These Top Seven Herbs Promote Healthy Blood Sugar and Support Diabetes

6/30/2009 - Finding ways to naturally manage blood sugar and diabetes has become increasingly important as we become more aware of the adverse effects of prescription medications. Lifestyle changes are a crucial step in managing blood sugar levels, but at the same time, it can be difficult to maintain lifestyle...

High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Diabetes: What the Experts Say

6/17/2009 - According to the Corn Refiners Association, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is no worse for you than any other dietary carbohydrate. Many health experts, however, disagree, warning consumers that HFCS is strongly correlated with diabetes and obesity. Today, we bring you selected quotes about HFCS...

Why You Should Avoid Fructose Sweetened Beverages

5/6/2009 - A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (April 20th, 2009) shows the difference in how the sugars fructose and glucose affect the body. Fructose showed more harmful effects such as increasing belly fat, higher cholesterol levels and increased insulin resistance. The study was...

Lack of Sleep Linked to Pre-Diabetes

4/1/2009 - One of the key but often underestimated elements of a healthy lifestyle is a sufficient amount of quality sleep. A recent piece of research presented at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention has added to the wisdom of this age-old...

Natural Diabetes Health: Ten Tips for Living with Type 2 Diabetes

2/27/2009 - Type 2 Diabetes is caused by a resistance to insulin. This prevents your body from properly regulating the amount of glucose in the blood. Diabetes can cause Hyperglycemia and result in several symptoms such as producing too much urine, blurry eyesight, loss of energy, and a change in metabolism (often...

Type 2 Diabetes Linked to Diet Soda

2/16/2009 - A new study published in January 16, 2009 edition of Diabetes Care indicates that daily consumption of diet soda plays a key role in the development of metabolic syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of findings known to increase the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease...

Improve Cardiovascular Health Naturally

1/16/2009 - The best way to ensure a healthy cardiovascular system is to eliminate unhealthy fats from one's diet, eat whole foods, and engage in regular aerobic exercise activity. The cardiovascular system is also affected by stress and emotional health, so making an effort to reduce sources of stress is important...

Exploring Metabolic Syndrome X

1/11/2009 - Metabolic Syndrome X may be one of the most common and overlooked diseases to strike Americans. No, this is not a deadly new strain of virus or even cancer. Metabolic Syndrome X is a disease that is caused by the human body's inability to utilize foods that are consumed. Recent projections are that...

Alpha Lipoic Acid: The Multi-Tasking Supplement

12/23/2008 - If there is one highly competent, yet underrated supplement, it would have to be Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA). ALA is not to be confused with the alpha-linolenic acid (also called ALA) found in flax, canola oil and walnuts. Lipoic acid, or thioctic acid is slowly being recognized for its ability to assist...

High Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels Linked to Heart Disease

12/15/2008 - While cholesterol and saturated fat are often blamed as the cause of heart disease and heart attacks, new studies indicate high blood sugar and insulin also have a considerable impact on a person's risk for developing heart disease. Many diabetics are aware that they are at an increased risk for heart...

Study Shows Link Between Fat and Fructose

12/4/2008 - The body converts fructose into fat much more rapidly than it does with other sugars, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Texas and published in the Journal of Nutrition. Researchers fed a series of three soft drinks in randomized order to four men and two women with...

Ginseng Found Highly Effective for Weight Loss and Diabetes Control

12/1/2008 - Ginseng has long been one of the foundations of healing in Chinese medicine, and is probably the world's best known herb. The botanical name panax means 'all curing' in Greek. This 5000 year old healer has traditionally been used as a restorative tonic to increase energy, stamina, and well being. Western...

Ten Studies Showing the Link Between Sugar and Increased Cancer Risk

11/17/2008 - How many times have you heard it mentioned that sugar causes cancer, that cancer patients should avoid sugar, or that sugar is the favorite food of cancer cells? The truth is, this goes beyond mere hearsay or traditional knowledge; there is actually a large volume of scientific evidence available which...

Yoga More Effective Than Other Forms of Exercise in Treating Diabetes

11/4/2008 - Diabetes is an increasingly common problem in society associated with insulin problems. Insulin causes the body's cells to take up glucose from the blood. Because of the standard Western diet that is high in sugar and dead carbohydrates that turn to sugar, the pancreas becomes exhausted and the cells...

