Diabetics know that in order to control this disease, it requires consistent efforts. Eating healthy, exercising regularly and monitoring blood sugar levels are all important aspects in order to prevent serious complications or even death. Diabetes is a chronic and progressive disease. Complications can have a devastating impact on someone’s health as the disease progresses, often resulting in blindness, amputation and lengthy dialysis treatments.
Diabetes is caused primarily by dysfunction of the pancreas and is characterized by impaired carbohydrate metabolism due to inadequate insulin action or secretion. It has become an epidemic in North America. It is increasing in alarming rates much faster than expected. The World Health Organization predicted an increase of only 39% from 2000 to 2030. However, recent results show that nearly one in 10 people have the disease today. As people become more obese through diets high in fat and calories and indulging in a more sedentary lifestyle in front of the TV or computer screen, diabetes will continue to become a major health concern.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been treating diabetes through acupuncture for thousands of years. The earliest known source of acupuncture information originated in China in the second century BC. Early European reports came from Jesuit missionaries in 16th and 17th centuries. In the United States, accounts of acupuncture began in medical literature in the mid-1800’s. Treating diabetes through acupuncture is, therefore, not new.
A revolutionary treatment, recently introduced in China, is based on the same principles as acupuncture. There are 12 main meridians throughout the body, known as qi (pronounced chee). Each meridian has an access point on the surface of the skin. By stimulating these points with acupuncture needles performed by a certified specialist, TCM is able to produce healing results in a relatively short time. Acupuncture points have been defined and standardized by the World Health Organization.
A new product was developed in China that simulates acupuncture, without actually penetrating the skin. The product has been selling in China for approximately 6 years with amazing results. An independent medical laboratory conducted tests on over 100,000 patients and reports a success rate of 93% in blood sugar reduction.
The KB-100 Diabetes Therapy Instrument works by emitting a low voltage, high energy impulse which is composed of light, magnetics and an electrical charge. By placing the impulse on the specific acupuncture point on the sole of the foot, the energy travels through the meridian channel and impacts the corresponding insulin receptors. The treatment only takes 3 minutes per day in your own home. It is safe, easy to operate and has no adverse effects on skin tissue. There is only a slight tingling sensation, which can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the impulse strength to suit your comfort level.
Not only can this new alternative medicine reduce blood sugar levels, it also has a positive effect on other complications caused by diabetes. Complications such as insomnia, nerve damage resulting in loss of feeling, tissue damage and constipation can also be treated with the same device.Diabetic peripheral nerve damage must be carefully monitored. Because of the loss of feeling, injuries can occur which will result in ulcers that do not heal and cannot be treated with medicine. The ulcer grows resulting in amputation of the foot. The KB-100 Diabetes Therapy Instrument is able to restore feeling and also has positive results on the ulcer gradually over time.
For more information on diabetes and acupuncture:
http://www.amcollege.edu/diabeticacupuncture.htm
For more information about the KB-100 Diabetic Therapy Instrument:
http://www.q-life.ca
By: Erika Martlew
Diabetes – How to Check Blood Sugar Level Yourself
April 28th, 2010 by admin No comments »
Diabetes is one of the most prevailing diseases now a day. Population of diabetic patients is increasingly dramatically since last few years. So it is very important to keep a check on diabetes. In this concern you yourself play a big role in managing your diabetes. First, you need to know how diabetes affects your body.
To Check your blood sugar regularly tells you whether your lifestyle, your physical activity, meal plans, and medicines doing a good job controlling your diabetes.
There are two easy methods to test your blood sugar level yourself. They take less than two minutes.
Finger-stick method Noninvasive method
FINGER-STICK METHOD
Most equipment for checking blood sugar level involves pricking your finger with a tiny needle (lancet) to draw a drop of blood. Some draw the blood from your forearm. For reading your blood sugar level, you can use a blood glucose meter that will show the number on its screen.
There are many types of meters. Your doctor can help you choose one and show you how to use it. If you still have questions, check the instructions that came with your meter. There are many Newer options also available in the market rather than a lancet for creating the tiny hole needed to draw the blood from the finger like they test blood from other less sensitive parts of the body than the fingertips.
These new devices draw blood in ways similar to the finger-stick method.
