The incidence of diabetes mellitus is increasing in the US. People of all races and socioeconomic status can get it. It can be distressing for a person to be diagnosed with this condition, but fortunately there are a number of treatment options available for managing it. First of all, you need to understand the diabetes mellitus causes and triggers.

Diabetes mellitus is a medical condition that causes elevated blood glucose levels, also known as blood sugar levels. Blood glucose is normally kept in check through various hormones and chemicals in your system. The most important hormone in this regard is insulin, which is produced by your pancreas. The disorder can be triggered when there are problems in the pancreas and it stops producing the correct quantity of insulin, or uses it improperly. It can also be a result of your body developing a resistance to the effects of insulin.

Regardless, diabetes mellitus causes hyperglycemia, a condition which results in many of the more noticeable symptoms. These include excessive thirst, more frequent urination, rapid weight loss, blurred vision, fatigue and metabolic changes. The most severe outcomes include ketoacidosis, which leads to vomiting, nausea, and fainting; hypoglycemia; and the possibility of becoming comatose as a result of your blood glucose imbalance. It can also create long term health issues, such as an elevated risk of heart disease, renal failure, gangrene, damage to the retinas that can cause blindness, and nerve damage.

Fortunately, it’s possible to effectively treat the condition using insulin that is injected into the bloodstream. Diabetics need to constantly monitor their blood glucose levels, which typically involves the use of a portable meter that tests a tiny drop of blood. If the reading indicates that your blood sugar levels need to be adjusted, you will then inject yourself with insulin to stabilize the situation.

Diabetes mellitus causes more than one form of the condition. Type 1 is a result of problems with the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, in which they stop producing the hormone properly. There is no way to safeguard against type 1. Indeed, many of the people who develop this condition are typically in good health.

Type 2 is quite different from type 1, and also more common. This disease is often the result of obesity, poor diet and insufficient exercise. The system starts to produce less insulin, and at the same time becomes more resistant to it. Symptoms are normally quite mild and the first line of treatment is to make changes to your lifestyle. Related to this is gestational diabetes, which sometimes develops in pregnant women and normally goes away right after the birth of the baby.

Understanding diabetes mellitus causes and treatments is essential to managing this condition effectively. It can be a very serious condition, and you must be sure not to take it lightly.

Your diabetes treatment must be a full-time commitment. Diabetes is a serious illness. At first, it will not be easy, but your efforts will be worthwhile. Carefully following the appropriate treatment for your type of diabetes can reduce your risk of severe complications, some of them life-threatening.

Oral medications and insulin may play an important role in controlling your blood sugar, depending on the type of diabetes you have. An option to consider may be a pancreas transplant as well. Nevertheless, no matter what type of diabetes you suffer from, following a healthy diet, including dietary supplements, exercising and keeping a normal weight, are all the keys to conquering your diabetes.

TREATMENT FOR PREDIABETES

Healthy eating and exercise can help attaining and maintaining a healthy weight, and that is paramount if you have prediabetes. Healthy lifestyle habits will help you keep your blood sugar at normal levels, keeping it from raising toward type 2 diabetes levels.

TREATMENT FOR GESTATIONAL DIABETES

Control your glycemia level if you want to keep your baby healthy and avoid complications during delivery. Besides following a healthy diet and exercising, your gestational diabetes may need the use of insulin, at least temporarily, in some cases. During labor, your doctor will also monitor your blood sugar level, because if it rises too much, your baby may release high doses of insulin and thus suffer a hypoglycemia right after birth.

TREATMENTS FOR TYPE 1 AND TYPE 2 DIABETES

The treatments for type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes include monitoring of your glycemia on a daily basis, along with insulin or other diabetes medications, or both.

INJECTED OR ORAL MEDICATIONS

Sometimes injected or oral medications are prescribed as well. Some of them provoke your pancreas to make and release more insulin. Others restrain the production of glucose from your liver, which leads to a decrease of insulin need to transport blood sugar into your cells. Finally, others block the action of the enzymes of your stomach that break down carbohydrates, and others make your cells more insulin-sensitive.