Chlorella Reduces Body Fat, Total Cholesterol, and Blood Glucose Levels

10/27/2008 - If you are interested in reducing body fat, getting your cholesterol level under control and staying clear of diabetes, chlorella may be just the perfect superfood. Researchers have recently investigated the effects of Chlorella on people with high-risk factors for lifestyle diseases and found that...

Sweet Lies: How the Food Industry is Brainwashing the Public

10/17/2008 - False and misleading nutrition information is being sold to the unsuspecting public through convincing TV, radio, magazine and newspaper ads and brilliantly designed marketing campaigns. Chemical concoctions are being advertised as the latest and greatest new "healthy" foods. Synthetic food additives...

Five Principles for Lifelong Blood Sugar Regulation

9/16/2008 - Blood sugar issues lead to problems with every system of the body. Everyone knows about these problems and most people are mildly to moderately worried about them. Blood sugar that is too high can exhaust the pancreas, damage all tissues, including neurological and cardiovascular tissues, throws the...

Is It Beneficial to Fast One Day a Week?

9/14/2008 - Is fasting one day a week good for your health? To answer this question, let's take a look at what happens in your body when you begin to eat and drink nothing but water. After your cells use up the sugar that is in your bloodstream from your last meal or beverage, your body has to find another source...

Oral Glucose Medications Increase Mortality in Type 2 Diabetes Patients

9/10/2008 - Poor blood glucose control puts diabetics at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Every percentage point increase in glycated hemoglobin levels (a blood glucose marker) above normal values raises the relative CVD risk by roughly 20% (1). The percentage of glycated hemoglobin, more specifically...

Diabetes 101: Defining the Disease and How to Test for It (Part 1 of 4)

9/3/2008 - Amid the many health problems facing America today, two prominent problems are thrust into the forefront: obesity and diabetes. With soaring rates of obesity and diabetes reaching number six on the Centers for Disease Control's Causes of Death in the United States list, the time has come to really take...

Why Soft Drinks Contribute to Obesity

9/1/2008 - The introduction of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in the seventies coincided with a marked rise in obesity in the U.S., leading to speculations that there might be a causal connection between HFCS consumption and weight gain (1). This seemed all the more plausible since HFCS consumption grew much...

Milk Thistle: The Herb for Liver Health and More

8/27/2008 - Milk thistle has long been a staple of natural healers who use it to promote liver health. Taken as a spring and fall tonic, milk thistle strengthens the liver, protects liver cells from incoming toxins and allows it to process and release toxins that are already there. It also acts as an anti-depressant,...

Avoid Sugar and Caffeine - Natural Energy Boosters That Work

7/31/2008 - Are you searching for quick ways to improve your concentration and performance? Do you need to stay alert and focused? How about improving your level of performance without caffeine and sugar? To stay alert and smart, your brain needs glucose. But grabbing a sugary snack to improve your mental energy...

Chemical Causes of Diabetes: Overeating Is Not the Only Problem

7/25/2008 - Medical science has discovered how sensitive the insulin receptor sites are to chemical poisoning. Metals such as cadmium, mercury, arsenic, lead, fluoride and possibly aluminum may play a role in the actual destruction of beta cells through stimulating an auto-immune reaction to them after they have...

Can You Be Sabotaging Your Health by Not Knowing the Truth About Sugar?

6/27/2008 - We are encouraged to think of sugary foods as wholesome and desirable. Our children's fairy tales and stories are filled with sugary references, Hansel and Gretel for example. Every special occasion and holiday has its own sugar icon. Birthday cakes for birthdays, candy for Valentine's Day, Easter baskets...

Four Reasons Why Many People Can't Lose Weight

6/11/2008 - Have you been struggling with your weight, despite your best efforts or intentions? There are several factors involved in weight gain, and the very reason why you put on the pounds in the first place could be the thing that is preventing you from losing weight today. Here are the top four reasons why...

Barley Beta-Glucan Fiber Lowers Coronary Heart Disease Risk

5/20/2008 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted Cargill, Inc. the right to make health claims for their beta-fiber product Barliv, a β-glucan (beta-glucan) extract from whole barley flour (1, 2). This so-called interim final ruling, effective immediately, is an amendment of the FDA's...

Grape Skin Compound Fights the Complications of Diabetes

5/9/2008 - Research carried out by scientists at the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England has found that resveratrol, a compound present naturally in grape skin, can protect against the cellular damage to blood vessels caused by high production of glucose in diabetes, according to a recently published...

