Famous People With Diabetes

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Diabetes is a global epidemic and every year millions of people are diagnosed with one or the other type of diabetes. Anyone who is diagnosed with diabetes is demoralized and feels depressed. The feelings are natural but you as a patient has two options; let the disease get the best of you or take control of your life by maintaining the right life style.

Look around and you will see thousands of famous people with diabetes. This means that a successful life can be lead while having the disease. It is in no way debilitating unless you want it to be. If you take the right counter measures and a positive attitude you can have a normal life.

One of the very famous people with Diabetes is Halle Berry. The Oscar winner celebrity has managed to achieve all the success. She was taken completely off guard by the disease and just collapsed on the sets. This ended in a 6 day diabetic coma which changed her life forever. Instead of letting her disease keep her from doing what she did, she made drastic life style changes and tackled her disease successfully.

The most important think Halle did was to follow a strict diet with low sugar, processed carbohydrates and fats. She also cut back on red meat and fruits but added fresh vegetables, chicken and fish to her diet. Halle has made the habit of checking her blood sugar several times a day. In this way she takes her insulin in time so she is able to function like any normal person. Her personal trainer also helps her exercise to keep fit.

It started by doctors telling her that she could lose her legs or eyesight but she did not give up hope. Scared she was but she fought on bravely and not only led a successful career but is working to keep the people motivated and specially spreading the message to brave the disease. Many other celebrities are also living normally with the disease including talk show host Larry King, American Idol Judge Randy Jackson and beautiful actress Salma Hayek.

Diabetes can’t keep you from pursuing any dream or any career. You just need to have the will. Take the example of Sir Steven Redgrave who is a 5 time Olympics gold medalist for rowing. Rowing is a hardcore sports and one might think that a diabetic cannot do it but Sir Steven Redgrave proved this wrong and took his training really seriously and made drastic life style changes.

The will to beat the disease is what is needed and that is what Sir Redgrave had. The diagnosis did not keep him away from winning the gold in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Though, he did get depressed after he found out about his condition but like a true sportsman got on the saddle right after the fall.

Controlling Pre-Diabetes Symptoms

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There are people who enjoy eating, drinking, smoking and living a carefree life with no regard for their health. The danger that they face is such that they do not know that they are at risk in developing diabetes, which is a dreadful disease. Incidentally, a person will not experience any physical symptoms and this is exacerbated by living an unhealthy lifestyle, smoking cigarettes, being obese, too much alcohol intake, and a lifestyle wherein there is little exercise. It is unfortunate that a person who lives this way does not know that he or she has developed pre-diabetes symptoms. Sometimes, people only discover their precarious health situation when they undergo a blood test that will determine the severity of the disease.

So much has been said about insulin resistance and its links to obesity. Anyone who has this condition will become obese and develop pre-diabetes quickly. If left unchecked, a person may develop type 2 or juvenile diabetes. Since obesity can be a serious problem, it can be addressed or treated by nutraceuticals that contain a number of minerals, vitamins and herbs and are used for various types of diseases. Additionally, exercise combined with a healthy lifestyle can help a person keep his or her weight under control. Pre-diabetes symptoms can be treated by regular exercise because this will increase levels of insulin receptors that can be found in the cells and energizes a person.

More importantly, regular exercise is good for individuals because they are able to use their muscles more and burn up glucose while they are able to balance insulin levels as well. On another front, a low carbohydrate diet will help an obese person lose weight and control the production of insulin in a person’s pancreas. Nutritionists encourage obese people to do away with artificial sweeteners, cakes, sweets, molasses, pastries, and other candy bars. Instead, they are advised to check the pre-diabetes symptoms; one should eat brown rice, plenty of fiber rich vegetables and fruits, as well as wheat breads. It will also help very much that a person should stop drinking alcohol and taking stimulants like tobacco and caffeine used as medications for flu and colds.

Learn About the Dangers of Insulin

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Insulin is a hormone responsible for moving sugar or glucose from the digestive tract into the bloodstream and into the cells to be used for energy production. Glucose is needed by brain cells to conduct impulses needed for thinking, memory, and learning, the muscle cells require blood sugar for movements, and glands need blood sugar to release vital hormones. All of these bodily functions are carried out using specific insulin levels. If insulin levels go beyond normal limits, serious health problems may occur.

  1. Insulin Resistance which can lead to Type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance is a condition in which the cells are not efficiently using insulin causing elevated insulin levels in the blood. When cells don’t use insulin, blood sugar is not also being delivered effectively to the cells, and blood sugar level arises. When insulin resistance continues, the pancreas secretes more insulin to cope with the elevated blood sugar. The uncontrolled elevation of blood sugar leads to Type 2 diabetes.
  2. Cardiovascular diseases. According to research, hyperinsulinemia (high blood insulin levels) interferes with the removal of chylomicrons in the bloodstream. Chylomicrons are responsible for distribution of fat from the intestine to the body. Increased levels of insulin lead to accumulation of chylomicrons and cholesterol in the blood vessel walls causing obstructed circulation. Obstructed blood flow plus cholesterol plaques in the arteries increase the risk for hypertension, heart attack, and coronary artery disease.
  3. Prostate and breast cancer. Excessive insulin in the blood can lead to two forms of cancer in men and women, that of the prostate and the breast. According to studies, there is a strong link between elevated insulin concentrations in the blood and prostate cancer risk. Meanwhile, postmenopausal women whose blood insulin levels are above normal has high tendency of developing breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in the United States.
  4. Metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors that predisposes an individual to Type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart diseases, and other serious health problems. The risk factors in metabolic syndrome include abdominal obesity, high serum cholesterol levels, low levels of HDL (good cholesterol), high blood sugar, and high blood pressure.

Because of its very important functions, insulin is vital to health. But having too much it can also become very dangerous, causing life threatening conditions. Keeping insulin levels to normal can help achieve total wellness, promote longevity, and improve overall quality of life.