VIA: REUTERS.COM

(Reuters Health) – People who get plenty of vitamin K from food may have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who get less of the vitamin, a new study suggests.

 
Researchers found that among more than 38,000 Dutch adults they followed for a decade, those who got the most vitamin K in their diets were about 20 percent less likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes during the study period.

The findings appear to be the first to show a relationship between vitamin K and diabetes risk, and do not prove that the vitamin is the reason for the lower risk, write the researchers, led by Dr. Joline W.J. Beulens of the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands.

Instead, they add, the results should fuel further research into whether vitamin K does play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.

It’s estimated that more than 23 million, or nearly 11 percent, of U.S. adults have type 2 diabetes. The most important risk factors for type 2 diabetes include older age, obesity, family history of diabetes and race — with black, Hispanic and Native Americans at higher risk than whites in the U.S. The extent to which specific nutrients in the diet might affect diabetes risk remains unclear.

Vitamin K exists in two natural forms: vitamin K1, or phylloquinone, found largely in green leafy vegetables, as well as some vegetable oils, such as canola and soybean oils; and vitamin K2, or menaquinone, which people get mainly through meat, cheese and eggs.

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VIA: WEBMD.COM

If not controlled, diabetes can put you at risk for a host of complications that can affect nearly every organ in the body. They include:

• The heart and blood vessels
• The eyes
• The kidneys
• The nerves
• The gums and teeth
• Heart Disease, Blood Vessel Disease, and Diabetes

Heart disease and blood vessel disease are the biggest complications that people with uncontrolled diabetes face. Approximately 65% of death from diabetes is due to heart disease and stroke. Diabetes can also cause poor blood flow in the legs and feet (peripheral artery disease).

Many studies show that controlling diabetes can prevent or stop the progression of heart and blood vessel disease.

Blood vessel damage or nerve damage (see below) may also lead to foot problems that can lead to amputations. More than 60% of leg and foot amputations not related to an injury are due to diabetes.

Diabetes and the Eyes
Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in the U.S. It can cause a number of eye problems, some of which can lead to blindness if not addressed. The eye disorders include:

• Glaucoma
• Cataracts
• Diabetic retinopathy

Studies show that regular eye exams and timely treatment of diabetes-related eye problems could prevent up to 90% of diabetes-related blindness.

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VIA: WEBMD.COM – PHOTO VIA: SAVVYHEALTHFITNESS.COM

Learn the lifestyle changes that can get rid of your type 2 diabetes.

 
Type 2 diabetes can’t be cured, but it can be reversed by eating right and exercising regularly. Do what Karen Parrish, 53, did: Take control of your disease rather than letting your disease control you.

Parrish received her diagnosis of type 2 diabetes with little surprise. Both sides of her family have a history of the disease, and she knew the consequences of ignoring it.

Still, Parrish, didn’t fully commit to the lifestyle changes necessary to get her diabetes under control.

“Knowing what you have to do is not the problem,” says Parrish, an antiques seller in Sharpsville, Pa. “The problem is doing it.”

VIA: WEBMD.COM

Via: WebMD.com

If you have diabetes or know someone who has diabetes, you know how important it is to be able to manage it and live a healthy life. Here are some ways to control diabetes for life:

Principle 1: Educate yourself about diabetes. There are two types of diabetes. It is important to know which one you have so that you can seek the right type of treatment. Consult your physician to be sure.

Principle 2: Make sure you seek regular care for your diabetes. In order to properly manage your diabetes, it is very important that you get the proper care and advice from your physician.

Principle 3: Learn how to control your diabetes. You can control your diabetes by doing things like exercising, maintaining a healthy diet and improving your blood pressure and cholesterol.

Principle 4: Take care of your diabetes ABC’s (A1C blood glucose average, cholesterol and blood pressure). This is a very important part of diabetes treatment. Make sure this is a top priority.

Principle 5: Monitor your diabetes ABC’s. Many of these tests are available through your physician or at your local pharmacy. Once you get a handle on your ABC levels, managing your diabetes will be that much simpler.

Principle 6: Avoid and prevent long-term diabetes problems. Diabetes can cause long term health issues such as stoke, kidney failure and amputation. These long-term issues are avoidable by taking prescribed medications as directed, eating healthy, staying active and monitoring the ABC’s.

Principle 7: Get checked and treated for long-term problems. It is important to catch any health issues that diabetes may cause before they become long-term. Treatment of these issues will be more effective the earlier the they are caught.

