Disease, Medication and Healthy Lifestyle

Article by Diana Walker

Article by Dr Guin Van Niekerk

RESISTING INSULIN RESISTANCE

By Dr Guin Van Niekerk

It seems that almost every day a new association between diet and health is discovered. Certain food groups have been shown in reliable studies to decrease the risk of various conditions; for example, the high lycopene content of tomatoes helps to prevent prostate cancer, and calcium-containing foods such as yoghurt and broccoli delay the onset of osteoporosis.

Other foods have been shown to cause, or aggravate, particular conditions. People with high blood pressure are routinely advised to cut down on salt intake. Gout sufferers are all too aware of the impact that some foods, especially drinks like beer (even alcohol-free beer!) have on their joints.

The problem with these food-health relationships, is that they are not very specific, or predictable. How many tomatoes must you eat, and for how long, for it to have a protective effect on your prostate? Assuming, of course, that you are a man and therefore would have one of these. And how much yoghurt and broccoli should you eat to help delay the onset of osteoporosis? Nobody seems to know the answers to these problems, and so it is generally recommended that we eat as much of the protective food types as we can, while avoiding the less favourable things like salt and saturated fats.

Recommendations like these seem to be a bit too vague for my liking. In this era of precise measurements and percentages, it could be expected that someone would be able to prescribe a daily or weekly portion of the particular food group required to decrease the risk of having a condition by a precise percentage. But this is just not possible. Confounding factors such as genetics need to be taken into account; if you have a family history of an illness you may have a genetic predisposition to having the condition yourself, no matter what you do. And genetics is generally too complex a subject to be able to make very accurate predictions. So any recommendations regarding eating certain foods to prevent disease should read something like this: ” Eat such-and-such food, and you may be able to make a slight difference to your overall risk of developing the condition, unless your genes say otherwise, and who can tell if this is the case?” Some prediction!

However, there is one condition where lifestyle and diet will always have a predictable impact on its severity and course, and that is insulin resistance.

“What?” you say. “Never heard of it.” And most people haven’t heard of it, despite the fact that it is one of the most prevalent conditions in the world today. It is more common than diabetes; in fact, insulin resistance is the cause of type 2 diabetes, and has been estimated to affect about one in four people.

So what is insulin resistance?

The answer is not a simple one: insulin resistance is a complex entity, which involves a spectrum of conditions ranging from excess weight around the waist, to type 2 diabetes mellitus. It is the single cause of conditions such as metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovarian syndrome and type 2 diabetes, and is strongly associated with high blood pressure, cholesterol abnormalities, gout, and most frighteningly, sudden death, especially in middle-aged women. In short, it is a medical time bomb.

Its origins are not always clear-cut either. Insulin resistance tends to run in families – although not everyone in the same family is necessarily equally affected. A brother may never show any symptoms of the illness, while his sister may have significant weight problems and go on to develop type 2 diabetes at the age of forty. Or vice versa. Why this happens is not always apparent, although diet and lifestyle do play very significant roles in the progression of the condition.

Insulin resistance may also be “acquired”; in other words it develops in an individual with no family background of insulin resistance and its associated conditions. This usually occurs in people who are overweight for whatever reasons. It has been estimated that half of all people who are significantly overweight have insulin resistance!

It may be because of this very obvious association between insulin resistance and excess weight that, despite the fact that insulin resistance is largely a genetic disorder, it is very responsive to dietary and lifestyle changes, especially those that result in significant (i.e. more than 2-5 kilograms) weight loss. Fantastic news for those who are not very fond of taking tablets!In fact, exercise and diet were shown by the Diabetes Prevention Program to be almost twice as effective as metformin (a drug that is known to reduce insulin resistance) at reducing the risk of progressing to type 2 diabetes, which is more or less the end result of insulin resistance. And these benefits occur whether the person affected was overweight or not at the beginning of the lifestyle modification program. Strangely enough, some people with insulin resistance do not have a weight problem by ordinary standards. Instead, they may have a completely normal body mass index, and the only sign of underlying insulin resistance may be a slight thickening around the waist area.

Nevertheless, the end result of the appropriate dietary modification is the same… an improvement in symptoms, and a longer, healthier life. In a world where people are becoming more interested and involved in taking control of their bodies and their health, this is excellent news. A do-it-yourself cure that really works!

Having said all this, just a word of caution. Weight loss should be approached carefully. Conventional low calorie, low fat and high carbohydrate diets do not work very well for people with insulin resistance, and crash diets work well for nobody. An appropriate diet, a bit of mild exercise, and a slow, gentle loss of weight are all that is needed to make a huge difference to your health. And to the health of those around you. Please remember that family members of people with diabetes are likely to have insulin resistance too, and need to be made aware of this possibility. With insulin resistance and diabetes, prevention is always better than cure!

