Part 2 BUT ALL CAN BE PREVENTABLE. (Continued from Part 1) Although these startling numbers represent undeniable facts and a reflection of the real suffering the majority of diabetics go through BUT THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO BE YOUR FATE.YES YOU CAN PREVENT ALL THESE DEADLY COMPLICATIONS!!!Now I got you thinking!! “ Wait a minute! Are you saying that as a diabetic I have a say in avoiding all of these horrible outcomes?”THIS IS A BIG ABSOLUTELY YES!!! AND WE (health professionals) HAVE THE EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT.If it weren’t the case then you would not be receiving this report and I would not have spent the last 21 years during my pharmacy practice successfully counseling patients on how to do so and would not have spent the last 4 years of my life writing “Lifestyle Makeover for Diabetics” which gives ALL diabetics (newly diagnosed or not) ALL the tools they need to manage ALL aspects of diabetes control, prevent its complications, enjoy and expect a natural lifespan and best quality of life, ALL in a single volume.If diabetes and its deadly complications were not manageable and preventable then the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org), the World Health Organization (www.who.int) and all other governmental health agencies would not be making every effort and take every opportunity with whatever means at their disposal to send the message out that diabetes is manageable and preventable.The next question that could cross your mind would be: “If diabetes and complications are manageable and preventable then why are these devastating statistics so high, why the numbers keep on climbing and what is fueling all this?”Answer: The main culprits fueling this ever growing epidemic and making it worse is none other than EXCESS WEIGHT, INACTIVITY and SMOKING.Yes, people own daily choices, misinformed actions or inactions are the main contributors to this terrible outcome. What people bring home from food stores, what snacks they choose at home or work, how much activity they do during each day or the total lack of it are highly contributing factors. Whether people make any uninformed personal decisions about their medications, whether they appropriately monitor or don’t monitor their vital and crucially important parameters which could lead to blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure levels rising unnoticed and unleashing a fury of deadly complications.Whether diabetics lead highly stressful lives and not do anything about it combined to whether they are smokers and continue to smoke, whether they take no actions or misinformed actions or buy into the “Diet” myth as solutions to their excessive weight, whether they buy into myths that diabetics have to be deprived of sweets for the rest of their lives (as a consequence most lash out and they start overeating sweets and everything else) and whether they act like their health is solely the responsibility of their doctor, ARE ALL PREVENTABLE FATAL FACTORS that each and every diabetic CAN AND MUST change to their favor.During my 20 years in pharmacy practice, I passionately cared, counseled and helped people who are diabetics, have other chronic conditions such as high cholesterol and blood pressure, heart disease and those who are smokers, obese and have excess weight and leading a sedentary lifestyle.Out of all these conditions, diabetics have to worry about many more issues and act on them all at the same time before they can bring diabetes complications to a halt. Not only that but the vast majority of diabetics suffer from any or all of the chronic diseases (mentioned in the previous paragraph) and to add fuel to the fire the overwhelming majority make unfavorable lifestyle choices, which to no one’s surprise worsens diabetes control. These are all complex and numerous issues for any layperson to deal with. The end result brings the sad reality that out of every 10 diabetics ONLY 1 or 2 diabetics have their condition under control. The rest suffer deadly complications, succumb to diabetes and become part of the heart breaking statistics mentioned previously. These were sad findings that I witnessed every day during my pharmacy practice and are confirmed by reliable statistics.I am no bearer of bad news or using scare tactics. I am not here to deliver glooming and bad news either and this is no scare tactic. I am just delivering reality, facts and a lot of hope.Hope? You might ask! How can there be hope after all this bad news? Yes, I am here to tell you that YOU can control diabetes and bring it under control and prevent ALL of its deadly complications. (To be continued in Part 3)For more detailed information on any of these topics log on to: www.LifestyleMakeoverEbook.com and check out these information packed lifesaving book and e-book volumes: LIFESTYLE MAKEOVER FOR DIABETICS AND PRE-DIABETICS and 4 other e-books: Lifestyle Makeover: Sex, Stress, and Alcohol , Lifestyle Makeover for All Couch Potatoes , Lifestyle Makeover: Defeat High Cholesterol and Blood Pressure , and Lifestyle Makeover for all Tobacco Users . The author of this article is also the author of these volumesTest your knowledge on these various issues and take a simple True and False quiz by logging on to: www.LifestyleMakeoverEbook.comCopyright © 2008 by George Tohme All rights reserved.
Posts Tagged ‘common’
The 5 Common Deadly Mistakes Diabetics Make and How to Avoid Them (part 2)
Sunday, March 14th, 2010Common Risk Factors Associated With Colo-rectal Cancer
Saturday, March 13th, 2010There are many risk factors for coo-rectal cancer, some of these are preventable while others are not. It is thought that around half of all colo-rectal cancer deaths could be prevented through regular screenings and lifestyle changes. Here are some of the more common risk factors associated with colo-rectqal cancer.
Gender
Men are slightly more likely to develop colo-rectal cancer than women. In particular, men are about 60% more likely to develop rectal cancer while males and females have about the same incidence of colon cancer.
