Diabetes is an illness that controls how your body process a hormone called insulin. This hormone, produced by your pancreas, helps your body process glucose, or blood sugar. Every time you eat a carbohydrate your body turns it into glucose. Your body needs to have that glucose for energy. Insulin helps the cells in your body absorb that glucose and turn it into energy. Excess glucose in your body can be expelled naturally, but it can also stay in your body, and cause problems.

Diabetes happens when your body either doesn't produce enough insulin, or the insulin doesn't work very well anymore. Type I diabetes, generally found in children, means the body doesn't produce insulin, or only a very small amount of it. Type II diabetes is generally diagnosed in adults, usually in middle age, but, because of the obesity epidemic, it is getting diagnosed earlier and earlier. It happens because your body doesn't process insulin correctly anymore. Type I diabetics will need to take insulin their entire life. They may need to check their blood up to 6 times a day so they can adjust the insulin, and may need to have as many as 6 shots a day.

People with Type II diabetes can generally control their diabetes through diet and exercise. There are some people who will need to take medication no matter what, but most people will be able to take no medication, as long as they eat right. Controlling what goes into your body by controlling your diet is the best way to control Type II diabetes. The biggest risk factor of a person becoming diabetic is obesity.

If you have been diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic, then one specialist you should ask to see is a nutritionist. A nutritionist can help teach you about what foods you should and should not eat, as well as sit down with you in a one on one setting and create a diabetic weight loss program designed with you in mind. This diet will be low in carbohydrates, especially simple carbohydrates, and high in vegetables and protein. It will also focus on proper serving size. Many type 2 diabetics do not have a clue what a proper serving size is. Making sure that you are eating the right serving size can go a long way towards helping you lose weight and control your diabetes through your diet.

For more information on how to effectively manage diabetes the natural way starting today, visit Integrative Health of Tampa at www.ihealthtampa.com/tampadiabetes/. Dr. Jonathan Berns, DC offers effective solutions to help you maintain a healthy blood sugar level. Visit Integrated Health of Tampa to learn more about how you can begin to manage your diabetes, as we are dedicated towards providing effective diabetes solutions to our patients.

By Jonathan Berns, D.C.

Diabetes is a metabolic disease that is caused when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to naturally turn sugars ingested into your body into energy. There are three major types of diabetes.

Type-1 Diabetes

This type of diabetes is an autoimmune disease - which is a result of the body's failure to fight infection. As a result, the body begins to attack its own cells - in this case the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. The body destroys the beta cells and no insulin is produced. People with type-1 diabetes have to take insulin shots daily in order to live.

The causes of type-1 diabetes are not known, however autoimmune, genetic, and environmental factors are believed to play a role in the onset of type-1 diabetes. This type of diabetes can affect people of any age, but most often is found in children and young adults. Symptoms of type-1 diabetes include increased thirst and urination, constant hunger, blurred vision, unexplained weight loss, and fatigue. An early diagnosis of type-1 diabetes is very important. Without daily injections of insulin, a person with this type of diabetes is at a high risk of lapsing into a diabetic coma, a life-threatening condition.

Type-2 Diabetes

This type of diabetes is the most common type. Type-2 diabetes usually affects adults who are obese, have a family history of diabetes, or have a previous history of gestational diabetes. Type-2 diabetes is not caused by the body's inability to produce insulin, but rather by the body's inability to use the insulin it creates effectively. This causes the blood to have higher levels of sugars than normal.

The symptoms of type-2 diabetes include frequent thirst and urination, nausea, unexplained weight loss, frequent infections, wounds and sores heal slowly, and fatigue.

This type of diabetes can often be prevented or controlled with certain lifestyle changes, including a healthy diet and regular exercise. Some patients need to take medications and many use natural treatments to effectively control the symptoms of type-2 diabetes.

Gestational Diabetes

This type of diabetes occurs in pregnant women and is caused by an intolerance to carbohydrates, which causes blood sugar levels to increase. It is very important for a woman who has gestational diabetes to control the disease in order to prevent the baby from being affected at birth. If the blood sugar levels in the pregnant woman are not under control, there is a risk of the baby going into insulin shock at birth.