Control Candida in Two Weeks

5/8/2008 - The need for this article is both current and long-standing. The current Candida diets are unhealthy, lengthy, unwise and simply not all that effective. On the other hand, there is no reason that Candida cannot be totally controlled in a few days to two weeks for most cases -- a few cases may take longer...

Is It Your Stomach or Is It Your Pancreas That's Causing Pain?

5/5/2008 - While your Pancreas may not be something that you think about very often, it might just be time to take notice of this vitally important organ. Becoming in tune with the voice of your body can help you maintain good health and alert you to potential health concerns. The more knowledge that you have...

Natural Remedies for the Treatment of Diabetes

4/24/2008 - Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which blood-sugar (glucose) levels are above normal "either the body doesn`t produce enough of the hormone insulin, which breaks down sugar in the blood, or it cannot utilize its own insulin properly. Diabetes can cause serious health complications including blindness,...

Bitter Melon Is a Safe and Effective Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes

4/20/2008 - The mechanism by which bitter melon effectively treats Type 2 diabetes has been revealed by researchers. The bitter melon is a nontoxic vegetable that has long been an important part of traditional Chinese medicine. Despite tasting very bitter, the melon is widely consumed as a food in Asia. The...

The Diabetes Wake-Up Call and How to Avoid Diabetes

4/17/2008 - Diabetes has become so common in our society that during my last trip to the grocery store I saw two separate magazines dedicated to healthy diabetic living and at least a handful of nutrition bars aimed at regulating glucose levels in the insulin resistant. This was all while I was in line waiting...

Are You Destined for Diabetes?

4/9/2008 - What is diabetes? Diabetes is a chronic health problem stemming from elevated blood sugar. The body's metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats lead directly to the production of glucose, otherwise known as blood sugar. Glucose is needed to supply energy to every cell in the body. If glucose levels...

ProAlgaZyme Supplement Found to Reduce Body Weight, Blood Glucose Levels in Clinical Trial

4/8/2008 - A proprietary supplement derived from freshwater algae may help stave off metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms linked to cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to a study published in the journal Lipids in Health and Disease. The symptoms of metabolic syndrome include central obesity,...

Diet May Be the Key to Prevention and Treatment of Brain Tumors

4/2/2008 - Malignant brain tumor persists as one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in adults and is the second leading cause of cancer death in children. There is little in the way of prevention offered by the medical establishment. Any current therapies for malignant brain tumors do not provide long-term...

Mastering the pH Balancing Act Can Improve Your Health Significantly

3/23/2008 - With the aging population of the United States, the incidence of so-called age-related diseases should be expected to rise. In fact the incidence of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and a host of other diseases have been steadily rising for all age groups until it has reached epidemic proportions. That...

The Cholesterol Battle: How to Win It Naturally

3/11/2008 - When the human blood cholesterol level is higher than that which can be used by the human body, the surplus cholesterol may eventually cause strokes, and or cardiovascular distress. Medications, such as statins, prescribed to lower the blood cholesterol are themselves known to affect our bodies negatively...

DNA and Mitochondrial Time Bombs: Uranium and Mercury

3/3/2008 - Hyperinsulinemia may promote mammary carcinogenesis. Insulin resistance has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer and is also characteristic of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes and cancer are both expanding almost exponentially in the world today and can in part be traced to the increasing radiation...

Flaxseed Phytoestrogens Benefit Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease

3/3/2008 - Whole flaxseeds are known to lower total and LDL cholesterol levels, reduce postprandial glucose absorption, decrease some markers of inflammation, and raise serum levels of omega-3 fatty acids (1). This is of obvious benefit to diabetics who not only need help controlling their blood glucose levels,...

The Harmful Effects of Sugar and Choosing Healthy Alternatives

2/21/2008 - Most of us have heard the good advice that we need to eat less sugar - and rightly so. However, despite the numerous warnings by health authorities of the ill effects of sugar, the majority of the population is still consuming sugar on a daily basis in some form or other. "Sugar" is both a broad category...

Planning to Lose Weight This Year? Supplement With Honey

2/21/2008 - Losing weight has never been sweeter, as long as you use the right sweetener. A new study indicates that the use of table sugar or mixed sugar leads to weight gain. However, honey does not lead to weight gain. Diets including sugar were found to increase the levels of HbA1c, indicating higher levels...

Alkalize Your Body Through Breathing With Healthy Lungs and Sinuses

2/14/2008 - I had a daydream just today. In it, someone asked me, "What is the number one most important reason that people become acidic?" Without a second thought, I replied, "It is the way they breathe." It is interesting to be so startled by a daydream that it jolts you into action! This nevertheless happened...