Dr Guin Van Niekerk is the author of “Why Fat Sticks : An Introduction to Insulin Resistance” For more information go to http://www.insulinresistancesite.com

Article by Arif Rahim

If you have experience with feline diabetes you know how hard it can be to watch your furry family member suffer through weakness, vet appointments, diet changes and, possibly the most challenging of all, insulin injections. Knowledge of proper cat insulin injection techniques can make your life and your cat’s life easier. If you have any questions or concerns talk to your vet.

Prepare the Insulin

Start by filling the insulin syringe slightly more than your cat’s dose
Tap the insulin syringe to remove air bubbles
Slowly push the plunger until you have the correct dosage of insulin in the syringe

Prepare Your Cat

Create a routine to make your cat comfortable. At first he will likely try to get away, but eventually he should become familiar with the process, and you may even be able to train him to come when it is time for his insulin injection. Start by giving him lots of attention and affection, and maybe even a small treat. It is probably best to keep the insulin syringe out of your hands at first, so that he does not get scared. When you are ready to give your cat insulin, get on his level – don’t come at him from above or he will feel threatened. Now it is time to find the injection site.

Injection sites

The scruff (top of the neck) is the most commonly used injection site for insulin for cats, however it may not be the best. The amount of skin and muscle in this area can slow absorption of the insulin, and can be more painful for the cat.

Other options for injection are the flank (between the ribs and the legs), the side or underside of the belly, and the side of the chest. Absorption tends to be quickest when given in the side or underside of the belly.

Insulin Injection

Each cat is different, and the proper type, dose and frequency of insulin for cats need to be determined by a veterinarian. Once you know the proper insulin dosing and have determined the best place for injection, place your thumb and index finger approximately an inch apart and pinch the skin to create a “tent”. Make sure you are not grabbing any muscle.

The insulin injection should go into the hollow space under the “tent” of skin. It should not go into the skin itself, or into the muscle. If your cat is long-haired make sure that you can see the skin and that you are not giving him a “fur shot”.

When you are giving the insulin injection be confident, smooth and fast. It is the puncture part that hurts, so go quickly through that part; you can slow down a bit while you inject the fluid.

Above all, be gentle and kind when giving your cat insulin, especially at first, and praise him when it is all done.

Do you have shooting foot pain in the morning, after or while walking, after running, sleeping or sitting and searching for natural remedies for foot pain? You may be suffering from plantar fasciitis, inflammation of the plantar fascia due to injury.

you can get rid of this foot pain by using natural remedies that are simple, cheap and without side effects. Before knowing about the treatment for foot pain, let us learn about the symptoms, causes and diagnosis of plantar fasciitis.

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Debilitating foot pain, pain in the ball of foot, in the high arch, in the arch of foot and in the heel of foot may arise from wearing incorrect shoes, age-related loss of resiliency in the ligaments, tendency of the foot to roll inward upon walking, some form of arthritis like ankylosing spondylitis or Reiter’s syndrome. Diagnosis is done with medical history and physical examination.

Rest, icing, anti-inflammatory medications, orthotic, stretching exercises and night splints are the natural remedies that are useful in getting rid of this painful foot condition. Just resting usually helps to eliminate the most severe pain and will allow the inflammation to cool down. Avoid precipitating activities like jogging, prolonged standing or walking. Applying ice over the affected area help to diminish some of the symptoms and control the heel pain. Pain relievers like ibuprofen and naproxen can control pain and decrease inflammation.

Professional methods are useful in quick cure and may be used if you do not know how to allow nature to cure foot pain.

The human’s common illness is starting in the spines. This part of the body (spine), together with the compound connecting system of the body’s muscles, joints and nerves are able to generate pain. However, the nerves that initiate spines through the arms and legs exude a pain in some parts of the body. Back pain is an ache that can be sense usually in the back part of your body commonly in the spine.

At the beginning, it could be an abrupt pain or in can be chronic pain. It might also felt only in one area of the body or it can also be felt regularly or often. But the back pain is not just only at your back, this can be experience in the other areas of the body. Is not simply a back pain, it might be a pain called neck pain, tailbone pain or lower and upper back pain. Lower-back pain also known as lumbago is an acute pain that mostly people consult at the doctor. Within one year, ranging 9 of ten persons experiences this pain; most of them are an adult who works. These pains do not execute direct medications.

Their syndrome is because of its inflammation and irritation mostly goes through for a couple of weeks or even months. If it lasts for below 4 weeks, acute pain occurs, if pain is within 4-12 weeks that is a sub-acute pain but if the condition occurs and lasts in an excessive 12 weeks that is the chronic pain. The pain must be a signs of suffering from certain disease or ailment such as cancer, infections, osteoarthritis (generative disease in joints) trauma, fractures or isthmic spondylolisthesis.

