Monthly Archives: December 2015

What is pre diabetes?

Pre diabetes means that your blood sugar level is higher than normal but not yet high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes.

The main risk factors for the development of pre diabetes are the same as those for diabetes.

What is Favio?

Favio is a multivitamin specifically developed for the daily needs of diabetics, pre diabetics and their families. The unique MON6X formula together with 14 vitamins and minerals work together to fill in the nutritional gaps and to aid in the fight with diabetes.

What is Alpha lipoic acid?

Alpha lipoic acid is a superior anti-inflammatory that penetrates all portions of the cell because it is both fat and water soluble. Alpha lipoic acid is the only antioxidant that can boost cellular levels of glutathione, the body’s most important antioxidant for overall health and longevity. For the diabetic it:

  • Beneficial for lowering blood sugar and insulin levels, reducing insulin resistance, and improving insulin sensitivity
  • Protects against complications associated with oxidative stress, such as polyneuropathy
  • Provides relief from pain, burning, tingling and numbing caused by diabetic neuropathy

What is Lutein?

Lutein is a powerful antioxidant that prevents free radical damage in the macula and retina of the eyes – it is mainly used in the treatment of macular degeneration and cataract.

Lutein is also one of the main carotenoids, which a color pigment is found in the human eye (in the macula and retina).

For how long can I take Favio?

As a multivitamin, Favio can be taken for a long period of time. The vitamins and minerals in Favio work best as they accumulate in the organism. This is why we recommend the course of 6 months with 2 tablets a day. Break can be made for 1 month every 6 months.

Taking a specialized combination of vitamins and minerals can aid diabetics and their families have an easier life!

People with diabetes routinely don’t get enough micronutrients. In research conducted in Germany, diets of type 2 diabetic patients were analyzed and found to be deficient in one or more of 22 nutrients evaluated. More alarming, a whopping 97 percent of the diabetic patients did not obtain three to seven nutrients in the recommended amounts from their diets.

A wide range of vitamins and minerals affect glucose metabolism and insulin function. Therefore, the daily intake of Vitamins and Minerals is so important for people with Diabetes and Pre-diabetes.

The best multi-supplement should provide nutrients to fill in the nutritional gaps that people with diabetes frequently have and extra nutrients that are especially beneficial for those with diabetes and pre-diabetes.

The most therapeutic nutrients, according to number if researchers, are:

  • Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a vitamin-like versatile and potent antioxidant, and may function to help diabetic neuropathy and reduce pain from free-radical damage. It directly or indirectly regenerates other antioxidants, such as vitamins E and C, coenzyme Q10, and glutathione, thereby reducing the number of free radicals and boosting the antioxidant network to protect against complications associated with oxidative stress, such as polyneuropathy. Also, some studies link ALA to decreased insulin resistance and thus the control of blood sugar.
  • Lutein, another antioxidant that appears to prevent free radical damage in the macula and retina of the eyes. Studies have even shown improvements in vision from supplementation with lutein in patients with macular degeneration and in patients with cataracts. People who have diabetes are at higher risk for developing macular degeneration and cataracts.
  • Chromium, known as chromium picolinate is an essential mineral – in people with type 2 diabetes, regular use of chromium picolinate reduces blood sugar, insulin and hemoglobin A1c levels as well as the common diabetic symptoms of excessive thirst, frequent urination and fatigue. It also reduces insulin resistance in people with both diabetes and pre-diabetes.
  • Magnesium, another mineral critical for healthy insulin function. In one study of non-obese elderly subjects, magnesium supplements improved insulin response and action, and glucose handling.
  • Other antioxidants including vitamins C and E – antioxidants work better together as a network than when used alone. Vitamin C is the body’s principal water-soluble antioxidant and vitamin E is the body’s principal fat-soluble antioxidant. Vitamin C also seems to edge out some of the glucose in the system or improve its disposal. And vitamin E has been shown to reduce blood glucose levels and improve insulin action in people with type 2 diabetes.

