Research shows the beta cells of your pancreas are really sensitive to even slight increases in your blood sugar levels. There is also evidence that beta cell dysfunction may commence when your blood sugars spend as little as a few hours over 100 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/l). It has also been found these cells can survive and recover after they are exposed to lower levels… but only if that switch is made before a certain amount of time has passed.

So how do you lower your blood sugar level when it is out of your target range? Some of the strategies you can use to lower your level include:

1. Increase your activity level: exercise acts like an insulin shot… it lowers blood glucose. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that exercising after eating, when your blood sugars are at their highest, will lower these levels. And exercising after breakfast appears to make physical activity later in the day, even more powerful in keeping your blood glucose under control.

2. Drink additional fluids: often dehydration leads to high concentrations of sugar in your bloodstream. Drinking two to three quarts (two to three liters) of sugar free liquids each day helps prevent dehydration. When your blood sugars are high, drinking sugar free liquids helps to dilute it.

3. Eat less carbohydrates at the next meal: a basic guideline is to eliminate carbohydrates, or choose foods with a lower glycemic index until your blood sugar levels return to your target range. If you are working with exchanges, eliminating one starch exchange or fruit exchange, will lower your blood glucose by 30 mg/dl (1.67 mmol/l). If you are overweight or obese, just losing five to ten per cent of your total weight will dramatically lower your levels.

4. Identify infection and illness: high glucose levels make you prone to infection although the upsurge of glucose is part of the healing process.

5. Monitor your blood sugars two hourly: this allows you to treat and make adjustments as early as possible. This will show you whether the steps you are taking are effective in lowering your levels.

Please do not hesitate to contact your health care provider when your blood sugar levels remain higher than 250 mg/dl (13.9 mmol/l) for more than two days.

No-one is entirely sure what causes insulin resistance, although many scientists suspect a genetic defect may be the culprit for both resistance to insulin and type 2 diabetes. However, insulin resistance is an extremely important concept for those with diabetes type 2.

What is known is there are several factors that do contribute to its development:

• obesity with a high proportion of fat in the abdominal cavity and around your internal organs… this is called central obesity. It is as common as a 40 inch waist. It is important for you to understand the effect obesity has on your cells’ insensitivity to insulin because it means that even injected insulin… as is sometimes required with type 2 diabetes… does not work as it should and larger and larger doses are then required
• inappropriate diet is definitely a major contributor… weight gain and obesity are significant causes of type 2 diabetes
• lack of physical activity also contributes to insulin resistance and may also contribute to type 2 diabetes. Inactivity often leads to obesity which compounds the risk.
• a deficiency of vitamins can also contribute to the development of resistance to insulin and type 2 diabetes

Insulin resistance is really a complex phenomenon in which several genetic defects combine with environmental factors. In other words, although family history and genetics play some part in this syndrome, there are more pieces to the puzzle than your family tree.

What really comes into play is diet and how you exist in your environment. However, diet is the most important and what’s more, it is the easiest to change.

The primary treatment for insulin resistance is:

• exercise and
• diet

Low-glycemic index or low-carbohydrate diets have been found to help. Research has shown exercise and diet are nearly twice as effective as metformin at reducing the risk of insulin resistance progressing onto type 2 diabetes

Too much insulin causes low blood sugar levels or hypoglycemia and because this is a life-threatening situation, your body will respond by releasing several insulin antagonists… cortisol and epinephrine from your adrenal glands, growth hormone from the pituitary gland and glucagon from your pancreas. Why… to negate the effects of insulin.

These are very powerful hormones that bring about rapid and powerful elevations in your blood sugar levels and often cause your blood sugars to shoot too high. So then these high levels need to be treated with more insulin which can then cause another plunge in your blood glucose. This will be followed by another compensatory response and even larger doses of insulin.

Now the Dawn Phenomenon is a natural occurring process that occurs during the sleep cycle, where your body starts to work on the compensatory response mentioned above. These hormones fight against your insulin’s attempt to lower your blood sugars, and usually occurs when your insulin dose is wearing off. This results in your high blood sugars in the morning. This occurs in many type 2 diabetics six to ten hours after bedtime.

Many people with type 2 diabetes wake up in the morning with a higher blood sugar level than when they went to bed, although they have not eaten and had their insulin injection or anti-diabetic medication the previous night.

A higher level above 108 mg/dl (6 mmol/l) when you get up in the morning is a common feature of type 2 diabetes and is actually a puzzle to those who experience it.

Events leading to the Somogyi Effect or rebound hyperglycemia are similar to the Dawn Phenomenon… the difference is the cause. In this case your blood glucose has dropped due to taking too much insulin or failing to have a snack before your bedtime.

