they are known to increase heart problems.

This has resulted that some practitioners believe that lowering your A1c is dangerous.

But in fact using oral drugs may lead to others complications;-

• Sufonylureas stimulate cell receptors on the pancreas and also on the heart.
• TZD convert bone stem cells into fat cells (leading to osteoporosis)
• Januvia and Onglyza inhibit DPP-4 used to fight different cancers elsewhere

Reducing carbohydrates intake is a much saver method of reducing blood sugar levels and keeping it low will provide long term health benefits.

Metformin and Insulin is still the best medication to take.

Read more at diabeticupdate…

It is all about daily choices;

Technorati Tags: Blood sugar levels, DIABETES Signs Symptoms

Eat Fat and get Trimmed!

Eat Fat and get Trimmed!

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dr. Martha Belury author of the study and a professor of nutrition at Ohio State University in Columbus. Her study, about the effects of certain kinds of fat (linoleic acid (CLA) or safflower oil) on obese woman. Her study that included 35 older women had the following results.

• Eating certain kinds of fats may actually help obese women with diabetes trim some body fat
• Using supplements containing these to fats, led to healthy changes in body composition over four months

Linoleic Acid (CLA)

• With CLA, the women saw a dip in body mass index (BMI)
• CLA is an unsaturated fatty acid found in beef, lamb and dairy products

Safflower Oil

• With safflower oil, the women’s BMI did not change, but they typically shed a couple pounds of fat from the trunk area
• they also showed improvements in their blood sugar levels, which signals better diabetes control
• Safflower oil is rich in omega-6 polyunsaturated fats

Dr Belury recommends the following.

• “Don’t get rid of the healthy fats in your diet when you get rid of the bad ones”
• Overweight women with diabetes use CLA or safflower oil supplements
• Obese woman should fit more polyunsaturated fats into their diet

Dr Belury also says more study is needed with regards to,

• CLA affects enzymes involved in body-fat storage
• potential effects on diabetes
• CLA did not affect blood-sugar control in this study
• previous study of diabetic adults found that CLA actually raised blood-sugar levels

When you are following a diabetic diet plan this does go a bit against the grain

Read more…..

Technorati Tags: Blood sugar levels, CLA, diabetic control, DIABETIC DIET PLAN

The First Blood Glucose Meter With Unique Plug & Play

Diabetes Management Software Bayer’s CONTOUR USB meter is the first and only blood glucose-monitor that plugs directly to a PC or MAC providing users with instant access to information that can help optimize diabetes management. The meter can store up to 2,000 test results. With the CONTOUR USB meter, patients are able to review their results with their healthcare professional during an office visit, over the phone, or via email, giving them the opportunity to make treatment adjustments, such as taking action to reduce their A1C levels, if necessary.”Measurement of A1C provides an average assessment of blood sugar levels over the past three months In fact, even a one-percent reduction in A1C reduces the risk of serious complications by 40 percent.

Bayer’s CONTOUR USB meter will soon be available for sale in the U.S

READ MORE….

Technorati Tags: A1C levels, Blood glucose meter, Blood sugar levels, Contour USB meter, DIABETES Signs Symptoms, glucose monitor

Weight loss – Little help from my friends!

Losing weight is Hard! Friends that share their trails and tips with you does make the situation more manageable. Having healthy, living, eating friends around has changed the “weightless situation” to a “way of life” and it is great getting up and improving your whole life balance small parts at a time! Following are gems that was shared by my Friends over at DiabetesDaily.

trinitarian3n1

• Insulin is the primary fat storage hormone in the body.
• It also turns off lipase–the enzyme that burns fat.
• If you are injecting insulin or taking any of the “oral hypoglycemic” medications (sulfonylureas), you should work with your doctor to reduce doses as you cut back on your carbs or you’ll risk going low.
• I have found that once I eliminated breads, pasta, chips, potatoes, and fruits that my cravings for these have disappeared
• You may find that weight drops quickly initially as the glycogen stores with a significant amount of water weight attached to them are depleted
• Fat-burning, however, takes time
• but a pound per week is considered a good level of weight loss generally.
• a higher protein, fat diet does wonders to keep one satisfied
• hunger is not there like it was when eating higher carbs
• sometimes appetite will kick in after reading food posts
• a diet drink will usually do the trick

