If you have diabetes (and especially if you blood sugar is out of control), you are twice as likely to have a stroke as though without diabetes.

High blood sugar can lead to increased deposits of fatty materials (plaques) in your veins over time. These plaques can increase your chances of clogging and hardening of your blood vessels.

There are many things that you can do to prevent a stroke.

Preventing A Stroke

1. Control your cholesterol.

2. Reduce the amount of trans fats in your diet.

3. Exercise as directed by your health care provider. They may suggest at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days or 150 minutes a week.

4. Control your high blood pressure

5. Increase your dietary intake of fiber (to at least 15 grams a day).

6. Lose weight.

7. Quit smoking.

8. Keep your blood glucose under control

9. Take your prescription medications as directed by your health care provider.

10. Do abuse alcohol or illicit drugs.

11. Take an aspirin a day (if you doctor says you should).

12. Recognize and get immediate treatment for transient ischemic attacks (TIAs or sometimes called mini-stroke). The signs of a TIA are very similar to that of a stroke with sudden onset of numbness, confusion, blindness, loss of balance, or severe headache.

If you suspect you have had a stroke (or someone you know has) call 911 immediately. Do not delay. If you can get early treatment (within the first hour) you may be able to prevent permanent brain damage.

There are five symptoms generally associated with high blood sugar, as well as a few other warning signs you should be aware of.

1 — Are you thirsty all the time?

Increased thirst is one of the classic high blood sugar symptoms. There’s a reason for this. Your body is trying to wash the excess blood sugar — also called “blood glucose” — out of your system. Your body needs more fluids to wash the glucose out, so you become thirsty and drink more.

2 — Do you make more visits to the restroom?

Another classic symptom is having to urinate almost as frequently as you get something to drink. This only makes sense, since you’re taking so much fluid in. But remember your body is also trying to wash the blood sugar out — and the fastest way out is to urinate.

Sugar in the urine was one of the earliest tests for high blood sugar and diabetes. It used to be standard to check the urine with glucose test strips, which indicated whether high amounts of glucose were present.

3 — Do you feel generally fatigued or tired?

Fatigue can be a symptom of so many things, even of not getting enough sleep. But if you are thirsty and urinate more frequently, then feeling tired or fatigued might well be associated with high blood sugar symptoms.

The reason for fatigue from high blood sugar is because the blood sugar isn’t going into your cells where you need it for energy. Your cells need glucose for energy to grow and heal, but the glucose isn’t moving into the cells. It’s staying in your bloodstream. When your cells don’t get energy, you aren’t going to feel very energetic either.

4 — Is your eyesight getting blurry?

High blood sugar over time can affect your blood vessels. Some of the more easily affected blood vessels are in your eyes. If your vision changes or becomes blurry for any reason, you should see an eye doctor. Not only for glasses or contact lenses, but their exams can often detect other problems such as high blood sugar.

5 — Do you have changes in your disposition?

I don’t mean the onset of personality disorders or anything like that. But the fatigue that results from high blood sugar is not limited to physical fatigue. It can affect how you feel day-to-day. You can become irritable and touchy. Or emotionally tired and lackadaisical. You may not care as much about things or even people that you ordinarily would feel strongly about.

Some other warning signs to watch out for are:

sudden weight loss –

The reason for this can be the same thing that causes you to feel fatigued. Glucose is not getting into your cells for energy. Your body has to get energy from somewhere, so you start to burn fat for energy. This is usually diagnosed as type 1 diabetes.

Burning fat instead of glucose for energy makes you lose weight, but it also produces toxic by-products known as “ketones”. If your body is producing ketones, you are in what is called the state of “ketosis”. This can become dangerous rather quickly, becoming “diabetic ketoacidosis,”or “DKA”.

The signs of DKA include a flushed appearance, dehydration, exhaustion, shock, and eventual unconsciousness. Severe DKA requires immediate and expert medical care. If you are experiencing these symptoms then see your doctor right away, as in immediately.

overweight, especially around your abdomen –

The unhappy opposite of weight loss is overweight or obesity. Being overweight can be a result of overeating, not enough exercise, and other causes. But if your cells aren’t getting enough glucose, it may be because you are “insulin resistant”.

In simple terms, insulin is the key that unlocks your cells to let the glucose in. If your cells become resistant to insulin, then they remain locked and the glucose doesn’t get in. So your body produces even more insulin to overcome the resistance.

Some of the glucose gets into your cells for energy. But that still leaves a lot of insulin in your bloodstream. And that insulin is used to store energy as fat. Insulin that doesn’t get used by the cells makes you fatter. Worse than that, when you get fatter, your insulin resistance increases. So it takes even more insulin to do the job next time. This is the cycle that is usually diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

As you can see, high blood sugar symptoms can be warning signs of diabetes. It is very important that you see your doctor as soon as you can. He or she can quickly check your fasting blood sugar levels and determine if further tests are needed. High blood sugar and diabetes can be treated and you can live a full and healthy life. But the first thing to do if you are experiencing these symptoms is see your doctor.

To explain is a simple way Diabetes is a chronic health condition in which the body is not producing insulin sufficiently or at all.

This is how there can be found excess amounts of sugar in the blood and in the urine. The main harm can happen to organs such as the eyes, kidneys, blood vessels, and heart. These organs, once defected by the lack of sugar might complicate patient’s heath and even risk life.

There is no known cure to diabetes yet there are a few proven treatments to it. The initial symptoms might be a feeling of hunger, thirst and excessive urination.

Once the patient is diagnosed with diabetes there are many methods proven to be able to keep the condition stable and the preserve the patient’s well being.

