Are You at Risk of Developing Diabetes?

So what does it mean to be pre-diabetic?

The people most likely to develop diabetes are those with impaired glucose tolerance or prediabetes. They are more than 1.5 times more likely to develop diabetes in the next five years than people with normal blood glucose levels.

The most powerful contributor to developing diabetes is becoming overweight or obese. Diabetes is not caused by eating too much sugar or other carbohydrates. Excess energy from too much fat, sugar and protein alone or in combination will all work the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas much harder. Anytime the intake of your kilojoules is greater than your body’s energy needs, the excess is stored as fat, initially under the skin and in the buttocks and breasts.

If the excess kilojoules continues, the body creates additional storage, particularly around the internal organs, called visceral fat. This kind of fat is far more dangerous. All fat, but especially visceral fat, leaks chemical factors that hold back or resist the glucose-lowering effects of insulin. This ‘insulin resistance’ makes the pancreas work even harder, even when it should be resting between meals. Eventually something has to give.

Unless they are very old, few people whose waist circumference is within the healthy reference range, will become diabetic. If you are obese however, you are four times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people whose waist circumference is within the healthy reference range.

Female Waist Circumference:

	Non-Asian	Asian
Increased risk	88-100 cm	80-90 cm
Substantially increased risk	More than 100 cm	More than 90 cm

Male Waist Circumference:

	Non-Asian	Asian
Increased risk	102-110 cm	90-100 cm
Substantially increased risk	More than 110 cm	More than 100 cm

Fifty percent of Americans are now overweight or obese and this is the main reason why rates of diabetes are rising. Diabetes is also influenced by generic, hormonal, gender and environmental factors.

What Increases your Risk of Getting Diabetes?

If you are inactive, of course this is going to significantly increase the risk of developing diabetes. Exercise is a very important means of controlling your weight and can burn off dangerous visceral fat. Regular physical activity improves the body’s sensitivity to insulin – so the pancreas doesn’t have to work as hard to do the same job.

Getting older increases your risk of diabetes as people tend to get fatter and less active as they get older. Controlling your weight, eating a healthy diet and some regular exercise are important for us all as we age.

Diabetes does tend to run in families, partly due to genes and partly because of similar lifestyle and diet habits and also the exposure to similar environmental factors. If either of your parents or your siblings has diabetes, you are five to six times more likely to develop diabetes yourself. If three family members are affected, you’re more than fifteen times more likely to develop diabetes yourself than someone without a diabetes history. A third of people with type 2 diabetes also has a close family member with diabetes.

Diabetes is more common in certain ethnic groups, such as Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders, Polynesians, Canadian and American Indians, Asians, Hispanics, Afro Americans and people from the Middle East. This is partly due to increased susceptibility to factors that cause diabetes more generally, such as obesity. As an example, a weight gain of 5 Kilos almost doubles the risk of diabetes in Asian people, compared with non-Asians.

Other Factors Associated with Increased Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Include:

Gestational diabetes
Polycystic ovary syndrome
Heart disease and high blood pressure.
Chronic depression.
Heavy smoking
High or low birth weight.
Some medications, including steroids, beta-blockers, diuretics and some antipsychotics.

Do I have Diabetes or Pre-Diabetes?

Quite often, type 2 diabetes will begin as a silent disease and you won’t really be aware that you have it! Some of the symptoms you may be experiencing are:

Vision problems
Lack of energy.
Becoming more irritable.
Going to the toilet a lot more, and having to get up at night for this.
Reduced libido.
Fatigue.

Many people will simply blame these symptoms on ‘just a part of getting older’ or other problems. Most people diagnosed, may have even had the disease for five to ten years already! The sooner you know if you have diabetes, the more you can do to stop the progressions and to avoid complications.

How do I Test for Diabetes?

The most common ways to test for diabetes is an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), which involves an initial blood test, then drinking a large amount of glucose, then another blood test two hours later, to determine how quickly the glucose is cleared from your blood and balance restored. The OGTT is usually performed in the morning after fasting overnight. You can drink water beforehand, but not coffee tea or juice.

