Effective Natural Diabetes Treatments, Diabetes Management and
Diabetes Control CAN be achieved.  Here’s how I did it!

Before insulin was discovered in 1921, anyone with type 1 diabetes would almost certainly die within a few years of diagnosis. Although insulin is not regarded as a cure, its discovery and development was undoubtedly the first major breakthrough in diabetes treatments.

Nowadays, a healthy diet, regular physical activity, and daily insulin are the key therapies for type 1 diabetes. The amount of insulin taken is carefully balanced with food intake and daily exercise.

A diabetes sufferer’s blood glucose levels are carefully monitored by blood glucose testing. Diabetes patients must also monitor their blood glucose levels several times each year using an A1C lab test. Results of this test show average blood glucose over a 2 to 3 month period.

For type 2 diabetes, healthy diet, physical exercise, and regular blood glucose tests are the management tools.  In addition, many type 2 diabetes patients take oral medication, insulin, or both to regulate their blood glucose levels.

Adults with diabetes are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease. At least 65 percent of adults with diabetes die from heart disease or a stroke.

Properly managing diabetes is about much more than keeping blood glucose levels under control-it is also very important to manage blood pressure and cholesterol levels through healthy eating, exercise, and use of medications if required. By following these regimes, diabetes sufferers can greatly reduce their risk and raise their life expectancy.

Simple diabetes treatments like aspirin therapy, if recommended by the health care team, and giving up smoking can also help lower risk.

Much of the diabetes daily care involves keeping the sufferer’s blood glucose levels on an even keel. If blood glucose levels are too low- known as hypoglycemia -a sufferer can become anxious, insecure, and confused. If blood glucose falls too low, fainting can eventually occur.

A diabetes sufferer can also become ill if his or her blood glucose levels go too high, (a condition known as hyperglycemia).

People with diabetes should see a doctor or physician who can help them to monitor and manage their diabetes. Most diabetes sufferers get care from primary care physicians- family doctors or paediatricians.

Often, having a carefully selected team of health providers will improve diabetes care. A team can include:

•  a primary care provider like an internist, family doctor, or paediatrician
• an endocrinologist (diabetes care specialist)
• a dietitian, nurse, and other health care providers who are certified diabetes-experts in analysing and managing diabetes
• a podiatrist (for ongoing foot care)
• an ophthalmologist or optometrist (for ongoing eye care)
• other health care providers, such as cardiologists and other medical specialists.

If you are a pregnant woman with type 1, type 2, or gestational diabetes , your selected team should also include an obstetrician specializing in the care of women with diabetes. Your team might also include a paediatrician with experience in taking care of babies born to female diabetes sufferers.

The goal with diabetes management is to keep your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels as close to normal range as possible. A major 10-year study (completed in 1993), showed that keeping blood glucose levels close to normal reduces the risk of developing major complications of type 1 diabetes.

The researchers found that participants in the study who managed to maintain lower levels of blood glucose using intensive management had significantly lower rates of complication. A later follow-up study of the participants demonstrated that the ability of intensive control to reduce complications of diabetes persisted at least 10 years after the end of the trial.

A European study completed in 1998, showed that intensive control of blood glucose and blood pressure markedly reduced the risk of blindness, kidney disease, stroke, and heart attack in people with type 2 diabetes.

So it seems that intensive regular tests, checks, examinations and assessments are necessary to keep your diabetes and its effects at the lowest level.  Unfortunately that is all very expensive, unless we can find an alternative approach.

This article gives you a little more background about how the development of modern treatment for diabetes has evolved and continues to evolve.

Diabetic treatments and diabetic care are becoming more and more important to more and more people as this disease increases its grip on advanced western nations.  If you have recently developed diabetes and wish to know more, this and the other articles in this growing site will be very helpful to you.