Age
The risk of developing colo-rectal cancer is strongly linked to age. About 98% of all cases occur in people aged over 40, around 90% in people aged over 50 and, and around 70% in people over the age of 60.
Gender
African Americans and Hispanics appear to be at a slightly greater risk of developing colo-rectal cancer than Caucasians.
Family History
There appears to be a large genetic component of colo-rectal cancer. A history of colo-rectal cancer or polyps in first degree relatives raises an individuals risk of developing the disease. Around 20% of colo-rectal cancers are thought to be due to genetic factors.
Inherited Disorders
This includes disorders such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) which leads to a large number of polyps developing in the colon or rectum at a very young age (often before the age of 20). Other inherited disorders include hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC), and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome.
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Inflammatory bowel diseases includes disorders such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. These are known to increase an individuals risk of developing colo-rectal cancer, particularly at a younger age.
Diet
Diets high in fat have been associated with a greater risk of colo-rectal cancer. Diets high in red and processed meats are also thought to increase colo-rectal cancer risk. People that consume low amounts of fiber are also at a greater probability of developing the disease.
Lack Of Physical Activity
Those who perform moderate exercise at least three times a week are at around a 40% lower risk of developing colo-rectal cancer than those who perform moderate exercise less than three times a week. Physical activity can also improve a persons survival outlook after being diagnosed with the disease.
Obesity
Obesity is a strong risk factor for colo-rectal cancer. One study found that people with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 35 have around an 80% greater risk of colo-rectal cancer than people with a normal BMI (between 19 and 24.5).
Smoking
Smoking is thought to increase the number and size of polyps in the colon and carcinogens in tobacco are known to increase the incidence of most forms of cancer including colon and rectal cancers.
Heavy Alcohol Consumption
Studies have found that alcohol consumption of more than 25 standard drinks a week increases colo-rectal cancer risk significantly.
Type-2 Diabetes
People with type-2 diabetes are more likely to develop colo-rectal cancer and are more likely to die from it than people without type-2 diabetes, even after adjusting for risk factors common to both diabetes and colo-rectal cancer.
The 5 Common Deadly Mistakes Diabetics Make and How to Avoid Them (part 3)
Saturday, March 13th, 2010Part 3 (Continued from Part 2) I am no bearer of bad news or using scare tactics. I am not here to deliver glooming and bad news either and this is no scare tactic. I am just delivering reality, facts and a lot of hope. Hope? You might ask! How can there be hope after all this bad news? Yes, I am here to tell you that YOU can control diabetes and bring it under control and prevent ALL of its deadly complications.For 20 years I have successfully coached patients with diabetes and other chronic diseases, provided them with simplified but powerful information and helped them get the results most were not aware they needed to achieve. Most made common mistakes and as consequences paid the ultimate price.I want to help you avoid making those same mistakes and reap priceless health benefits, diabetes control, and ultimate quality of life. Here are the five common deadly mistakes almost all diabetics make and how you can avoid them: 1) Not getting diagnosed on time or when diagnosed they become in denial and do nothing: Currently there are 57 million pre-diabetics and about 7 million who have full-blown diabetes but have not yet been identified or avoid doing so. Most diabetics have been diagnosed after having diabetes for several years when extensive damage to their precious internal organs has already occurred. Denial of having diabetes and “ My kind of diabetes does not require treatment…” kind of attitude, not knowing to get screened soon enough or avoid being screened or identified as a diabetic are common contributing factors to premature death. Solution: If you are overweight, have a family history of diabetes, lead a sedentary lifestyle, have frequent bouts of thirst and the frequent need to urinate or suddenly losing weight without any effort of your own contact a doctor and get screened immediately. The sooner you get diagnosed the more manageable your condition becomes and the less danger you expose your precious internal organs to. 2) Not knowing the symptoms of hypoglycemia and not being informed about the proper solutions: Hypoglycemia or dangerously low blood sugar levels is a very potential side effect of most of diabetes medications and if not reversed can be fatal in a very short period of time from minutes to hours. What I witnessed during pharmacy practice is that a good majority of diabetics either are not familiar with the signs of hypoglycemia or do not know the most effective and easiest solution for it. Solution: The critical signs of hypoglycemia are nausea, dizziness, sweating and ill feeling. At the first signs of any of the mentioned symptoms the most efficient and fastest solution for this potential problem are dissolving 3 to 4 Glucose tablets back to back and within seconds hypoglycemia will be reversed. Glucose tablets are very cheap and they can be found at any pharmacy in the diabetes section and every diabetic must carry them at all times. 3) Not knowing where their current levels of blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol are and where safety is: Almost all diabetics have elevated cholesterol and blood pressure levels which currently are responsible for over 75% of all death related to diabetes. It all can be avoided if diabetics claim their health and not deeded it off to their doctor. Solutions: Every diabetic must be involved in his or her own health and MUST KNOW their numbers in order to get to safer shores. Diabetics can and have to know their numbers by monitoring. Here are the magic numbers: Fasting blood sugar Must be below 110 and above 70, 2 hours after a meal your sugar must be below 145. Your blood pressure must be below 130/80. Your total cholesterol must be below 135 (Yes below 135), your LDL (Bad) cholesterol must be below 100, your HDL (good) cholesterol must be above 45 and your Triglyceride below 150. YOU CANNOT GET TO SAFETY IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHERE SAFETY IS. Those are the numbers every diabetic must aim for if they want to avoid horrible consequences, have peace of mind and enjoy the ultimate quality of life. You can achieve those goals by medications and lifestyle changes. Let your doctor know if your numbers are consistently higher those recommended ones so your doctor can take action and help you. (To be continued in Part 4)For more detailed information on any of these topics log on to: www.LifestyleMakeoverEbook.com and check out these information packed lifesaving book and e-book volumes: LIFESTYLE MAKEOVER FOR DIABETICS AND PRE-DIABETICS and 4 other e-books: Lifestyle Makeover: Sex, Stress, and Alcohol , Lifestyle Makeover for All Couch Potatoes , Lifestyle Makeover: Defeat High Cholesterol and Blood Pressure , and Lifestyle Makeover for all Tobacco Users . The author of this article is also the author of these volumesTest your knowledge on these various issues and take a simple True and False quiz by logging on to: www.LifestyleMakeoverEbook.comCopyright © 2008 by George Tohme All rights reserved.
