"Diabetes Beaten"

The origin of diabetes is somewhat of a mystery. Findings that date back to the 19th century have given science what knowledge it does have about the disease. Diabetes was found to be linked to the pancreas in the early 1900’s by Canadians Frederick Banting and Charles H. Best. It wasn’t until the 1976 that a clarification of causation was expressed by Alexander Beam. In a paper on diabetes, Beam wrote that the susceptibility to develop diabetes was inherited, but that environmental factors could contribute to the onset of the disease.

The vagueness surrounding diabetes unfortunately does not aid in determining a concrete plan of prevention. Without fully understanding its cause, one cannot educate the public as to how to avoid developing diabetes. Unfortunately, even insulin’s role in diabetes and metabolic processes is not completely clear. It is known that poor nutrition, increased levels of stress and physical inactivity are environmental factors that can bring on diabetes, with or without genetic predisposition.

What causes diabetes is not clear. Experts can only establish that it has existed since the 19th century. In the early 1900’s, Canadians Frederick Banting and Charles H. Best established the connection between the pancreas and diabetes. It wasn’t until 1976, however, that Alexander Beam wrote a paper referring to diabetes as being an inherited disease. He said that negative environmental factors, like poor nutrition and physical inactivity, were likely to bring on the disease. It’s important to not that not all diabetics are overweight at the time of diagnosis. However, the question remains: does being overweight make you diabetic, or does diabetes make you overweight?

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20.8 million people suffer from diabetes in the United States. There are three kinds of diabetes, Type I, Type II and Gestational diabetes. Of the three, Type I affects 175.600 people, that’s .22%, according to the American Diabetes Association. What exactly causes the disease is still unclear. We do know that there are certain factors that can influence whether a person develops the disease. Those include genetics and the lifestyle choices. Experts know that diabetes has existed since the 19th century, that the pancreas is directly responsible for the production of insulin and that somehow, insulin unlocks the body’s cells to convert glucose into usable energy.

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Which came first, diabetes or being overweight? Does it really matter once you’ve been diagnosed? Almost 90% of people diagnosed with Type II diabetes are overweight. Many don’t realize how much being soft can cost. Type II diabetes, once known as adult onset diabetes, is the most common form of affecting millions of people in the United States alone. According to the American Diabetes Association, over 20 million people have been diagnosed. Type II refers to insulin resistance. The body’s cells simply ignore the insulin released by the pancreas. Sometimes the pancreas doesn’t produce enough. Either way, blood glucose levels aren’t effectively reduced and the result is damage.

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With Type 2 diabetes being a disease that affects how your body reacts to food and in turn how it makes energy. Probably the most common symptom is excessive sweating, this when happening regularly should be checked.

To help decide if you are in a risk group and need to see a doctor other symptoms are diarrhea, blurred vision, excessive thirst, bad breath, confusion, depression, fatigue, weight loss even buzzing ears.

Healthy Diet a help with diabetes

On average Americans consume about 55 teaspoons of sugar each day this can be divided between average sugar use of 150 pounds of sugar and 600 odd cans of soft drink per year. Knowing this its not hard to understand our countries current problem with stressed out fat people.

Much of the food we eat has massive levels of additives and chemicals as well as sugar. Lots of these junk foods is peppered with toxins like msg and aspartame. While in small doses these maybe ok, imagine the damage when consumed over a year.

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Anyone who has the condition known as diabetes has a condition that creates a situation where the conversion of energy from the food they eat is faulty. Almost all the food we eat, once digested, is converted into glucose. This supply of energy use the bloodstream to be transported around where it can be absorbed by the cells but diabetes stops this from happening. It is essential that the glucose is absorbed into the body but this condition creates high levels to accumulate in the blood.

Two main types occur; information on both is looked at briefly here. The first type is called type one and primarily affects young people, usually called juvenile onset diabetes and is where the body completely stops the production of insulin; this means insulin must be given to the diabetic on a daily basis for them to live. Insulin is used by the body to regulate the amount of glucose the blood contains. Adult onset diabetes affects older people as the name suggests but differs from type one; it results when the body either cannot produce enough insulin or does not use the insulin it makes properly.