MONITORING YOUR GLYCEMIA

You may need to check your glycemia — blood sugar — level just several times a week or up to several times a day, depending on your diabetes treatment plan. Doing this carefully is the only way to ensure your glycemia level remains within a safe range.

When you self-monitor your blood glucose, it is recommended that you check out your levels frequently, for example before meals and at bedtime. Record the results in a logbook, including as well insulin or oral medication doses, what you ate, when and for how long you exercised, and any other relevant information.

YOUR DIET

Following a healthy diet is one of the keys to controlling your glycemia levels. It is one of the three fundamental pillars of any diabetes treatment to prevent diabetes complications, together with exercise and nutritional supplements.

If you are obese or have had trouble losing weight on your own, talk to your doctor. Ask them to recommend you a dietitian or just a weight loss program to reach a goal: your ideal weight. I always recommend diabetics to follow a low glycemic index diet (low GI), a consistent and well-balanced diet that is low in simple carbohydrates and saturated fats and high in fiber, proteins and complex carbohydrates. When I say “consistent” I mean eating roughly the same number of calories at about the same hours, to help your doctor prescribe the right dose of insulin or medication, to maintain your glycemia at a roughly even level. It is important to avoid excessively low or high glycemia levels, which can be very dangerous.

You may need medication as part of your diabetes treatment. Nevertheless, eating healthy foods, exercising regularly and taking the appropriate nutritional supplements surely go a long way toward conquering your diabetes.

Some people get really angry when they are experiencing an episode of low blood sugar; this rage is not understood very often by people around us and later we regret the things we do and say during an attack but the only way to solve this problem is to stabilize our body. I am going reveal on how to do it.

Many times during this low blood sugar crisis we say harsh things to people we love and care about and this people do not understand the reason that we do such things they think is just a side of our personality and that we can be really mean.

The good side is that the more aggressive we are on a low blood sugar episode, the more balanced we discover we are once our blood sugar is stable and we discover that we are more capable of loving life and we start attracting more opportunities and friends.

We know that this episodes come when we skip a meal or do not eat properly and sometimes we do so because we are to busy at work.

We have to treat food like a medicine!

There should be nothing that should take place instead of taking care of our selves.

It is not possible to diagnose hypoglycemia by simply just looking at a few low blood sugar symptoms . Try cut out all sugars, refined carbohydrates such as french fries and potato chips, fruits and fruits juices for the time being. Eat complex carbohydrates like whole grain rice and lean meat and fish.

Do this for a time and see if you notice any change.

Getting extremely angry when experiencing low blood sugar symptoms will have a lot of social consequences around us; it is easy to hurt someone we really care for during this episodes and very difficult to explain. “It is because I had low blood sugar”, it sounds like a lame excuse but fortunately controlling our diet can control this nasty episode.

I noticed that many people that become very aggressive as a result of low levels of blood sugars, are otherwise very sensitive people that do not even hurt an ant, yet they get incredibly aggressive when they get hypoglycemic and even the voice of someone they love gets on their nerve for not reason at all.

But the good news is that the more aggressive you become while in this low blood sugar crisis the more balanced you discover you are when you stabilize your blood sugars level, it is a wonderful sensation and you will notice you attract more people and make new friends and many opportunities open up as you become more confident and like who you are without those mood swings caused by the low levels of sugar in your bloodstream.

Just by having some of the low blood sugar symptoms you can not diagnose hypoglycemia.Try avoiding anything with white sugar, white flour, corn syrup, dextrose. So yes you can not anymore eat pizzas, cakes, candy and the like. Eat complex carbohydrates using whole grain products, lean fish and meat.

Do this for a month and see if you notice any change.

Managing diabetes can be a balancing act. Your body might not always respond in exactly the same way to the things that make your blood sugar levels rise and fall. Even when you are very careful about control, your blood-sugar might go too high or too low.

Having a blood-sugar level that’s too high, called hyperglycemia, often will lead to feelings of fatigue or moodiness. However having your blood sugar go too low, hypoglycemia, can be equally scary for you and those near you and needs immediate attention. That’s why it’s important to educate yourself - and those who care for you - about hypoglycemia and what to do if it happens.

