Experts are increasingly urging people to know their BMI, a figure that takes into account not just weight but also height to indicate body fat.
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True or false: Polio vaccines should be kept up-to-date throughout your lifetime.
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The endocrine system includes not only the pancreas—the organ involved in the development of diabetes—but also the pituitary, thyroid, and other glands.
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What causes diabetes? Scientists aren't sure, but heredity, obesity, lack of exercise and other factors play a part.
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When fall arrives, it’s back-to-school time—and for some kids, it’s back to dealing with diabetes in the classroom.
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Whether you have tried to lose weight on your own or with the help of a weight-loss program, the focus is too often on severely restrictive diets and unrealistic goals, nutrition experts say.
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Between 12 and 30 percent of people with heart failure also have diabetes. This double diagnosis makes it especially important that you manage both conditions. Here’s how.
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Do you know your risk factors for high blood pressure? You can’t do anything about some risk factors. But other risk factors can be changed. Learn about the risk factors for high blood pressure by taking this quiz.
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Monitoring your blood sugar level can help you control your diabetes and your risk for developing complications such as eye or kidney disease. View this video, and learn how and why checking your blood sugar regularly plays an important role in diabetes management.
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The more active you are, the more calories you burn. Running or jogging, for instance, burns more calories than bowling.
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The answer depends on which type of diabetes you have, and how long you've had it.
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If your child suddenly develops a fever and grows weak, tired and nauseated, the youngster probably has the flu or some other virus. But the symptoms could also be warning signs of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes.
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Are you tempted to try herbal remedies that promise to “cure” diabetes without prescription medication? Be sure you understand the limitations.
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Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease. It is the leading cause of death in the United States in both men and women. Determine your risk for developing CAD using this assessment tool.
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Fatty liver disease—the accumulation of fat in the liver—is more common in people with diabetes. This can lead to liver failure, liver cancer, and heart disease.
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This questionnaire can help you find out how likely you are to have depression.
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Is it OK for people with diabetes to drink alcohol? This is something only you and your health care provider can answer.
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Diabetes affects the cardiovascular system, but many problems aren't apparent until a person has a heart attack or stroke.
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Most of us know that diabetes can lead to severe complications, such as blindness, kidney disease and amputations. But did you know that diabetes also greatly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease?
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If you have diabetes, you are twice as likely to have high blood pressure. Untreated, high blood pressure can raise your risk for heart disease.
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Poorly controlled diabetes can lead to gum disease, which is an infection of the gums and bone that hold the teeth in place.
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It's important for a woman with diabetes to keep her blood sugar under tight control while she's pregnant.
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Diabetes affects every part of your life, and it can create problems that aren’t easy to talk about with your health care provider.
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Damage to the nerves or blood vessels caused by diabetes can interfere with sexual function.
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Research tells us it’s possible to prevent or delay the development of diabetes. View the Diabetes Detective to discover the facts that everyone needs to know.
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Diabetes can affect vital organs such as the eyes, the heart and blood vessels, the kidneys, and the nerves. Research demonstrates that taking preventive action can slow progression of this disease. View Diabetes Detective: Uncovering the Complications to discover ways to positively affect your health.
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More than 18 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes and more than 5 million more have diabetes but don't realize it, according to the CDC. Yet diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.
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Looking for vital diabetes facts and figures? Here are statistics for both patients and consumers.
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To manage your diabetes, it's important to get regular health exams. This list will help you track which exams you need.
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Recently updated to focus on patients diagnosed when an adult. Updated animations of blood glucose and insulin interaction provide a better understanding of Type 1 diabetes. Explains how Type 1 Diabetes cannot be prevented and helps patients learn how to manage the condition. Covers common risk factors, as well as treatment options and side effects. Also available in Spanish.
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Updated with new animations, this program explains how insulin resistance can lead to pre-diabetes and then to Type 2 Diabetes. A straightforward explanation of risk factors along with signs and symptoms and complications encourages the viewer to start thinking about lifestyle changes.
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For people with diabetes, eyes and feet can be potential trouble spots. You should have an eye exam and a foot exam every year.
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Early management and control of diabetes will help avoid complications that may arise later. This multiple-choice quiz will help you with important answers now.
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Many people with diabetes who use insulin test their glucose two to four times daily. By tracking changes in the readings, you can tell when your blood glucose goes up or down.