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The pain can be relief in a short manner or procedures. One of this is through heat therapy, which helps the contraction of the back in aching. It can reduce the acute pain and even the sub-acute pain felt in the body. Cold-compression therapy is also a positive way the ease the pain. Another therapy is the massage therapy done by a professional therapist which gives only a short-term of releasing the aches, whereas the pressure-point massage is advantageous than the classic massage. Medicines like paracetamol, opioids, anti inflammatory drugs or muscle relaxants is an additional pain reliever to lessen the pain.

Having an exercise is the most cheap and effective way to alleviate the pain. But this is must done by the supervision of health care provider. Scroth method is majorly made a physical exercise for the spinal disorders. The real acupuncture or sham acupuncture or the common known acupuncture is another beneficial procedure for the back pain. A pregnant woman is also often complaint in suffering back pain. It might be significant or disability back pain.

On the other hand, if the back pain still does not mitigate, a surgery is the suitable procedure. This can be done if the patient has a fracture, Scoliosis, Spinal Stenosis or degenerative joint disease. Persisting surgical methods are sometimes a solution for these causes. Surgery such as the usual spine surgery is an expensive healing process but then it is more precisely effective among the short-term relief. Treatments do not usually release all the pain, it just reduces. Doing daily exercise is the best treatment of it.

How do you really know when it is your time? Is it something you should do? Is there any other way to end your horrible low back pain? These are all pretty standard questions when it comes to the dreaded ‘s’ word.

The decision to have sciatica nerve surgery is a big one. It does not matter if you are being told that it is minimally invasive or not, it is still invasive…and it is still surgery. If you are being told that it might be your time to go under the knife, here are some questions you should ask yourself.

What to Ask Yourself Before Considering Sciatica Nerve Surgery:

1 – Do you know the reason you have sciatica?- do you know if you your pain is because of a slipped disc, degenerative disc disease, piriformis syndrome, spinal stenosis, etc.? Whatever is causing your pain affects how you need to fix your pain. If your doctor has never looked into the cause of your pain, there is a good chance that you are not getting the right treatment. Before you do anything crucial, be sure that the medical options that you have tried should be able to help your low back pain without further hurting your spine. It is always a good idea to talk to a second doctor about this as well.

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2 – Have you been in constant pain for at least 3 months? – if you are looking for a sciatic treatment, then you are no stranger to pain. If you are able to find relief with medications, therapy, massage, etc., then you should stick with that and not go the surgery route. A good doctor will not even recommend surgery unless your pain is due to a trauma or you have been in constant, never ending pain for at least three months with no way of finding relief.

3 – Have you tried all of the natural remedies – have you just been taking pills and injections for your treatment? There are many natural ways to find relief. If you have not looked into spinal decompression, physical therapy, massage, eating habits, and exercise, you should. You want to make sure that surgery is an absolute last resort.

The biggest thing for you to remember when thinking about this is that your pain may come back. Many people are pain free for months, even years, but at some point they find themselves back in pain. What is worse, most people do not know that if your pain returns after a surgery, odds are the only way for you to find relief would be another surgery.

Until you find a Cure, your pain Will Always Return.

Are You Ready to End Your Sciatica Pain?

Learn Easy Tips to Avoid Sciatic Surgery and Find Relief Today.

Be Pain Free By Next Week athttp://www.treat-sciatic-nerve-pain.info

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Do you have intense foot pain or heel pain in the morning, after or while walking, after sleeping, sitting or running? Chances are that you are suffering from plantar fasciitis, a common painful foot condition found mostly among athletes. Are you looking for natural remedies for plantar fasciitis?

as you can get rid of plantar fasciitis with the help of natural remedies. Have a look at the symptoms, causes and diagnosis before knowing about the treatment, as it may help in choosing the appropriate treatment.

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The symptoms of plantar fasciitis may be severe foot pain, pain in the heel, in the ball of foot, in the arch of foot and in the high arch. These symptoms may spring from causes like stress on the heel, some form of arthritis like ankylosing spondylitis or Reiter’s syndrome, age-related loss of resiliency in the ligaments, tendency of the foot to roll inward upon walking and wearing incorrect shoes. Patient’s medical history and physical examination are useful in diagnosing this ailment.

Natural remedies for plantar fasciitis are simple, inexpensive and do not cause side effects. Icing, rest, pain relievers, orthotic, simple stretching exercises and night splints are some of the natural remedies for plantar fasciitis. For instance shoe inserts are often the key to successful treatment of plantar fasciitis. The shoe inserts often permit patients to continue their routine activities without pain.

These treatments can be used effectively if you know how to allow Nature to cure plantar fasciitis or if you want a quick cure, use professional methods.