Those energy foods which we all need to live are pasta, rice, potatoes, bread and fruit of course. Many health conditions can be caused by long term high blood sugar levels including: poor vision, heart complaints, problems with the kidneys and in some cases even limb amputation.

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Diabetes is a disorder of the metabolism caused as a result of the way our bodies use digested food for growth and energy. Our bodies use glucose, a form of sugar which our digestive system has broken down from the food we eat, which is then transported around the body via the bloodstream. This supply of energy use the bloodstream to be transported around where it can be absorbed by the cells but diabetes stops this from happening. If this situation remains unchecked, levels of glucose in the blood increase to dangerous levels.

There are two main types of the condition; both are discussed briefly in this article. Mainly affecting children and young adults, type 1 or juvenile onset diabetes occurs when insulin production stops completely; this results in the diabetic requiring an insulin injection every day to stay healthy and alive. Insulin is used by the body to regulate the amount of glucose the blood contains. The second form of diabetes usually affects people when they are of mature years; this type happens when not enough insulin is being produced or it isn’t being used properly, but it can normally be treated through diet.

To stay alive we need energy, something which is supplied in abundance by everyday foods like various pastas, bread, potatoes, rice and fruit for instance. Some serious conditions can result from excess levels of glucose in the blood including blindness, heart and kidney disease and even the removal of limbs. By sticking to a diabetes health care regime, most of these conditions can be helped; these conditions will vary form person to person but most should see improvements with some complaints halted altogether. Managing this condition means changing your lifestyle to suit your condition any medication that has been prescribed; this includes watching your blood sugar levels, blood fat and cholesterol in addition to quitting smoking.

You will also need to maintain your weight, and maintain your blood pressure to within the guidelines set by your doctor. Diabetes once recognized in the sufferer will be with them for the rest of their lives; in America there are more than five and a half million recognized sufferers.

Studies suggest that it is not the whole story as experts believe there are as many people again that have the disease that have not yet been diagnosed; each year there are over six hundred thousand new cases. It is a worrying fact that whilst 34,000 American citizens die each year as a direct result of diabetes, another 320,000 die that have the condition where it may be an underlying reason.

Everyone know at least one person in ther lives that is suffereing for a heart condition or diabetes. It’s is becoming a more frequent occurence among us. Increasing your blood circulation is a good preventative measure and here we have a few methods for achieving better circulation.

You must exercise regularly. I am sure you have heard this before, but have you tried it? You may be someone who had every intention of exercising, but are too busy or have lost the desire.

You’ve got to choose an activity that’s doable, given your current health, and also enjoyable to you on a regular basis. For example, aerobics are in line with a heart or diabetes patient’s limitations. If you like walking, set aside regular days and times for this activity. Regular exercise not only improves circulation, but also helps lower blood pressure.

Something you can do to improve blood circulation that doesn’t require moving is to take some medicinal herbs. Some herbs can have a large effect on blood circulation as well as heart health. Cayenne pepper is just such a herb. It can tone you capillaries and blood vessels. Garlic is great for lowering colesterol, while hawthorne berries and rosmary are great for stabalizing blood pressure. You should consult a doctor to find out which would be best for you.

You can do much with your diet to indirectly improve blood circulation as a result of improving other body functions.

Something else that is very important to improving blood circulation is vitamin E. This nutrient has been proven to be deficient in both diabetes and heart patients. Vitamin E lowers you body’s need for oxygen and help your body produce more blood vessels. You can get Vitamin E from many sources such as vegetable oils and nuts. Vitamin E also protects you from losing vitamins A, D and K.

Three of the B vitamins, cholin, inositol and vitamin B6 are instrumental in regulating blood cholesterol. Deficiencies of these vitamins are correlated with an increase in blood cholesterol levels and atherosclerosis. Sufficient amounts of these important vitamins are necessary for improved circulation and healthy vessels.

A study was done in the 50’s that proves that diet with a good balance of these vitamins reduced likelyhood of heart attacks and diabetes, and for those who had the illinesses significantly reduce the medication required to control them. Patients also reported having more energy.

