#but recently! a doctor explained various types of fiber! and recommended I increase one and decrease the other! and I’m so bad at changing m | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sherristockman · 7 years

Link

Why Managing Your Iron Level Is Crucial to Your Health Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola Iron is essential for human life, as it:1 Forms hemoglobin (the protein in red blood cells), as iron binds to oxygen and provides it to tissues for their metabolic needs Is a key component of various proteins, as well as enzymes that catalyze cellular oxidation reactions Helps regulate cell growth and differentiation Helps maintain your brain function, metabolism and endocrine function Is involved in energy production and immune function Having either too much or too little iron can have serious health consequences and, while iron-deficiency anemia is commonly checked for, many doctors are still seriously misinformed about the dangers of iron overload, which is actually a far more common problem. In fact, most men and postmenopausal women are at risk for iron overload due to inefficient iron excretion, since they do not bleed on a regular basis and blood loss is the primary way to lower excess iron, as the body has no active excretion mechanisms. There's also an inherited disease, hemochromatosis, which causes your body to accumulate excessive and dangerously damaging levels of iron. If left untreated, it can damage your organs and contribute to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases and many other health problems. The good news is iron overload is easy and inexpensive to treat. By monitoring your serum ferritin and/or GGT levels, avoiding iron supplements and donating blood on a regular basis, you can avoid serious health problems. In a recent podcast, Chris Masterjohn, Ph.D., delves into the biological imperatives of iron, the effects of low and high iron, and how to address both of those issues. You can find that episode on Masterjohn’s website.2 Health Problems Associated With High and Low Iron Having just the right amount of iron is important, as without it, your body cannot work properly, and with excess, iron causes a great deal of destructive harm within your body. Following is a list of conditions associated with either extreme:3 Diseases associated with low iron levels Diseases associated with iron overload Diseases associated with low iron levels: Anemia Diseases associated with iron overload: Anemia of chronic disease Diseases associated with low iron levels: Fatigue Diseases associated with iron overload: Insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome Diseases associated with low iron levels: Fibromyalgia Diseases associated with iron overload: Premature aging Diseases associated with low iron levels: Inflammatory bowel disease Diseases associated with iron overload: Atherosclerosis Diseases associated with low iron levels: Hypothyroidism Diseases associated with iron overload: Anorexia Diseases associated with low iron levels: Depression / anxiety Diseases associated with iron overload: Grave's disease Diseases associated with low iron levels: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Diseases associated with iron overload: Heart arrhythmia Diseases associated with low iron levels: Parkinson's disease Diseases associated with iron overload: Cancer Diseases associated with low iron levels: Neurodegenerative conditions Diseases associated with iron overload: Sideroblastic anemia Diseases associated with low iron levels: Celiac disease Diseases associated with iron overload: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Excess dietary fructose is a primary initiator of NAFLD, but high iron is another culprit that triggers disease progression Diseases associated with low iron levels: Restless leg syndrome Diseases associated with iron overload: Liver damage and liver disease. Each year there are roughly 36,000 deaths from liver diseases and about 6,000 liver transplants. Most all of these cases are affected by excess iron, even in the absence of a hemochromatosis genotype4 Diseases associated with low iron levels: Hair loss Diseases associated with iron overload: Still's disease Diseases associated with low iron levels: Muscle weakness, decline in motor skills Diseases associated with iron overload: Hemochromatosis Diseases associated with low iron levels: Mental changes and memory loss Diseases associated with iron overload: Hemophagocytic syndrome What's an Ideal Iron Level? The serum ferritin test measures your stored iron. For adults, I strongly recommend getting a serum ferritin test on an annual basis as a screen to confirm you're neither too high nor too low. When it comes to iron overload, I believe it can be every bit as dangerous to your health as vitamin D deficiency. As with many other lab tests, the "normal" ranges for serum ferritin are far from ideal.5 In some labs, a level of 200 to 300 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) falls within the normal range for women and men respectively, which is FAR too high for optimal health. In reality, you're virtually guaranteed to develop disease at those levels. An