The 4 Different Types of Diabetes

There are 4 main types of diabetes:



Type 1 Diabetes - or some people refer to it as "juvenile" diabetes. It is mostly diagnosed when kids are in their teens or younger. 5-10% of the diabetic population has Type 1 Diabetes. It is diagnosed when the pancreas fails to produce any insulin at all, or too little of an amount to do the body any good. Insulin is the prescription but not the cure. Without the insulin one cannot survive after being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.


Type 2 Diabetes - 90-95% of all people with diabetes are Type 2 so most of the diabetic population have Type 2 diabetes. Most individuals that are diagnosed are overweight, over the age of 40 and most of the time inactive. Not all but most diagnosed with type 2 fit into this catagory. The pancreas produces insulin but the body does not utilize the insulin properly - cells won't respond to the insulin. Althought diet and exercise are prescribed and can actually reverse the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, most individuals will end up taking a pill form of medication to control their type 2 diabetes. In my opinion it is also not the practice of doctors to educate the type 2 diabetic patient but to medicate the patient due to the doctors time contraints and also knowing that diet and exercise is a tougher pill to swallow than an actual pill.



Pre-Diabetes - Also known as borderline diabetes. This is diagnosed when patients are showing signs of increased levels of blood sugar and are beginning to have problems in keeping their blood sugars at a normal range. Pre-diabetes affects over 40 million people, which is a huge number of people. Pre-diabetes will turn into Type 2 Diabetes in most cases if left untreated. Those with pre-diabetes are urged to alter their diets and begin to get on a regular exercise routine.



Gestational Diabetes - Approximately 2-7% of pregnant women will be diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. It is caused by the pancreas not being able to keep up in delivering insulin to control the glucose level. Gestational Diabetes will go away after pregnancy in the majority of the cases, but there is an increased risk of both mother and baby becoming diabetic later on in life. Insulin resistance usually starts around the 26th week of pregnancy, which is when doctors will test pregnant women for Gstational Diabetes.

Enjoy your day!

30 Advantages of Rebounding and Effect on Blood Sugars

Rebounding has many benefits which I've listed below. Rebounding has helped to stabalize my blood sugars. Just test it for yourself - jump every morning on a bed if you can for 10 minutes for just a few days and tell me if you don't see a stabalizing of your blood sugars. Why do you think kids like to jump on beds - because it makes them feel good. As you jump up and come back down your cells get squeezed which helps your body detox. I can attest that my blood sugars are much more stable on the days that I jump. I have and highly recommend the Needak Rebounder which you can pick up for around $200. The newer Needak tramplines fold up to make sotoring easy. It has the best platform for jumping so you can jump longer without getting tired. Just compare the Needak to other less expensive rebounders before you purchase.

These are the 30 health advantages of regular rebounding, including the following:

1. It increases the capacity for respiration.
2. It circulates more oxygen to the tissues.
3. It establishes a better equilibrium between the oxygen required by the tissues and the oxygen made available.
4. It causes muscles to perform work in moving fluids through the body to lighten the heart's load.
5. It tends to reduce the height to which the arterial pressures rise during exertion.
6. It lessens the time during which blood pressure remains abnormal after severe activity.
7. It holds off the incidence of cardiovascular disease.
8. It increases the functional activity of the red bone marrow in the production of red blood cells. 9. It aids lymphatic circulation, as well as the flow in the veins of the circulatory system.
10. It encourages collateral circulation.
11. It strengthens the heart and other muscles in the body so that they work more efficiently.
12. It allows the resting heart to beat less often.
13. It lowers elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
14. It stimulates the metabolism.
15. It promotes body growth and repair.
16. It tones up the glandular system, especially the thyroid to increase its output.
17. It adds to the alkaline reserve of the body which may be of significance in an emergency requiring prolonged effort.
18. It chemically attains absolute potential of the cells.
19. It reserves bodily strength and physical efficiency.
20. It expands the body's capacity for fuel storage and endurance.
21. It improves coordination through the transmission of nerve impulses and responsiveness of the muscle fibers.
22. It affords muscular vigor from increased muscle fiber tone.
23. It offers relief from neck and back pains, headaches, and other pain caused by lack of exercise.
24. It enhances digestion and elimination processes.
25. It allows for better and easier relaxation and sleep.
26. It results in a better mental performance, with keener learning processes.
27. It curtails fatigue and menstrual discomfort for women.
28. It minimizes the number of colds, allergies, digestive disturbances, and abdominal problems.
29. It tends to slow down aging.
30. It reduces the likelihood of obesity.

Enjoy your day!

Do Something Fun for Yourself / Guitar

This has nothing to with Diabetes but I just wanted to share with you that I am starting to learn how to play the Guitar at 48. You are never too old to start something new. I knew nothing about music - absolutely nothing except that I liked to listen to music. I didn't even know the musical alphabet which is just 7 letters A, B, C, D, E, F and G. I had never played an instrument in my life except the flute in the 4th grade. I can still play the song I learned (Mary had a little lamb) if someone hands me a flute but other than that my music knowledge was very limited.

So I bought myself a used acoustic/electric guitar off of EBay and started teaching myself from youtube and other free sites on the Internet. I also started taking lessons from a local guitar teacher in town and that has helped me alot. He is leaving town though so I'll need to find a new teacher shortly. It' s been a very fun journey and I'm glad I did it!

Enjoy your day!

