Protect FamiliesTips to protect and increase families healthiness

People are quick to give advice to expectant mothers – cut down on caffeine, avoid alcohol, take prenatal vitamins – yet there’s one topic that is often missing from the conversation. Gestational diabetes, a type of diabetes that occurs only during pregnancy, can cause high blood sugar levels that can threaten the health of your unborn baby. According to the American Diabetes Association, this condition affects about 135,000 pregnant women in the U.S. each year.

Gestational diabetes is more likely to occur in women who:

• are older than 25 years
• are overweight
• had gestational diabetes before
• had a very large baby (over 9 pounds)
• have a family history of diabetes
• are Native American, Asian, Hispanic, African American, or Pacific Islander
• have polycystic ovary syndrome

But there’s good news. You can manage gestational diabetes by eating healthy foods, exercising regularly and, if necessary, taking medication. Taking good care of yourself can help ensure a healthy pregnancy for you and a healthy start for your baby.

Women with a history of gestational diabetes have a much higher risk of developing diabetes during the 5 to 10 years after they deliver. If you had gestational diabetes, it is important to be tested 6 to 12 weeks after the baby is born, and at least every 3 years after that. Women may be able to prevent getting gestational or type 2 diabetes in the future by reaching and maintaining a healthy weight, eating healthy foods, and getting regular physical activity. Read the rest of this entry »

If you have diabetes, your body can not produce or properly use insulin. This leads to elevated glucose (blood sugar) levels. Healthy eating helps to reduce blood sugar. It is a fundamental part of diabetes management as controlling glucose (blood sugar) can prevent the complications of diabetes.

Choosing foods wisely is the mainstay of treatment of diabetes. Diabetes experts suggest meal plans that are flexible and take into account their lifestyle and other health needs. A dietitian can help you design a meal plan.

Healthy eating for diabetes include:

* Limit sweets consumption
* Eat frequently
* Take care when and how many carbohydrates are consumed
* Eating large amounts of whole grain foods, fruits and vegetables
* Eat less fat
* Limit alcohol consumption

Diabetes is a serious illness and proper care is essential to staying healthy. People with diabetes need to be careful what they eat and when you eat. This particular disease is very sensitive and any small mistake can cause the level of blood sugar to rise tremendously. Very often, people suffering from this disease are also concerned with high cholesterol, high blood pressure or obesity. Taking all this into account, a healthy diet for a diabetic is a must.

Healthy food habit for diabetics is to monitor your intake of carbohydrates. Carbohydrate consumption is just as important as proper sugar intake. Carbohydrates are simply a different type of sugar and they can impact the blood levels in the same way as sugar in a cake or candy. Some foods to be served in controlled portions include pastas, potatoes and bread. These foods, along with other products high in carbohydrates raise blood sugar levels in the blood. A good diet for someone suffering from this disease should be low in sugar, fat and carbohydrates. Read the rest of this entry »

The link between stress and health problems has long known experts. Fatigue, concentration problems, to increase body weight is less than the impact of stress. Now you can add one other disorders of the blood sugar rise.

It happened because when we are stressed, your body will adjust. This adjustment effort will lead to more rapid heartbeat, and shortness of breath. Blood sugar had jumped the bandwagon.

“Under the pressure of stress, our bodies will be in fight mode, or let that blood sugar will rise as a form of preparation for this condition,” said Richard Surwit, PhD, author of The Mind Body Diabetes Revolution.

Basically, the stress hormones in our bodies are designed only to deal with stressful situations those are temporary, such as traffic, deal with employment tests, or to meet future in-laws, for example.

Unfortunately, most of the stress we experience chronic, long settled. Call it a job that requires long hours every day, or must care for a sick parent.

As a result, stress hormones such as predators were going to have to endure long periods of time. Blood sugar was forced to constantly adjust to these conditions.

For people with diabetes, increased blood sugar is a problem itself since they cannot produce the extra insulin to keep blood sugar.