Health Care

 Think of Food As Your Enemy  Think of Food As Your Enemy Food becomes a source of hatred for many people. They see it as an enemy. We eat food that tastes good and fills us up at that moment; then we hate how we look and feel. But it's not food we should hate. It is the choices we make about food and our attitude towards food that we need to change. We need to think about how we look at food. If food is what we use to satisfy an emotional need, we should sort out our thought process. The "right" mindset can make eating a pleasurable, guilt-free experience.  what we eat and how much we use Excessive consumption of the “wrong” foods can lead to serious chronic health conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Mindful eating has the potential to teach us how to overcome these diseases by opening up the connection we have with ourselves. Emotions like anger and sadness provoke us to eat: this type of emotional eating is bad for our waistlines as well as our mental healt...

 Settle Your Thoughts Stress levels have increased, and as well as many other risk factors contributing to type 2 diabetes or heart disease, we are now exposed to far more stressors than previous generations. Stress has a way of affecting how we eat. It can seem to take up all the space in our brains; it makes us crave unhealthy foods and makes it easier for us to eat more than we should. Diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes benefit from stress… weakens our immune system and accelerates the production of pro-inflammatory cells, which is the basic basis of most diseases. Breathing is a free and healthy way to reduce stress and help us clear our thoughts before we decide to eat. Research shows that “mindful breathing” can help reduce stress by reducing negative reactivity to repetitive thoughts, which differentiates mindful breathing from other trusted approaches to stress management (Feldman et al., 2010). Getting out of stressful situations is ideal before eating, but sometime...

   Changing Blood Sugar Levels When controlling type 2 diabetes, the goal is to keep your fasting blood sugar within a reasonable range and at a steady level throughout the day. Researchers at Taichung Veterans General Hospital and various other research facilities in Taiwan found that too much change in blood sugar readings could lead to a higher risk of developing painful peripheral neuropathy. Their study was published in February 2018 in the journal Diabetes and Metabolism.175 participants were diagnosed with painless diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and 351 participants with type 2 diabetes without diabetic neuropathy. Participants who had the highest number of blood sugar changes had more than four times the risk of developing painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy than those who had stable levels. Painful and painless peripheral diabetic neuropathy is caused by high blood sugar damaging the nerves. Preventing this complication of diabetes is one reason to keep your level...

   Fava or Broad Beans Diabetes The term broad bean refers to cultivars with larger seeds that are grown for human consumption, while horse bean or broad bean refers to cultivars with smaller, harder seeds that are used mainly (but not exclusively) as animal feed. The fava bean is a hardy plant. Preparation of fava beans. Preparing fresh fava beans can be a bit of a chore.  When buying beans, choose green pods that are firm and not bulging.  To remove the beans from the pods, just run your fingernail along the seam of the pod to split the pod. Remove the beans. They are covered with thick white skin that needs to be removed. You can get rid of the skin by making a small cut along the edge of the bean with a sharp knife.  Then put the beans in ice water to stop them from cooking. Now you can squeeze the beans directly from the skin. Still... making beans is hard work.  Culinary use If sown in early spring, they will be ready by mid-summer. They are harvested...

 Diabetic Retinopathy In diabetic retinopathy, the back of the eye, where the image of what we see is formed, is damaged by very high blood sugar levels, and new and weak blood vessels can develop. Subsequently, because they are fragile, bleeding into the eye may occur. Unfortunately, this can result in vision loss. Early detection of the condition is essential for the fastest possible treatment. Scientists from Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and the National University of Singapore have discovered a molecule, osteopontin, that indicates the presence and severity of retinopathy. Their work, reported in the journal Molecular Vision in February 2018, involved four hundred and forty-three participants. The researchers photographed the back of the participant's eyes, capturing the same image that doctors see when they examine their patients' eyes with an ophthalmoscope. Diabetic retinopathy was diagnosed in a total of one hundred and seventy-four participants, or 39 percent... the mean le...

 Blood Pressure High blood pressure can be especially worrisome for those dealing with type 2 diabetes. One of the first things your healthcare provider will do when you visit you to check your blood pressure, as it tells a lot about your current health. 120 to 140 mmHg systolic (upper number) and less than 90 mmHg diastolic (lower number) are considered healthy. When your reading is chronically high, it requires treatment as it can lead to serious health problems such as stroke or heart attack. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to help manage your blood pressure. Fortunately, they also help you better maintain healthy blood sugar levels… 1. Get moving.  Over time, any exercise will help lower your blood pressure. It doesn't have to be intense training to prepare you for the next marathon. Regular, even moderate to moderate, exercise has a significant impact on diabetes management and your blood pressure. Walking around the block a few times each night can do wond...