As I have said, there many easy ways to improve blood circulation. A few simple changes to you diet, and daily exercise routine and you will be well on your way to healthier heart.

The research about stem cells has been very controversial. The issues in the advent of stem cell research as well as the health care distinction are some of the topics that have been delved into by many medical experts as well as those suffering from certain illnesses such as migraine and diabetes. The most part that has caught the interest of these experts is where these cells are from. There are so many sources associated with stem cells. These cells may either be from the blood in the umbilical cord, embryos or from old age.

The cure for diabetes, as well as more improved treatments, may lie in stem cell research. The American Diabetes Association supports this type of research, and has worked diligently to obtain funding. The American Diabetes Association is also fighting to eliminate bans on stem cell research pertaining to diabetes.

Moreover, there are also some universities such as Stanford University and UC Berkeley that voiced out their support on this research by motivating scientists who are involve in the research.

Doctors, biologists, chemists, engineers and computer scientists from the two schools formerly cited, are joining forces to talk about their effort and to contributions with students and staff.

Both universities are deeply caught up in embryonic stem cell research, which scientists anticipate will provide treatments or cures for such diseases as diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

As a representation of their new collaboration, the campuses intend to set aside space in their stem cell laboratories for visiting researchers who choose to spend their sabbaticals working with peers at the other school.

A biotechnology company, VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc., make use of embryonic stem cell technologies to discover and create new drugs for diabetes, publicized an extensive embryonic stem cell research unification with Toronto’s University Health Network, Canada’s foremost research hospital, and its stem cell research associate, the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine.

The new alliance positions Vista-Gen to continue to influence the embryonic stem cell biology knowledge and leading-edge embryonic stem cell technologies of Dr. Gordon Keller, one of the world’s leading stem cell researchers and the Director of the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine. VistaGen and Dr. Keller anticipate conducting research into advanced techniques to tell the difference between embryonic stem cells into mature cardiac, liver, and pancreatic beta-islet cells. This will improve VistaGen’s industry-leading, in vitro biological systems and bio informatics databases for prognostic toxicology applications.

The new supported research program is put together on VistaGen’s present strategic licenses to Dr. Keller’s past embryonic stem cell intellectual property, and envelops new embryonic stem cell-based research projects.

VistaGen is also hopeful that the outcomes of the stem cell research will be useful in developing and finding the newer invention for the different systems that would be used in embryonic stem cell-based liver, pancreas and cardiac beta-islet differentiation. Moreover, VistaGen is hopeful that the results will be used to develop pioneering medications for heart and liver diseases as well as diabetes.

Yet another group of researchers from the Spring Point Project has been leading efforts to provide a cure by injecting insulin-producing islet cells from pigs into diabetics. Research showed that transplanting healthy human islet cells in diabetics could turn around the disease. But due to a shortage of human donor organs access is limited to such cells.

Dr. Bernhard Hering, a world-renowned diabetes expert and scientific director of the Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation at the University of Minnesota, and his panel experimented with pig islet cell transplants on monkeys and discovered that those cell transplants resulted in long-term diabetes reversal in the monkeys. A PowerPoint presentation included a chart that depicted erratic blood sugar counts in the monkeys getting to a level point. The use of pig parts in humans has been doing well in other areas, including pig valves or bowels in transplants. Pig skin is also used in burn centers to substitute human skin.

The fact that the foreign cells are introduced to the body, the receiver of the transplant needs medication intake to ensure that the cells will not be rejected. Side effects are expected however, the severity of these signs and symptoms are yet to be discovered. It is also said that these effects may change and depend according to what type of patients they have.

Perhaps in the imminent future, may be as close as 2009, the first experimental trials will be planned for individuals with the severest type of diabetes who are incapable of controlling their blood sugar levels and may suffer unexpected blackouts or other episodes.

The controversy on the research about stem cells are yet to end until the status will be different from the present. The issues and controversies may only end if the stem cells will be developed from a specific source.

After the initial shock of diagnosis wears off and we become more comfortable with administering insulin shots, scheduling blood tests and mealtimes, and carbohydrate counting we have a chance to look to the future. At that point it really begins to sink in what a long-term commitment parenting a diabetic child really is. We now understand we have been drawn into a different lifestyle that will last as long as we are parents. Even when our child is grown up and leaves home we will still be concerned and involved with the diabetes community.