Checking your blood sugar levels between 2 and 3am on several consecutive nights will give you a clue as to which effect is the cause of your early morning high sugar level. If your level is consistently low the Somogyi Effect is likely to be the cause. This would then indicate your night-time insulin level is too high or your bedtime snack too small. On the other hand, if your level is high between 2 and 3am, the Dawn Phenomenon is more likely the cause.

Do not hesitate to talk to your health care practitioner as you may need to change the time you take your evening insulin so that its peak action occurs when your blood sugar levels start to rise. Bringing your level down aggressively will only worsen the problem by creating hypoglycemia.

Another theory is that you should be less concerned with blood sugar levels that are elevated in the morning unless there is consistent elevation during the day.

Diabetes is very prevalent in today’s society. It is estimated that about 10% of the population currently suffers from this disease and if the problem continues at current rates, 1 out of 3 babies born after 2000 will develop this disease sooner or later. Not only is this condition life-threatening, but the cost of this disease is huge. The total costs of diabetes in the U.S. was $174 billion in 2007. And this is only for the diagnosed cases. If you take under consideration the 5,7 million people who are believed to have undiagnosed diabetes, the total cost will rise to $218 billion.

Although the incidence of this condition has skyrocketed, most people are still unaware of how serious this illness is. Sufferers are 2 to 4 times more likely to die of heart disease, compared to those who don’t have it. It also the leading cause of kidney failure and it is in fact a life threatening disease, causing more deaths in a year that AIDS and breast cancer combined.

Now that you know how serious this condition is, I’m sure that you would really want to find out if there is some way to cure it. Here are ways to get rid of diabetes the natural way:

• Stay away from alcohol: not only is it toxic to the nerves but alcohol can raise your blood sugar by acting as an obstacle to the liver’s natural function. Your liver is responsible for 2 jobs: flushing toxins such as alcohol out of your body and converting carbohydrate into glucose, which levels out your blood sugar.
  Unfortunately your liver can’t do both jobs at the same time, so it would be wise to avoid drinking alcohol.

• You need to decrease your intake in saturated fats and Trans fatty acids. Try to eat only poultry and lean meats and non-fat dairy products.
• Include more whole grains in your diet.
• Aim for small meals instead of large ones. This will help stabilize your blood sugar and maybe even lose some weight, which can be very helpful in managing this condition. Studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between extra weight and diabetes, so you need to follow a diet that can help you attain a normal weight.

Traveling with diabetes means you’ve got to plan for any situation when you’re away from home for an extended period. Following some things you should think about and always take with you:

1.Diabetes bracelet or necklace - Wearing a diabetes bracelet (or medical ID bracelet) could save your life when you travel. There’s even one that allows you to carry basic medical information inside it. Also carry a card in your purse, wallet, or pocket

2. Medicine - It’s best to travel with insulin in an insulated case to protect it from the heat and to keep it cool. If you are flying, be sure to keep your insulin with you. Temperatures in the cargo area can be extreme - and luggage does get lost (in case you hadn’t heard!). Be sure to pack extra needles and syringes - just in case. In fact, you should take extras of everything - in case you are unexpectedly delayed.

4. Diabetes Testing Supplies - Always take your blood glucose meter with you when you travel. Always carry an extra set of batteries with you when travelling. Take a copy of all of you prescriptions with you - or a prescription letter from your doctor, in case something gets lost in your travels. Also take your pharmacy information. It makes it easier to get replacements.

5. Medical Insurance Card and Phone Number

6. Urine testing kit for ketones - (especially if you have type 1 diabetes)

7. Snacks - Good choices may include vegetables, fruit, power bars, low-fat dairy products, whole grain crackers, peanut butter crackers, juice, hard candies, and nuts.

8. Water - Dehydration can be dangerous to your blood glucose levels and heart function.

9. Toothpaste, toothbrush and floss - When you have diabetes you’re more likely to suffer from gum disease than people who don’t have the disease. Brushing and flossing after each meal will help.

Insulin is a harmone that tells your cells to store nutrients for your whole systems well being. You live on this stored energy. You need the right amount of carbohydrates to produce adequate insulin for your cells to work right.

Eating too many carbohydrates will over work the system and cause the cells to go out of whack. This causes fat storage and a whole bunch of other health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

About 75% of us are candidates for insulin resistance because of the genes we inherited. What happens is your muscle cells do not act on the insulin message to store blood sugar, so your body continues to pump out more and more insulin. This flood of insulin causes your muscle cells to become even more dysfunctional.

