Will You Recognize the Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes?

If you or a loved one is at risk of developing diabetes, it is important that you learn how to recognize the signs and symptoms of diabetes as soon as possible. Type 2 diabetes can develop on at any age. If you catch it early, you can often prevent the many serious complications of this disease. You need to know that diabetes is known as a "silent killer" for good reason. This is because the signs and symptoms of diabetes often don't manifest themselves right away and people often don't recognize the symptoms until they get really bad. Basically, diabetes is a disease that often sneaks up on people. Please don't let that happen to you.

Complications of Diabetes

Complications of diabetes include heart disease, high blood pressure, vascular disease, kidney failure, nerve damage (neuropathy), eye problems (retinopathy, cataracts, glaucoma, blindness), recurring infections, wounds that won't heal or are very slow to heal, and stress due to the disease. Amputations of feet and legs are more common in diabetics. Nerve damage makes wounds in extremities go unnoticed until it is too late and reduction in blood flow can make wounds very difficult to heal.

Increased Visits To the Bathroom

This is a very common sign of diabetes. If you find you are having to get up more at night to trot to the bathroom, you may have diabetes and you should get your blood sugar tested. Daytime urination may become more frequent too. Frequent urination is your body's way of diluting and eliminating the excess sugar in your blood stream.

Thirsty All the Time and Dry Mouth

Diabetics often become dehydrated because they are urinating more frequently. This causes thirst and dry mouth.

Hungry All the Time

This is another very common symptom of diabetes. If you eat a big meal and then get hungry again an hour or two later, there is a good chance you may be diabetic and you should get tested. After you eat, there is always an increase in blood sugar which prompts the release of insulin. However, in diabetics there can be a huge spike in blood sugar which leads to a huge release of insulin which in turn makes you feel hungry.

Unexplained Fatigue

If you wake up in the morning after a normal night's sleep and you still feel sluggish, this may be because you have diabetes or pre-diabetes and your cells aren't getting enough energy. The same could be true if you begin to tire out easily during the day.

Wounds Are Slow To Heal

If you notice that your body doesn't seem to heal wounds, scrapes, or cuts as quickly, you need to get to the doctor and have your blood sugar tested.

Dry Itchy Skin

This symptom can manifest itself in a variety of ways. Women may experience vaginal itching and men may experience jock itch. General dry skin including flaking can also be a symptom.

Frequent Headaches

Headaches can be caused by a variety of factors but high blood sugar is one of them. This is especially true if you tend to get headaches first thing in the morning or after large meals. Dehydration which can be caused by diabetes can also cause headaches.

Impotence

This may be a blessing in disguise as it often gets men to finally go to their doctor and get their blood sugar tested. In men, blood vessel damage and nerve damage can lead to impotence even if the desire is still there. Sexual desire can be reduced in both men and women due to disruptions in the endocrine system.

Mysterious Weight Loss

If you find you are losing weight but you haven't changed the way you eat and there hasn't been a change in your activity level, don't jump for joy too quickly because you may have diabetes. Diabetics often lose weight because the nutrients they are eating are not able to get inside their cells. You may be eating plenty but your body may be starving.

Numbness or a Tingly Sensation In Your Feet and/or Hands

Diabetes causes nerve damage and circulatory problems. The symptom for this is often numbness or a tingly sensation in your extremities.

Frequent Infections and Inflammation

Urinary tract infections, candida, thrush, jock itch, vaginal infections, athlete's foot, gum disease, and skin boils can all be signs of diabetes, especially if they chronically reoccur. Unfortunately, people often don't recognize infection as a sign of diabetes but it is very common.

Constipation

If you don't have a bowel movement every day and/or your stool is unusually hard, you may want to get your blood sugar checked, especially if you also have other symptoms.

Disruption of the Menstrual Cycle

The hormonal system can get really out of whack if you have diabetes and this sometimes affects the menstrual cycle in women. If you normally have regular menstrual cycles and suddenly start have irregular cycles or you skip a period or two entirely, this could be a sign of diabetes.

General Malaise

If you just feel "yucky" and can't quite put your finger on why, please do yourself a favor and go get tested for diabetes, especially if you are over-weight and/or have a close family member who has diabetes.

