Category: Points of interest

Diabetes -Can It Be Cured?

Diabetes is a condition that affects blood sugar levels and causes many serious health problems if left untreated or uncontrolled. There is no cure for diabetes, but it can go into remission. People can manage it with medication and lifestyle changes.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that develops when the body destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. This means that people with type 1 diabetes do not make insulin. Without insulin, the body cannot regulate the amount of glucose in the blood.

People with type 2 diabetes develop a decreased sensitivity to insulin, which means the body does not make or use as much insulin as it needs. It is the more common of the two main types.

This article reviews therapies and lifestyle changes that can help reduce the effects of diabetes on a person’s health.

Is diabetes curable?

woman preparing salad in kitchen

While diabetes is incurable, a person can stay in remission for a long time.

No cure for diabetes currently exists, but the disease can go into remission.

When diabetes goes into remission, it means that the body does not show any signs of diabetes, although the disease is technically still present.

Doctors have not come to a final consensus on what exactly constitutes remission, but they all include A1C levels below 6 percent as a significant factor. A1C levels indicate a person’s blood sugar levels over 3 months.

According to Diabetes Care, remission can take different forms:

  • Partial remission: When a person has maintained a blood glucose level lower than that of a person with diabetes for at least 1 year without needing to use any diabetes medication.
  • Complete remission: When the blood glucose level returns to normal levels completely outside of the range of diabetes or prediabetes and stays there for at least 1 year without any medications.
  • Prolonged remission: When complete remission lasts for at least 5 years.

Even if a person maintains normal blood sugar levels for 20 years, a doctor would still consider their diabetes to be in remission rather than cured.

Achieving diabetes remission can be as simple as making changes to an exercise routine or diet.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317074.php

Tip for Today

DIY~ Halloween Candy Wreath

halloween candy wreaths crafts

Make the Wreath: Gather an assortment of old-fashioned candies in autumnal shades such as yellow, orange, and magenta. Wrap a 14-inch foam wreath form in white ribbon. Attach candy with hot-glue, layering and overlapping as you go. Finish with a yellow burlap bow.

Pancreas~ Trouble Signs

Your stool looks funny.

If you notice your stool is light colored and floating, that’s a sign of poor nutrient absorption. “The enzymes your pancreas produces help you digest fats in your diet,” Hendifar explains. Along with breaking down fats, your pancreas helps your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins like A, E, and K, he says.

When pancreatic disease messes with your organ’s ability to properly manufacture those enzymes, the result is feces that looks paler and is less dense. You may also notice your poop is oily or greasy. “The toilet water will have a film that looks like oil,” Hendifar says. That’s the dietary fat your body failed to break down, he explains.

If you notice your poop looks funky now and then, that’s no reason to freak out. But if all or most of your poops have these characteristics, let your doctor know.

Your insides ache.

Abdominal pain is one of the most common symptoms of both pancreatic cancer and acute pancreatitis, which is a type of deadly inflammation, Hendifar says. But that pain manifests in different ways depending on the underlying condition.

If the pain seems to start in your middle before “radiating” into your mid or lower back—and if it lingers for weeks—that may be a sign of pancreatic cancer, Epperly says. Also, if you’ve already seen your doctor and he or she has prescribed a type of drug called a proton-pump inhibitor—such as omeprazole (Prilosec) or esomeprazole (Nexium)—let your doc know if your symptoms don’t improve. Hendifar says it’s common for doctors to mistake pancreatic cancer–triggered pain for reflux or other GI issues, many of which a proton-pump inhibitor should help resolve.

On the other hand, if the pain comes on suddenly and is intense and focused in the middle of your abdomen, that’s the type associated with acute pancreatitis, Epperly says.

In either case, don’t freak out. A lot of health issues—some serious, but many mild—can cause stomach aches or pain, Hendifar adds. Just get yourself to a doctor.

Diabetes rears its head.

Your pancreas produces hormones that help control your body’s production of insulin, as well as your blood sugar levels. When the pancreas is imperiled, it’s common for sufferers to develop type 2 diabetes, Hendifar says. If your weight is under control and you eat a healthy diet, a new diabetes diagnosis should lead to a closer examination of your pancreas.

The same holds for a diabetes sufferer who suddenly finds her disease hard to manage. “Those sudden changes in diabetes status without an obvious explanation, those are things we see associated with pancreatic cancer,” he says.

You’re nauseated after burgers.

Nausea and vomiting are symptoms to watch out for—particularly if you’ve been eating fatty foods, Hendifar says. Again, because your pancreas produces enzymes that help your digestive system break down fat, diseases that mess with your pancreas tend to mess with your body’s fat-digesting capabilities, which leads to nausea. “Hamburgers are often nausea triggers, and so are avocados and nuts, which are all high in fat,” he says. “Pizza is another one that’s really tough for patients with a compromised pancreas.” Epperly says pancreatitis is more likely than pancreatic cancer to lead to sudden vomiting and nausea.

You’re experiencing weight loss.

It’s tempting to credit your new diet. But if you’re shedding weight—and especially if you’re experiencing the radiating pain described above—that weight loss could be due to the digestive issues associated with pancreatic cancer or disease, Hendifar says. Thyroid issues and some other health conditions can also explain rapid weight loss. In any case, you need to see someone.