jeanne wagner

• changing up the kinds of exercise will help spark weight loss
• use a low carb diet and it has been very effective
• One thing that you have to be careful with when you do intense exercise is that when you are finished, sometime you are starving and eat more calories than you burned off.
• Even 30 minutes of exercise may only burn off 300 calories. If you eat 2 slices of bread or a bagel you’ve eaten that much.
• To lose 1 pound you need to burn 3500 calories
• That is a lot of exercise or you can try cutting 500 calories a day
• add more protein and fat. I started eating things like bacon,eggs, low carb toast for breakfast. I stayed full for 4 hours
• keep food journals with the food we eat, carb and calorie count and what our bg’s are 1 or 2 hours after.
• BG’s should be below 140.
• I make sure I have enough to eat to make it through the class. Sometimes I’ll make a strawberry whey smoothie.
• I finish exercising I usually eat something small that has protein
• By eliminating pasta, rice, bread, potatoes, etc I’ve been able to eat a lot of other foods instead
• Things like oatmeal, toast, rice, potatoes, fruit and yogurt are all carbs
• changed breakfast to bacon and eggs, had vegetables or boiled eggs for snacks and meat and vegetables for lunch and dinner you would see a big drop in weight
• eat 50-75 carbs a day I probably eat 1600 calories a day and lose about 1/2 pound-1 pound a week
• people think breakfast has to be cereal based. That is the worst thing for diabetics
• As we age, we do need to be more careful with exercise
• menopause has played havoc with my body
• important to warm up correctly
• drink lots of water
• know the limits of your own body
• Sometimes it’s better to do gentler types of exercise like walking or pilates or yoga
• limit it to 1 or 2 times a week and don’t try to overload bar with heavy weights
• cut back on heavy exercise and did milder things like walking
• I have to listen to my body
• warm up ahead of time
• stretching after a workout
• was in trouble when the 7 month pregnant woman lapped me twice
• lost a lot of weight but it has taken 7 years to do it
• The closer you get to your goal the harder it is
• Sometimes just making small changes like swapping bread and using lettuce for sandwiches or swapping pasta out and adding another salad for dinner
• I’m determined to be a fit and trim woman in her 60’s.
• lose weight in 10-15 pounds segments and then plateau

EmmJay

• I also prescribed to a low carb diet with moderate exercise
• Also I eat pasta, but I eat it maybe once in a week in a very small portion to satisfy my desire
• small changes sometimes have very big results
• reducing my carbs to 75 grams or less per day I have managed to lose 59 pounds in 7 months
• my BG levels are almost consistent
• I look and feel 10000% better, my skin is much better
• I really don’t have cravings for the carbs any longer
• It takes time, but slow, small changes make the world of difference over the long haul

cjo20

• Diet is much more important than exercise when it comes to losing weight
• small snack can negate the effects of an hour of exercise
• you should look at your total calorie consumption
• Keeping a detailed food log may help
• To lose weight, you will need to eat fewer calories in a day than the body burns.
• the body doesn’t like using up it’s carefully stored reserves of fat, so it will try it’s best to get you to eat something to make up the energy deficit
• most people seem to snack whenever they feel even slightly hungry – which is what causes weight to stay where it is ( or go up ).
• It doesn’t have to be a huge drop in calories a day, even a small deficit will cause weight loss in the long run
• dropping 200 calories a day is equivalent to losing about 0.5lb of fat a week
• giving up just 1 chocolate bar a day, you can lose about 14kg/28lb/2 stone in a year