When combined with proper diet and sufficient exercise, dietary supplements can play an important part in healthy living for those diagnosed with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. A person with diabetes has higher requirements for many nutrients. Clinical studies have shown that supplementation with key nutrients can improve blood sugar control, as well as help prevent or reduce the development of major diabetes complications. Furthermore, taking a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement has also been shown to boost immune function and reduce infections in diabetics.

Dietary Supplements are designed to supplement a diet to ensure you get an adequate intake of substances needed to maintain good health and keep the body functioning as normal.


[1] William’s textbook of endocrinology, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/diabetes/
[2] http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/tools/64-feature-writer-article/2865&Itemid=8
[3] http://www.diabetes.co.uk/vitamins-supplements.html
[4] http://www.wholefoodsmagazine.com/supplements/features/diabetes-nutrition-and-your-shoppers

What can you do for yourself to help prevent diabetes Type 2 – part 2

Sleep well and minimize stress

Getting reduced hours of sleep (less than 7) is associated with higher blood glucose levels and increased risk of high blood pressure. Inappropriate cortisol response will lead to higher baseline glucose, as well. These two factors are linked because the number one reason for not being able to sleep is something called hyper-arousal, from elevated evening cortisol levels. So another factor for helping preventing risk for diabetes is addressing chronic stress and sleep issues.

Medication for prevention?

There are no good drugs developed for the prevention of diabetes, only the treatment of diabetes once you get it. So when you look at all this, there are several important dietary supplements, food ingredients and lifestyle support products that could help create very robust nutrition and lifestyle plans for reducing diabetic risk or making inroads to better blood sugar control like.

Consume essential nutrients on a regular basis

Magnesium and chromium are two essential nutrients that are needed to help glucose handling in the body.

Magnesium

When magnesium levels are inadequate, the ability to make energy at a cellular level comes to a halt. When cells do not make energy efficiently, the demand for fuel (glucose) goes up. Appetite for carbohydrates and sugar will increase to get available fuel ready, but it comes at the cost of pending insulin resistance. This is one of the reasons people with diabetes have a hard time managing their diet. At the cellular level, the message is being sent to the brain to take in more fuel. Research has reported that 500 mg of elemental magnesium per day given to overweight individuals can alter expression of some 60 different genes that control inflammation and glucose related metabolism.

Chromium

This trace mineral is essential to the function of insulin receptors. There have been numerous studies that have shown improved parameters related to glucose regulation in dosages of 1-2 mg per day. Modern diets are poor in chromium content and if someone is beginning to exercise, the loss of chromium is accelerated.

What can you do for yourself to help prevent diabetes Type 2 – part 1

In recent decades, we’ve come to understand that lifestyle plays a huge role in the development of Type 2 diabetes. More recently, a multitude of other factors have been identified that can contribute to increased risk for Type 2 diabetes, such as low intake of some essential nutrients, some medications, environmental pollutants, sustained elevated stress hormones and inadequate sleep.

Since no one lives in a bubble, when you combine poor diet with lack of physical exercise and other risk factors, you can quickly see why diabetes is epidemic and continuing to increase.

So what can be done to help prevent diabetes?

Cut on the intake of refined carbs

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of studies now that show elimination of refined flours and sugars is the number one way to reduce inflammatory processes that occur from postprandial hyperglycemia. The biggest factor that contributes to arterial plaque formation is postprandial hyperglycemia. Lower carbohydrate diets are also the best choice for people with Metabolic Syndrome, which is when people have become insulin resistant and their blood glucose starts to elevate along with high blood pressure and cholesterol.[i]

So using a low carb diet is the best way to help address the other two risk factors on the conventional list, high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Intake of whole grains lowers diabetes risk

A big reason may be because of their resistant starch content, a food component that is being heavily researched today. Resistant starches are forms of starch that do not digest. Because they aren’t digested, they travel to the large intestine, where they feed the beneficial flora of the colon leading to improved signaling of gut hormones that control appetite and help with blood glucose regulation.