Reverse Prediabetes with Better Eating Habits and Supplements

2/14/2008 - The biggest epidemic in America hasn't come from birds, Asia, or germs. It's caused by the food you put in your mouth, and it has already affected some 70 to 100 million American adults. Doctors refer to the condition as metabolic syndrome, Syndrome X, or insulin-resistance syndrome - or, increasingly,...

Antioxidants Are Lifesaving for Diabetics with Cardiovascular Disease

2/8/2008 - Atherosclerosis starts with the deposition of low-density lipoproteins (LDL or "bad cholesterol") in blood vessel walls. However, LDL deposits by themselves do not cause atherosclerosis. LDL lipids have to be oxidatively damaged before cardiovascular disease (CVD) develops (1). Given the role of...

Fatal and Vital Foods - Popular Nutrition Myths Exposed

2/7/2008 - I often get asked to write down some basic rules of what to eat and what not to eat. There's a lot of information out there but it's often fragmented and, even worse, contradictory. All I can do is give you my vision on fatal and vital foods. I base this on nothing but common sense. Here goes. Sugars Avoid...

Diets High in Glucose Lead to Shorter Lifespan

1/28/2008 - Restricting worms' intake of glucose led to a lifespan increase of up to 20 percent in a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Jena, Germany. "If the findings in worms hold for humans, it suggests that, in healthy people, glucose may have negative effects on lifespan," researcher...

Look Before You Eat: The Truth About the Glycemic Index

1/3/2008 - Confused about the nutritional benefits of what you ate today? How will you choose the healthiest products for dinner? You may know that we should buy organic foods grown locally, to avoid the 70% of irradiated foods we find in our supermarkets, but do you still ask yourself what foods you should eat? Diets...

Debating Honey: Symbiotic Food or Unnatural Poison?

12/14/2007 - Honey is an age-old food and medicine, dating back thousands of years at least. One would think that both believers in creation and believers in evolution would feel that honey is a symbiotic food and medicine. Still, one could make the same assumption about drinking the milk of other mammals, but...

Half of all Americans carry diabetes risk gene for poor glucose tolerance

2/2/2007 - According to a recent study, roughly half of all Americans carry a variant of a gene that increases susceptibility to diabetes. The study, published this month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was authored by researchers from the University of Maryland’s school of Medicine and department...

Elevated blood sugar kills 3 million people world wide each year

11/10/2006 - A study by U.S. and New Zealand scientists has shown that about 3 million heart-disease-, stroke- and diabetes-related deaths are caused by high blood sugar levels each year world wide; one health author notes that the only way to raise blood sugar is by consuming sugars and refined carbohydrates. The...

Study Adds to Links Between Sleep Loss and Diabetes (press release)

11/7/2006 - Short or poor quality sleep is associated with reduced control of blood-sugar levels in African Americans with diabetes, report researchers from the University of Chicago in the Sept. 18, 2006, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. The finding suggests that one inexpensive way to improve the...

Green tea extract may help prevent type-2 diabetes through improved glucose tolerance

10/10/2006 - A new study by DSM Nutritional Products shows that epigallocatechin gallate, commonly known as EGCG, improves glucose tolerance in diabetic rodents and could be a positive addition to dietary prevention of type 2 diabetes, if the results can be applied to humans. "To our knowledge, we provide the...

How is it used?

The blood glucose test is ordered to measure the amount of glucose in the blood right at the time of sample collection. It is used to detect both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, to help diagnose diabetes, and to monitor glucose levels in persons with diabetes. Blood glucose may be measured on a fasting basis (collected after an 8 to 10 hour fast), randomly (anytime), post prandial (after a meal), and/or as part of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT / GTT). An OGTT is a series of blood glucose tests. A fasting glucose is collected; then the patient drinks a standard amount of a glucose solution to "challenge" their system. This is followed by one or more additional glucose tests performed at specific intervals to track glucose levels over time. The OGTT may be ordered to help diagnose diabetes and as a follow-up test to an elevated blood glucose.

The American Diabetes Association recommends either the fasting glucose or the OGTT to diagnose diabetes but says that testing should be done twice, at different times, in order to confirm a diagnosis of diabetes.

