Medical tests aren’t always invasive or embarrassing, sometimes they’re as simple as a quick blood test. Even then, it’s surprising how often some people will avoid them as much as possible.

While not all tests are fool proof, many routine tests could help detect a potentially severe or even fatal illness. Here are 7 tests that you should consider asking your doctor about. He or she may tell you that you don’t fall into the risk categories, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

1- Cholesterol levels.

We hear about good cholesterol and bad cholesterol - which is which and what is what? The so-called good cholesterol is high-density lipoprotein , or HDL. You want to have this so remember that you want your H DL to be High . The low-density lipoprotein , the LDL, is the so-called bad cholesterol. You want the L DL to be Low . Read more

Medical alert bracelets, and more recently necklaces, have been around in many forms for quite a while. We see them for people who are allergic to certain things, have chronic illnesses, or special medical issues, like organ transplants. But many people don’t like to wear them. Would a tattoo be the solution?

According to this USA Today article, Tattoos being used for medical alerts , tattoos alerting people of their medical condition is becoming an option for some people. And it’s more common that we probably realize. There’s a Wikipedia entry for medical tattoos , and there are discussions about them on various blogs and sites, like Diabetes Advocacy and The Diabetic Lifestyle Journal.

What do you think? Is it a good solution or - in your opinion - a drastic one? I have to admit, I’d not thought about it before, but I can see why someone may want to do it.

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Image: Stock.xchng

Tree nuts (pecans, almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts, pine nuts, walnuts, and hazelnuts) have for some time been known to help reduce the risk of heart disease. Now there is evidence to suggest that they may reduce the risk of non-insulin dependent (type 2) diabetes. Researchers from the University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto are presenting a paper at this week’s Experimental Biology Annual Meeting in New Orleans to support this theory.

According to Cyril Kendall, Ph.D., of the University of Toronto, “This is the largest study done to date looking at the effect of tree nuts and peanuts on Type 2 diabetes.”

According to Maureen Ternus, M.S., R.D., Executive Director of the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation, “While we’ve known for years that eating 1.5 ounces of nuts per day can help reduce the risk for heart disease, these new findings show that consuming nuts may now be helpful in controlling Type 2 diabetes as well.”

(photo credit: Newscom)

Just in time for summer grilling and entertaining season, the American Heart Association is offering a free cookbook filled with diabetes-friendly recipes. All you have to do is visit the American Heart Association Web site and sign up for their healthy living newsletter.

Included are recipes for summer pork roast with vegetables, Cajun Creole smothered steaks, garlicky Greek yogurt dip, and chicken rotini salad with rosemary.

The offer is available only for shipment to US addresses.

(photo courtesy of the American Heart Association)

One of the most devastating things about diabetes is that in getting this one disease, it puts stress on your entire body. Simply by being diabetic, your body can be attacked by a multitude of other diseases, like kidney failure.

Diabetes is hard on anyone, but the elderly have an especially difficult time because of the maintenance required to keep the disease in check. Now, a new study suggests that elderly diabetics also have a “higher level of residual renal function when they start dialysis,” which means more are starting dialysis than ever before. In addition, they generally need to start it earlier than non-diabetic patients.

Also, the “proportion of deaths from infection was significantly increased in diabetics (12.8% vs. 9.8% of deaths).” These scary numbers mean that diabetics have to be that much more diligent about caring for themselves, and in talking with their doctor about options before complete kidney failure takes over the body.

Image: MorgueFile.

We know that obesity puts you at a higher risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes, but a recent study has found a link between “insecticides present in that fat.” Obese individuals with lower levels of organochlorine insecticides in their blood didn’t have diabetes (or insulin resistance) that other obese individuals did.

This could be one reason why certain people do not get Type 2 Diabetes, despite being overweight and out of shape.

One insecticide in particular, chlordane, was used to fight termite infestations in “approximately 30 million homes from the 1950s until it was banned in 1988.” The vapors of this chemical get into homes ” through opening around pipes and cracks in concrete floors.” Chlordane compounds then ” accumulate in the fat tissues” and aid in the condition known as insulin resistance. Even more frightening was this statistic: ” Chlordane levels in the air of homes are known to remain high 30-plus years after application.”

For more information on how chlordane could affect you, please visit Diabetes Health Magazine.

Image: Morguefile.

Have you just been told you have diabetes or know someone who has?

It’s a complicated disease. It can be managed fairly well, but it takes thought and preparation most of the time. It’s not a disease that you can forget about.