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Diabetes can damage the nerves in your feet, as well as lead to blood vessel disease. These conditions make it more difficult to notice when you injure your foot or develop a sore.
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Nephropathy is the deterioration of the kidneys. The final stage of nephropathy is called end-stage renal disease, or ESRD.
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The risk of developing nerve damage, or neuropathy, increases the longer a person has diabetes. About half of people with diabetes have some form of neuropathy.
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Peripheral neuropathy is a term that refers to temporary or permanent damage to the peripheral nerves – the nerves that carry information to and from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. This damage is one of the most common complications of diabetes.
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Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness in American adults. It is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina.
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About one-third of people with diabetes get a skin problem sooner or later. Fortunately, most problems can be prevented or easily treated.
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If you're older than 45, you should be tested for diabetes. If you are younger, you should be tested if you are at high risk.
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It is important to learn about proper meal-planning when your child has diabetes. The type and amount of food your child eats affects his/her blood sugar levels.
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You hear a lot about fiber and why you need it. But what is it? Learn more about this important part of your diet by taking this quiz.
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Diabetic autonomic neuropathy usually occurs after a person has had diabetes for at least 20 years or has had poor control of blood sugar.
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Your doctor can't give you the best care if you don't say what's really going on. This true-false quiz will help you prepare for your next visit.
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Regular exercise is essential for managing diabetes—even if you have nerve damage due to high blood sugar. Just follow these precautions when you work out.
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True or false: A drug-alcohol interaction can lead to extreme drowsiness and other effects. Do you know the answer to this and other questions about drug interaction?
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If you have more than two medications to manage, consider getting a pill organizer -- a special container marked with the days of the week. Besides housing multiple medications, a compartmentalized organizer can be useful for keeping track of the medications you've taken.
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Under certain circumstances, people who take insulin can have symptoms that require immediate action and, in some cases, treatment in a hospital emergency room.
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Emotional eating affects most everyone from time to time, but regularly letting your feelings guide your food intake can affect your health.
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If you have diabetes, you can take steps to reduce your risk for vision loss or blindness.
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While regular physical activity is a cornerstone of wellness at any age, it’s during your 30s, 40s and 50s that exercise becomes especially important.
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You can't walk across a room without huffing and puffing. Your arms get tired unpacking a bag of groceries. You're carrying more and more excess body weight. And you can't remember the last time you got any real exercise.
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Exercise is one of the best ways to help keep diabetes under control. Yet researchers say that many people with diabetes don’t get enough activity.
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Diabetes affects the way the body metabolizes, or uses, digested food to make glucose, the main source of fuel for the body.
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Whether you want to run a marathon or just start exercising regularly, having a goal is an important tool.
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Maintaining normal blood sugar levels helps to prevent diabetic foot problems: nerve damage, poor circulation, and infection. This video demonstrates how to do daily foot care that can impact the development of these complications.
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Most people would agree that it's no small problem when their feet ache. Yet foot problems and chronic pain often go ignored. Learning about foot care can help you recognize when to see a doctor for treatment.
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Whatever the reason for needing a new primary care physician, these suggestions can help you find the right doctor.
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Gastric bypass surgery involves bypassing a part of the small intestine that absorbs nutrients. For this reason, these surgeries are referred to as malabsorptive procedures.
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Gastric stapling surgery is a type of weight loss surgery that limits the amount of food a person can eat.
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Gestational diabetes is a condition in which a pregnant woman has elevated glucose levels and other symptoms of diabetes—but did not have diabetes before she became pregnant.
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To avoid wasting valuable time, be prepared for every doctor visit, using these suggestions.
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Glossary of terms relating to diabetes for patients and consumers
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You can monitor your blood sugar at home with one of a variety of devices that use a small sample of blood.
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Steam vegetables in low-fat broth or water, and use vegetable oil spray instead of oil, shortening, or butter.
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Over time, diabetes can damage the nerves that control the bladder. In both men and women, this can lead to overactive bladder.
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Ask a parent to name the greatest health threat to children and you'll hear about drinking or drugs. Rarely will anyone cite obesity -- even though it can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes.
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The stress of illness or injury can cause blood sugar to rise and make insulin less effective. This can lead to serious problems, including diabetic coma. That’s why it’s important to know what to do when illness strikes.
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Wounds need oxygen to heal properly, and exposing a wound to 100 percent oxygen can, in many cases, speed the healing process.
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Hypoglycemia is most often seen as a complication of diabetes and is sometimes referred to as "insulin reaction."