What Is the Average Life Span of a Diabetic?

People with diabetes often worry about whether or not they will be able to live a normal lifespan. This is a source of great anxiety for many people who have been diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes and for those who are at higher risk for diabetes.

The bad news is that on average diabetics do not live as long as those without diabetes. Moreover, they often lead a lower quality of life due to health complications and often die from these complications with heart failure being the number one cause. Depending on the source, it is reported that life expectancy is cut by 6-17 years. Type 2 diabetics have a shorter life expectancy on average than type 1 diabetics.

The good news is that if you learn the symptoms of diabetes, you catch it early, and you follow natural remedies that can reverse your diabetes, you can live a normal lifespan. In fact, some people use their diabetes diagnosis as a wake up call to get really healthy and their quality of life actually goes way up after the diagnosis.

You CAN reverse diabetes and prevent diabetes by eating the right foods and other natural means.

I am living proof of this and so are many other people who were diagnosed with diabetes but now have normal blood sugar levels. My doctor could hardly believe the difference in my blood sugar readings after only a few weeks. Please visit my Reverse Diabetes Naturally website to learn more about how you too can reverse diabetes: http://reverse-diabetes-naturally.blogspot.com.

Glucosamine supplements are a popular remedy for arthritis pain relief, especially for osteoarthritis. Unlike NSAIDs and other anti-inflammatory drugs, the pain relief provided by glucosamine lasts even after a person is no longer taking the supplements. This is because glucosamine helps repair damaged cartilage in joints. There has been some concern that glucosamine might cause insulin resistance and that people with diabetes should not take glucosamine.

This concern is because of previous animal and human studies that found “giving glucosamine can impair insulin’s action, which can potentially make [people] diabetic or worsen diabetes.” This is according to Rajaram J. Karne, now of the Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus.

Most people take glucosamine orally, not by injection.

Karne and his collaborators in Bethesda, Md, at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, tested a commonly used dose of oral glucosamine in 20 normal weight and obese adults. The dose they tested was three 500-milligram pills of glucosamine daily or a placebo.

Unlike the high doses of injected glucosamine used in previous studies, this oral dose of glucosamine is what is normally recommended by health care professionals and what is most commonly used by folks taking glucosamine supplements.

Six weeks of glucosamine didn’t make any measurable difference in insulin’s action.

This study indicates that at least in adults who don’t already have diabetes, three 500-milligram glucosamine pills does not effect insulin resistance or cause diabetes.
This dose should be safe for those taking it for osteoarthritis pain relief.

Diabetes: A disease in which the body doesn't produce or properly use insulin.
Insulin: A hormone, insulin unlocks 'doorways' in cells and allows glucose that comes from sugar, starches, and other foods, to enter the cells and be used as energy.

Diabetes causes
Diabetes Can Cause:
Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA)

Hypoglycemia
Retinopathy: Nearly 39,000 Americans lose their sight to diabetes each year.
Nephropathy: One out of three people with insulin-dependent diabetes develops kidney failure and need kidney transplants.

With a specific virus or bacteria;
Exposure to food-borne chemical toxins; and
Exposure as a very young infant to cow's milk, where an as yet unidentified component of this triggers the autoimmune reaction in the body.

Type 1 diabetes is typically recognized in adulthood, usually after age 45 years. It used to be called adult-onset diabetes mellitus, or non–insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. These names are no longer used because type 2 diabetes does occur in younger people, and some people with type 2 diabetes need to use insulin.

Type 2 diabetes is usually controlled with diet, weight loss, exercise, and oral medications. More than half of all people with type 2 diabetes require insulin to control their blood sugar levels at some point in the course of their illness.

Poor Diet (Malnutrition Related Diabetes): Improper nutrition, low protein and fiber intake, high intake of refined products are the expected reasons for developing diabetes.

Obesity and Fat Distribution: Being overweight means increased insulin resistance that is if body fat is more than 30%, BMI 25+, waist girth 35 inches in women or 40 inches in males.

