Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Diabetes mellitus, often referred to simply as diabetes is a syndrome of disordered metabolism, usually due to a combination of hereditary and environmental causes, resulting in abnormally high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia).

The disease and its treatments can cause many complications as it is often detected when a person suffers a problem that is frequently caused by diabetes, such as a heart attack, stroke, neuropathy, poor wound healing or a foot ulcer, certain eye problems, certain fungal infections, or delivering a baby with macrosomia or hypoglycemia. 

Diabetes mellitus, commonly referred to as diabetes was first identified as a disease associated with "sweet urine," and excessive muscle loss in the ancient world. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic medical condition, meaning that although it can be controlled, it lasts a lifetime.  

Type 1 diabetes can affect children or adults but was traditionally termed "juvenile" diabetes because it represents a majority of the diabetes cases in children. This type appears to be triggered by some (mainly viral) infections, or less commonly, by stress or environmental exposure (such as exposure to certain chemicals or drugs). Type 1 diabetics have a genetic predisposition to the disease.

Type 1 diabetes occurs equally among males and females but is more common in whites than in non-whites. Additionally, this type of diabetes accounts for about 5 to 10 percent of diagnosed diabetes in the United States. Type 1 diabetes develops most often in children but can occur at any age. Type 1 diabetes may also cause a rapid yet significant weight loss (despite normal or even increased eating) and irreducible fatigue.    

Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1. Type 2 diabetes risk can be reduced in many cases by making changes in diet and increasing physical activity. However, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes impede a person’s carefree life.

Type 2 diabetes is more common in older people, especially in people who are overweight, and occurs more often in African Americans, American Indians, some Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islander Americans, and Hispanics/Latinos. Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common due to increasing obesity and failure to exercise. This type may go unnoticed for years because visible symptoms are typically mild, non-existent or sporadic, and usually there are no ketoacidotic episodes. 

Diabetes insipidus, a rare disorder, is not related to diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes). Diabetes symptoms may include increased thirst and urination, blurred vision, and fatigue. This type also appears to affect the speed of our thought processes as well. Diabetes is a costly disease associated with severe morbidity and premature death that affects millions of Americans.

Diabetes insipidus includes any of several types of polyuria in which the volume of urine exceeds 3 liters per day, causing dehydration and great thirst, as well as sometimes emaciation and great hunger.

Diabetes affects approximately 17 million people (about 8% of the population) in the United States. It is the third leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease and cancer.  

It is further the primary reason for adult blindness, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), gangrene and amputations. Diabetes is a condition characterized by the inability of the pancreas to produce sufficient levels of insulin to prevent hyperglycemia. Diabetes is a disease in which your blood glucose, or sugar levels are too high. Diabetes can also create the need to remove a limb. 

Diabetes can be caused by too little insulin, resistance to insulin, or both. The disease can damage blood vessels and nerves and decrease the body's ability to fight infection. It is the most common condition leading to amputations. 

Although this disease cannot be cured, it often can be managed with proper medical care, diet, and regular exercise. Diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death in the US. It is a serious disease, but it is controllable. The good news is that diabetes prevention is proven, possible, and powerful. 

Treatment need not significantly impair normal activities if sufficient patient training, awareness, appropriate care, discipline in testing and dosing of insulin is taken. 

Treatment for the disease also includes checking blood sugar levels to make sure that the disease is under control. Treatment usually includes eating healthy foods and spreading carbohydrates throughout the day, exercising regularly, checking your blood sugar levels often, and possibly taking medicine.

And most of all this disease shouldn't take all the fun out of shopping, cooking and dining. Diabetes treatment plans consist of a healthy diet, exercise, medications and sleep. 

Diabetes supplements can help you fight the effects of diabetes and help you to keep your blood sugar levels stabilized. Many people find natural diabetic supplements a valuable aid in improving their control of Type 2 Diabetes.

Sharyce Arciaga
http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/supplements-supporting-diabetes-723892.html

Men with diabetes face much more several health concerns, that including increased risk of heart attacks and strokes and impotence (not being able to having or keep an erection though).

Above the age of 50 the likelihood of having other difficulties with an erection occurs in an approximately 50-60% of men with the problem of diabetes.  In reality  men over 70, 90% have erectile dysfunction problems so far .

Diagnosed and controlled  diabetes can be effectively managed to minimise its impact on your health and well being. You can  even prevent or delay diabetes complications those like damage to eye sight and nerve damage to the fingers and toes.  However many men do not realise  just they suffer from the disease.  Around one third of the men population with diabetes are not aware of their
illness.