Diabetes - Insulin Pump

An Insulin Pump is a medical device used for administering insulin. It changed my life when I got my first one in 1992. I did not have to follow as rigid of a schedule with injecting insulin and then eating right after. I had more freedom!

Before I got my first pump I was mixing 2 types of insulin - a short acting and a long acting. I was giving a shot before breakfast, before lunch, before dinner and before I went to bed. Four shots per day. This still did not control my blood sugars. I've been pumping now for 16 years and love it!

I had been diagnosed with Diabetes at 10 and I was 32 when I got my first pump. Before I got my pump I would often times wake up with extremely low blood sugars - sometimes needing help from the fire department and paramedics in the middle of the night or very early morning. I could feel the symptoms of my blood sugars drop when I was awake but as I got older I could not feel them drop when I was sleeping. This was due to some nerve damage from the sugar running around in my blood.

With my Insulin Pump I use all fast acting insulin and have programmed my pump to automatically administer a little less than a unit of insulin for most hours of the day. And this is automatically reduced at midnight to 4am. This is called a "basal" rate of insulin When I eat carbohydrates I administer additional insulin (about 1 unit for every 15 grams of carbohydrates) to cover the carbohydrates I'm eating. This is called a "bolus" of insulin. I can also suspend the insulin delivery if I need to.

I can remove my pump for showering and other more intimate activities :) and these are the only times when I remove it. It's easy to sleep with - I just lay it on the bed and instinctively move it around with me if I toss and turn.

I only have one complaint about my pump and that is the scar tissue that has built up in my abdomen from the cannula that remains in the subcutaneous fatty area of my stomach for 2-3 days at a time. I use my hips and upper ab area to insert the cannula too. The scar tissue gets in the way of the insulin delivery and this is really my only complaint. I just have to be careful to make sure I'm not inserting near scar tissue and change the cannula every 3 days max.

Enjoy your day!

My Diet / Breakfast Recipe

Having diabetes I'm always looking for the latest and greatest to help control blood sugars. There was a year in my life when I didn't eat anything that was cooked. When you cook foods it removes the nutrient value. I lived on raw vegetables and some fruits and nuts. I ate alot of avocados, salads, greens, dehydrated foods and juiced quite a bit too. I hope someday to get back to that way of eating and for the most part I try to incorporate that way of eating into my daily life. It's not easy but definitely doable and a very healthy way to eat.

My breakfast for the past 7 years or so is always a cereal made up of ground flax seed. I buy the flax seed in bulk and grind it in a coffee grinder. I add the Omnibalance Stevia that I talked about in the Almond Joy Recipe post, cinnamon, grey Celtic Sea Salt, plain yogurt, kefir and some raw almonds or sunflower seeds. It's quite delicious and keeps me full until lunch. It also keeps me very regular :) and gives me the good fats that we all need.

Enjoy your day!

Grey Celtic Sea Salt

Do you know that white salt is harmful to your health? Do you know that Grey Celtic Sea Salt is actually healthy and healing? Grey Celtic Sea Salt has 80 different minerals and tastes delicious. If you are ever sick and not feeling well - just drink some water with a pinch of Grey Celtic Sea Salt - it will balance your body out and you will feel better immediately. If you are dehydrated, put some grey celtic sea salt in your water and you will retain the water with the minerals.

Your Bodies Many Cries for Water is an incredible book written by Dr. F. Batmanghelidj. He is a medical doctor who believes that body dehydration is at the root of many health conditions. For optimum health, Dr. Batmanghelidj claims that we should drink half our body weight in ounces every day. So if you weigh 120 pounds, you'd need to drink 60 ounces of water a day. He also recommends using Celtic Sea Salt.

Enjoy your day!

Sandy's Almond Joy - Delicious!!

I want to share this Almond Joy Recipe with you. I add a Stevia product called OMNIBALANCE - it's an incredible product for those of us who need a healthy sugar substitute. EMIL JAHODA [omnivite@teleport.com] is the person who I order the Omniblance from.

Sandy's Almond Joy
1 cup liquid coconut oil...can be melted by placing container in hot water (I prefer the India centrifuged oil from Wilderness Family Naturals)
1 cup chopped almonds... may be soaked and chopped or soaked and dried for added nutritional benefit
3/4 to 1 cup dried coconut... (I like the freeze dried from Wilderness Family Naturals)
2-3 scoops Super Soy Sprout Powder...optional
Directions: Stir together the coconut oil, almonds and dried coconut (save about one third of it to sprinkle over the top) and soy sprout powder in a bowl and pour into an 8X8 pan. sprinkle the top with freeze-dried coconut.Place level in the fridge to chill for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove and cut into bite size squares to serve. If it becomes too hardened and cracks when you attempt to cut it, just set out at room temperature until it cuts easily.Store in the refrigerator.

Enjoy your day!

Wecome!

Hello and welcome! I have been living with diabetes since I was 10 years old and I just turned 48 - so 38 years now. I never thought I'd live past 30 and it wasn't a negative thing it was just my thought process about diabetes when I was younger. Probably from the story's I was told in addition to the lack of medical information back in the 1970's. I'm healthy and happy and want to share my life with other people who have diabetes - that is the main reason for my blog. I'll be sharing mostly diabetes/health information but I will also share about learning guitar at 48, gardening, health and pet information too. I've added a couple of links and want you to know that I will write later about Hydrogen Peroxide Therapy and my experience with blood sugar control. I also want you to know that coconut oil and avacados are healthy food! I'm hoping to share some really delicious healthy recipes with you too! Enjoy your day!