What should blood glucose levels be in healthy people?

In healthy people the blood glucose level from the second test should be below 7.8mM. Modestly elevated glucose levels – between 7.8 and 11.1 mM indicates impaired glucose intolerance – or prediabetes. Glucose levels above 11.1 mM confirms diabetes.

Two Random blood glucose level results above 11.1 mM, or a fasting glucose result greater than 7.8 mM on separate occasions, confirms a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus.

How do I reduce the risk of Diabetes?

Regular physical activity is an important means of achieving and maintaining weight control. Even without any weight loss, regular exercise can substantially reduce your risk of diabetes. However, you will achieve better results if you manage both. Even a modest change in activity, such as a more walking or bike riding, combined with w weight loss of only 2 kilograms, can significantly reduce your chance of developing diabetes.

Read more on Prediabetes HERE!

Diabetes and Depression

Is there a link between diabetes and depression?

If you’re suffering from diabetes and feeling a little low – well you’re not alone. It’s bad enough that one in four people is estimated to suffer from depression in some point in their adult life, if you have diabetes, according to authorities you are twice as likely to suffer from depression.

Even more worrying is the news that depression increases the risk of diabetic complications. The numbness that comes with depression can easily turn into diabetes burnout, where regular blood glucose testing, taking medication, following a healthy eating plan and getting regular physical activity are neglected or ignored. Thankfully there are plenty of safe and effective natural treatments that can help get your mood back on track, have you enjoying life to it’s fullest and feeling back in control of your health and blood sugars.

Natural Treatments for Depression in Diabetics

FOLATE

Most people think folate is just for women who are pregnant of thinking about starting a family, but apparently it’s also a very safe and effective treatment for depression.

Before you rush out to the health food store however, not just any old folate or folic acid supplement will help depression. You need a special form of folate called methyl folate. Folic acid itself is inactive: first your body needs to convert it into it’s active form called 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, referred to as 5-MTHF.

Methylfolate is safe to take with standard antidepressant medications and in fact can make them even more effective.

SAM-e

SAM-e (S-adenosyl-L-methionine) is a naturally occurring molecule found throughout the body and has been studied extensively as an antidepressant and found to be effective as medication for mild to moderate depression.

SAM-e has one distinct advantage over medication: it can improve mood after just a few days. Most antidepressants, including herbal products such as St johns wort, can take tow to four weeks to start working. It can also be as effective as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories for the pain of osteoarthritis.

5HTP

5 hydroxytryptophan, or 5HTP is a naturally occurring amino acid sourced from the seeds of Griffonia simplicifolia. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. 5HTP is able to cross the blood brain barrier where, in conjunction with vitamin B6, it is converted into the happy hormone, serotonin. 5HTP is very safe and your body will only use it to make serotonin if levels are low. If levels are normal, it is simply excreted.

However, it’s best not to take it while taking SSRI (Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) antidepressant medications such as Prozac and Zoloft.

FISH OIL

Your brain is around 60% fat so it should come as no surprise that the fatty acids found in fish oil can have a positive effect on your mood. Your hunter-gatherer ancestors consumed large amounts of these omega-3 fatty acids via wild game, fish, insects and eggs.

Your brain now faces challenges that your ancestors never faced in their thousands of years of development, such as modern fats – especially trans fatty acids. T

hese modern fats found in potato crisps, margarine, and anything with ‘partially hydrogenated’ on the label, disrupt communication signals in your brain – and if your brain is constructed from the wrong type of fats, just like a building is constructed from shoddy materials, it’ll find it difficult to weather the storms and increasing stresses of modern life.

ZINC

The mineral zinc is essential for communication between brain cells in your hippocampus, the part of your brain responsible for mood control, learning and memory. Studies in recent years have noted that the hippocampus is shrunken in people with major depression. Zinc is also required, along with B6 and tryptophan, for the production of serotonin.

It’s also a potent anti-inflammatory and many researchers are now suggesting that depression is simply another manifestation of excessively high levels of inflammation throughout the body. The recommended dosage of zinc for depression is 30-40mg per day.

HERBAL SUPPORT St John’s Wort.