Most pregnant women are screened for gestational diabetes, a temporary form of hyperglycemia, between their 24th and 28th week of pregnancy using a version of the OGTT, a 1-hour glucose challenge. If either fasting glucose or a random glucose is above the values used to diagnose diabetes in those who are not pregnant, the woman is considered to have gestational diabetes and neither the screening nor the glucose tolerance test is needed. If the 1-hour level is higher than the defined value, a longer OGTT is performed to clarify the patient's status.

Diabetics must monitor their own blood glucose levels, often several times a day, to determine how far above or below normal their glucose is and to determine what oral medications or insulin(s) they may need. This is usually done by placing a drop of blood from a skin prick onto a glucose strip and then inserting the strip into a glucose meter, a small machine that provides a digital readout of the blood glucose level.

In those with suspected hypoglycemia, glucose levels are used as part of the "Whipple triad" to confirm a diagnosis. (See "Is there anything else I should know?" section).

The urine glucose is seldom ordered by itself. At one time, it was used to monitor diabetics, but it has been largely replaced by the more sensitive and “real time” blood glucose. The urine glucose is, however, one of the substances measured when a urinalysis is performed. A urinalysis may be done routinely as part of a physical or prenatal checkup, when a doctor suspects that a patient may have a urinary tract infection, or for a variety of other reasons. The doctor may follow an elevated urine glucose test with blood glucose testing.

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When is it ordered?

CAP Reminder ServiceBlood glucose testing can be used to screen healthy, asymptomatic individuals for diabetes and pre-diabetes because diabetes is a common disease that begins with few symptoms. Screening for glucose may occur during public health fairs or as part of workplace health programs. It may also be ordered when a patient has a routine physical exam. Screening is especially important for people at high risk of developing diabetes, such as those with a family history of diabetes, those who are overweight, and those who are more than 40 to 45 years old.

The glucose test may also be ordered to help diagnose diabetes when someone has symptoms of hyperglycemia, such as:

* Increased thirst

* Increased urination

* Fatigue

* Blurred vision

* Slow-healing infections

or symptoms of hypoglycemia, such as:

* Sweating

* Hunger

* Trembling

* Anxiety

* Confusion

* Blurred Vision

Blood glucose testing is also done in emergency settings to determine if low or high glucose is contributing to symptoms such as fainting and unconsciousness. If a patient has pre-diabetes (characterized by fasting or OGTT levels that are higher than normal but lower than those defined as diabetic), the doctor will order a glucose test at regular intervals to monitor the patient’s status. With known diabetics, doctors will order glucose levels in conjunction with other tests such as hemoglobin A1c to monitor glucose control over a period of time. Occasionally, a blood glucose level may be ordered along with insulin and C-peptide to monitor insulin production.

Diabetics may be required to self-check their glucose, once or several times a day, to monitor glucose levels and to determine treatment options as prescribed by their doctor.

Pregnant women are usually screened for gestational diabetes late in their pregnancies, unless they have early symptoms or previously have had gestational diabetes. When a woman has gestational diabetes, her doctor will usually order glucose levels throughout the rest of her pregnancy and after delivery to monitor her condition.

Glucose: The simple sugar (monosaccharide) that serves as the chief source of energy in the body. Glucose is the principal sugar the body makes. The body makes glucose from proteins, fats and, in largest part, carbohydrates. Glucose is carried to each cell through the bloodstream. Cells, however, cannot use glucose without the help of insulin. Glucose is also known as dextrose.

Glucose may be consumed or given IV to increase the level of blood glucose when the level falls too low (hypoglycemia). In hypoglycemia, cells cannot function normally, and symptoms develop such as nervousness, cool skin, headache, confusion, convulsions or coma. Ingested glucose is absorbed directly into the blood from the intestine and results in a rapid increase in the blood glucose. IV glucose acts even more rapidly to relieve hypoglycemia.

Our body's primary source of energy takes the form of glucose. This type of sugar comes from digesting carbohydrates into a chemical that we can easily convert to energy. When glucose levels in the bloodstream aren't properly regulated, one can develop a serious condition, such as diabetes.

We get most of our glucose from digesting the sugar and starch in carbohydrates. Foods like rice, pasta, grain, potatoes, fruits, a few vegetables, and processed sweets qualify as carbohydrates. Our digestive system, using bile and enzymes, breaks down the starch and sugar in these foods into glucose. This functional form of energy then gets absorbed through the small intestine into the bloodstream. There, a chemical known as insulin, excreted by the pancreas, meets the glucose. Together, they can enter cells in muscles and the brain, allowing glucose to power activities like lifting a book or remembering a phone number.