ideal level for adult men and non-menstruating women is somewhere between 40 and 60 ng/mL. You do not want to be below 20 ng/mL or above 80 ng/mL. Maintaining a healthy iron level is also important during pregnancy. Having a level of 60 or 70 ng/mL is associated with greater odds of poor pregnancy outcomes.6 That said, iron deficiency during pregnancy is equally problematic. The most commonly used threshold for iron deficiency in clinical studies is 12 to 15 ng/mL.7 GGT Test for Free Iron Another valuable test is the gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) test. GGT measures liver enzymes. Not only will this tell you if you have liver damage, it can also be used as a screening marker for excess free iron and is a great indicator of your sudden cardiac death risk. For women, a healthy GGT level is around 9 units per liter (U/L) whereas the high ends of "normal" are generally 40 to 45 U/L. For men, 16 U/L is ideal, while the normal lab range can go as high as 65 to 70 U/L.8 According to Gerry Koenig, former chairman of the Iron Disorders Institute and the Hemochromatosis Foundation,9 women with a GGT above 30 U/L have a higher risk of cancer and autoimmune disease. In the video above, Koenig discusses this and other health hazards associated with iron overload. What Causes Excess Iron Buildup? Two of the most common causes of iron overload are: Having one or both genes for hemochromatosis (indicating mild or severe form). In the video below, Masterjohn provides an overview of these two genetic markers. About 1 in 3.5 or an estimated 100 million people in the U.S. have the single gene for hemochromatosis.10 Approximately 1 million people have the double gene variant, considered the genotype most predictive of liver disease complications. However, this only becomes a serious problem if significant iron overload occurs before a diagnosis is achieved and proper treatment can be administered Inadequate iron elimination. Adult men and post-menopausal women are at increased risk due to the fact they do not have monthly blood loss, which is one of the best and most efficient ways to rid your body of excess iron Another common cause of excess iron is the regular consumption of alcohol, which will increase the absorption of any iron in your diet. For instance, if you drink wine with your steak, you will likely absorb more iron than you need. Other possible causes of high iron levels include: Cooking in iron pots or pans. Cooking acidic foods in these types of pots or pans will cause even higher levels of iron absorption Eating processed foods fortified with iron Drinking well water that is high in iron. The key here is to make sure you have some type of iron precipitator and/or a reverse osmosis water filter Taking multivitamins and mineral supplements, as both of these frequently have iron in them Why Excess Iron Is So Dangerous Your body creates energy by passing the electrons from carbs and fat to oxygen through the electron transport chain in your mitochondria to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Ninety-five percent of the time, the oxygen is converted to water. But 0.5 to 5 percent of the time, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are created. Iron can react with hydrogen peroxide in the inner mitochondrial membrane. This is a normal part of cellular aerobic respiration. But when you have excessive iron, it catalyzes the formation of excessive hydroxyl free radicals from the peroxide, which decimate your mitochondrial DNA, mitochondrial electron transport proteins and cellular membranes. This is how iron overload accelerates every major disease we know of, and how it causes the pathologies associated with liver and cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, few doctors understand the molecular biology of this reaction, which is why iron overload is so frequently overlooked. If you eat unhealthy levels of net carbs (total carbs minus fiber) the situation is further exacerbated, as burning carbs as your primary fuel can add another 30 to 40 percent more ROS on top of the hydroxyl free radicals generated by the presence of high iron. Unfortunately, most people reading this are burning carbs as their primary fuel. If you struggle with any kind of chronic health problem and have high iron and eat a standard American diet that is high in net carbs, normalizing your iron level (explained below) and implementing a ketogenic diet as described in my book, "Fat for Fuel," can go a long way toward improving your health. Taking extra antioxidants to suppress ROS generated by high iron alone or in combination with a high-sugar diet is inadvisable, as ROS also act as important signaling molecules. They're not all bad. They cause harm only when produced in excess. Your best bet is to lower the production of ROS rather than squelching them after the fact. One of the easiest and most effective ways to do that is to eat a diet high in healthy fats, adequate in protein and low in net carbs. Eating healthy fats can make a bigger difference than you might think, especially if you have high iron. How to Address Low Iron If your iron is low, you can improve your iron status by: • Eating