Causes of Low Blood-Sugar Any number of things, working together, may cause your blood-sugar to drop too low:

• The amount of medicine (pills and/or insulin) you have taken
• Too little food or a delayed meal
• Too much exercise
• Drinking alcohol

Sometimes the cause may not be something that you can easily pinpoint. If your blood-sugar levels aren’t on track, use your blood-sugar checks to find out why. You can help prevent low blood sugar by watching how and when you eat and exercise. And it is a good idea to always carry glucose with you in case you need it.

Low Blood-Sugar Warning Signs People have different physical reactions to low blood sugar. You need to know what signals your body may give you when your blood sugar is too low. Check your blood sugar levels if you suddenly experience any of the following:

• Dizziness, shakiness or trembling
• Nervousness
• Rapid heartbeat
• Trouble concentrating
• Headache
• Irritability, moodiness or anger
• Sweating, chills or clamminess
• Tingling in your face or lips
• Extreme hunger

Also check your blood sugar levels if you wake up in the middle of the night with a nightmare or restlessness, or if your pajamas are damp with sweat when you wake up. These may also be symptoms of low blood sugar. Remember, low blood sugar may occur without symptoms so it is important to regularly check blood sugar throughout the day.

Make sure your loved ones know the signs of low blood sugar and to call 911 in an emergency. Raising Your Low Blood-Sugar When you think your blood glucose is too low, you should check your blood glucose level. If the level is below 70 mg/dL, one of these quick-fix foods should be consumed right away to raise blood glucose:

• 3 or 4 glucose tablets
• 1 serving of glucose gel - the amount equal to 15 grams of carbohydrate
• 1/2 cup, or 4 ounces, of any fruit juice
• 1/2 cup, or 4 ounces, of a regular - not diet - soft drink
• 1 cup, or 8 ounces, of milk
• 5 or 6 pieces of hard candy
• 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey

The next step is to recheck your blood glucose in 15 minutes. Make sure it is 70 mg/dL or above. If it is still too low, eat another serving of a quick-fix food. Repeat these steps until the blood glucose level is 70 mg/dL or above.

After the quick-fix foods have raised the blood glucose level to 70 mg/dL or above, you should eat. If your next meal is an hour or more away, have a snack. Ask your healthcare team for advice on what will work best for you. If you experience hypoglycemia several times in a week, you should call your healthcare team. They may need to change your treatment plan.

Findings from a phase III study demonstrate
that the oral antidiabetes drug dapagliflozin is an effective
addition to metformin for treatment of hyperglycemia in adults with
poorly controlled Type 2 diabetes.

Dapagliflozin acts by selectively inhibiting subtype 2 of the
sodium-glucose transport protein (SGLT2), which controls at least
90% of the glucose reabsorption in the kidney.

The results show that “the kidney provides us, through SGLT2
inhibition, with a mechanism that is not insulin dependent for
assisting the removal of excess glucose in the urine,” said lead
investigator Clifford Bailey (Aston University, Birmingham,
UK).

Bailey was presenting the results at the American Diabetes
Association 2010 Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida; the
findings were simultaneously published in a paper in The
Lancet.

In total, 534 adults with Type 2 diabetes took part in the
study, of whom 135, 133, 132, and 134 were assigned to take
dapagliflozin 2.5, 5.0, or 10.0 mg/day or placebo, respectively, in
addition to metformin 1500 mg/day or greater for a period of 24
weeks.

At study completion, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) had decreased
by 0.67%, 0.70%, and 0.84% in the dapagliflozin 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0
mg/day groups, respectively, compared with a reduction of only
0.30% in the placebo group. Fasting plasma glucose was also reduced
significantly more with dapagliflozin than placebo, at
corresponding reductions of 17.8, 21.5, and 23.5 mg/dl versus 6.0
mg/dl.

Participants lost more weight on dapagliflozin than placebo,
with respective reductions of 2.2, 3.0, and 2.9 kg, compared with
0.9 kg in the placebo group.