St John’s Wort is a herb traditionally used for the treatment of nervousness, melancholia, wounds, sciatica, fevers and even snake bites. Today it’s best known for a herbal remedy for depression and clinical studies have shown it’s as effective as medication for mild to moderate depression.

GINKO BILOBA

Most people think of the herb Ginko Biloba as a treatment to help improve memory and blood flow to the brain and legs. However, it’s also been shown as an effective treatment for the symptoms of peripheral vascular disease (PVD) where circulation is reduced to parts of the body other than the brain or heart due to narrowed or blocked blood vessels.

Some things to remember if you are a Diabetic with Depression.

Surround yourself with positive people who understand. Now is not the time to keep feeding emotional vampires.
Don’t focus on the foods you can’t eat anymore: Instead, choose to focus on the scrumptious and tasty foods that are part of your new diabetes friendly way of eating.
Forgetting to take your supplements? Divide them into snack-sized zip-lock bags so you only have to open the one bag to take all your supplements, instead of several containers.
Aim to walk for at least 10-30 minutes each day. Listen to something that motivates, inspires or just makes you smile while you walk.
Limit your alcohol intake.
Make getting to bet on time and a good nights sleep, priorities. Set your alarm and get up each day at the same time.
Eat breakfast and lunch outside, to allow bright sunlight to help stimulate feel good chemicals.
Talk to your GP about seeing a counsellor.
Find a doctor, naturopath and pharmacist who are experienced with both diabetes and depression and are happy to talk with one another and have your health and happiness as their main priority.

Can stress cause diabetes? Read More Here!

American Diabetes Association Diet Plan

Practical Food Guidelines for Diabetes

Post updated: 8th April 2023

Dietary advice for people living with diabetes is gradually changing as a result of modern scientific research. After several years of favoring low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets, a study posted at the ADA (American Diabetes Association) Scientific Sessions reports that there are other diet options that give better cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes outcomes than the standard diet formerly recommended by the ADA.

Some of the practical eating patterns discussed include:

DASH Diet

The DASH (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension) diet was shown to reduce the risk of diabetes, lower blood pressure, and it helps people lose weight. One of the main advantages of the DASH diet is that it is practical and easy to follow.

A report shared in Diet Spectrum by Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator Amy Campbell notes that besides being practical, the DASH eating pattern does not require any special supplements and foods, and it can also be followed by patients’ entire families.

Scientific studies have proven that the DASH diet helps reduce blood pressure more than traditional American diets. This diet is specifically designed to be low in total fat, cholesterol, and saturated fat, and rich in calcium, magnesium, and potassium as well as fiber and protein.

A study published in the journal Diabetes Care shows that the DASH diet is highly effective in improving insulin sensitivity suggesting that this dietary plan can also help improve blood sugar control.

The DASH approach includes plenty of

vegetables,
whole grains, and fruits;
low-fat or fat-free milk and dairy products,
fish,
poultry,
lean meat,
and nuts.

Low Carb Diet

VLCDs (very-low-carb-diets) were found to reduce A1C (a blood test that measures average blood glucose over the previous 3 months), lower serum fat (triglycerides), give higher levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein, or “good cholesterol”), and reduced weight and blood pressure. A very low-carb diet is strict as it allows daily consumption of 20 to 50 grams only.

LCDs (low-carb diets) which prescribe a daily intake of 20 to 40% of calories from carbohydrates, also show several benefits compared to the typical American diet (which generally includes about 45% carbs) or the previously recommended ADA diet (generally about 50% carbohydrates). Like the DASH diet, low carbs diets recommend vegetables, particularly non-starchy veggies such as cabbage, cucumber, cauliflower, cooked greens, salad greens, and broccoli.

Both dietary approaches approve a wide range of plant fats, including oils, nuts, avocados, and nut butter. However, unlike DASH, low-carb diets favor meats and animal fats. Both diets also approve protein usually in the form of fish, poultry, and lean meat, but disagree on cheese, eggs, and fattier meats.

