Are You at Risk for Diabetes?Written by Renee Kennedy
Diabetes is a disease where body cannot properly produce or use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that turns foods you eat into energy. If your body cannot turn food into energy, not only will your cells be starved for energy, you will also build up glucose (sugar) in your blood. This will lead you to have "high blood glucose levels." Over years, high blood glucose level can damage major organs like your heart, eyes, and kidneys.Types of Diabetes: Type 1 Diabetes is caused by a total lack of insulin that, in turn, produces high blood glucose levels. Type 1 is most often is seen in children, but can develop in adults. If you have Type 1, your health care provider might recommend scheduled, nutritious meals, exercise, medication, and frequent blood sugar level tests. Type 2 Diabetes occurs when body does not produce enough insulin or cannot properly use insulin. This is most common type. The treatment may be similar to Type 1. Pre Diabetes or Borderline Diabetes may occur before a Type 2 diagnosis. Blood glucose levels will be higher than normal. Good nutrition and exercise may be recommended by your health care provider as treatment for pre diabetes. Even a slightly high blood sugar level is insidious and could affect major organs over time. Gestational Diabetes occurs in pregnant women that have high blood glucose levels. This type of Diabetes can harm both Mother and baby. If you have Gestational Diabetes, your health care provider may prescribe meal plans, exercise, daily testing and medicine. Risk Factors: The exact causes of Diabetes are still unknown. However, heredity, obesity and lack of exercise may play a role. Here are some general risk factors:
| | The Skinny on CholesterolWritten by Thomas M. Manger, MD, PhD
There is always a fair amount of controversy surrounding cholesterol. It's in news, in our diets, and in our bodies. Let's start with some background.Cholesterol is a molecule that is in "sterol" family. This family of chemicals are building blocks for many important body compounds, including sex hormones (testosterone and estrogen), stress hormones (cortisol and cortisone), bile acids that are used in digestion, vitamin D, and other vital component of your cells' membranes. Your liver makes as much cholesterol as your body requires, and estimates how much to make based on your dietary intake of saturated fats (among other cues). As you can see, cholesterol is truly a vital need for normal body function and physiology. However, problems arise when liver makes too much cholesterol. Cholesterol is also one of components of athersclerosis. These are plaques and deposits that develop in arteries throughout body and can form in arteries that feed heart, brain, and limbs. If plaques become too large or thick, they lead to chest pain ("angina") and heart attacks, stroke, and poor circulation. In United States, about 8 out of 10 people die from diseases related to athersclerosis! There other factors that influence your risk for athersclerosis, so don't think cholesterol is only culprit. Smoking is a huge risk, but that is for another time. So Doc, now we know it's bad, what can we do about it? How do we lower our blood cholesterol level? One way to influence your cholesterol level is by limiting amount of saturated fat you eat. Saturated fats, put simply, are those that are solid at room temperature. Examples include butter or margarine, lard, and many animal fats. Contrast these with unsaturated fats which are liquid at room temperature (olive oil, canola oil, and most plant fats). First and foremost, no matter what "diet" you eat, you should strive to keep saturated fats to a minimum. Too many saturated fats will cause your blood cholesterol to rise, putting you at greater risk for athersclerosis.
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