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VIA:  MensHealth.Com

	In a Finnish study, men who ate the most apples and other foods high in quercetin had 20 percent less diabetes and heart disease deaths. Other good sources of quercetin are onions, tomatoes, leafy green vegetables, and berries.
	Legumes of all sorts—chickpeas, cannelloni beans, kidney beans, and lentils—are a great addition to soups, salads, and a variety of ethnic dishes. And this low-fat, low-calorie, high-fiber, high-protein food helps to reduce risk of diabetes and heart disease. The fiber slows the release of glucose into your bloodstream, which prevents the blood sugar spikes that worsen diabetes blood sugar control and make you feel hungry.
	Researchers at Tufts University discovered that dark chocolate improves insulin sensitivity, a crucial improvement in preventing or treating type 2 diabetes. What’s more, dark—but not white—chocolate also produced a significant drop in blood pressure, reduced LDL (bad) cholesterol, and improved blood vessel function.
	A study at the Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland, found that if you use ½ teaspoon of cinnamon daily, it can make cells more sensitive to insulin. Therefore, the study says, the cells convert blood sugar to energy.After 40 days of taking various amount of cinnamon extract, diabetics experienced not only lower blood sugar spikes after eating, but major improvements in signs of heart health. And you can sprinkle cinnamon on just about anything.
	Heart disease strikes people with diabetes twice as often as it does people without the illness, according to the American Diabetes Association. Diets high in omega-3 fatty acids—the “good fat” in cold-water fish such as wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, and Atlantic mackerel—can help lower artery-clogging LDL cholesterol and triglycerides while raising levels of HDL (good) cholesterol.
	Two tablespoons of vinegar taken before a meal can help your blood sugar go down. A study at Arizona State University East tested three different groups of people to see what the results would be in healthy people, those with prediabetes (they had signs diabetes was developing), and confirmed diabetics. Before each of two meals a day, the subjects were given 2 tablespoons of ordinary vinegar.The results: An hour after the vinegar treatment, the diabetics had blood sugar levels that were 25 percent lower than without vinegar. The prediabetics had an even better result: Their levels were lower by about half.

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VIA:  Health.Com

Regular eye exams are important

According to Sean F. Murphy, MD, Opthomologist at the Eye Care Institute in Louisville, KY, prevention is the key when it comes to vision related complications of diabetes.

“Diabetic damage is kind of like going down the stairs. Wherever you are, our first goal is to kind of dig in … and if we can improve things, that’s great,” he says. “But most of the time we cannot push you back up the stairs. So the sooner someone gets in and gets diagnosed and gets treatment and gets watched, the less damage that occurs (and) the better you can do.”

There are two types of diabetic retinopathy and they usually affect both eyes similarly, according to the Mayo Clinic.

* Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy
In this condition the walls of blood vessels in the retina begin to weaken, sometimes leaking fluid and blood into the retina. Often there are no symptoms early on, and even later in the disease, damage may progress without warning.

“It’s insidious, and that’s the importance of the eye exam,” stresses Dr. Murphy. “You can be fine, you can see 20/20 and have horrendous disease in your eyes and not know it.” In fact, Dr. Murphy adds, the mere presence of symptoms often means the damage is done.

You may experience blurred vision, for example, as the macula, the part of the retina that provides sharp, central vision, swells from leaking fluid. This condition, known as diabetic macular edema, is more likely to occur as diabetic retinopathy progresses.

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VIA:  Health.Com

Excess weight is the number one risk factor for type 2 diabetes.  A person who is over weight or obese is 90 times likely to develop type 2 diabetes according to health.Com.  Because belly fat sits in your mid section and surrounds organs that are vital in regulating blood sugar belly fat can make you a high risk factor.

“When those fat cells go in and around your belly, not down in your buttocks or your hips, but when it’s around the belly … that fat in and of itself works to block the action of insulin, which is necessary to lower the blood sugar,” says Gerald Bernstein, MD, director of the diabetes management program at the Gerald J. Friedman Diabetes Institute at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City.

Insulin normally triggers the liver to take up extra blood glucose and store the energy for future use. But when the liver is submerged in fat tissue, insulin “can’t get the liver to respond,” he says.

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Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich Cookies

VIA:  Health.Com

Peanut Butter-and-Jelly Sandwich Cookies

VIA:  Health.Com

Oral Glucose-Tolerance Test:

This test is commonly performed on pregnant women.  The typical test includes drawing your blood once, then drinking a glucose solution and then the nurse or doctor will draw blood from the patient every 30 to 60 minutes for up to 3 hours.

Fasting Blood Sugar:

Patient fasts overnight and has blood drawn at an early appointment to determine if levels are still normal.

Two-Hour Postprandial Test:

This test is conducted two hours after a meal.

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