Your fat cells do get the insulin message and use it to store unwanted fat. This leads to your whole system working under stress and is what causes the chronic disease conditions associated with high blood sugar.

The best way to keep insulin your friend is to eat the proper foods that will give your body the energy it needs without over working its complicated delivery system. You can get your blood sugar down in just a few days by going on a low-glycemic food diet plan. You must remember that this is a life time diet and not just for losing weight. If your genes mark you for high blood sugar, you will always be that way.

Get to know what foods are insulin friendly and stay mainly with them and you will really feel and be much healthier.

There are 4 natural steps to beating diabetes that your doctor won’t tell you about. This is unfortunate because the consequences of uncontrolled diabetes are severe: blindness, kidney failure, increased risk of heart disease, and painful peripheral nerve damage.

Today, most practitioners focus treatment on strict blood sugar control. While diabetes is characterized by excess blood glucose (the form of sugar used by cells as energy), this simplified approach can actually hasten the progression of the most common form of diabetes and does nothing to address the damage it causes.

Beating diabetes naturally is a new approach that’s needed because the conventional wisdom has failed us. America is in the midst of a diabetes epidemic. Over the past 20 years, the number of adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than doubled, and children are being diagnosed with diabetes in alarming numbers.

The following 4 steps offer diabetics new hope to beating this devastating disease. Each step utilizes a proven nutrient that when taken together can help you improve your prognosis.

Step 1: Stop Blood Sugar Spikes

After eating a meal, blood sugar levels often spike to dangerous levels. The rapid rise in blood sugar forces excess amounts of insulin to saturate your blood stream. Normally, insulin helps transport blood sugar into your cells. However, in excessive amounts, cells become resistant to insulin and blood sugar levels rise. This is the hallmark of type 2 diabetes.

In order to prevent insulin resistance and lower blood sugar levels, you need to stop sugar spikes after eating. According to medical studies, a water-based cinnamon extract is the best way to prevent blood sugar spikes. People supplementing with cinnamon can successfully reduce blood sugar spikes by as much as 50%. In addition to supporting healthy glucose metabolism, cinnamon has been shown to support levels of lipids such as triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) that are already within normal ranges.

Step 2: Improve Insulin Sensitivity

The hallmark of type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance. When cells no longer respond to insulin, blood sugars rise quickly leading to diabetes. Traditionally, a drug called Metformin is prescribed to improve insulin sensitivity. Unfortunately, Metformin is often not strong enough to help many people and increasing doses are prescribed. As dose increases, so does the incidence of side effects.

The solution: lipoic acid. Lipoic acid is a naturally occurring anti-oxidant that improves insulin sensitivity. Even though your body makes it, production decreases dramatically with age. Supplementing with lipoic acid as proven to be paramount in beating diabetes. It also preserves youthful energy levels for many aging Americans.

Step 3: Reduce Oxidative Stress

Oxidative stress is one of the leading theories of aging. Oxygen is not only necessary for life, but also can damage cells and tissues throughout our lifetimes. Free radicals, left over from oxygen metabolism, damage cell membranes, proteins, and DNA. The result is aging.

Diabetes is characterized by high levels of oxidative stress and rapid aging. Protect your cells and tissues by eating a wide variety of anti-oxidants from a wide variety of vegetable sources. Anti-oxidants from plant-based sources sacrifice themselves by reacting with free radicals, keeping your cells protected. But that is not enough.

Start supplementing with CoQ10, your bodies best defense from the damages of free radicals. Diabetes depletes your levels of CoQ10. Taking 100 to 200mg of a high quality CoQ10 supplement, can help you reduce oxidative stress and beat diabetes.

Step 4: Prevent Glycation

Glycation is the driving force behind the medical consequences attributed to diabetes. Blood sugars, like glucose, react with critical proteins and essential fats, leading to their dysfunction and destruction. Without these important nutrients working properly, diabetes leads to clogged arteries, nerve damage, and rapid aging.

Mainstream medicine completely fails to recognize glycation and the horrible consequences. But there’s hope…nature provides anti-glycation nutrients! These nutrients, like anti-oxidants, sacrifice themselves and react with blood sugars. This keeps the sugars in your blood from damaging critical proteins and fats.

Preventing glycation is the most important step for beating diabetes. Try supplementing everyday with carnosine. Carnosine is a small protein that effectively reduces and prevents glycation in diabetics. Take 1000-2000mg per day of carnosine to beat diabetes.

Summary

Beat diabetes naturally by following these 4 steps: stop blood sugar spikes with cinnamon, improve insulin sensitivity with lipoic acid, reduce oxidative stress with CoQ10, and prevent glycation with carnosine.

