As we get older our bodies change. Our hormonal system produces less of the hormones than it did in our teens or twenties. Our metabolism, in most cases, slow down. Our body and its defenses become more vulnerable to outside stresses. But, during this time in life, our stresses seem to grow exponentially. We are going place with our careers. We have families. These families have demands on us physically and psychologically. Homes, automobiles, vacations, as well as many other thing s add to the stress load. This creates a downward spiral for our health. That is, unless we take measures to counteract the stresses that affect us daily.
We must eat healthy. We must supplement our diet with vitamins, minerals, and herbals which are appropriate for our age and our current health and stress situations. We must somehow learn to manage our stress. And we must exercise to keep our bodies healthy and vital. Doing theses things will help us manage stress and keep us younger. These will help cancel the negative effects on our bodies, caused by stress.
Lets see how this affects a person afflicted with diabetes, in particular. We are going to narrow it down to the exercise factor. We will even narrow it more to just weight training. Everyone knows, or is in denial, that exercise can only be beneficial in diabetes care. The importance of weight training has not been emphasized enough to the diabetic world. Let us address this.
As we get older, our bodies change, unless we act to prevent that change. After the age of 30 years, our body adds one pound of fat each year. Not only that, but we lose about one-half pound of lean tissue mass (muscle ) each year. Add these up and we gain 15 pounds of fat every 10 years. This is preventable. This is the reason for weight training.
A study at the University of Southern California was conducted on teens who were at high risk for type II diabetes. The study was conducted for a sixteen week period. They were divided into two groups. Group A had weight training twice a week for the test period. Group B had no changes to their lifestyle. All of the subjects were overweight and had symptoms of insulin resistance. The results are rather dramatic. At the end of the study, Group A had increased insulin sensitivity by 45%. Group B had a 1% decrease in insulin sensitivity.
Muscle is a major factor in clearance of circulating blood glucose. As lean body mass increases, greater amounts of blood glucose are cleared from the blood. Muscle tissue takes in the blood glucose and stores it as glycogen. And even cooler, the greater the proportion of muscle mass to fat, the more calories are burned at rest. And weight training further increases metabolism, even after working out.
How does one accomplished this superb state of being? It is achieved by incorporating a weight training program into your lifestyle. The American Diabetes Association suggests a minimum of weight training twice a week. Target at least two major muscle groups. Perform 8 to 12 repetitions per set, and 4 to 6 sets per muscle group. There are tons of information available on the subject. All the muscle magazines have an ongoing section for beginners. Or you can find information on the internet. For your sake do it, and do it now. It can only help.
Remember, if you have diabetes, Eat a snack prior to workings out. Hydrate during and after working out. Check your blood sugar level before and after working out to prevent any episodes of hypoglycemia.
In this Article I will tell you in detail what are the primary causes of Diabetes.
The two major causes of diabetes is the body’s malfunction to produce enough of the insulin hormone, and secondly the body develops a resistance to insulin.
• Type 1 diabetes is caused due to decrease in insulin production.
• Type 2 diabetes is caused due to resistance of insulin in peripheral tissues.
• In juvenile diabetes, the cause might perhaps be a lack of vitamin D.
Causes of diabetes -
Diabetes mellitus occurs when the pancreas does not create adequate or any of the hormone insulin, or when the insulin produced does not work proficiently. Thus, this causes the level of glucose in the blood to be higher than standard levels
1. In Type 1 diabetes, the cells in the pancreas that are responsible to make insulin are attacked and destroyed by the body’s own immune structure, causing a severe lack of insulin. It is not exactly clear why this occurs, but probable triggers of this reaction could be -
• infection with a specific virus or bacteria; • exposure to food-borne chemical toxins or
However, these are only supposition, and are yet to be confirmed.
Type 1 diabetes generally develops in children, teenagers or young adults. Most of the doctors and scientists believe this is a genetically caused condition and is not related to lifestyle habits.
Risk factors for developing Type 1 Diabetes include:
1. Family history - a child that has a parent or sibling with type 1 diabetes has a 2-6% possibility of developing the disease.
2. Autoimmune disorders - such as thyroid disease and celiac disease, increases the danger of type 1 diabetes.
3. Early stoppage of breastfeeding and/or exposure to cow’s milk - breastfeeding an infant for at least three months reducess the risk of type 1 diabetes. Some studies also show that exposure to cow’s milk or cow’s milk-based formula before one year of age may raise diabetes danger.
4. Ethnicity - Americans, Caucasians have a larger danger of type 1 diabetes as compared to African-Americans, Asian Americans, Latin Americans.
5. The past of childhood virus diseases
2. Type 2 diabetes is supposed to develop when:
• the receptors on the human cells in the body that react to the action of insulin drop short of being stimulated by it – also called as insulin resistance. In response to this, more insulin may be developed, and this over-production exhausts the insulin-manufacturing cells in the pancreas;
• There is just inadequate insulin available in the body and
• The insulin that is available may be abnormal and therefore doesn’t function correctly.
The following risk factors increase the chances of developing Type 2 diabetes:
• growing age
• if it runs in the family, i.e. genetic
• obesity
• high blood pressure
• diet which is high in fat and low in fibre
• Sedentary lifestyle with no or very less physical movement.
• Any illness or disease that damages the pancreas and affects its capability to create insulin e.g. pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and thyrotoxicosis (a poisonous situation that results from an overactive thyroid gland).
• Hormone treatment, such as growth hormone, thyroid hormone and adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH).
What not causes Diabetes?
It is also essential to be alert of the various myths that have arisen about the causes of diabetes over time.
Eating sweets, excess sugar or the wrong kind of food (fried and fatty food) does not cause diabetes but this type of a diet may cause obesity, and overweight people are usually prone to developing Type 2 diabetes. So, it is not the food, but the effect of food that may cause diabetes. So, if you like eating and are a foodoholic, make sure to burn out the extra calories that go on to make the flab.
Stress is not responsible to cause diabetes, while it may be a cause for the body turning on itself as in the case of Type 1 diabetes. Stress, however does absolutely make the symptoms worse for those who already have diabetes.
People with diabetes should avoid sugar and sweets. Sugar and sweets increase the blood glucose, but people with diabetes can securely eat sugar as part of their meal plan. Diabetes is not transmissible. A person with diabetes cannot spread it on to anyone else.
The signs and symptoms of diabetes can be reversed!
In the US, there are over 20 million people with diabetes, equal to 7% of the population. With the right diet, the signs and symptoms of diabetes can be reversed. Conventional medical wisdom used to be that in cases of diabetes, insulin production has become permanently dysfunctional, but it is possible to repair insulin function and reverse type 2 diabetes. With the right diet, you can control your blood sugar three times more effectively than with the standard dietary regimen for people with diabetes. By eating vegetables, whole grains, legumes and fruits, you can improve how your body responds to insulin and reverse the symptoms.
High-Risk and Low-Risk Foods
Findings from two Harvard studies of more than 85,000 women and 42,000 men over 18 years, show red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, while magnesium consumption (in whole grains, green leafy vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds) is associated with reduced risk. Whole grains are a rich source of bran, fiber, minerals and vitamins. Those with the highest intake of whole grains show lower concentrations of homocystine, insulin and cholesterol. And people who eat the most white bread, cookies and cakes have the highest rates, while the fiber in whole grains helps ward off diabetes by preventing insulin resistance.
Sources: Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes by Neal Barnard, MD, President of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 2007. Also American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2006; Diabetes Care, Jan. 2004, as reported in Nutrition Hints by Dr. Betty Kamen, PhD, www.bettykamen.com