Diabetes Nutrition Tips

• The main treatment for diabetes is a balanced diet. The basic idea is to control the amount of sweet foods the patient is having and stick to a healthy balanced diet. It is not true that no sugar should be eaten. This is an ancient myth.
• Another important factor for controlling diabetes symptoms would be regular exercise.
• Working together with your doctor you should be able to plan a diet.that would be personalized for you, your taste and preferences.
• Yes, you can include sugar in your diet, but make sure it is as a part of a well planed diet. You can include carbohydrates that are found in foods such as breads, and of course have plenty of dairy foods, vegetables and fruit.
• Fresh foods should be always preferred, whether you are diabetic or not. Avoiding processed food and canned foods is a good idea for everyone.
• Finally, don’t attempt to make your own decisions regarding the diet you’d like to have for your diabetes. Speak to your doctor first

Diabetes can have an adverse affect on your sex life, especially if your diabetes condition is poorly controlled. I am a diabetic, first diagnosed as such about 20 years ago, so I think I can appropriately discuss this rather “delicate” subject that looms for all of us male diabetics. It is a potential problem that all newly diagnosed diabetics should know about early after their diagnosis but I suspect that most doctors are not going to mention it to them. And when the male diabetic does learn about it, it may be too late, in fact that may be why he becomes aware that something is not quite right. So that is the time to immediately commence a discussion with the doctor. There are solutions.

Diabetes is a disease in which a person’s body does not properly process the glucose that occurs naturally in the blood after eating meals or any food. Glucose is the source of energy needed by all the cells of our bodies to maintain their many functions to keep us alive and is delivered to those cells by the bloodstream. The levels of glucose in the blood are normally kept within a specific safe range, however, in the case of the diabetic, the body’s system to maintain those acceptable levels becomes impaired with the result that they become dangerously high.

That by definition is diabetes and it is important that actions be taken to bring the blood glucose levels to a safer range that will help prevent complications, one of which is the topic of this essay, perhaps not so important as the more serious heart disease and other conditions for which the diabetic is also at risk, but of concern just the same.

Poorly controlled diabetes can result in damage to the nerves and blood vessels that control circulation of blood to the required areas when needed, so for that reason alone, I urge that the diabetic should do the utmost to keep blood sugar levels within the desired range. That may mean the threatened diabetic will have to engage in more strenuous exercise and follow a more diabetic-friendly food plan that minimizes the effects of the food items that cause the most damage, such as those with high carbohydrate and fat content and too many calories.

What to do

Do what is needed to keep the blood glucose levels close to the normal range and it will reduce the possibility of the above problems occurring. The problem is called erectile dysfunction, also known as impotence. Now that you know about it, why allow things to deteriorate? Having diabetes is bad enough.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin, a well know M.D. who writes and broadcasts on a number of health topics, cited a study from Italy reporting that more that 56 percent of men with diabetes suffer from impotence, adding that they complained bitterly about it and were depressed at the loss of something so important to them. But on a note of encouragement, Dr. Mirkin stated that if the problem is caused by diabetes, then it can be prevented in almost all men if their bodies are still making insulin naturally.

I will close with a brief reference regarding diabetes in women, who, while not suffering in the same way as men, can encounter some problems that I think may be the caused by vascular neuropathy, nerves and veins - but I will leave that for someone else to address if they so care to.

Yes, 2 out of 3 people that suffer with diabetes die because of heart disease or stroke. Once someone has diabetes, he/she is at much higher risk of developing problems with other parts of their body, including the heart. This means that it is crucial for people to be diagnosed early in order to receive the proper treatment of diabetes.

People with diabetes are more prone to developing coronary artery disease. This can result in a blocking or narrowing of your blood vessels leading to the heart. This kind of heart disease is quite common. The blood vessels carry your blood, which contains oxygen among other things to your heart. When these vessels get blocked, it can cause a heart attack or a stroke.

Therefore, people need to watch for the onset of diabetes so they can receive the correct treatment early on. With early treatment of diabetes, the risk for developing the coronary artery disease can be lowered. This will in turn lower the chances of a stroke or heart attack from occurring.

You need to have an A1C test to measure your blood glucose levels. This test is usually recommended being done about every 2 or 3 months. The ADA (American Diabetes Association) suggests that people should have a blood glucose level under 7.0 on this test.

You need to also watch your blood pressure when you have diabetes, in order to prevent other problems from occurring. High blood pressure can also bring on heart attacks and strokes. A safe blood pressure is 130/80 or below as recommended by the ADA.

A person needs to watch their cholesterol levels for maximum health. The quantity of fat contained in your blood is what cholesterol levels are all about. The good cholesterol or HDL actually provides protection for your heart. The bad cholesterol or LDL can lead to your blood vessels becoming clogged, which can then cause heart attacks to happen as we mentioned earlier. Also, triglycerides are a different form of fat in the blood, which can make the chances for heart attack higher.

LDL cholesterol should be lower than 100 mg/dl, while HDL cholesterol should be above 40mg/dl for men and 50mg/dl for women. Triglycerides need to be under 150 mg/dl for both sexes.

You need to watch what you eat normally for your health; this becomes even more important if you have diabetes. Sometimes just by changing one’s diet a person can control a mild form of diabetes and the other problems we have discussed here. This usually includes eating a low-fat diet and watching salt intake. You also need to be sure you are at your recommended weight, which eating in this way will help you do. Being overweight can cause diabetes along with heart problems. So you should shed those extra pounds if needed.

Have a daily exercise routine to help lower blood pressure, strengthen your heart, and control or prevent diabetes. Exercise is good for everyone, make sure to do some cardio and weight bearing exercise to have a full workout.