Guest Post - Diabetes

There are so many different ways to be frugal with our money but one of the most effective ways to do so is preventive health care.  It costs a lot of $ when you are sick…having a child who is immune suppressed reminds me of this on a daily basis.  I was delighted that Kristina Ridley offered to write a guest post for my blog about living with diabetes.  I am not a doctor nor am I dispensing any medical advice by posting this article.  I am someone whose mother-in-law passed away from complications due to her diabetes but have no other knowledge about this disease and welcome learning from others.   Thank you, Kristina for writing the guest post.  If you have specific questions for Kristina I am sure she will be delighted to answer them just head over HERE to her blog.

Treating Diabetes with Glucose Level Control

One of the main parts of the body that is affected by Type 2 diabetes is the pancreas. Many people eat foods that contain high doses of sugar, which turns into glucose in the blood stream. When glucose enters the blood cells, insulin is released by the pancreas so that the glucose becomes a type of fuel for the body to run on. For a person who is living with Type 2 diabetes, all of this makes it difficult for the body to produce the insulin it needs and to use what little is produced. At this point, there is plenty of glucose to be used as fuel for the body, but the cells are not able to find it.

The American Diabetes Association has become very important when it comes to gathering critical information about this medical condition. With approximately 23.6 million citizens living with diabetes, America is an extremely unhealthy country. Over 90% of all patients with diabetes have Type 2. Most diabetics tend to be overweight and have relatives with the same condition. Too much glucose can cause serious, irreparable damage to internal organs and to the overall nervous system.

Living with Diabetes

Healthy living can be the best way to treat Type 2 diabetes. The things that healthy people do on a regular basis can have a huge effect on diabetics. This includes actions that are as simple as exercising and eating good, healthy foods.

Those who have diabetes may be able to avoid health complications by doing their best to keep the glucose levels in their blood within the recommended range. One of the most common ways to check blood glucose is to use a finger prick test. However, many physicians have indicated that these tests are as sufficient for tracking glucose fluctuations over time as the HbA1c test.

The percentage of glycated hemoglobin in the blood is gauged by the HbA1c test and can show when glucose levels are particularly high. Tests have shown that diabetics should usually maintain less than a 7% level according to the A1c. According to the CDC, the risks of many types of diseases would reduce by up to 40% if people would reduce their a1c levels to 7 percent.

Being Overly Controlled

Recently, there have been medical studies that seem to indicate that maintaining A1c levels below 7% may be a bad idea after all.

One of these studies, conducted at the Lancet and Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, has found that people who have median levels may be at a far greater risk of death, especially for those taking insulin. However, other tests have indicated that A1c levels of 7 percent is still perfectly healthy. Matt Davies, An accredited Endocrinologist, has stated that maintaining a 7% A1c level is healthy according to recent studies, but that physicians should always take the individual patient's history into account prior to planning treatment.

About the Author - Kristina Ridley writes for the www.diabetesmeters.org  blog , her personal hobby blog focused on healthy eating and tips to measure blood glucose levels at home to help people understand early diabetes symptoms.