iron-rich foods,11,12 i.e., organ meats such as liver, grass fed red meat, dark turkey meat, clams, spinach, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, broccoli, dark chocolate (minimum 70 percent cooca) and seaweed. As a rule, animal-based iron is more readily absorbed while plant-based sources are less bioavailable. Avoid iron-fortified foods, as these provide an inorganic iron that is far from ideal and may actually promote oxidative stress and could cause gastrointestinal side effects • Taking vitamin C can help improve bioavailability of the iron in your food.13 Avoid combining iron-rich foods with calcium-rich foods, as calcium binds to iron, thereby limiting absorption • Taking a liposomal iron supplement. Beware of ferrous sulfate, a form of iron found in many multivitamins, including children's multivitamins, as it is relatively toxic and can lead to significant problems. The biggest danger is acute overdose, which can be lethal. A safe form of supplement is carbonyl iron. However, keep ALL iron supplements away from children, even carbonyl iron, and do not take any kind of iron supplement if you have hemochromatosis, hemosiderosis or hemolytic anemia such as sickle cell anemia or thalassemia (aka Mediterranean anemia, a type of genetic anemia where hemoglobin is not well formed) How to Address Iron Overload If your iron level is high, the easiest and most effective solution is to donate your blood. If you're an adult male, you'll want to donate blood two to three times a year once your levels are normal. If ferritin levels are over 200 ng/mL, a more aggressive phlebotomy schedule is recommended. It is also wise to have a percentage transferrin saturation done. Ideally, this value should be between 30 and 40 percent. If it is higher, and you have an elevated ferritin level, then I am sad to tell you, but you have iron overload that is hurting your mitochondria. This needs to be addressed if you want to lower your risk for chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer. As noted by Masterjohn in the video above, trying to control high iron through your diet by avoiding iron-rich foods can have a number of detrimental effects, as you will also forgo many valuable nutrients. Ideally, you will want to donate your blood twice or three times a year until your lab values normalize. If you are unable to donate your blood, you can get your doctor to write a prescription for a therapeutic phlebotomy to have this done. When you donate blood, they typically remove a pint of blood, which can be a challenge for many. Most people tolerate this process much better when they do smaller donations more frequently. So, if you or someone you know can draw blood, removing 2 to 6 ounces every few weeks would be a wiser strategy. A recent study14 in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience notes that iron-restricted diets "affect brain ferritin levels, dopamine metabolism and cellular prion proteins in a region-specific manner" — effects that highlight the importance of adequate iron for general brain health and for the prevention of neurological diseases. That said, if your iron is high, you may want to avoid combining foods high in vitamin C with foods high in iron, as the vitamin C increases iron absorption. On the other hand, calcium will bind to iron, limiting absorption, so eating iron-rich foods with calcium-rich foods can be helpful. Avoid using phytate or phytic acid (also known as IP6) to prevent iron absorption and chelate iron out of your body, however, as this can easily result in other mineral deficiencies, such as zinc deficiency. A far safer alternative is curcumin. It actually acts as a potent chelator of iron and can be a useful supplement if your iron is elevated. Maintaining an Adequate Iron Level Is Important for Optimal Health Iron is indeed essential, but it's important to maintain a level that is neither too low nor too high. Being at either extreme can lead to significant health problems and aggravate many chronic diseases and, contrary to popular belief, iron overload is actually more common than iron deficiency. To reiterate some of the most important points in this article, if your iron is high, be sure to: Lower your net carb intake and increase healthy fats to switch over to fat-burning mode and protect your mitochondria. This will help to radically reduce ROS and secondary free radical production Donate blood at least twice a year to normalize your level as indicated in the lab discussion in the previous section. Recent U.S. legislation allows all blood banks to perform therapeutic phlebotomy for hemochromatosis or iron overload. All you need is a doctor's order Don't avoid iron-rich foods. Instead, just avoid combining them with vitamin C-rich foods. Combine them with calcium-rich foods instead, to limit absorption. Also avoid alcohol, which will increase the absorption of iron in your diet. You could also consider a curcumin supplement to reduce your iron load without risking the elimination of other valuable minerals Unless you have a lab-documented iron deficiency, avoid iron-containing multivitamins, iron supplements and mineral supplements that contain iron