Although studies regarding the best type of mattress have been inconclusive, choosing a new mattress is one of the most important decisions you will make in your life. The right mattress can lead to better sleep, more energy, and an increase in overall health. Many people with back problems, muscle pain, and sleep conditions find that adjustable beds can help to alleviate their pain and discomfort. Adjustable beds can be set in various positions, allowing you to sleep more comfortably. Conversely, flat mattresses straighten out your spine, thus interfering with your body’s natural curves. It is thought that lying on a flat mattress doesn’t support all points of your body and worsens conditions like sleep apnea, low back pain, and acid reflux.

How Adjustable Beds Work

You can adjust your adjustable bed so that it can keep the upper body slightly more elevated than the lower body and support the knees. Sleeping in this position can ease stress off of your lower back, support your spinal curves, and can ease pressure off of your entire body. Since you can sleep slightly inclined on an adjustable bed, it can potentially be very helpful in alleviating certain back conditions.

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The Benefits of Adjustable Beds

People who suffer from a variety of different painful conditions may potentially benefit from sleeping in adjustable beds. For example, people with osteoarthritis may relieve pressure on their joints by sleeping in an adjustable bed that keeps their head and knees elevated. People with spinal stenosis may relieve pressure on their nerve root by sleeping in an adjustable bed. In general, if you suffer from lower back pain and back conditions that feel worse when you are standing up straight and better when bending forward, you may benefit from sleeping in an adjustable bed.

Some adjustable beds come with a built-in massage system, allowing you to receive a relaxing therapeutic massage without spending a fortune. You can also find adjustable beds with electric under blankets that emit heat. Not only does the heat keep you warm in the winter, it can help to ease muscular pain so you can relax more and sleep better.

adjustable mattresses may also relieve acid reflux because they allow you to maintain the recommended elevated position. Adjustable beds position your head higher and thus can prevent gastric juices from rising up into the esophagus. As a result, you may experience potential relief from the discomfort associated with acid reflux. It is easy to alter the position of an adjustable mattress instantly for optimal comfort because of its remote control feature. Adjustable mattresses are also wonderful for sufferers of sleep apnea because they elevate your body and thus may make it easier to breathe and reduce congestion.

There are several benefits to sleeping in an adjustable bed. Since you spend a third of your life on your mattress, it makes sense to choose one that is comfortable, particularly if you suffer from sleep conditions or back/muscle pain. Make your nights truly restful by investing in an adjustable bed. You’re likely to realize after just one night how much more comfortable and relaxing they are than flat beds.

You’ve noticed a tingling, a moment of pain or loss of feeling in your leg and are confused as to what this might mean. Is it serious? What could be happening in your body to make it feel this way? You should explore exactly what your symptoms are to aid in the evaluation and confirmation of an official diagnosis. Sciatica is a commonly misunderstood medical term. Sciatica refers to a set of symptoms and is not a diagnosis.

What are sciatica symptoms? The most identifiable symptom of sciatica is pain. The range of pain can vary from just a tingling sensation or a dull ache to a burning sensation so intense that it renders the person unable to move. The pain often occurs on one side. The sensation may start in the hip and extend to the foot, or start in the calf and spread upward. Pain may start slowly but increase after activity, late at night, when sneezing, coughing, or laughing, or when bending backwards.

There are different ways to test for sciatica. If you suspect you may be experiencing sciatica symptoms, ask for a neuromuscular examination from your doctor. You may have abnormal reflexes (too slow, too fast, etc.) You may require a blood test, x-ray, MRI, or other tests or procedures depending on the doctor’s estimations of what the origin of the sciatica is in your specific case. The doctor will need to screen for various types of infections, including meningitis, urinary tract infection, ruptured disk, cancer, kidney stone, or any other serious problem.

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There are many conditions that compress nerves and cause these sciatica symptoms. Treatment and specific symptoms vary widely between patients because the condition behind the sciatica symptoms can be very diverse. The length of time that someone suffers from sciatica can vary greatly, depending on the larger problem. To suffer for less amount of time, try these quick resolutions to easing the pain:

- Apply ice for the first 48-72 hours. Afterward, apply heat to the pain.
- Take over the counter pain relievers like Ibuprofen or Tylenol.
- Relieve pressure by sleeping in a fetal position with a pillow between your legs, or on your back with a pillow underneath your back.
- Doctors can administer injections to reduce inflammation if the pain worsens.
- Physical therapy exercises may be assigned

The length of time you can suffer from sciatica directly corresponds to how long it takes to diagnose the root of the problem. These pains occur when there is pressure on the sciatic nerve, and you and your doctor can work together to discover why. Common causes of sciatica do include: herniated spinal disks, slipped disks, degenerative disk disease, spinal stenosis, pelvic injury or fracture, or tumors. If the cause of the sciatica is caught in enough time, you can avoid long-term damage. The extent of disability ranges from nothing to complete loss of movement and flexibility. Pain or weakness in the nerves may persist and be severe for a period of time.