Diabetes Symptoms
The symptoms of type 2 diabetes due to high blood sugar may include:
• Increased thirst
• Increased hunger (especially after eating)
• Dry mouth
• Frequent urination
• Unusual weight loss
• Increased fatigue
• Irritability
• Blurry vision

Diabetes treatment
See a picture of glucagon, which is typically administered as an emergency diabetes treatment when a patient is suffering from symptoms of hypoglycemia -- confusion, seizures, or unconsciousness

If the patient is obese and has had difficulty losing weight on their own, talk to a healthcare provider. Eat a consistent, well-balanced diet that is high in fiber, low in saturated fat, and low in concentrated sweets.

When these measures fail to control the elevated blood sugars, oral medications are used. If oral medications are still insufficient, treatment with insulin is considered. Adherence to a diabetic diet is an important aspect of controlling elevated blood sugar in patients with diabetes. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has provided guidelines for a diabetic diet.

Diabetes remedies
Bittermelon (karela) is one of the best options 21. Srivastava Y, Venkatakrishna-bhatt H, Verma Y, et al. Antidiabetic and adaptogenic properties of Momordica charantia extract: An experimental and clinical evaluation. Phytother Res 1993; 7:285–9...

Take 15 fresh mango leaves and boil them in 1 glass of water. Filter and drink the next morning. As a part of diabetes home remedy treatment, grapefruit is considered most beneficial.

Diabetes Causes and Prevention
Diabetes is a disease that affects the body natural ability to change carbohydrates and sugars into energy. There is no known cause for the onset of diabetes. However, there are certain factors that place a person at higher risk of contracting diabetes.

The risk factors of diabetes can include:
A family history of diabetes
Obesity
Poor diet
Physical inactivity

Different Types/Different Causes of Diabetes
There are three main types of diabetes -type-1, type-2, and gestational. Type-1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease and most often affects children and young adults. An autoimmune disease is one in which the body ability to fight infections is decreased causing the body to attack its own cells. In type-1 diabetes, the body often attacks the beta cells in the pancreas -the cells that produce insulin in the body.

The main diabetes causes of type-1 diabetes are:
Infections with specific bacteria or viruses
Food-borne chemical toxins
Cow’s milk -an unidentified component in cow milk can trigger an autoimmune reaction in the body. Young infants who are given cow milk have a higher risk of contracting type-1 diabetes.

The main diabetes causes of type-2 diabetes are:
Increasing age
Obesity
Physical inactivity
Poor diet

The main diabetes causes of gestational diabetes are:
Hormones produced during pregnancy blocking actions of insulin
Mother body can't produce enough insulin
Common Causes of Diabetes

There are some common diabetes causes that include genetic causes as well as environmental causes. The risk of diabetes is higher if there is a family history of diabetes. Environmental factors that can lead to the onset of diabetes include poor diet, lack of exercise, obesity, and stress. Diabetes is a disease that can be prevented -or controlled once a diagnosis has been made.

Prevention and Control in Diabetes
While the symptoms of diabetes are not life threatening, diabetes can lead to other more serious diseases and illnesses. People who have been diagnosed with diabetes are at a higher risk of diseases and illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, neuropathy and nerve damage, foot conditions, and blindness. It is extremely important to control your diabetes in order to avoid the onset of these more serious and sometimes life-threatening illnesses. A healthy diet should consist of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and carbohydrates in healthy portions, Omega-3 fatty acids, proteins in healthy portions, and fiber.

A healthy diet not only helps your overall health, but also can be a major factor in offsetting the symptoms of diabetes. The longer you can prevent the symptoms of diabetes, the longer you can decrease the risks of more serious illnesses associated with diabetes. A regular exercise routine is also an important factor in the prevention and management of diabetes. By keeping your muscles toned and your blood flowing correctly, you can help your body to fight off infections and your body will be able to help in managing the symptoms of many illnesses. Strong muscles in the abdomen are essential for helping your digestive system work normally.

A Long, Healthy Life It is possible to live a long, healthy life. You can help ensure that your body will work properly for a long time by beginning a healthy diet and routing exercise program early in life.

By choosing to live a healthy lifestyle, you are choosing to consciously help your body fight of the symptoms of many illnesses and diseases.