Diabetes Signs and other Symptoms

If you find yourself with any of these following symptoms, it is really important  that you visit your doctor or health practitioner and get tested for diabetes problem:

â?¢  feeling tired often
â?¢  frequent urination (specially at night)
â?¢  being very thirsty most of time
â?¢  weight loss problems
â?¢  blurry eyesight problems
â?¢  recurring skin, other gum, or bladder infections
â?¢  sores that heal comparatively slowly
â?¢  dry, and itchy skin
â?¢  loss of feeling or tingling in that your feet

Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

There are few other different kinds of diabetes:

â?¢ Type 1 diabetes is generally first diagnosed in children, teenagers, or young adults.
â?¢ Type 2 diabetes is the other most common form of diabetes. People can even develop it at any age, but it is often diagnosed in the  later life and is in much more common found in men who are over weight and do little exercise.

What is Diabetes?

Most of the food that we eat is turned into glucose (sugar) for our bodies to use for energy production . The pancreas makes insulin that  which helps sugar get right into the cells. When you have diabetes problems then your body either doesnâ??t make enough insulin or just canâ??t use the insulin it does to make. This causes sugar to build up in your blood then. Over the years  high blood sugar leads to other  problems like heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, nerve problems, gum infections, and amputations problem.

Diabetes-Related Problems in Men

Men with diabetes suffer more from some  other diabetes-related health problems than women. The American Diabetes Association reports that here:
â?¢ In people who develop diabetes before the age of 30 in context  men develop retinopathy (a vision disorder that can lead to  blindness problems ) more quickly than women in either .

â?¢ Having the major symptoms of peripheral vascular disease (pain in the thigh, calf, or buttocks during exercise) is linked to a two- to three-fold increased risk of the coronary heart disease, stroke, or cardiac failure in men with diabetes problems.
â?¢ Amputation rates from diabetes-related problems that are 1.4 to 2.7 times higher in men than women with diabetes.

dr rony
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/diabetes-risk-for-men-722820.html

Copyright (c) 2009 Katie Kelley

Scientists have recently made a link between the onset of childhood diabetes and development of an eating disorder later in life. Researchers from the Medical College of Georgia's Prevention Institute are studying the potential link as to the causes behind the connection including prescription drug treatments.

With funding from The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and assistance from Harvard and Emory Universities, researchers will follow 90 diabetic children between the ages of 10 to 17. The researchers will attempt to determine the causes of the over-eating disorder as well as to follow eating patterns, behaviors and "psychological adjustment," according to a Science Daily news article.

Childhood Diabetes

According to the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), which is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), type 1 diabetes may be increasing in children and many additional cases of type 2 diabetes are also being reported among children and adolescents.

Additionally, "diabetes is one of the most common diseases in school-aged children" and the National Diabetes Fact Sheet reports that "about 186,300 young people in the U.S. under age 20 had diabetes in 2007." It is imperative that individuals who are responsible for children with diabetes know and learn the signs of the condition as well as treatment options. The following are signs and symptoms of type 1 and type 2 childhood diabetes, according to the Mayo Clinic:

* increased thirst

* frequent urination

* extreme hunger

* weight loss

* blurred vision

* slow-healing sores

* frequent infections

* fatigue

Diabetic Drug Risks

While scientists continue to determine as to whether or not the children's diabetic medication is causing the eating disorder side effect, there have, unfortunately, been additional drugs that have been discovered to have damaging risks associated with consumption. For example, a diabetes drug known as Avandia, which was released in May 1999 from GlaxoSmithKline.

Avandia belongs to a new class of type 2 diabetes drugs known as thiazolidinediones. Officials have been investigating the drug and those from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after an article in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that the drug was causing unintended and severe side effects among patients.

Most recently the drug has been subject to another study that was published in a recent issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal in which researchers from the University of East Anglia in Norwich found a strong link to the development of bone fractures and loss of bone density among women.

The research being studied also reinforces the estimated risks commonly attributed to prescription drugs including Avandia. Patients who have suffered from the drug's side effects are encouraged to locate an Avandia attorney to learn how to develop an Avandia class action lawsuit in which monetary compensation may be awarded to a victim of the drug's dangers.

Katie Kelley
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/study-finds-children-with-diabetes-more-likely-to-develop-eating-disorder-712796.html

A well-planned gestational diabetes diet can reverse the symptoms of gestational diabetes that you are exhibiting and enable you to enjoy a healthy delivery. Gestational diabetes develops in otherwise diabetes-free women, normally in the 24th to 28th weeks of their pregnancies.

As with Type 2 diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes can be effectively controlled in most cases, and even reversed completely in many cases, through implementing a gestational diabetes diet and getting daily physical exercise. Remember, what causes diabetes mellitus is poor dieting and sedentary living year after year.

Gestational diabetes symptoms often go unnoticed or are not thought to be unusual given that the individual is pregnant. Most frequently, gestational diabetes symptoms include being very thirsty and having to pee many times every day. Many women just consider this a natural part of pregnancy and pay it no mind. However, if the thirst is a result of elevated blood-glucose levels, then the developing baby is put at risk if the symptoms are not controlled.