One of the first things you learn is how to test your own blood sugar levels. At first, it seems like it’s so often, that your fingers are like pin cushions. This does get better. Your fingers may not get entirely used to it, but most often, the frequency of testing goes down as you become more controlled and aware of your body.

What are those numbers?

Your blood sugar levels can range wildly from below 2.0 mmol/L in a severe hypoglycemic crisis to above 24, heading towards a serious hyperglycemic crisis.

The idea blood sugar levels are between 4.0 and 7.0 mmol/L before meals or after you’ve been fasting and between 5.0 and 10.0 mmol/L about two hours after eating.

Symptoms

If your blood sugar is too low (hypoglycemia), you may experience mood swings, blurry vision, sweating, severe hunger, shakiness, headache, extreme fatigue and dizziness. If your blood sugar is too high (hyperglycemia), you may experience thirst (dry mouth), blurry vision, frequent urge to urinate, and fatigue.

A trick that I used to give patients uses a few words. Unfortunately, I couldn’t come up with words that made sense when using them with diabetes, but they do do the trick for some.

For signs of hyperglycemia, think THEFT .

• TH - thirsty and dry mouth
• E - Eyes are blurry
• F - Frequent urge to urinate
• T - Tired, extreme fatigue, exhausted

For hypoglycemia, think of two words: SHED and MESH.

• S - Shakiness
• H - Headache
• E - Extreme fatigue
• D - Dizziness

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• M - Mood swings
• E - Eyes blurry
• S - Sweating
• H - Hunger

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Image: Morguefile.com

Illustrations: Marijke Vroomen-Durning

Looking for Diabetes Notes? You’ve found us! Diabetes Notes is part of Blisstree now. How do you like our new digs?

Don’t worry, I’ll still be providing diabetes news and updates here. And the “Putting a Face on Diabetes” interview series remains alive and well! (A little “health” humor there! Tee hee).

This is an exciting time for diabetics everywhere, as each day we know more about the disease and get closer to a cure.

Remember if you’re a Type 1 or Type 2 diabetic who is interested in being interviewed, please send me an email at: cherieburbach@yahoo.com. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you as we learn about and tackle this disease.

I along with millions of people, I know how hard it is to change your eating habits. With so many people having diabetes and heart disease because of obesity I took this as my wake up call. I went on line and found an article from Mayo Clinic that is very informative, that I would like to share.

In the article there are seven steps to follow as a guide to better health; you will also find menus to help get you started. There are suggested foods to eat and foods you need to limit.

To lower your cholesterol and risk of coronary artery disease you need to limit saturated and trans fats. These fats increase the risk of plaque buildup in your arteries called atherosclerosis, which is the cause of heart attack and stroke.

When choosing foods high in protein make sure they are low in fat, such as lean meat, poultry and fish. Select egg whites or egg substitutes, skim milk instead of whole for better health.

We all know that vegetables and fruits are good for us; they are low in calories and rich in fiber. We should eat whole grain foods as well; they provide fiber, vitamins and minerals.

One of the most important things to remember is to limit your salt intake, we all know that salt is a killer causing high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association suggests that we eat no more than 1 teaspoon of salt per day. 

To find more information on the subject click here Heart disease, Menus.

My sister married when I was 8 years old, her husband was like another father to me. Don was my hero he was always so full of life and included me in his mad adventures, with his children.

Don was over six feet three inches tall and weighed about 240, he was always outdoors, his only faults were smoking and eating fatty foods. He was never sick so there was no need to go to the doctor, so he thought.

Imagine our surprise when we found that he was an extremely ill man with diabetes.

He fought a good fight in every way, but he would not give up his smoking. The doctors told him that the medicine that he was taking could not help him if he continued to smoke.

Don died in a nursing home with heart failure, unable to walk; he took a large part of my heart with him.

If you have a loved one that is fighting diabetes please do all you can to help them to give up smoking.

Patient’s with diabetes should have an AIC glucose test twice a year. Diabetics blood pressure should be no more than 130/80mmHg. Their Cholesterol LDL (bad) needs to be below 100 mg/dl their HDL (good) should be above 40mg/dl for men and 50 mg/dl for women. 

Currently, 2 out of 3 people with diabetes in the United States die from a heart attack or stroke. Diet and exercise can help reduce the risk of developing diabetes-related complications such as heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and amputations. In many cases, medicine is also needed to keep diabetes under control.

For more information click here MSNBC.