Some low-carb diet plans include a wide range of vegetables and fruits such as berries. However, all avoid sugary and starchy foods such as potatoes, sweets, bread, rice, and pasta.

When you buy through links on our website, we may earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support 🙂

Will a low-carb diet actually lower blood sugar?

Carbohydrates have been blamed for a wide range of issues including stomach aches, weight gain, and feeling draggy and tired. As a result, there are numerous websites and books dedicated to reducing carbs and making it easier to get started.

Low-carb diet plans such as South Beach, Atkins, Keto, and Paleo can be beneficial when it comes to lowering blood sugar and losing weight at the same time.

Although more and more studies are coming out of the never-ending low-carb debate, misconceptions about these plans are still abounding. Let’s explore some of the low-carbohydrate claims and whether the claims are falsehoods or facts

For instance, some people think that all carb foods are bad, which is a dangerous and misinformed assumption. Moreover, falling into the bad/good food mentality makes it hard to adopt a healthy diet. It’s essential to understand that all foods have their advantages and disadvantages.

For instance, some carb foods such as cake, candy, and soda, are not so healthy. However, other carb foods such as black beans, raspberries, sweet potatoes, and quinoa are highly nutritious. Refined carbs are the types of carbohydrates to limit, while unrefined carbs such as whole grains, fruit, legumes, and vegetables are good alternatives.

Vegan or Vegetarian Diets for Diabetics

Numerous studies have shown that diets that aim at eliminating or reducing animal products help lower LDL cholesterol and A1C, reduce the risk of diabetes, and promote weight loss. A vegetarian diet does not contain meat; vegan means eliminating all animal products from your diet such as lard and dairy. The American Diabetes Association has added these dietary options to its list of recommended practical diabetes diet plans.

Can the Mediterranean Diet Plan help with Diabetes?

The Mediterranean diet plan is one of the high-ranking diet plans for managing heart disease and diabetes as well. Just like the DASH diet plan, the Mediterranean diet is rich in fruits, fish, vegetables, grains, nuts, beans, and olive oil.

The diet also encourages a small amount of red wine. The Mediterranean eating pattern lowers triglyceride and AIC levels and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The foods you eat on the Mediterranean diet can vary depending on your preference and the region you live in. Some of the key foods that you can incorporate in the Mediterranean diet include:

Fruits: Figs, dates, bananas, pears, oranges, grapes, berries, and dates.
Vegetables: Peppers, broccoli, spinach, eggplant, tomatoes, kale, and asparagus.
Whole grains: Whole wheat, corn, brown rice, oats, barley, and spelt.
Dairy: Cheese and yogurt.
Eggs: Quail, duck, and chicken eggs.
Poultry: Duck, chicken, and turkey
Fish: Crab, mackerel, trout, oysters, sardines, salmon, and shrimp
Nuts and seeds: Walnuts, sunflower seeds, sesame, pistachios, and almonds
Legumes: Peas, Beans, peanuts, lentils, and chickpeas.
Fats: Avocado oil, grape seed oil, avocado, olive oil, and olives.

Sweets and red meats are limited and beverages include a glass of red wine and water each day.

All diabetes patients can benefit from MNT (Medical Nutrition Therapy), meeting with dietitians to create practical meal plans. In most cases, improvements in A1C levels with Medical Nutritional Therapy are similar to or greater than what can be achieved with medication.

When choosing food to consume, this diet plan gives you a solid guideline that you can incorporate quite easily into your lifestyle.

OneTouch Diabetes Management

OneTouch Diabetes Management Software is a management application designed to help diabetics organize results obtained from OneTouch glucose meters through data ports. Although the software is free when downloaded from the company’s website, users need to buy the OneTouch Interface Cable in order to connect their glucose meters to computers.

Data of various patients can be input and easily organized with the help of the interface cable. Patient data typically includes name and date of birth, diabetes type, blood glucose level, complications, medication, and regimen. The application features a search tool that allows users to find a particular patient and their data in the list.

How does the OneTouch Diabetes Management Software Work?

After downloading the readings stored on the glucometer and transferring them to the database, various reports can be processed by the software, such as blood glucose trends, average readings, histograms, and pie charts. For instance, pie chart reports typically display blood glucose readings that fall in and out of an individual’s target range for every meal, in percentages.