If you are finding that you are having trouble managing your child’s diabetes let me first share some statistics I found so you realize you are not alone.

35-75% do not follow meal plans all of the time
20-80% do not administer insulin correctly all of the time
30-70% do not record blood-monitoring level properly all of the time
23-52% do not provide adequate foot care all of the time
70-81% do not exercise adequately all of the time

Now that we understand how difficult it is to live with a chronic and potentially deadly disease, the question is how do we teach our children the reality of diabetes while still allowing them to be kids and trying to keep their lives as normal as possible. An experience that if you haven’t run into you soon will is birthday parties. They are everything you need to avoid to keep your child’s diabetes under control but they’re also an important aspect of your child’s life.

With some planning you can have both. You can learn the specifics of this and many other situations you will face in my ebook “So Your Child Has Diabetes”. The point is life and diabetes can go on together. Just as important, your child’s friends learn about diabetes and talk about it.

They don’t discriminate, they include your child. We as parents need to be adults in these types of situations. We are the voices of maturity, reality and humanity. We are the ones who allow our children to talk about their disease and how it makes them feel as well as keeping them focused on self-care. We are the ones who keep the disease from overcoming our family. When you let your child talk to you about how they feel about having diabetes you will find your child has less emotional stress and better control of their blood glucose levels.

General family stress can greatly affect blood glucose levels. It’s a delicate balance. When your child’s blood glucose levels are out of control it can cause stress in the family and when there’s stress in the family it can cause out of control blood glucose levels. You need to be prepared for these times. The Children’s Hospital that treats my daughter has an excellent Mental Health Department. Other communities have a variety of services they offer. Make yourself aware of them and know where to turn before things start to get out of control.

One of the things that really surprised me was the difference in the way I perceived diabetes and the way my daughter perceived it over time. I found it easier to cope with diabetes as time went on. You get into a rhythm and your comfort level with treatment increases. On the other hand my daughter found that the emotional distress associated with diabetes increased as time went by. We need to be aware that just because we are better at dealing with diabetes it doesn’t mean our children need less of our day to day care. A mistake I made was assuming that my 10-year-old didn’t need me to constantly supervise her blood glucose monitoring. After she went on an insulin pump it was no longer necessary for me to administer insulin. She had been checking her own blood levels for quite a while. Even though she was checking her own blood, while I was giving the shots I was right there to make sure she checked properly and at the correct times. Once she went on the pump that wasn’t the case anymore. I noticed that she wasn’t nearly as conciencious when I wasn’t there. This is just normal in the development of a child. Our children need us to keep them safe while they achieve these developmental skills.

In order to properly prepare our children for life with diabetes we must remember how we feel when we are ill. We hate it. Feeling lousy, unable to enjoy some of our normal activities. Imagine how this is magnified in our diabetic child. They never get a break. No rest from it, no vacation. No wonder they experience emotional problems. Never forget this. Our children need to know that we will always be there for them. They are not facing this alone. Listening to our children about their feelings is important but not enough. We also need to talk to them about what happens if they don’t take good care of their diabetes. We need to be careful. We don’t want our children to think that there is something wrong with them or to feel ashamed if their blood glucose levels aren’t always under control. In this case children are like puppies. They respond better to reward for proper behavior that to punishment for wrong behavior.

Finally we need to realize that preparing for life with diabetes is an ongoing process. You can’t control the process all of the time. Just take care of it one day at a time. With your help your child can understand this process of diabetes control and you don’t have to become “that diabetic family”. With preparation and awareness you, your child and the rest of your family can live healthy normal lives.

Russell Turner is the father of a 10 year old Type 1 Juvenile Diabetic daughter. When she was first diagnosed he quickly found there was all kinds of information on the internet about the medical aspects of this dsease. What he couldn’t find was information about how to prepare his family to live with this disease. He started a website http://www.mychildhasdiabetes.com and designed it so parents of newly diagnosed children would have a one-stop resource to learn to prepare for life with diabetes.