#VitalityPath

0 notes

type2diabetestreatments-blog · 8 years

Text

Gestational Diabetes: What to Know

New Post has been published on https://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/gestational-diabetes-what-to-know/

Gestational Diabetes: What to Know

We get a LOT of queries on pregnancy and diabetes -- not least gestational diabetes, the kind that pops up during pregnancy in women who have not had diabetes prior. To help answer the many questions that come our way, we’ve put together the following guide to key gestational diabetes topics.

Image Attribution

URL: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jerrylai0208/14281758292/in/photolist-nL2KaW-7Lsz4B-s3b9L-7XfFgh-669mzY-8dbGLR-dy17Rr-uyVKg-rWDFG-c9f8u-7yZp5w-9WBx3T-6TjsGN-9CGXc4-5WhfPV-6346AE-8veKBD-4oqPNU-7PZhur-ioxAFh-8AQeS5-uyVK7-uyVKf-dNFjG-e1TAcm-6tEN8R-6Xho3o-cBfh-cpyFfC-i3eVYw-gYP4my-eBo6v-eBo6W-gSK9LN-cjtJe-c2W1WW-4UP1x7-63XnZy-pCYamt-6FoNAH-6YjLR5-7BhtFi-Pyuhr-nyYHAv-7Bhtte-JG5XP-4Hbppe-6nhU6m-6zsXFb-rWDwg

Please note that we also published a fact-filled doctor/patient interview on pregnancy with existing type 1 and type 2 diabetes recently here. Be sure to check that out too!

Know a lot about these topics yourself? Please add your 2 cents in the comments section below!

What is Gestational Diabetes?

Simply put, gestational diabetes is a form of elevated blood sugar that women get specifically during pregnancy, when the placenta makes hormones that can lead to a buildup of sugar in the blood. If you are unlucky enough to have a pancreas that can’t make enough insulin to handle that onslaught of hormones, your blood sugar levels will rise and can cause gestational diabetes.

You might be surprised to hear that the medical community does not agree on an exact level of blood glucose that determines gestational diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) currently defines gestational diabetes as:

Fasting glucose level of 92 mg/dl (5.3 mmol/L in European unites) or higher

One-hour post-meal glucose level of 180 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L) or higher

Two-hour post-meal glucose level of 153 mg/dL (6.7 mmol/L) or higher

But the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently altered the threshold for diagnosis to a looser standard of 5.6-mmol/L (101 mg/dL) fasting glucose, which reduces the “unmanageable numbers of women falling into the category of gestational diabetes,” European authorities state.

Either way, the ADA explains: “Gestational diabetes usually appears roughly halfway through pregnancy, as the placenta puts out large amounts of ‘anti-insulin’ hormones. Women without known diabetes should be screened for gestational diabetes 24 to 28 weeks into their pregnancies. (If high blood glucose levels are detected earlier in pregnancy, the mother-to-be may actually have type 2 diabetes, rather than gestational.)”

The ADA estimates that gestational diabetes occurs in 9.2 percent of pregnancies.

What’s the Diabetes and Pregnancy Risk?

The bad news is: if left untreated, extreme high blood sugar levels can cause damage to the baby's brain that can lead to developmental delay and a host of other problems.