Glucose trend reports help patients, as well as caregivers, track any changes that occur in blood glucose readings within the chosen date range. These reports are very useful for both doctors and patients under their supervision. Moreover, the OneTouch Diabetes Management Software allows users to print, email, or fax reports directly from within the application.

Key Features and Benefits of OneTouch Diabetes Management Software

Provides personalized, easy to read reports

Onetouch Diabetes Software by LifeScan Inc. is a powerful tool designed to help users manage diabetes by tracking diabetes-related data that they can use to monitor the condition. Users can also share information generated by the application with their healthcare providers and diabetes educators in order to get personalized advice on how to best manage the condition.

The software generates specially designed diabetes-related reports that make it extremely easy to identify blood glucose level trends as well as trouble spots by presenting data in easy-to-understand tables, pie charts, and graphs.

Moreover, the software helps diabetes patients better understand how specific actions, such as when they exercise and what they eat affect blood glucose levels. People with diabetes can now use their computers as personal healthcare tools to visually track important factors in their individual diabetes management plans.

Enables people with diabetes to link readings to their everyday choices.

OneTouch Software offers up to 11 easy-to-read reports for users to view their diabetes and glucose information. The graphs and charts generated by the application can help diabetes patients better understand how everyday choices, habits, and lifestyle in general impact glucose control.

For instance, pie charts that show the percentage of readings that fall within or without the target range may signify that an individual needs to make changes to what they are eating at certain mealtimes. The software can also help diabetics identify trouble spots as well as blood glucose patterns that don’t surface automatically from simply reviewing individual blood glucose results in handwritten logbooks.

Helps personalize diabetes-related information

OneTouch Diabetes Management Software features easy-to-use icons and tabs that enable users to customize entries of diabetes-related information, making it easier to share with doctors.

This allows diabetes patients to enter general information (name and date of birth), personal blood sugar target ranges, specific diabetes medications, information on up to 5 insulin regimens, non-working and working schedules, which helps them account for variations in exercise and eating patterns between vacations, weekends and weekdays.

The application also allows users to keep track of other factors, such as weight, diet, exercise, and even other diabetes-related health measures like cholesterol and blood pressure. These other factors can help shed light on what is affecting the patient’s blood glucose levels. This can be particularly helpful when patients share detailed reports with their doctors directly from the application via fax, printed copies or email.

OneTouch Software compatibility

The OneTouch Diabetes Management Software is fully compatible with all OneTouch Monitors, including OneTouch UltraSmart, OneTouch ultra, OneTouchBasic, OneTouch Profile, OneTouch SureStep, OneTouch FastTake, OneTouch II, and InDuo.

The Bottom Line

The OneTouch Diabetes Management Software is designed to help users manage results returned by OneTouch blood glucose meters. Its ability to generate a wide range of detailed diabetes-related reports makes it ideal for use by patients as well as healthcare providers to track blood glucose trends and identify trouble spots, making the management of diabetes easier and more effective.

The Halki Diabetes Program

Studies show that Americans are spending billions of dollars on diabetes care, medications, and insulin each year. However, this has not remedied the problem and Type 2 diabetes is still a very big epidemic that affects more than 29.1 million Americans. This is largely because most modern day diabetes medications simply mask the symptoms instead of providing a lasting solution.

What is Halki Diabetes Remedy?

Halki Diabetes Program is an online, 21-day program that provides you with healthy advice valuable information, meal plans, and recipes designed to eliminate toxins (the root cause of type 2 diabetes) from your body. The modern world is full of chemicals and toxins, and although it’s impossible to avoid them entirely, you can flush them out of our system and reverse the damage by eating a healthy diet. Therefore, unlike other programs, this system addresses the root cause of Type 2 diabetes so you can get rid of the awful symptoms permanently.

This powerful online program is 100% healthy, safe, and natural using delicious recipes and ingredients to flush dangerous toxins out of your system so you can repair the damage and regain control of your health. The Halki Diabetes System is digital, so you simply sign in and download the program right onto your desktop computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet. Therefore, the program is very easy to access wherever you are and you don’t have to carry a big book around whenever you want to shop, cook, or read.