MSN.Health

Bizarre Creature

Slide 5 of 50: The sex life of these gooey, yellow mollusks is even more bizarre than their coloring or the fact that they inch down from high tree branches on thin strands of slime in much the same way as spiders utilize their webbing. For starters, according to a 1916 paper by Stanford University zoology professor Harold Heath, they are hermaphrodites. Two, a slug penis, which emerges from its head, can be as long as its entire body. That makes for some of the largest male genitalia of any species in proportion to its overall size. Three, reproductive sessions last hours and sometimes end in apophallation, which is when a banana slug gnaws off and eats its partner's privates. They do not grow back.

California: Banana slug

The sex life of these gooey, yellow mollusks is even more bizarre than their coloring or the fact that they inch down from high tree branches on thin strands of slime in much the same way as spiders utilize their webbing. For starters, according to a 1916 paper by Stanford University zoology professor Harold Heath, they are hermaphrodites. Two, a slug penis, which emerges from its head, can be as long as its entire body. That makes for some of the largest male genitalia of any species in proportion to its overall size. Three, reproductive sessions last hours and sometimes end in apophallation, which is when a banana slug gnaws off and eats its partner’s privates. They do not grow back.

Banana slugs are often bright yellow (giving rise to the banana nomenclature) although they may also be greenish, brown, tan, or white. The species Ariolimax columbianus sometimes has black spots that are so extensive that the animal looks almost entirely black. Individual slugs will change colors with alterations in food consumption, light exposure, and moisture levels. Color may also indicate whether a slug is healthy or injured or what age it is.[4]

The Pacific banana slug is the second-largest species of terrestrial slug in the world, growing up to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) long,[5] and weights of 115 grams (4.1 ounces).[6] (The largest slug species is Limax cinereoniger of Europe, which can reach 30 centimetres (12 in) in length.) Banana slugs have an average lifespan of 1–7 years.[4]

Banana slugs (like other gastropods and many other mollusks) have a radula, a ribbon-like anatomical structure covered in rows of microscopic teeth; the radula is used for feeding.[citation needed] Individuals can move at 6 1⁄2 inches (17 cm) per minute.[7]

Slugs use two pairs of tentacles to sense their environment. The larger, upper pair, termed “eyestalks,” are used to detect light or movement. The second, lower pair are used to detect chemicals. The tentacles can retract and extend themselves to avoid damage. If a predator bites off a tentacle, the slug can grow a new one.[8]

Banana slugs have a single lung (on the right side) which opens externally via a pneumostome. The pneumostome lung cavity is heavily vascularized to allow gas exchange. Dehydration is a major problem for the mollusk; to combat this, banana slugs excrete a thick coating of mucus around their bodies and can also aestivate. To do so, they secrete a protective layer of mucus and insulate themselves with a layer of soil and leaves. They remain inactive in this state until the environment becomes moist again. Due to their susceptibility to desiccation, they are more commonly active at night, but also appear during cool, moist days.[9]

This individual Ariolimax columbianus has numerous black spots. The patterning may be so extensive as to make the animal look almost solid black. Banana slugs have a single lung which opens externally via a pneumostome. The placement of the pneumostome on the mantle helps to distinguish the species of Ariolimax.

The slime also contains pheromones to attract other slugs for mating. Slugs are simultaneous hermaphrodites, and reproduce by exchanging sperm with their mate. They produce up to 75 translucent eggs, which are laid in a log or on leaves. Slugs mate and lay eggs throughout the year. The adults provide no further care for their eggs beyond finding a suitable hiding spot, and the eggs are abandoned as soon as the clutch is laid.[citation needed]

Laugh a Little

Fasting

Vitamin Deficiencies~

3 Most Common Vitamin Deficiencies

Darwin Malicdem 6 hrs ago

Many people believe that malnutrition is not a problem in developed worlds, including the U.S. The country has an abundant food supply that could help meet the population’s nutritional needs. 

© Farion_O/Getty Images

However, studies showed that not all residents of “well fed” communities are healthy. Nutrient deficiencies are also common in the U.S. 

One research conducted in 2018 under the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) suggested that both children and adults in the country have high cases of vitamin deficiencies. 

Researchers found that 31 percent of the entire population was at risk for one vitamin deficiency. Many Americans have been following diets high in calories but low in nutrients. 

Heather Moday, an allergist and immunologist from Moday Center for Functional and Integrative Medicine, has been treating many patients who experienced deficiencies. But she noted Americans lack three common vitamins due to Western diets. And they are as listed below:

Magnesium

It plays an important role in the body and supports 300 biochemical reactions. Moday recommended that people consult their doctors to take some supplements. 

“It’s an electrolyte that we don’t readily get back into our bodies, and we don’t find it a lot naturally in foods,” she told mindbodygreen. “So that one I tend to supplement a lot with.” 

Video: 3 Signs You’re Not Getting Enough Magnesium (Reader’s Digest)Click to expand

Vitamin B

Moday said many of her patients lacked vitamin B. This could be surprising since people can get all forms of B vitamins from plant- and animal-based foods. 

She explained that the body easily loses the vitamin because it supports multiple functions, including the nervous system, detoxification system and immune system. However, the Western diet might not provide enough amounts of vitamin B to meet the body’s needs. 

Moday said problems with gut health might also contribute to vitamin B deficiency. 

Zinc

Moday said zinc is one of the most common vitamins not available in the diet plans. Zinc mainly supports the immune system and helps the body prevent the spread of potentially harmful bacteria and viruses. 

“If I had to pick a deficiency that a lot of people have outside of vitamin D, it would be zinc,” she said. 

Moday said eating more seafood could help treat the vitamin deficiency. Some zinc-rich foods are oysters and mollusks.