What Do Sharks and Diabetic Foot Infections Have in Common?
Thursday, March 11th, 2010Up above, the crashing of the wave tosses wild currents around the coral. A small damselfish swimming through the reef is tossed against the reef and nicks itself on the sharp coral. Three shiny scales scrape away and drift motionless, until the current starts to spin them about. A tiny drop of blood slowly seeps out into the ocean. Startled, the little damsel scurries away, out into the open ocean.
A mile away, a languishing bluetip reef shark senses an odor. The tiny droplet of blood, spread thin in the ocean, awakens the sharks hunger. He can smell the blood and weaves his way though the sea, continually tracking back and forth, to a stronger and stronger scent trail. The little damselfish, still barely bleeding, but leaving a trail to follow, is the end of the path for the shark. Jagged teeth, open wide, the damsel hasn’t a chance.
The story of the shark in the damsel provides a perfect analogy for the way your body fights bacteria when you develop a diabetic foot infection. The bacteria is much like the little damselfish. As it moves through the tissue in your foot, it leaves chemical markers that signal its presence.
The sharks are much like the white blood cells (known as macrophages) that track down the bacteria through a process known as chemotaxis. Once the macrophages locate the bacteria, thee actually surround the bacteria with the cell wall, effectively eating them. The way that they eat the bacteria in this way is known as phagocytosis. Unfortunately diabetes and the high levels of blood sugar that are associated with diabetes, can have a profound effect on both chemotaxis and phagocytosis.
When the serum blood glucose is high, the macrophages are not able to follow the scent that leads to the bacteria. In a way, the white blood cells are then much like a hungry blind shark, who cannot see or smell, drifting through the vast open ocean just hoping to bump into a damselfish.
To complicate matters further, the process of phagocytosis is also disabled when the blood sugar is elevated. So even if the blind, senseless shark does bump into a damselfish, is almost as if his mouth is wired shut. Even when the shark can find a damselfish, it still cannot eat it.
This is the reason that a diabetic foot infection is an emergency that quickly becomes limb or life-threatening. In less than 24 hours, a minor infection can kill a diabetic. In almost every amputation that is performed on diabetics, it is likely that earlier intervention could have prevented the extent of limb loss.
For this reason it is critical for a diabetic to check the feet every day. Otherwise, a minor blister, open sore or ingrown toenail can start with a small infection and quickly get much worse. As the bacteria divide, the sharks can do nothing to stop them.
In a normal healthy adult, an ingrown toenail can remain infected for days before the infection worsens. In a diabetic, this is simply not true. A diabetic with elevated blood sugar has an impaired immune system. The disabled immune system is incapable of controlling the growth of the bacteria and serious complications develop.
Every 30 seconds a limb, somewhere is amputated because of diabetes. Diabetes also accounts for more than half of all of the amputations that are performed. This problem is actually getting worse and not better. The rate of diagnosis of diabetes is continuing to skyrocket. It is also predicted that the prevalence of diabetes will continue to climb as the baby boomers age.
Given the current circumstances of Medicare and other insurance carriers not providing insurance coverage for preventative care such as aggressive monitoring and education of diabetic foot problems, the number of amputations will also continue to rise. Unfortunately this is all preventable, but it is not being usually prevented.
It has been well documented that performing daily foot checks, seeking early treatment for a diabetic foot problem, and maintaing low blood sugar can all help to avert the problems in diabetes that culminate in amputation. However the current trend is that insurance companies will only pay for care associated with the complications such as the diabetic foot infections, hospitalizations and diabetic amputations.
Because of the way these episodes unfold, this leaves many patients with no leg to left to stand on.
You must have a diabetic foot check every year. If you also have neuropathy or diabetic nerve damage, it is important to be seen more often. You must check your feet every day. You should also wear white diabetic socks so that you can detect any drainage in the event that you do get a sore on your feet, you cannot see. All of these minor interventions have shown to significantly reduce the rates of complications to the feet from diabetes.