[i] Volek JS, Feinman RD Carbohydrate restriction improves the features of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome may be defined by the response to carbohydrate restriction. Nutrition & Metabolism2005, 2:3

What is Diabetes and the risks of developing it

Diabetes, often referred to by doctors as diabetes mellitus, is a long-term condition that causes high blood sugar levels causes investable changes in a person’s life.

In 2013 it was estimated that over 382 million people throughout the world had diabetes. Approximately 10% of all diabetes cases are Type 1 and 90% are Type 2. The vast majority of patients with type 2 diabetes initially had Pre-diabetes. Their blood glucose levels where higher than normal, but not high enough to merit a diabetes diagnosis.

Diabetes is classed as a metabolism disorder and refers to the way the body is unable to use digested food for energy and growth properly. Most of what we eat is broken down into glucose. Glucose is a form of sugar in the blood – it is the principal source of fuel for our bodies. A person with diabetes has a condition in which the quantity of glucose in the blood is too elevated (hyperglycemia).

Diabetes is a condition that leads to many significant complications, such as kidney disease and the need for dialysis, heart disease, non-traumatic amputations, and even Alzheimer’s.

Diabetes and its complications can be minimized with the right planning and lifestyle.

Risks for diabetes start increasing significantly once blood glucose reaches 85. Every point above 84 creates a 6% increased risk of developing diabetes over the next decade. So blood sugars of 90-94 lead to 49% increased risk of developing diabetes, and blood glucose levels of 95-99 more than double the risk for diabetes compared to people with blood glucose levels of 84 and under.[i] Truly, the time to be concerned about diabetes is long before you get it!

Typical risk factors for diabetes include:

  • Being overweight or obese
  • Having a family member with diabetes
  • Being African American, Pacific Islander, Native American or Hispanic descent
  • Having a blood pressure 140/90
  • Elevated LDL and not enough HDL cholesterol
  • Exercising less than three times a week.

While we can’t control some of these factors, people can make an effort to maintain a normal healthy weight and to exercise. Weight gain can lead to insulin resistance, the first step toward diabetes. Exercising three times a week, even if it is a 30-minute walk five days a week, helps prevent insulin resistance and helps manage weight.

[i] Nichols GA, Hillier TA, Brown JB. Normal fasting plasma glucose and type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Am J of Medicine

Diabetes in Romania

According to the National Study on the Prevalence of Diabetes, Prediabetes, Overweight, Obesity, Dyslipidemia, Hyperuricemia and Chronic Kidney Disease (PREDATORR), Romania is one of the countries with the highest prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Europe (11.6%), with Turkey occupying the first position on the list (14.85%).

Among the population between 20 and 79 years old (16,488,000ⁱ people), 1,530,000 are diagnosed with diabetes, which means that, in Romania, one in eleven people suffer from diabetes.

Officially, 6.5% of the Romania population suffers from diabetes, but many specialists claim that the percentage is much higher, as very many people, for various reasons, have not been diagnosed and registered with a specialist yet.

“Worrying statistics regarding the prevalence of diabetes motivate us, specialists, to work even harder for the “Control Your Diabetes” campaign that we started in 2011. Our first care is to make people understand that this illness can be prevented by a series of habits that we can all incorporate into our lives: we wish to convince people to conduct yearly routine test that can help them discover diabetes in an incipient stage and we also want to let diabetics know that they are not fighting this affliction on their own, but that we make important efforts in order to find new ways of keeping it under control,” stated Professor Maria Mota MD, President of the Romanian Society of Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases.

Early diagnosis is extremely important. That is why periodic blood sugar and glycated hemoglobin tests are crucial. Also, in the interest of both prevention and alleviation of symptoms, we must have a healthy lifestyle, based on a balanced, correct diet and daily exercise. According to the representatives of the International Diabetes Federation, 30 minutes of daily exercise reduces the risk of developing diabetes mellitus by 40%.

Source: www.edumedical.ro