To learn more about these nutrients, visit Dr. Smith’s web page on the diabetic food pyramid.

Diabetes research has discovered new innovative treatment strategies. Offering new hope for beating this devastating disease, clinical research studies over the past 5 years reveal the two most important treatment objectives: restoring insulin sensitivity and preventing glycation.

Restoring Insulin Sensitivity

The hallmark of type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance. Normally, insulin directs the uptake of blood sugar (glucose) into all cells for energy. But because of poor diet, lack of exercise, and aging itself, your cells become insensitive or resistance to insulin. Blood glucose levels begin to rise and start to damage cells and tissues.

The first treatment objective from new diabetes research is to restore cellular insulin sensitivity. As cells begin to “recognize” insulin again, blood glucose levels drop and the devastating effects from diabetes come to end. Incorporate the following suggestions into your treatment regimen:

1. Lipoic Acid

Lipoic acid is a fatty acid found naturally inside every cell in the body. It’s needed by the body to produce the energy for normal functions. It’s found in almost all foods, but slightly more so in kidney, heart, liver, spinach, broccoli, and yeast extracts.

In numerous diabetes research studies, lipoic acid successfully restored cellular insulin sensitivity. The study subjects improved in all laboratory measurements, including fasting blood sugar levels.

Unfortunately, dietary sources are not bioavailable. For example, the purification of to determine its structure used an estimated 10 tons of liver residue, which yielded only 30 mg.

In order to gain the benefits, you should supplement your diet with a high quality extract. The alpha form is the most common form in commercially available products. Only Life Extension has R-lipoic acid. This form lasts longer in your bloodstream for a greater effect.

Supplement with 600 mg/day to restore insulin sensitivity, drop blood sugar levels, and stop the progression of diabetes.

2. Green Tea Extract

Supplementing with 1000 mg/day of green tea can also restore insulin sensitivity. Not only that, green tea supports your heart, brain, and nerves.

Preventing Glycation

Glycation is when glucose binds to critical proteins rendering them ineffective. The result includes arterial plaques and severe nerve damage. The second treatment objective gained from new diabetes research is to prevent glycation. Unfortunately, traditional medicine can not help you.

The following nutritional supplements have been shown to prevent glycation:

1. Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate (P5P)

P5P is the active form of the vitamin B6. It’s a potent reverse-glycation agent. Supplementing with 100 mg/day and start protect your critical proteins today.

2. Benfotiamine

A fat soluble form of B1, benfotiamine also stops glycation. Take 250-500 mg/day to benefit from its anit-glycation effects.

3. Carnosine

Carnosine is made up of two amino acids and is concentrated in muscles and brain tissues. Diabetes research has shown that 1000 mg/day can prevent glycation. Naturally found in animal protein, carnosine is best taken in supplement form.

For more information, visit Dr. Smith’s web page on diabetes information.

Reversing diabetes is so simple when understood in the proper context. Much simpler than it is to understand when being explained scientifically. If the modern medical conception of this disease is on track, then why is it increasing to all but epidemic proportions? They can’t even agree as to what the cause of diabetes is, much less how to cure it.

And after all, does your body really care if you understand the scientific explanation of why it’s not able to work properly? Your body only cares whether you know it needs fixing, and that you not only understand what to do about it, but most importantly, that you do it?

I’m assuming since your taking an interest in reading this article, that your more than familiar with what not to do, in reference to diabetes. I also feel fairly confident you don’t need to hear what a debilitating and even deadly disease it can become.

I personally want to commend you for taking an interest in healing it naturally, instead of just blindly following the standard symptomatic approach prescribed by conventional medicine, which has more or less conceded to the notion that it’s an incurable phenomenon. Alternative medicine presents a much more positive prognosis toward diabetes, and why shouldn’t it? The results speak for themselves.

Each of the following natural remedies have been credited with singlehandedly eliminating diabetes, and there are so many more that this article just didn’t have the space to mention. Theoretically all of them could be taken advantage of simultaneously, to quickly turnaround a diabetes diagnosis.

The Elemental Miracle: If you were forced to use only one natural diabetic treatment, then I would say pick this one. It’s name definitely describes it’s unique position as a holistic cure all, and the case histories surrounding it’s ability in regards to easily and quickly reversing diabetes, are nothing short of miraculous.