The Halki Diabetes Remedy also comes with several useful bonuses for free. Although these bonuses are separate from the program, they coincide with your objective to achieve better health naturally. These bonuses include:

Relaxed mind and body guide (cheat sheet and mind map)
10 videos for a relaxed mind and body
Energy multiplier guide (cheat sheet and mind map)
10 videos to help multiply your energy
Guide to achieving your goals (cheat sheet and mind map)
10 videos to help you achieve your goals

Who is the creator of Halki Daibetes Remedy?

Halki Diabetes Remedy was created by a researcher known as Amanda Feerson who has devoted more than 20 years to finding a healthier alternative for treating Type 2 diabetes. Amanda met Eric Whitfield who was almost ‘losing’ his wife to diabetes. Eric’s wife had a blood sugar level of 488 and was almost slipping into a coma. The doctor told Eric that they had tried using medication to lower her blood sugar to no avail. The doctors had followed protocol by giving her insulin, electrolytes and IV fluids to prevent severe ketoacidosis but nothing was working.

Eric met Amanda in his quest to find alternative treatment methods for Type 2 diabetes. After just a couple of weeks of following the Halki Diabetes Program, Eric’s wife reversed her Type 2 diabetes symptoms. In fact, her blood sugar level dropped from 488 to 123 and she stopped using her test strips, diabetes meters and medications. She was also able to lose 56 pounds of belly fat after following the twice daily 60-seconds habit.

How does the Halki Diabetes Program work?

The program comes with a remedy to get rid of toxins from your body and reverse the damage caused by ketoacidosis. It’s a 60-seconds habit that is done twice a day to reverse all the symptoms of diabetes within just a few weeks. This remedy helps you overcome inflammation and neuropathy pain naturally. The Halki Diabetes Program also reverses the dangerous effects of irregular blood circulation and heart disease to help you restore your youthful energy and sex drive. The program helps you identify the dangerous toxins that are the root cause of type 2 diabetes.

By following the 60-seconds, twice daily program, you’ll be able to flush out all the dangerous toxins and normalize your blood sugar level. This program has shown promising results for both women and men suffering from Type 2 diabetes. It also supports weight loss by burning fat and restoring energy and vitality so you feel healthier, younger, happier and energetic.

The program discusses Kohlrabi, a type of vegetable that is very rich in glucoraphanin and sulforaphane. These ingredients protect epithelial cells against oxidative damage caused by ambient particulate matter. Particulate matter (PM2.5) is a complex mixture of tiny liquid droplets and particles that are emitted by industrial sources such as fuel burning. Kholrabi also helps to repair and detoxify the body naturally.

Halki Diabetes Program also shares the benefits of Marjoram which contains beta-carotene. Marjoram is a proven Type 2 diabetes reverser that fights against the airborne toxins we inhale. The program also reveals the benefits of broccoli extract which include improving liver function and reducing oxidative stress. It also includes various Greek fruits, herbs, seed, berries, vegetables and other natural ingredients that help reverse and repair the damage caused by Type 2 diabetes.

Pros:

Halki Diabetes Remedy is a proven system that comes with detailed instructions to guide you through the process.
It is 100% safe and it can be accessed at an affordable price.
The natural ingredients included in the program are easily available in most grocery stores
The program comes with a 30-day money back guarantee that helps secure your investment.

Cons

It’s a digital program that is only available online.
Users must follow all the instructions in order to achieve the desired results.

Halki Diabetes Program is designed for Type 2 diabetes patients and anyone who wants lose weight naturally. It offers the chance to repair the damage caused by type 2 diabetes and helps you avoid diabetes complications such as hypertension, vision loss, amputations and fatal coma. This program will help you learn how to use natural ingredients to lower and balance your blood sugar level and achieve natural weight loss. The 60-day money back guarantee gives you two months to observe changes that come with changing your diet by including foods that help flush toxins and dangerous chemicals out of your body.