information about diabetes war

Archive for January, 2011

Mount Laurel, NJ (Vocus) November 29, 2010

DiabetesCare.net – the fastest growing, advertising-free diabetes resource on the internet – announced today the launch of the latest tool in its expanding health tool library: an overall Health Assessment Tool.

Users of DiabetesCare.net’s new Health Assessment Tool will answer simple questions about their weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, tobacco and alcohol use, daily nutrition, family health, injury history, fitness habits, and their overall well-being, and in-turn be presented with a “Personal Wellness Score” that will offer ways they can improve their health, including goals they have set. The report also includes a “Doctor’s Chart Report” that can be saved in PDF form for easy printing and/or emailing to the user’s healthcare professional.

DiabetesCare.net Managing Editor Mike Boyle commented, “Our new Health Assessment Tool represents a further commitment on our part to provide the diabetes community another tool to help them manage their disease and offer solutions to better their lifestyle.”

Boyle added, “With the debut of our new Health Assessment Tool, DiabetesCare.net’s home page also gets a make-over with our new diabetes “Tip of the Day” and “Definition of the Day” features, plus an interactive weekly poll visitors can participate in.”

DiabetesCare.net’s free-to-use library of tools also includes a Nutrition Tracker, with over 40,000 food items for tracking daily food intake and carbohydrates consumed; an Exercise Tracker that tracks over 80 different daily exercise activities for visitors; a Blood Glucose Tracker; a BMI (Body Mass Index) Calculator; and an A1C Conversion Tool.

DiabetesCare.net, which launched earlier this year, on Feb. 1, also features recipes for its visitors — a key component for them as they look for ways to manage their diabetes — plus helpful short- and long-form videos with tips for people living with diabetes and much more.

Lastly, DiabetesCare.net, complete with a medical panel that regularly reviews the material on the website and suggests improvements to its tools, is free to all users and contains no commercial advertising whatsoever, which means no bias, just useful information and support.

Continuing scientific research into the effectiveness of natural foods such as nuts, especially almonds and walnuts, confirms their value as an agent in the fight to control blood sugar levels in type-2 diabetes. Several research studies have been carried out in recent years that show the health benefits obtained from consuming almonds and the protection they afford in relation to diabetes, high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease.

To cite just one of the controlled studies, published in May 2010 in the electronic pages of PubMed.gov, the research involved adult people with type-2 diabetes. The participants were divided into two groups with one group adding almonds to their diabetic food list of appropriate foods to eat and the other group not doing so. The almond eating group consumed about 2 ounces (60 grams) of almonds daily – that’s about 50 nuts.

The 12-week randomized crossover clinical trial was designed to determine whether the eating of almonds would improve glycemic control and decrease the risk for cardiovascular disease

The lengthy details are given in the final report, but the positive results obtained from the clinical trial provided the following summary:

“Our results suggested that the incorporation of almonds into a healthy diet has beneficial effects on adiposity, glycemic control, and the lipid profile, thereby potentially decreasing the risk for cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.”

So, as expected, almonds and other nuts too, are shown to help the cause when having to deal with rising blood sugar levels in the case of diabetes, They also help lower the LDL, known as the bad form of cholesterol, and lower the risk of cardiovascular complications that often follow both diabetes and high cholesterol levels.

An additional benefit, as stated in the summary noted above, is the “effects on adiposity”, meaning they can help combat obesity and it is well known that obesity leads to diabetes. In America today, both obesity and diabetes are being diagnosed at increasing rates, they are becoming epidemics that will place a heavy burden of costs for the health care of all Americans.

So we can conclude that almonds should be on our diabetic food list, they are inexpensive, especially in the “bulk barn” types of stores, and they are available from most food outlets.

Please note, some people are seriously allergic to nuts, especially some children, and every year accidental deaths occur from eating them.

And a simple caution regarding almonds and fat contentThere is a type of fat — it’s a good fat called monounsaturated fat — found in nuts that helps provide some of the protection we are seeking, but it should be noted that fat is higher in calories at 9 per gram than either the other nutrients, proteins and carbohydrates, that supply 4 calories per gram. So 2 ounces of almonds would provide about 340 calories.