Hypoglycemia occurred at a similar rate (2-4%) in both the
placebo and dapagliflozin groups. Overall, 17 patients had serious
adverse events, but these were equally spread across the four
groups and were not thought to be drug-related.

As expected, dapagliflozin-treated patients had a higher
frequency of genital infections, most of which were caused by
candida. These infections were self-reported in 8%, 13%, and 9% of
the dapagliflozin 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 mg/day groups, respectively,
compared with 5% of the placebo group.

Bailey summarized: “Dapagliflozin has been shown to be a stable,
selective reversible inhibitor of SGLT2, it inhibits renal glucose
reabsorption, promotes urinary glucose elimination, and of course
decreases hypoglycemia in an insulin independent manner.”

In a commentary published alongside the Lancet paper,
Markolf Hanefeld (Technical University, Dresden, Germany) and
Thomas Frost (Mainz Institute for Clinical Research and
Development, Germany) noted that “beyond reducing glucotoxicity,
dapagliflozin might improve cardiovascular outcome by reducing
overweight and blood pressure.”

They suggested that “the net balance of this novel group of oral
antidiabetic drugs looks promising,” and that, until randomized
trial results are available, “SGLT2 inhibitors are candidates for
add-on therapy to metformin as shown in [this] study.”

MedWire (www.medwire-news.md) is an independent clinical news
service provided by Current Medicine Group, a trading division of
Springer Healthcare Limited. © Springer Healthcare Ltd;
2010

Free abstract

Diabetes is an illness in which the body does not use glucose properly. Glucose is a fuel that is carried by the blood to the body’s cells and requires insulin to allow it to pass into these cells. In a diabetic person the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t respond effectively to the insulin that is present. As a result, the glucose stays in the blood stream and the level becomes too high for the body to handle. There are two main types of diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body’s immune system, partly or wholly, destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. The body is unable to produce insulin and requires insulin injections to survive.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the insulin is produced but the cells in the body don’t allow the insulin to work. The cells are unable to accept blood glucose.

Excess glucose in the bloodstream damages blood vessels and nerves in the body and can result in reduced blood flow, increased chance of infections, and lengthens wound healing time. Long-term damage can result in blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, and amputation of limbs.

Diabetes can result from inheritance, an unhealthy diet high in sugar, obesity, or a combination of a bad diet and a lack of exercise.

Exercise Tips

- Use an extensive warm up and cool down period to adjust the body to exercise and then to adjust back to resting levels.

- Do not exercise for periods greater than forty-five minutes as it significantly increases the chances of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar.

- Avoid exercising during periods of peak insulin activity.

- Be aware that the muscle the insulin was injected into may be swollen or tender. Exercising that muscle may be painful.

- Be careful of exercises performed above the head as this increases blood pressure and diabetes can result in the onset of cardiovascular problems.

- Monitor blood glucose levels frequently when starting an exercise program to learn how your body handles it.

- Always carry a quick fix of sugar in case of an emergency. Jelly beans are easy to carry and very effective.

As the name suggests, gestational diabetes occurs just in pregnant women. This type of diabetes occurs due to some problem in the placenta. As a result, the pancreas does not produce sufficient insulin which causes the blood sugar levels to increase more than normal.

Usually this form of diabetes is diagnosed during 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy. When the woman is being checked for gestational diabetes, she will be informed not to eat anything for 4 to 8 hours prior to the test. Then her blood sugar level is checked. Thereafter, she will be given a sugar laced drink and once again her blood sugar level will be checked after a period of 2 hours. If the blood sugar level is more than 140mg/dl, the diagnosis will be gestational diabetes.

This form of diabetes tends to manifest in obese women who are more than 25 years of age when they get pregnant. These women are more likely to get this form of diabetes if there is a family history of diabetes, had the same problem with earlier pregnancies or if there is too much amniotic fluid present.

While the woman is pregnant, if she experiences unusual thirst, hunger, weight gain or high blood pressure, then it can be a sign of gestational diabetes. Other signs of the disease are frequent urination or vaginal infections.

