I don’t know what happened this week but I feel like I did not have enough time to do it all. When I have the kids with me, my week go so fast, of course, I am usually a taxi driver which is fine, waking up early in the morning, breakfast, lunchboxes which takes me forever and rushing to go to high school, the primary school. For some of you who don’t know me, I have four wonderful boys who keep my life entertained.
One of my sons was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes at the age of two and since then, it has been like having another child, for a number of responsibilities that this condition brings and the awareness of how sugars and a diet high in carbohydrates can change the wellbeing of a person with Diabetes.
As a Dietitian and Nutritionist, I was always aware of having a healthy diet, exercising, reducing simple carbohydrates, lean meats and wholemeal bread, fruits etc, but I am naughty and I do have biscuits as well in my pantry …There is nothing more exciting than Friday night when we all indulge and have a bowl of popcorn and an ice cream, and maybe a biscuit, we deserve it and we all enjoy these treats very much. In my personal experience I do my best to give to my children a healthy diet, therefore they don’t have cravings for sugar, therefore, the glucose levels remain stable therefore less insulin for the next injection.
A Diabetic must have a healthy diet and families need to support and being an example for society. We all know the importance of reducing simple carbohydrates, fruits with the high content of sugar, high content of sodium and proteins with the high content of saturated fats.
HAVE YOU EVER MET SOMEONE WITH DIABETES?
DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS?
A person with Diabetes produces insufficient insulin to control glucose levels in their blood. Each of us needs glucose in our blood but the levels of glucose cannot be too high otherwise can damage your body with time. Glucose in the blood stream comes from carbohydrates which are change into glucose after you have eaten them.Your liver makes some glucose. The INSULIN is a hormone produced by the pancreas so for a person with DIABETES the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to keep your glucose levels in the normal range.
This happens because
The pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the body has become insulin resistant (insensitive to insulin) and the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin.
WHAT IS TYPE 1 DIABETES?
If you have type 1 Diabetes your body does not produce any insulin (or it produces very little). Type 1 Diabetes is most commonly diagnosed in children and adolescents; however, it can occur at any age. This type of Diabetes cannot be prevented, but it can be managed through a combination of healthy food choices, exercise and medication (INSULIN). We as parents generally carry with us this every day.
Syringes
Insulin Pen
Jet injectors that use high pressure to send a spray of insulin through the skin
Insulin pumps that dispense insulin trough flexible tubing to a catheter under the skin of the abdomen
A periodic test called the A1C blood test estimates glucose levels in your blood over the previous three months.Its used to help identify overall glucose level control and the risk of complications including organ damage.
CHANGE IN LIFESTYLE IN PEOPLE DIAGNOSED WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES
Frequent testing of your blood sugar levels
Careful meal planning
Daily exercise
Taking insulin and more medications as needed
TYPE 1 DIABETES IN ADULTS
When I finished my degree in 1998 Diabetes type 1 was common in kids and young teenagers, but nowadays it can be developed at any age. Adults may develop a specific form of type 1 diabetes known LADA (Latent autoimmune diabetes adulthood). It tends to develop slowly than type 1 diabetes in children and young adults and people with LADA may be misdiagnosed as having type 2 diabetes.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO DEVELOP TYPE 1 SYMPTOMS?
The symptoms of type 1 diabetes in children and young adults tend to develop quickly over a few weeks or a few days. Type 1 diabetes is a dangerous condition If is left untreated for too long
SYMPTOMS OF DIABETES TO BE AWARE OF
Excessive thirst
Unusually high levels of urination
Feeling tired all the time
Loss of muscular weight and unexplained weight loss
Pains in the stomach
Extreme tiredness
TYPE 2 DIABETES
Is a lifelong disease that affects the way your body manages glucose in the blood. The insulin produced in our pancreas lets cells turn into glucose from the food we eat into energy. People with type 2 diabetes make insulin, but their cells don’t use it as well as they should.Doctors call this insulin resistance.
At first, the pancreas makes more insulin to try to get glucose into the cells.But eventually it cannot keep up and the sugar builds up in your blood instead. There are a few others that are related to the source of the condition.
GENES: There are different pieces of DNA that affect how your body makes insulin
EXTRA WEIGHT: Being overweight or obese can cause Insulin resistance, especially If you carry your extra pounds around the middle, it seems that type 2 diabetes is affecting more children and teens, adults because of the childhood obesity.
METABOLIC SYNDROME:
People with insulin resistance often have a group of conditions including high blood glucose extra fat around the waist, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides.
TOO MUCH SUGAR FROM YOUR LIVER:
When the blood sugar is low your liver makes and sends out glucose.After you eat, the blood sugar goes up and usually the liver will slow down and stores glucose for later, but some people livers don’t.
BAD COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CELLS:
Sometimes cells send wrong signals or don’t pick up messages correctly. When these problems affect how your cells make and use insulin or glucose a chain reaction can lead to diabetes.
BAD COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CELLS
Sometimes cells send the wrong signals or don’t pick up messages correctly. When these problems affect how your cells make and use insulin or glucose, a chain reaction can lead to diabetes
BROKEN BETA CELLS
If the cells that make insulin send out the wrong amount of insulin at the wrong time, your blood sugar gets thrown off. High blood glucose can damage these cells too.
Other factors that are very common nowadays are affecting more people with Diabetes.
Getting too little or no exercise
Smoking
Stress
Sleeping too little or too much
Diets high in simple carbohydrates (sugars)
There are other kinds of Diabetes-like GESTATIONAL DIABETES
HOW CAN WE HELP AND ADVICE PEOPLE WITH TYPE 1AND TYPE 2 DIABETES?
Is important to stop and think for a minute the importance of having a healthy lifestyle and is not necessary to be ill to realised the importance of being healthy , and feeling healthy to make the right choices every time we go to the supermarket, every time we go to a restaurant, every time we go to a birthday party.
Once your mind and body create new and healthy habits will be difficult to fall into sugar temptations. IS important to work in any physical activity.People with Diabetes should get at least 150 mins of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise spread out over at least three days a week, housework or gardening will be fine.
EATING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Aim for at least two servings of non-starchy vegetables each day, especially leafy greens.Like spinach, kale, swiss chard, bok choy. They are very low in calories and have wonderful vitamins and minerals and antioxidants. Enjoy fresh fruit every day, except apples and grapes and banana as they have the high content of sugars.
One of the most important recommendations is being Mindful of food. Take the time to sit on the table, ask yourself … What Am I eating? Am I hungry, nervous, anxious, bored?
Am I eating this for the sheer pleasure of it?
If we stop and become aware of what we eat , this will be half of the battle.
Some of the information contained in this article is coming from New Zealand Diabetes Association, WebMD, and the Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
If you have any comment or any experience with Diabetes please write and say something to me. I would love to hear from you. Si me quieren escribir en Espanol por favor no lo duden.
Un abrazo!
With love!
AndreaP
andreap 