Type 2 Diabetes and your health: What is Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a disease where the pancreas does produce some insulin but not enough to support the body's needs (or the body cannot make proper use of the insulin). Type 2 diabetes is also known as non-insulin dependent diabetes. Type 2 diabetes can afflict adults and children.

Type 2 diabetes is more common that Type 1 diabetes. In Type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks the cells (located in the pancreas) that produce insulin. This causes the person to suffer from a deficiency of insulin thus requiring insulin injections. According to the American Diabetes Association, most cases of Type 2 diabetes are preceded by the person suffering from a condition that has been dubbed "pre-diabetes".

Pre-diabetes is a condition in which a person's blood sugar level is elevated above what is considered normal but not yet high enough to be officially classified as Type 2 diabetes. Fortunately, proper management of pre-diabetes can help prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes. At the time of this writing, approximately 1 out of 5 Americans are affected by pre-diabetes and are at serious risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Carbohydrates (starches and sugars) are all broken down into glucose which is simple blood sugar. Insulin is released from the pancreas to escort the sugar in your blood to the cells throughout your body. With Type 2 diabetes, the body does not have enough insulin and excess sugar remains in the blood. This excess sugar can damage tissues and lead to complications such as atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and possibly blindness (due to damage done to small blood vessels in the eyes). Atherosclerosis can lead to heart disease and the risk of a heart attack.

Carbs that have less of an effect on insulin levels are healthier than ones that cause insulin levels to rise rapidly. Many foods that are high in fiber such as fruits, vegetables, and legumes (ex., beans) tend to effect insulin levels more favorably. The glycemic index was created specifically to measure this effect among foods. Foods with a high glycemic index number cause insulin levels to rise quickly while foods with a low number help keep insulin levels under control (surprisingly, dark chocolate is relatively low on the glycemic index). Controlling insulin levels is vital to both preventing Type 2 diabetes and managing the disease if it does occur.

African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Native-Americans have higher rates of Type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic White Americans. People who are overweight or obese are also at a greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, having a family member with the disease also increases your risk.

Some of the symptoms of the disease may include excessive thirst, excessive urination, excessive hunger, and excessive fatique. If you have any of these possible symptoms, please see your doctor immediately for an evaluation. On a personal note, I can verify that Type 2 Diabetes is nothing to take lightly. Several members of my own family have dealt with this disease. For more information about Type 2 diabetes, its health risks, symptoms, and treatment, you can visit the American Diabetes Association website or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.







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Dark Chocolate can lower blood pressure and has other health benefits

Chocolate is one of our biggest food cravings. We give chocolate to our loved ones as gifts and many of us enjoy milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate, ok let me stop because I'm making myself hungry. Unfortunately, chocolate has not exactly gained a reputation as a health food.

Chocolate is relatively high in calories due to its high fat content. This has helped make chocolate one of our sweetest forbidden pleasures. Well, cheer up because fortunately new research into the possible health benefits of chocolate and in particular dark chocolate give us reason to look at chocolate in a new light.

According to researchers in Germany, dark chocolate may be able to lower high blood pressure. The researchers also stated that it only takes small amounts of dark chocolate to obtain this potential health benefit. This is definitely good news for all dark chocolate lovers who may have high blood pressure (hypertension) and/or want to avoid being overweight.

While the health benefits of dark chocolate are encouraging, milk chocolate and white chocolate do not have the same health benefits as dark chocolate. A major reason for this is the fact that dark chocolate (defined as having a cocoa content of 65% or higher) is higher in beneficial compounds called flavonoids. Researchers believe that flavonoids may be an important factor in giving dark chocolate its positive effect on blood pressure.

Flavonoids are beneficial compounds that are exist naturally in many plants. Flavonoids are a component of foods such as legumes, fruit, chocolate, tea (all varieties), honey, and red wine. The high flavonoid content in dark chocolate can help protect your skin from sun damage that results from exposure to UV radiation.

Dark chocolate has been shown to have a positive effect on LDL cholesterol (this is the cholesterol that is commonly referred to as bad cholesterol). This effect was verified by a Penn State led study which focused on LDL cholesterol’s vulnerability to oxidation.

An additional benefit of dark chocolate is its low glycemic index score. The glycemic index measures a carbohydrate's ability to raise insulin levels after it is consumed. A low score means a minimal effect on raising insulin levels. This could be of benefit to people with type 2 diabetes and others who need to monitor their blood sugar levels.

When eaten in small amounts (don't forget about the high fat content), dark chocolate can be of potential benefit to your cardiovascular system and heart. So next time you eat a small portion of a rich, delicious bar of dark chocolate, you don't have to feel so guilty. How sweet is that?







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Health care and affordable health insurance crisis in America: Part 3

There are many different philosophies on how to fix the nation's health care system. Viewpoints range from privatizing health care to creating a nationalized system like many of the other countries in the industrialized world. One of the most overlooked ways to lower medical care costs is to reduce the incidence of disease by promoting the benefits of exercise and a healthy diet.

Granted, there are some disease risk factors that are harder to influence such as genetics. However, there are many disease risk factors that are much easier for us to control such as a lack of a healthy diet, lack of exercise, stress, and unhealthy habits such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, etc. By decreasing these risk factors, the health, quality of life, and even the finances of millions of Americans can be improved.

The principle of supply and demand comes into play. The number of doctors in this country is decreasing at a time when the number of patients will continue to increase. Exercise and a healthy diet can reduce the incidence of many diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Less disease and medical conditions (with the help of exercise and a healthy diet) means fewer trips to the doctor or hospital which means less demand placed on doctors and hospitals for time and resources which could eventually help lower health insurance premiums and make affordable health insurance a reality for millions of Americans.

Government (federal, state, and local), businesses, and individual people should devote more time and money toward the prevention and reduction of disease causing factors. One of the easiest and simplest ways to do this is to focus less on political debates and instead focus more on helping the public to improve their health through a healthy diet and exercise. Think of all of the financial burden that could be lifted off of the country's economy and off of all of us as individuals.

Related Posts:
Health care and affordable health insurance crisis in America: Part 1
Health care and affordable health insurance crisis in America: Part 2







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