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Causes of hypoglycemia in children with diabetes may include a missed meal, too much medication, or more exercise than usual.
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Babies who are more likely to develop hypoglycemia include those born to women who have diabetes.
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You need a yearly flu shot, and a vaccine against pneumonia, if you haven't had this shot in the past.
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Many people with diabetes need to change their treatment plan at some point. There are advantages to this. For example, taking insulin can make it easier to manage your blood sugar.
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Insulin pumps are used most often by people with type 1 diabetes, but some people with type 2 diabetes use them, too.
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Insulin is classified according to the speed of its action, the length of time when it's most effective, and its duration.
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If you need to inject insulin to manage your diabetes, take care of your insulin properly.
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Insulin pumps deliver a steady, measured dose of insulin through a flexible plastic tube called a catheter.
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Taking good care of your feet is an important part of living with diabetes. With attention, you can help prevent more serious foot problems.
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The official term for blood sugar is glucose, and having either too little or too much of it occupies the minds of people with diabetes daily -- even hourly. But keeping blood sugar at safe levels can be achieved by most patients through monitoring, diet, exercise and drug therapy.
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The delicate filtering network in your kidneys can be damaged over time by uncontrolled blood sugar, making it more difficult for your body to remove waste materials. This video explains why it's important to have your urine tested for protein if you have diabetes. It also offers other recommendations to help prevent kidney damage.
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The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases offers suggestions to help your child develop and maintain good eating habits and to prevent chaotic mealtimes in your home.
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Keeping extra weight off requires effort and commitment, just as losing weight does.
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What makes some people sticklers for following through with their medications, and others haphazard at best?
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It's no picnic being a patient. But as long as you have to be one, it pays to make the most of it.
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Part of the treatment for chronic conditions involves adopting the same healthy lifestyle habits that are important for everyone.
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You may need to take as many as four types of medicine every day. The more medicines you take, the greater the risk is for a medication mishap.
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To keep yourself entertained and enthused, wear headphones and listen to high-energy music while you work out.
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Medical treatment can help with weight loss if your own efforts are unsuccessful—or if you have a medical condition that makes it crucial to lose weight.
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Learn how to better manage your medications by taking this quiz.
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Most people who have metabolic syndrome have insulin resistance. This may be a beginning of the development of type 2 diabetes.
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Metabolic syndrome is marked by higher levels of glucose in the blood. That's also a sign of pre-diabetes.
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The benefits of dancing go well beyond heart health and physical fitness. Dancing, especially group dance activities, provides opportunities for people of all ages to be socially and mentally engaged, as well.
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People can become obese by taking in more calories than they burn. Obesity also appears to be influenced by genetics. This video discusses the health risks associated with obesity and what treatment and lifestyle changes are commonly recommended.
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There is an epidemic of obesity in this country, health experts say. But what is obesity? How is it measured?
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Whatever treatment plan a person follows, losing weight slowly will be more effective and healthy over the long term.
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List of online resources to find additional information on diabetes
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Many types of diabetes pills are available, and each type has a specific action.
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Heart disease, high blood pressure, and kidney disease are some of the complications of diabetes.
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Diabetes is a chronic disease that involves the regulation of blood sugar and occurs in two different forms, type 1 and type 2.
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If you have diabetes, wearing a medical identification (ID) bracelet or necklace at all times is a good idea.
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Bacterial pneumonia kills thousands of older Americans each year. Yet there is a vaccine that offers protection against
this deadly illness. How much do you know about pneumonia and the vaccine?
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Pre-diabetes means your blood sugar level is above normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. Pre-diabetes increases the risk for developing diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. The good news is, with healthy lifestyle changes, you can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. Take action; watch this video to find out more about what you can do.
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Take this quiz to find out how to decrease your risk of developing diabetes.
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Diabetic retinopathy is a diabetes-related eye disease that can lead to vision loss. But you can take steps to help save your sight.
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The purpose of blood sugar is to provide "food" for your body's cells. Glucose is the sugar that provides energy all cells in your body need.
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If managing diabetes seems like a full-time job, keep in mind it’s a task that can’t be taken lightly. Diabetes is the fifth-leading cause of death by disease in the United States.
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People with diabetes are encouraged to limit the sodium in their diets to help prevent or to control high blood pressure.
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It's not high blood sugar, heart disease, or stroke that most often puts people with diabetes in the hospital. It's their feet.