Apple Cider Vinegar And Cinnamon: A very effective natural remedy for reversing diabetes is to use apple cider vinegar and cinnamon. Take two tablespoons of raw unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar, mixed with four to six ounces of liquid and one teaspoon of cinnamon. (cinnamon triples insulins efficiency among other benefits for diabetics) You could make the “liquid” yellow dock tea and sweeten it with stevia, for a “four way” diabetic tonic. I take apple cider vinegar at least twice a day with a teaspoon of baking soda. The baking soda keeps the vinegar from making my teeth hurt, and it further assist the ACV in raising the bodies alkalinity.

Bitter Melon: This natural diabetes cure, has a centuries old reputation as a powerfully effective diabetic treatment. The blood sugar lowering abilities of this tropical vegetable are well documented. Bitter melon is composed of several compounds with confirmed anti-diabetic properties. It can be purchased as an encapsulated powder, although the fresh juice is preferred.

Banaba: Banaba extract is commonly known as “plant insulin” or as “botanical insulin.” It is usually taken as a tea or in extract form. It is a particularly well known cure for diabetes in the Philippines as well as in Japan. It is relied on to reverse not only childhood diabetes which is better known as juvenile diabetes, but type 2 diabetes as well. It is mainly used in the U.S. for it’s ability to help assist in safely controlling weight.

Marine Phytoplankton: This highly acclaimed super food, promotes and maintains optimum health by boosting and supporting all systems within the body. Phytoplankton contains a unique combination of life sustaining nutrients including; Omega 3 essential fatty acids (EPA and DHA), protein, chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements.

Green food supplements such as blue green algae, barley, wheat grass, alfalfa, etc. have also been shown to be very helpful in reversing diabetes, and as an added diabetic benefit will immediately eliminate all sugar cravings. However, if your wanting to rely on only one single green super food, marine phytoplankton is the obvious choice.

No matter which natural remedies for diabetes you decide to take advantage of, make a schedule and take them a set number of times interspersed throughout the day. Don’t overdo it! A mood of moderation and “wait & see” is always best, even though they’re all natural.

You can order any of these cures on-line, or find them at health food stores. Be sure to study any accompanying information on how they work, and how to use them. If you are already on insulin, absolutely do not stop taking insulin, and do not stop measuring your glucose levels, without your doctor’s permission.

In concluding I would like to salute your effort to be free from diabetes by taking advantage of holistic methods. Your success is guaranteed if you stay within the standard guidelines and strictly follow the program you settled on. Alternative medicine offers a much more optimistic prognosis than any prescription pad wielding, lifetime of medication promising MD ever will.

Glucose monitoring kits come in many different styles and prices. They all offer something different from each other, making selecting one up to a person particular taste. Often times one will be recommended by your doctor, pharmacist or a friend. If one machine doesn`t work for you the way you would like it to, then you can always try another one, until you find one that you are comfortable using.

A glucose monitoring kit is a medical device that measures the amount of glucose in the blood stream. A kit makes it possible to measure the amount you have while at the comfort of your own home. This kit is useful for people with diabetes, mellilus, and hypoglycaemia. For testing the blood, a drop of blood is achieved by pricking the skin with a lancet and then it`s put on to a test strip and then inserted into the machine. It reads the measurements and formulates it before displaying it on the machine.

These machines vary in what they offer. However, they all seem to be fairly small in size. About the size of a hand and they all seem to be battery operated. That helps people be able to carry it around with them, for example in the car. And not have to worry about where it can be plugged in. The test strips is something that may differ from machine to machine. Most are plastic and contain chemicals used to read the glucose, these strips are then disposable.There are some machines that read discs and can use the disc up to a few times.

Another feature that may be different is the volume of blood needed. Some machines require allot, while others just a drop. Some machines also need a code to be pressed before use. They read the codes on the test strips to work properly. This is fine, except for when a mistake is made. In this case the results could be inaccurate and be confusing and dangerous for the person using it. Some machines also offer alternate sites for testing. It might be okay for you to get blood from different areas of your body. While some machines prefer the one area to be able to read the glucose levels properly. Another feature which differs from machine to machine is the display on the models. The window size will vary and so will its ability to convert the measurements from country to country.

For people using a glucose non-specific test, results read can be inaccurate if the person has just had surgery or has recently had some testing done. These results can lead to low blood or high blood sugar levels. A false reading can have someone walking around in a dangerous state. Warning signs include; feeling unwell, confused, hungry, dizzy, nervous and irritable. If these symptoms are not treated they can lead to serious complications such as coma.

When you purchase a glucose monitoring kit, be sure to read all of the instructions carefully. There are many things to consider and rules to follow when using these machines. Some machines prefer a certain kind of testing strip. Make sure you ask a professional help you get started. They might also be able to recommend one that is ideal for beginners and one that is easy to use.