DWine

• eat a snack of veggies when your tempted to go for the starchs
• I love bread and pasta too, but it does not love me so the relationship has ended between us
• shredded cabbage and saute it with onion and then scramble an egg into it.
• if you need things to crunch, and who doesn’t, buy some raw nuts like almonds, pecans and cashews
• 10 – 15 pecan halves, cashews, or almonds are low in carb but not in calories
• I use a 1/8c container to measure a serving out.
  These really help stem the cravings too

bsc

• you have to approach this in a measured manner
• If your body believes that you are starving, it will hold onto ever little bit of weigh
• follow a “low carb” diet and drop your calories to “just below” what you need
• Just below” does not mean a 2000 calorie deficit, it means perhaps 500 calories
• start tracking exactly what you eat
• lunch cannot be “whatever is served.”
• healthier and better eating 4-6 small meals throughout the day
• You food is your medicine and you must control
• you need to log and track what you eat.
• purchase 100% whey, avoid soy
• select a mix that is low carb and contains something like 5g in a serving
• Avoid the Grow formulas that have 100g of carbs
• mix my protein mix with milk, it adds 12g of carbs
• have a shake first thing in the morning, it helps disrupt my strong dawn phenomenon
• usually work out in the gym after eating, so I don’t take a shake before working out
• have a shake after the gym, it really helps recovery
• Protein shakes are a great way to supplement protein and are fine for diabetics
• If you follow diets like “protein power” these are really helpful. I don’t think age is a fact
• as a diabetic protein at high levels can and will affect your blood sugar
• protein over 25g in a meal is converted to blood sugar with a 1/3 efficiency
• meal with 55g of protein would have the same effect on my blood sugar as eating 10g of carbs.
• Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). This can hit you particularly hard if you are weight training
• DOMS is muscle soreness, pain and stiffness that sets in 24-48 hours after exercise
• It affects everyone, diabetic and not, but there is a lot of variation
• accustomed to movements, the DOMS goes away
• if I lay off training for a week or two, I would suffer badly when I returned
• It is mostly associated with new movements and what I term “overreaching
• Post workout nutrition is thought to aid recovery
• Make sure you have a good meal right after workout
• find that DOMS can be helped with active recovery, such as taking a long walk on your off days
• differentiate DOMS, “burn” which in my case is a lactic acid buildup
• if you don’t train at the edge of injuring yourself, you won’t maximize your improvements
• hard to find a place where you are comfortable in the gym
• There will always be people younger, fitter and stronger than you
• there will always be someone older than you who is fitter and stronger
• competing with is yourself
• You are successful if you achieve your goals,

1.      becoming fitter

2.       losing weight o

3.       having better blood sugar control.

• you metabolize fat when your body calls on energy and needs to reach down into your fat reserves
• our bodies are accustomed to getting energy from blood sugar first then to draw on other sources like fat
• if you have blood sugar available, you won’t tap into your fat reserves
• metabolizing of fat is triggered by lowered insulin levels and increased glucagon levels
• to drive fat loss, keep your blood sugar levels low and keep your insulin levels low
• perform low level exercises like walking, you will achieve the best fat loss
• walking around all day with high blood sugar and insulin on board is not going to help you with fat loss
• If your blood sugar is high after exercising and does not come down, fasting is not going to be of any help in fat loss

lostdiver7

• iPhone and found a free application on there called Sparkpeople
• from a solid 227 1/2 on June 15 to 198 on Aug 29^th
• Just follow the plan

Technorati Tags: bg levels, Blood sugar levels, DIABETES Signs Symptoms, exercise, food journals, hypoglycemic, insulin, weight loss, weightless

Blood Sugar Level Targets And Times

·        Blood Glucose Range Targets

·        (Levels in mmol/l)

·        Timing                   Ideal                          Acceptable                       Poor

·        Pre breakfast         4.0-5.3                        4.0-7.8                              >7.8

·        Pre meal               4.0-5.8                        4.0-7.8                               >7.8

·        2 hours after food   4.0-6.7                       4.4-10.0                             >10.0

·        (Levels in mg/dl      60-100                       100-140                            140-180

·        After a meal           110- 140                     140-180                           180-220

·        When to test

·        First thing in mornings

·        Before meals

·        One or two hours after meals

·        Feeling the symptoms of hypoglycemia

·        When ill or sick

·        Changing timing or quantity of dosage

·        Chance in physical activities

·        Under a lot of stress

·        Each test is just a snap shot of your blood level sugar level at that time.

·        Keep record that more informed decision can be made about lifestyle adjustments.

Technorati Tags: Blood sugar levels, Glucose, Insuline, mmol/l