Gestational diabetes risk factors include a family history of diabetes, increased maternal age, and obesity. While the symptoms of gestational diabetes usually disappear after the birth, there are significant risks to both the mother and child. The mother is at a higher risk of developing type-2 diabetes at a later time and the child is at a higher risk of being obese or developing diabetes later in life.

Preventing the Onset of Diabetes

Many times, diabetes can be prevented or the onset can be delayed. All three types of diabetes can be controlled effectively by changes in your lifestyle. A healthy diet is the most important change - eating healthy foods on a normal schedule allows your body to perform the tasks necessary to sustain life. A healthy diet should consist of plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, fiber, and Omega-3 fatty acids. Once a person has been diagnosed with any type of diabetes, the intake of carbohydrates should be monitored and the intake of sugars should be greatly reduced.

Regular exercise is also important for your overall health. Keeping your body in good working order by keeping muscles toned and blood flowing correctly also helps your body to perform its normal tasks.

It is important for early diagnosis and effective treatment of diabetes in order to avoid more serious illness and diseases that can be associated with diabetes such as heart disease and stroke. Diabetics are at a higher risk of developing many other diseases and illnesses, but the most important thing to remember is that if you work with your body, your body will work for you.

Dr John Anne is an herbal specialist with years of experience and extensive research on herbs and alternative health. If you are looking for more information, read about Types of Diabetes at http://www.diabetesmellitus-information.com/diabetes_type.htm . AyurvedicCure.com is the World?s Largest Alternative Health Portal. Also participate in Health Questions Q&A, Message Boards where you can Ask, Answer and Earn Money! Visit Exclusive Guide on Pets Health Care

By Dr John Anne

Chicago, Illinois, January 9, 2007. Recently, the federal government levied $25,000,000 in fines against 3 weight loss supplement manufacturers, including the highly publicized TrimSpa, featuring celebrity spokesperson, Anna Nicole Smith.

Ms. Smith, who provided visible, physical evidence of the product’s ability to help shed pounds, admitted to reporters over a year ago, that she lost much of the weight in ways other than ingestion of the TrimSpa product (Don’t ask how she did it. Beyond the appearance of results provided by Ms. Smith, the federal government looked deeper and found that little or no clinical evidence existed to support the TrimSpa’s weight loss claims.

TrimSpa, apparently, was a successful marketing ploy, rather than good science applied to an age old problem of excess weight.

Fortunately, there are companies out there that spend more on research, science and good weight loss product development, than on empty celebrity endorsements.
Here are some guidelines for finding effective weight loss supplements:

#1 Look for a Product with claims substantiated by hard science
Many weight loss supplement manufacturers claim “clinically-proven”, “documented results” or “backed by scientific research” to sell their products. If a manufacturer is unwilling to provide substantiation, run like the wind.

#2 Not all Clinical Research is the same
Look closely at the clinical studies provided by weight loss manufacturers. Was it conducted by a reputable, recognized institution, such as Georgetown University Medical Center, Harvard or other known organization? If the manufacturer provides study results that were conducted by unspecified persons, under vague conditions, question their product claims

#3 What happens in the manufacturing plant
While a manufacturer may have scientific studies, conducted at reputable institutions that substantiate their product claims, they may not be putting the right ingredient purity, quality grade or dosage to help you realize the same results achieve in clinical studies.

Effective weight loss ingredients are expensive. One way a manufacturer can goose profits, is to lower the amount of active ingredients, while benefiting from legitimate result claims.

To make sure you’ll be getting the same product as used in clinical testing, is to look for quality manufacturing verification from independent organizations, such as USP (US Pharmacopoeia), NF or Consumer Labs. Look for one or more of their symbols on weight loss packaging. If it’s missing, avoid buying the product.

Getting beyond the hype of questionable, but often convincing celebrity endorsements requires some homework on the consumers’ part.