QuickTips Index

The Right Balance of Fatty Acids Reduces Your Risk
When it comes lowering your risk for metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, eating foods that cause the least amount of inflammation might be the best diet of all. High levels of inflammation lead to vascular damage and insulin resistance. Omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids are found in many foods.

Type 2 Diabetes Toolbox
If you've been diagnosed with diabetes, then you know how overwhelming it can feel at first. There's a lot to do and a lot to learn. This toolbox will provide you with a good place to start as you learn about managing your diabetes.

Quick Facts to Know about Eating and Diabetes
What are the recommended amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and fats for balanced diabetes meals and snacks? Why is the glycemic index important? Learn how to eat properly with diabetes.

Real Life with Type 2 Diabetes
Hearing about living with type 2 diabetes from people with type 2 diabetes themselves can help you better understand the disease. Meet Jim, a 61-year-old registered nurse who was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Is Anger at a Spouse Normal with Diabetes?
Sometimes there are hard questions asked in the Diabetes Forum. A new member, Raines46, asks if it's normal for a husband with type 1 diabetes to erupt into violent anger and take it out on his spouse. Frustration and anger are often experienced by people who deal with chronic illnesses like diabetes.

Calories Still Carry Weight When Dieting
There are a lot of diet plans out there: some recommend low-fat eating, some say that eating low-carb/high-protein is the way to go. Other diets say you should eat the "right" carbs and proteins in the "right" combinations. The one diet concept that seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle sometimes is the lowly calorie.

Diabetes and Arthritis - A Pair That Can Make Exercise Difficult
Exercise is an important part of diabetes management. It lowers blood glucose levels for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. But, what if you have arthritis in addition to diabetes? It isn't easy to exercise when your joints are aching.

Lunch in a Restaurant for Under 400 Calories and Under $9.00
Americans are dining out more than ever before. It's not unusual to go to a restaurant for meals several times a week. Big portions, hidden fat, high calorie counts and lots of unhealthy choices can really derail diet plans. How can you cut calories at a restaurant?

Some Diabetes Complications Are Less Well Known but Still Serious
Diabetes is a chronic disease that can cause many serious complications. Some complications are less well known but not less important. Cardiovascular disease, strokes, high blood pressure, and others can affect people with diabetes.

Gene Research Tool Helps Pinpoint Type 2 Diabetes Gene Variations
The field of genetic research is exploding, as more genes and gene variations are discovered and studied. Many genes have already been identified with some major diseases and conditions, such as cancers, heart disease and diabetes. Genetic research could lead to a cure for type 2 diabetes someday.

What Does a Healthy Diet Really Mean?
Think of the word "diet" and what springs to mind? Restrictive meal plans? Best-selling books by skinny celebrities? Guilt producing health nuts who make us feel like anything that we might want to eat is not only bad for us but will ultimately cause our unfortunate demise and it will be all our fault because we didn't listen to them and follow their diet?

Can Artificial Sweeteners Make You Gain Weight?
A recent study tested the theory that eating sugar substitutes instead of the real thing may actually lead to weight gain, instead of weight loss.

Diabetes and Erectile Dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common problem for men who have diabetes. It is often the first symptom that men may notice and the one that leads them to the doctor in the first place. It is only after they have sought medical help for ED that they also receive a diagnosis of diabetes. Fifty percent of men with diabetes will suffer from ED within 10 years of diagnosis.

Tips For Your Child's Sick Days
When your child is sick with a stomach bug or flu, it's hard to keep a good diabetes schedule for eating and taking insulin, especially when he or she can't keep anything down. What's the best way to handle your child's short-term illness?

What To Do When You're Sick
When you're sick with a stomach bug or flu, it's hard to keep a good schedule for eating and taking medications, especially when you can't keep anything down. What's the best way to handle a sick day?

Diabetes and Depression - A Vicious Cycle
Depression can go hand in hand with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. In fact, having diabetes doubles the risk of depression, compared to people who don't have the disease. Conversely, depression also can increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Assembling Your Own Personal Healthcare Team
Diabetes is a disease with many faces. Diet and exercise, eye care and foot care, keeping track of blood glucose levels, medications and insulin: all of this has to be juggled by one person - you. Having a team of professionals to help you can make the whole thing a lot easier. Who do you need on your team?

When Exercise Hurts
Exercise is one of the best things you can do for yourself. It helps you lose weight, build muscle, strengthen your bones, and improve your cardiovascular system and circulation. It's also been proven to be an effective weapon against depression when done regularly. But what can you do when neuropathy causes burning, tingling and numbness in your feet and legs?

Risk Factors For Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes is a condition that affects about 4% of all pregnant women. It usually appears midway through the second trimester and disappears after the birth of the baby. It is not permanent. How do you know if you are at risk for developing gestational diabetes?

Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes affects nearly 21 million Americans. 90% to 95% of all people diagnosed with the disease have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 differs from type 1 diabetes because the pancreas still produces insulin, but the body becomes resistant to it and blood glucose levels become elevated. Although type 2 diabetes is not always caused by obesity, being overweight is still a risk factor for developing the disease.

Bipolar Disorder Meds Increase Risk of Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes
Metabolic syndrome is a collection of conditions, including insulin resistance, that can often lead to a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes if it is not reversed with diet and exercise. But sometimes factors beyond our control may cause metabolic syndrome.

Healthy Eating After the Holidays
The holiday season can derail the best of healthy intentions. When you have type 2 diabetes and have to watch what you eat, it can be tough to stay focused. Now that the holidays are behind us, it's time to put the brakes on. Getting back to simple, healthy food and exercise can help get us back on track.

Waking Up With High Glucose Levels?
You wake up in the morning and check your blood sugar before breakfast. And it's high. Higher than it usually is in the morning. What's going on? It could be one of two causes.

Smoking and Diabetes - A Deadly Combination
The list is long for reasons to stop smoking, especially if you have diabetes. Cigarettes cause all kinds of health troubles. There is an increased risk of cancer, emphysema, heart disease, and strokes. Add to that the increased risk for getting type 2 diabetes.

Fruits and Vegetables on a Budget
Eating more fruits and vegetables lowers your risk of strokes, heart attacks, diabetes and some cancers. That's all well and good but what if money is tight? What economical strategies can you use to get more veggies and fruits in your diet?