To check your diabetes through finger stick method, follow these simple steps:
Step 1 – Wash your hands with warm water and dry them well with a clean towel. You can also use an alcohol wipe to clean the finger that you’ll draw blood from.
Hold your hand below your waist for a minute or so. This helps blood pool in the finger, making it easier to get enough blood for the test.
Step 2 – After preparing your lancet and glucose meter, have a clean test strip ready. Stick the side of your fingertip with the lancet. There are many kinds of lancets and meters. Some draw blood from your forearm. Your lancet and meter may not look like the one in this photo.
Step 3 -Put a drop of blood on the test strip.
Step 4 -To get your results, follow the directions that came with your blood sugar meter. Some meters can give results in a few minutes.
Step 5 -Write down the results and the time you did the test.
Mostly doctors will use these records to see how well you’re managing your blood sugar level.
NON-INVASIVE METHOD
Any other blood sugar testing tool does not draw blood. You wear it on your wrist like a watch and it takes the reading through your skin. It uses a slight electrical current to pull fluid through the skin and into the machine, where it measures the sugar level.
The watch can’t replace your regular finger-stick test. But the watch lets you see trends in how your blood sugar changes over the course of the day.There are some guidelines to check your diabetes with noninvasive method.
Some general guidelines for checking your blood sugar level are given as below
Wear the device for a three-hour warm-up before taking a reading. During this time, don’t bathe or swim. Adjust the device by entering a blood sugar measurement that you’ve gotten by the finger-stick method every time you use the watch. The device will automatically take readings every 20 minutes for up to 12 hours. It can be programmed to sound an alarm if your blood sugar reaches dangerously high or low levels.
By: Jyoti Mali
Chromium Picolinate For Diabetes
April 27th, 2010 by admin No comments »
Diabetes and blood sugar levels can be such a huge challenge to many people with the disease and their families, so when a little extra help is available they need to know about it.
Chromium picolinate is a nutritional supplement that can help control diabetes. As the name suggests, it is a combination of two different substances: chromium and picolinate. Chromium is a mineral that helps to increase the efficiency of insulin. Insulin being the hormone that controls blood glucose or blood sugar levels. Picolinate is an amino acid derivative that allows the body to use chromium much more readily.
Scientists has known for a long time that chromium is a vital nutrient, but not until chromium was combined with picolinate was a truly effective way of providing supplemental chromium developed. In the body, chromium ( a mineral) takes the form of an ion, which is a particle with an electrical charge. This charge is repelled by the body’s cells, making it difficult for the chromium to enter the cells. That’s where the picolinate comes in, it is a chelator, a substance that can bind with an ion and neutralize its charge. The body’s cells then are able to accept the chromium.
Chromium deficiency has been linked to diabetes. Studies have found chromium supplementation to be helpful for people with type 1 and type 11 diabetes, as well as for women with diabetes that occurs during pregnancy (gestational diabetes).
What is also interesting is the shape of individual insulin molecules. It is important to the hormone’s effectiveness. If the molecules maintain their proper shape, the insulin can effectively transport glucose into the cells, where it is needed. Without chromium, insulin molecules become misshapen, which can leave them unable to effectively transport glucose. Without an effective transportation system, glucose builds up in the bloodstream, starting a chain reaction that eventually leads to diabetes.
Research has been conducted on individuals with a number of different health problems, including diabetes and it shows that most people with diabetes experience a decline in blood glucose levels after they start taking daily chromium picolinate supplements. It is believed that chromium picolinate may be able to help many people with diabetes (especially type 11 diabetes) to control their blood sugar levels. This of course would allow them to cut back on their intake of insulin and other drugs, likely resulting in fewer side effects. Since improving the action of insulin also helps the body to use fat as a fuel, chromium picolinate can help reduce obesity. This means that it may, hopefully, enable some people with type 11 diabetes to lose enough weight to stop taking drugs entirely.
Chromium helps with sweet cravings which helps with weight loss and management.
However, it is not recommended that people with diabetes simply go out and buy chromium picolinate supplements and start taking it. Anyone interested in using chromium picolinate supplements should first seek the advice of a qualified health care provider, preferably a nutritionally oriented physician who has experience in this area.
Blood sugar levels must be monitored carefully and the appropriate dosages of insulin or other drugs adjusted as needed in response. A potentially dangerous insulin reaction may occur as a result of too little glucose in the blood.
By: Geneda Gilbert