Pregnant women who have this disorder are put on a balanced diet without sugar. In addition, they have to exercise 3 to 4 times in a week to get rid of the excess weight they are carrying. Also, their diet will consist more of vegetables and fruits along with poultry and fish. Women have to achieve normal pregnancy weight during the course of their pregnancy in order to control the disease.

If gestational diabetes is not treated or controlled, it can be dangerous for the baby. The baby can get jaundice, respiratory distress syndrome, die after 28 weeks of pregnancy or die after birth as it will suffer from hypoglycemia after birth.

Living with diabetes is not impossible, but it does require adherence to diet and exercise especially, as well as recording one’s blood sugar level regularly with the aid of a diabetes blood sugar chart. The body uses glucose as its main form of fuel to produce energy. We get glucose from the foods we eat, but mainly from sugars and carbohydrates. Without sufficient intake of glucose, the body will not be able to function properly. Those suffering with diabetes and indeed hypoglycemia need to prepare a blood sugar chart on a weekly basis, as a means of controlling the sugar level intake as well as enabling you to identify the reasons why there is an increase or decrease of blood glucose level in the body. The chart can also help you to reduce the risk of having any complications as a result of diabetes.

The blood sugar chart is used to keep a record of the food you ate, insulin taken, activities, medication, emotions or stress and the amounts of carbohydrates and blood glucose taken in any one day. It acts as an at-a-glance guide to help you identify which time of the day (if any) problems occur. The more information or comments you can record on your chart relating to the above factors the better, as it helps to pinpoint issues to avoid so that you can reduce the risk greatly of having any associated problems with diabetes. One such chart is easily attainable from your health care provider or there are many websites where you can download one, free of charge.

It is absolutely imperative to maintain your blood sugar level if you are a sufferer of diabetes or hypoglycemia, and there is no easier way than keeping a regular daily chart of your progress. This record will need to be shared with your health care practitioner and is an essential tool in ascertaining whether any changes to diet or exercise should be made in order to control the diabetes. People who are showing any signs and symptoms of this blood sugar or the ones already having a history of high sugar level in some of their predecessors needs to be alarmed, and must keep things in check even if they are not told to do so by their doctor. And that keeping in control involves doing regular workouts, going out to the gymnasium, regular walks, eating healthy and balanced diet and of course not eating food rich in starch and glucose.

Speaking of the pre diabetic condition, many people have no idea about whether or not they are suffering from this. The fact that there are no symptoms that can be viewed to determine whether the individual afflicted from pre-diabetic condition, makes it really hard to judge whether the person is affected with the pre-diabetic condition. This is a stipulation that increases the level of glucose in the body, but the reality is that the glucose level does not increase to the extent that it will begin to show signs of diabetes pre-conditions.

Make sure you always say and always ask your doctor to check that the level of glucose in the blood, so if you have some symptoms of diabetes, you can take some appropriate action at the right time. In the article below, I will discuss some of the natural herbs that can be used to dispose of pre-diabetic conditions and also these herbs also reduce the chances of achieving level 1 or level 2 diabetes.

Now before you start to talk about herbs, there is always something to be taken into account. Many people think I make this declaration to avoid the risk of a trial, but the fact is that these herbs have some physical agents, which have different effects on all individuals. It is highly recommended that this should in no case be taken as medical advice from the following article is for information only and exclusively.

One of the most effective herbs that can be used is bitter melon. Hypoglycemia action of this herb charantin active constituent is said to be more powerful than Tolbutamide, popular hypoglycaemic drugs. This is a plant grown extensively in India, Australia, Malaysia and the Philippines, it can serve as a salad or steamed. If you extract the juice of fresh bitter melon, is very useful when dealing with lower blood sugar.

Gymnema is also another efficient plant that is mostly found in forests in India. This plant is extensively known for its ability to condense blood sugar and also helps to repair damage to pancreatic cells. As far as we talk about the leaves of Gymnema, they are widely know for their abilities to produce insulin in the human body in a short time.

So there you have it and I think that I have answered the question that you asked about whether you need to go for the natural herbs or not.