A doctor will always advise a person that has recently been diagnosed with diabetes to keep a careful eye on the condition of their feet. They often do this because the condition of the feet is the most noticeable indication that diabetes complications are setting in and it gives the person a straight forward way to get more involved with their diabetes treatment and care. This article will describe why the feet are important in understanding diabetes and various conditions, like numbness, that may affect the feet as a consequence of diabetes.
Diabetes is a disease that affects the pancreas. It causes the beta cells of the islet cells in the pancreas to be destroyed or malfunction. The primary responsibility of these cells is to produce insulin which is used to regulate the glucose level in the bloodstream. Without insulin the body cannot regulate the glucose and this poses serious consequences to the health if untreated. Commonly, insulin is injected to take over this process and the person has to manually manage the role of blood sugar regulation that most people take for granted.
It is believed that consistently high levels of sugar in the blood lead to a number of complications. In the case of feet, the first complication is that the circulation of blood is impeded. It is thought that high sugar levels in the blood affect the lining of blood vessels making them rough. This allows fatty deposits to stick to the lining and leads to arteriosclerosis. It is harder to push blood round the body and it is generally the outermost parts of the body that suffer the most.
This means the feet are liable to pick up cuts and bruises and take longer to heal from these problems.
Over time, continued poor circulation begins to affect the capillaries or small blood vessels that are responsible for providing blood to the nervous system and extremities of the body. Eventually the poor blood supply will cause the nervous system to malfunction. This is another complication of diabetes and is called diabetic neuropathy.
Diabetic neuropathy is broken down into 4 types, the one that concerns feet is called peripheral neuropathy. The person with peripheral neuropathy will lose sensation in their feet. This might take the form of pin and needles or a numbness. Having poor sensitivity in the feet that are already liable to infections, cuts and bruise makes the feet especially vulnerable.
Thus doctors advise on special care for feet and careful monitoring of their condition. If feet become numb for any time it is recommended to see your doctor. People with diabetes also get their feet checked annually or bi-annually where the doctor will check the sensitivity in their feet. This can also determine if neuropathy in the feet is worsening by comparison to the previous year and thus give an overall indication on how diabetes is affecting the body.
By: Adrian Whittle
Posts Tagged ‘Glucose Level’
Diabetes And Numbness In Feet
March 30th, 2010Diabetes Cure – Methods to Control Diabetes in a Natural Way
March 14th, 2010
Do you know what diabetes is? To better understand diabetes it is good to better understand the process of metabolism. Many things happen when the food is digested. Glucose also termed sugar enters the bloodstream. It acts as the prime fuel for the body. Pancreas is a body organ that is responsible for making insulin. The role of insulin is to help the glucose to enter muscle, fat and liver cells from the blood stream; where it can be used as fuel.
The pancreas of diabetics is not working properly. Either the pancreas does not produce insulin or the cells become unable to use the provided insulin. This situation result in an increase in the level of blood glucose. The increased blood sugar level gives rise to different symptoms of diabetes like increased thirst, excessive urination and unexplained weight loss. Insulin is required by the body for sustaining the glucose level as well as or regulating the metabolism of glucose.
Here are some natural treatments for diabetes cure that help to relieve the diabetic symptoms
Curry leaves helps to sustain the level of glucose. It enables us to bring the level of glucose in blood and urine to the normal level. It is specifically helpful for diabetic patients that have inherited the disease in their genes. Parslane seeds are also helpful for diabetes treatment. It enables to boost the capacity to produce insulin. One teaspoon of the seed should be consumed daily for around three months. Mango leaves also help in controlling diabetes. Soak the leaves in water. Dry it under the sun and then grind it. Mix 1 tablespoon grinded mango leaves in 1 glass water and drink this daily. Bitter gourd is a famous natural diabetic remedy. It carries insulin like ingredient that helps to control the level of sugar in urine and blood. Closely monitor your diet chart. There are plenty of foods nowadays in the market that make the blood sugar situation even worse. The food items made from processed flour are prime example of this. Diabetic Complications
Diabetes if left untreated causes many health related complications like
Heart stroke and attack Damage to the nerves termed diabetic neuropathy Hypoglycemia which is the sudden and drastic reduction in the blood glucose level Damage to the eye nerves and retina termed retinopathy Damage to kidneys also termed nephropathy Damage to blood vessels that result in atherosclerosis
By: Tehmina Mazher
Liquid Diets For Diabetes
March 8th, 2010
Patients suffering from diabetes mellitus need to adopt special diet for proper maintenance of their health. A proper diet at the same time is necessary to sustain a balance in their health. Many diseases are there that do not require any special diet, but diabetes specially does not fall into that category. This is an ailment, which requires particular medication and diet as well. Generally, the nature of diet differs according to the diabetic patterns. Accordingly, diet for diabetes mellitus is not similar with the diet of juvenile diabetes.
Whatever, the type may be, a special diet is extremely needed in this direction from preventing the disease to spread more. Although insulin is a main input requirement in the diabetes mellitus, subsequent liquid diets are also of much importance. In this case, commonly a low carbohydrate diet is preferred. Most of the times, in addition to this, fluid diets are incorporated for being easily digestible. Apart from this, they contain protein. While we are talking about the special diabetic liquid diets, we must look for the objectives of those fluid diets meant for the diabetic patients in general.
The basic objectives of these diabetic diets are more or less same. First and the foremost motive of these diets are to bring the glucose level normal in the blood. Irrespective of type one or type two diabetes, this is a major objective of the liquid diets. In order to keep the glucose level under control, patients are generally given diets comprising low or negligible amount of glucose. Apart from bringing the glucose level under control, diabetic patients also need to maintain the triglyceride and cholesterol level that is altogether known as lipid level. Both of these are required as they help to keep the blood pressure under control. Accordingly, low fat liquid diets, devoid of saturated fats, are prescribed in this connection. So far being overweight is a major problem for the patients of diabetes, and weight control remains a major aim of these diets. Again, to attain this, low fat diets are generally prescribed by the dietitians.
Maintenance of overall health is one major concern while making diets for diabetes. This is one reason that the common factor in all forms of diabetic liquid diets is the saturated fat control and carbohydrate checking. As most of the times, saturated fats are found from animal products, these animal proteins are restricted into the diabetes diets. In addition to this, trans-fatty acids containing hard margarines, fast foods, commercial products are also highly restricted. Generally mustard oil, coconut oil and other animal lever oils are cut from the diet list and instead, olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, and rapeseed oil are preferred.
Fluid diets, such as soups with fiber rich products like whole grains, vegetables should be taken on regular courses. Recently, a whole grain wheat meal is being popular as a perfect diabetic diet. As animal protein is highly restricted, milk and soybeans can be the supplements and they may be taken in the form of liquid diets. All these are low calorie diets and do not exceed more than 500-800 calories a day. However, strict liquid diets are meant for the diabetic obese patients and others suffering from diabetes devoid of obesity can follow a nominal strict diet unlike these liquid ones.
By: Chaim Golz