Therefore, if a person decides to add almonds to the diet, daily or perhaps several times a week, it is important to adjust the daily dietary intake to account for the added calories – because excess calories lead to excess fat, not good for the diabetic or any other person.

In conclusionPersonally, as a type-2 diabetic myself, it does seem worth adding almonds to my diabetic food list. For variety, I would tend to mix almonds with other nuts, especially walnuts and perhaps peanuts, they are all good apparently. I don’t dislike nuts but I know that 50 nuts is more than I can eat at one time so I would have to spread that many throughout the day, and probably not eat that many every day, maybe over a couple of days, but I am going to stock up – I need some help in better controlling my blood sugar levels.

About the Author

When you are a diabetic like me, a type-2 for many years, it is nice to learn about almonds and their health benefits. For much more on the above topic please visit Almonds, Diabetes, and Cholesterol and for a more on other diabetes subjects, check out Diabetic Food List.

Egypt is probably the world’s oldest civilization having emerged from the Nile Valley around 3,100 years ago, historically.  Egypt is probably one of the oldest vacation spots. Early Greeks, Romans and others went there just for fun, and to see the wonders of some of mankind’s earliest triumphs, but Egypt is much more than Pyramids and monuments. It is also Red Sea scuba diving, hot night spots, luxury hotels and five star restaurants. It is romantic cruises down the Nile on festive river boats, a night at the grand opera and it is a cultural experience like none you have ever experienced. Egypt is a land bustling with life, sound, visual beauty and excitement. More than anything else, we want you to think of Egypt as fun. For thousands of years, it has been the playground of emperors and kings, and we hope you will take the time to find out what is the reason behind.

Language:

 Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes

Major Religions:

The poulation of Egypt is about 80 millions, 75 % is Muslim Sunni and 25 % is Christians and others

Economy:

Labor force is 22.4 million (2004) . Unemployment rate.16.4% (2004). Inflation Rate s 5.9% (2004). Gross domestic product (total value of goods and services produced annually) is 7.1 billion (2004 est.). Budget is .8 billion. Debt is .5 billion (2004). Exporting is .1 billion, primarily crude oil and petroleum products, cotton yarn, raw cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals. Importing is .5 billion, primarily machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods, capital goods. Defense spending is 8.2% of GDP (2004 est.). Highways are 73,000 km (2004) 

Visa & Passport:

 Non-Egyptian visitors arriving in Egypt are required to be in possession of a valid passport.  Entry visas may be obtained from Egyptian Diplomatic and Consular Missions Abroad or from  the Entry Visa Department at the Travel Documents, Immigration and Nationality  Administration (TDINA). It is, however, possible for most tourists and visitors to obtain an  entry visa at any of the Major Ports of Entry. Please check with your nearest Egyptian  Consular mission for more details concerning visa regulations applying to your citizenship. The visa form must then be completed, either by printing it out and filing it in or via a graphics editor and sent to the nearest Egyptian Embassy or Consulate. Visitors entering Egypt at the overland border post to Taba to visit Gulf of Aqaba coast and St. Catherine can be exempted from visa and granted a free residence permit for fourteen days to visit the area.  Citizens of the following countries are required to be in possession of a pre-arrival visa: Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh,  Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chechnya, Croatia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Lebanon, Macau, Macedonia, Moldavia, Montenegro, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, The Philippines, Russia,  Serbia, Slovenia, Sri-Lanka, Tadzhikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan,  Ukraine, Uzbekistan and all African countries. Residents of the above countries may apply for a visa through their nearest Egyptian Consulate or Embassy.  Click here to find the Embassy or Consulate nearest you. Those in possession of a residence permit in Egypt are not required to obtain an entry visa if they leave the country and return to it within the validity of their residence permit or within six months, whichever period is less. There are three types of Egyptian visa: Tourist Visa: is usually valid for a period not exceeding three months and granted on either single or multiple entry basis. Entry Visa: is required for any foreigner arriving in Egypt for purposes other than tourism, e.g. work, study, etc. The possession of a valid Entry Visa is needed to complete the residence procedure in Egypt.   

Culture:

Egypt is a Middle Eastern country and has Middle Eastern customs. Whether Muslim or Copt,  the Egyptians are deeply religious and religious principles govern their daily lives. Combined  with