The excess glucose in the mother’s bloodstream can pass through the placental wall and enter into the developing baby. Glucose in excess of what is required to fuel the baby’s development is then are stored as fat and can cause macrosomia (fat baby syndrome). Macrosomia can cause a number of health issues including:

• Problems with delivery because the baby is too large;
• A slowed metabolism and a propensity for the development of pancreatic issues in the baby;
• Getting off to a start in life carrying extra weight and being prone to become overweight and/or obese;
• More…

The gestational diabetes diet is just the same as a Type 2 diabetes diet and should be based as follows:

• Water foods are the main concentration. That means plants: vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes;
• Only low-fat and non-fat dairy products;
• Only the leanest cuts of meat with all excess fat trimmed;
• Avoid saturated fats;
• Strongly avoid Trans fats;
• Avoid alcohol:
• Avoid fast foods and processed foods;
• Avoid microwave foods and high-sugar foods;
• Avoid high-sodium foods;
• Drink plenty of fresh water every day;
• Eat 5 or 6 small meals every day – not just 1 or 2 large meals;
• Eat your meals at the same times every day;

In addition to planning and employing your healthy gestational diabetes diet, you also need to do the following:

• Talk to your doctor and have him run blood work to determine if you have gestational diabetes for sure;
• Exercise for 20 or 30 minutes every day – not like a maniac, just enough to get your heart pumping strong;
• Check your blood sugar often at home with a home glucose monitor. The more often the better;
• Resist your urges for ice cream and other naughty snacks – even though you’re pregnant. Being pregnant is the most important time to ensure that everything you eat is optimally healthful!
• Develop and practice gentle techniques for stress management like meditation, Yoga and Pilates. Stress is your enemy.

Following a gestational diabetes diet, exercising every day and effectively managing your stress will ensure that your pregnancy is trouble-free and that you baby gets off to a healthy head-start in life. Begin today!

Steven R Arnold
http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/gestational-diabetes-diet-how-to-reverse-gestational-diabetes-mellitus-715271.html

Healthily eating and regular exercise greatly reduces your risk of developing the signs of diabetes, regardless of the diabetes types in question. The symptoms of diabetes are always improved through consumption of nutritious, water-rich food and daily physical activity.

What causes diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus type II is caused by inadequate nutrition, overconsumption of high-fat foods, lacking exercise standards and a basic misrepresentation of health over years. Diabetes type 2 does not just happen overnight. In most instances, diabetes mellitus type 2 and gestational diabetes are the results of year after year of self-neglect. The facts are that we eat terribly-inefficient foods and we have become a physically inactive society. In fact, over one quarter of all Americans are labeled as completely sedentary.

What are the signs of diabetes?

The signs or symptoms of diabetes are as follows:

• Being constantly thirsty;
• Having to urinate far too often;
• Never-ending hunger accompanied by unintentional weight loss;
• Dry skin and/or itchy skin;
• Tingling extremities;
• “Velvet-like” skin on your neck or underarms;
• Weakness and becoming easily fatigued;
• Being grouchy or irritable for no good reasons;
• Having difficulties waking from sleep;
• Bedwetting;
• Headaches;
• Nausea and/or vomiting;
• Blurry vision;
• Inability to focus mentally;
• More…

If you ignore the signs of diabetes for long enough and actually develop Type 2 diabetes mellitus, then you are going to need to seek medical assistance and drastically change your lifestyle. It is far better to manage the symptoms of diabetes before you ever have to. Remember that the things that are the causes of diabetes are the same as what you need to reverse the symptoms of diabetes. They are:

• A diet that is mainly comprised of water-rich food sources – i.e. plants;
• Proper eating habits including portion sizes, proper carbohydrate levels and preset eating times;
• Daily physical activity that gets your heart pumping for at least 20 minutes or so;
• A stress management program that you employ constantly;
• Learning to see food as fuel instead of convenient pleasure;

Always remember that the signs of diabetes are able to be spotted, dealt with and reversed – at least in the vast majority of cases. If you feel that you may exhibiting any of the symptoms of diabetes, then schedule a visit with your physician and discuss them with him or her.

Symptoms and signs of diabetes left untreated for extended time periods can lead to:

• Blindness;
• Kidney failure;
• Amputation of extremities;
• Nerve damage throughout the body;
• Heart disease;
• Strokes;
• Coma;
• Premature death;

Take the signs of diabetes seriously and deal with them expeditiously. Your health is your own responsibility and only you can know for sure how you are feeling. A water-rich diet and daily exercise are the keys to the prevention of diabetes mellitus Type 2.

Steven R Arnold
http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/signs-of-diabetes-examining-the-causes-of-diabetes-715289.html