As reported by the “What to Expect” folks, “if excessive sugar is allowed to circulate in a mother's blood and then enter the fetal circulation through the placenta, the potential problems for both mother and baby are serious.”

Uncontrolled high blood sugars can lead to having a too-large baby (a condition called macrosomia), making delivery more difficult and C-section more likely, and even preeclampsia and stillbirth.

Poorly controlled diabetes during pregnancy can also lead to potential problems for the baby after birth, such as jaundice, breathing difficulties and low blood sugar levels. Later in life, he or she may be at an increased risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The good news is: “These potential negative effects don't apply to moms who get the help they need to keep their blood sugar under control.” And there is lots of help available!

Note that since gestational diabetes is considered a pregnancy complication, women who have it are more likely to be induced, since most doctors won't let their pregnancies progress past their due dates.

Signs and Symptoms of Gestational Diabetes

How do you know if you might have gestational diabetes?

The tricky part is, most women don’t have obvious symptoms, so it can easily go undetected. The basic symptoms are similar to those that appear with the onset of any kind of diabetes:

Unusual thirst

Frequent and copious urination

Fatigue

Sugar in the urine (detected by a lab test)

A Test for Gestational Diabetes?

The most common test is a fasting test called an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). This measures how well your body’s cells are able to absorb glucose, or sugar, after you ingest a given amount of a sugary drink. The test can take place in your doctor’s office or a local lab.

To prepare for it, you need to abstain from food for at least 8 hours before the scheduled test. You can drink water, but no other beverages, including coffee and caffeinated tea, as these can interfere with the results.

When you arrive at the test site, the technician will take a blood sample to measure your baseline glucose level. This part of the test is also called a fasting glucose test.

After that, you’re asked to drink a solution that contains ~75 grams of sugar. And an hour later, you’ll give a second blood sample to see the effect on blood sugar level.

If your result is positive (a high glucose number after one hour) your doctor may ask for a test at the two and three-hour marks as well to best determine how well your body can handle a sugar challenge.

Gestational Diabetes Diet (aka What to Eat)

Because diet/meal plan is a mainstay of controlling glucose levels, experts encourage women to see a professional dietitian to help them craft a meal plan suited to them individually -- based on weight, height, physical activity, and their own level of glucose intolerance.

But even if you don’t have access to a pro, here are some general dietary guidelines, compiled by registered dietitian Julie Redfern:

Eat a variety of foods, distributing calories and carbohydrates evenly throughout the day. Make sure both your meals and your snacks are balanced. The American Diabetes Association recommends that you eat three small-to-moderate-size meals and two to four snacks every day, including an after-dinner snack.

Curb your carb intake. Limit foods and beverages that contain simple sugars such as soda, fruit juice, flavored teas and flavored waters, and most desserts – or avoid them altogether. These foods can quickly elevate your blood sugar.

Milk is high in lactose, a simple sugar, so you may need to limit the amount you drink. If you're looking for a new beverage of choice, try club soda with a squeeze of lemon or orange, or unsweetened decaffeinated iced tea.

It's best to include complex carbs (those containing more fiber) and spread them out over the day. Pair lean protein with carbohydrates at all meals and snacks. Protein helps to make you feel fuller, sustain energy, and give you better blood sugar control.

Don't skip meals. Be consistent about when you eat meals and the amount of food you eat at each one. Your blood sugar will remain more stable if your food is distributed evenly throughout the day and consistently from day to day.

Eat a good breakfast. Your blood glucose levels are most likely to be out of whack in the morning. To keep your level in a healthy range, you may have to limit carbohydrates (breads, cereal, fruit, and milk), boost your protein (eggs, cheese, peanut butter, nuts) , and possibly avoid fruit and juice altogether.

Include high-fiber foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads and cereals, and dried peas, beans, and other legumes. These foods are broken down and absorbed more slowly than simple carbohydrates, which may help keep your blood sugar levels from going too high after meals.