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Working out when you have a serious illness or health problem can be challenging. But for most people who have health issues, exercising can improve their prognosis and well-being. In fact, exercise can play an important role in helping you cope with or recover from a health challenge or accident.
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Type 2 diabetes can be especially deadly for women. Of the nearly 16 million Americans with diabetes, more than half are female.
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Here are some common obstacles that you may have encountered and tips for getting beyond them.
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The majority of dieters regain the weight they lose within five years. But they could avoid doing so by gradually changing their eating and exercise habits. Your approach to weight loss should be to make changes you can keep up for the rest of your life.
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Here are suggestions that can help you to enjoy the summer months while protecting your feet.
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Your target heart rate is the range at which sustained physical activity - running, cycling, swimming laps, or any other aerobic exercise - is considered safe and effective.
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Pharmacists do much more than count tablets and pour liquids. Their main job is to focus on the medications you take and the effect they have.
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During adolescence, blood sugar levels become harder to control, resulting in levels that swing from too low to too high.
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By getting regular tests and checkups, you can help control your diabetes and prevent or delay damage caused by high blood glucose.
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Eating together as a family has many benefits not only for you, but also for your children. This lifestyle habit may actually help to fend off childhood obesity.
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Doctors think teens who have the metabolic syndrome face a high risk for the early onset of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
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People with more visceral fat or an apple-shaped body—two factors associated with the metabolic syndrome—are more likely to have depression.
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Kidney disease is a stealth illness. It may often be silent for many years -- until it has reached an advanced stage.
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Think all fats are alike? Think again. Take this quiz to learn about trans fats and their impact on your health.
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Having prediabetes means that you are likely to develop full-blown diabetes within 10 years. But lifestyle changes can prevent that from happening.
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Type 1 diabetes usually develops in children or young adults, but can start at any age.
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Type 1 diabetes usually develops in children or young adults, but can start at any age.
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A person with type 2 diabetes either can't make enough insulin or can't properly use it.
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Understanding how food affects blood glucose is the first step in managing diabetes. And following a diabetes meal plan can help keep you on track.
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Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder resulting from the body's inability to produce enough, or to properly use, insulin.
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The questions in this assessment ask about risk factors—conditions that may put you at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) states that the more risk factors you have, the more likely you are to develop diabetes.
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Gastroparesis is a stomach disorder that can affect people with diabetes. It occurs when nerve damage keeps the stomach from emptying normally.
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Too often, diabetes leads to kidney disease. But it doesn’t have to. When kidney problems are caught early, you can take steps to prevent more serious kidney disease.
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"We now know that exercise is the most underrated health precaution anyone, even those with chronic conditions, can take," says J. Larry Durstine, Ph.D., a spokesman for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
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It’s possible to use insulin in public and not feel like you’re the center of attention. Here are some tips to help put you at ease.
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A disease management program helps you stick to your diabetes treatment plan. And in the long run, it may lead to better health and fewer complications.
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Diabetes is a chronic disease that involves the regulation of blood sugar and occurs in two different forms, type 1 and type 2.
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If you or a family member has been diagnosed with a serious or chronic condition, you likely have a lot of questions regarding treatment and long-term health. Here are some suggestions on how to find accurate information.
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With knowledge, practice and a supportive health care team, you can take care of your child without diabetes taking over your lives.
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Few tests can match the routine urine analysis for telling your doctor what's going on inside your body.
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You probably don't enjoy giving a blood sample, but it's an important part of a physical exam. From a small sample of your blood, your health care provider can order scores of tests.
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In adults, a screening blood sugar test is generally used to determine if your blood sugar is too high. For adults, having an elevated blood sugar usually will not give you symptoms and may indicate a pending or current problem with type 2 diabetes.
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Carbohydrates are one of the three main parts of food; fats and proteins are the other two. All three components can affect your blood sugar level, but carbohydrates do so more quickly.
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These no-sweat tips can help you avoid diabetes-related problems caused by summer temperatures.
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Diabetes affects the body in many complex ways, and having a team to help you stay as healthy and vital as possible, for as long as possible, is key.
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Because a person with diabetes has poor blood circulation, wounds of all kinds heal slowly and are easily infected. In addition, high blood glucose leads to high levels of sugar in body tissues, causing bacteria to grow and infections to develop more quickly.
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Having a child with diabetes can be overwhelming. Fortunately, a team of experts can guide you now and in the years to come.
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