Some Great Advice on Managing Gestational Diabetes

It is true that women who experience gestational diabetes have a seven times greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes by the time their child turns 10, compared with women who didn’t have it.

But at the same time, a combination of good diet, exercise and glucose-lowering medications can keep both mother and baby healthy and safe.

Here are some excellent tips we’ve garnered from various experts:

Try CGM: Like your sisters with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, tight glucose control can be aided by using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). For this, you’ll likely need to see a healthcare professional who specializes in diabetes, an endocrinologist or diabetes educator.

Create a Team: “Stay calm, find an amazing endocrinologist and also connect with inspirational and supportive women who have been through it,” recommends Noor Alramahi, a type 1 diabetes advocate in Palo Alto, CA, who had a healthy diabetic pregnancy with twins. She adds that this is important because the psychological aspect is often the biggest challenge.

Don’t Stress Over Single Highs: Noor also says, “Before pregnancy and in the family planning stages doctors and healthcare providers put a lot of emphasis on the potential complications of a ‘high risk’ pregnancy, so much so that when you do get pregnant that’s all you can think about, like I did, every time my numbers were not perfect (70-120). The stress over that made it a lot worse than it really was. I was lucky to have an amazing endo who kept reminding me that it’s fine to have high numbers here and there as long as I don't keep them high, and that the stress might do more damage than the occasional off-target glucose result.”

Know Your Food: Brooke Gibson, founder of the Bay Area support group Sugar Mommas who has had four healthy diabetic pregnancies herself, emphasizes how important it is to control your diet and exercise as much as possible to keep your blood sugars under good control. “Talk to a nutritionist to learn about different foods and how they can affect your blood sugar.”

Follow Up After Baby: Dr. Kristin Castorino, who cares for pregnant woman with diabetes at the Sansum Center in Santa Barbara notes, “About half of women who have gestational diabetes will eventually develop type 2, so it’s important after delivery to continue to make changes to you and your family’s routines around food and activity to be on a healthier life path. The National Diabetes Prevention Program is proven to help prevent T2. Many YMCAs or health care centers have started local programs.”

On Coping with Gestational Diabetes

San Diego-based mom and writer Elise Blaha Cripe chronicled her experiences with gestational diabetes on her blog. She shares some important practical things she learned:

eating vegetables (especially green ones!) with meals helps keep my blood sugar down

most fruits are out aside from berries

walks after meals help keep numbers low

strenuous exercise can make numbers higher

stress plays a HUGE factor in blood sugar levels

a glass of milk or a small bit of carbohydrates right before bed can help my body regulate sugars overnight

Elise Blaha Cripe and family

She also puts the whole gestational diabetes experience into perspective this way:

“I have found that in the scheme of things, gestational diabetes, while annoying, is no big deal. Best case, I change my diet, eat healthy, exercise, gain an appropriate amount of weight & maintain correct blood sugar levels. Worst case, I am unable to manage my blood sugar with diet and exercise & need to take medication. But here's the thing, as long as it's properly managed, I should be blessed with a healthy baby. There can be complications of course. But there can always complications. This is birth. This is life.”

“Once I embraced that, this whole thing became easier.”

Thank you Elise, et al!

Some Resources on Gestational Diabetes

“Gestational Diabetes During Pregnancy” -- an online guide from the authors of the “What to Expect” books.

“Managing Your Gestational Diabetes” -- guidebook by famous diabetes and pregnancy expert Dr. Lois Jovanovic.

“Gestational Diabetes: Your Survival Guide” -- a handbook by Dr. Paul Grant, consulting diabetologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.

Diabetic Mommy -- an online blog and community site run by a mom with type 2 diabetes.

“The Ultimate Gestational Diabetes Cookbook” -- a popular resource by chef Ted Alling.

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Type 2 Diabetes Diet Diabetes Destroyer Reviews Original Article

#Diabetes Mellitus

0 notes