How to deal with meal-time insulin boluses Some people living with diabetes may need to use insulin each day to help control their blood glucose levels. This insulin dose may be given in a bolus at meal time. A recent study revealed that although adding an insulin bolus at every meal time each [...]
Obesity Can Shorten Life Span It is well-known that obesity can increase risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. However, a recent study shows that being obese can shorten your life by about 4 years on average. This shorter life span is thought to be due to the increased [...]
When uncontrolled, diabetes can lead to health problems like nerve damage, which in turn can cause ulcers that are hard to heal. Diabetes-related ulcers can be painful and prone to infection. Having ulcers on your feet can increase the amount of care you have to give yourself each day, which can be [...]
Now more than ever, young adults are becoming obese and facing health problems like type 2 diabetes. Therefore, it is very important for overweight teens to lose weight and take control of their health. A recent report of the Adolescent Weight Registry has found that teens who lose ten pounds or [...]
Blood pressure medicines are used to help those with high blood pressure reduce their heart disease risk. Sometimes, such medicines can cause them to feel dizzy or unsteady, which can lead to falls. Those at most risk for falls are older adults, who already have less lean muscle mass than younger [...]
Obesity rates in America are much higher than they were decades ago. However, a recent study has found that such alarming rates may be leveling off. By comparing data from 2011 to 2012 with that of 2003 to 2004, it was found that, although there was an increase in obesity in older women, there [...]
Sleep apnea is a condition that causes pauses in breathing during your sleep. Obesity is a primary risk factor for getting sleep apnea. A recent report has found that sleep apnea may not only put you at risk for restless sleep, fatigue, and heart disease, but may also increase your risk for [...]
Your blood glucose meter, as well as the many apps on your phone, can help you track your health progress at home. However, when you visit the healthcare provider, you may not have time to go over all of this data. In turn, your diabetes care may not be as helpful as it could be in preventing low [...]
Only about half of people in the United States get the recommended daily allowance of Magnesium (400-420mg/day for men; 300-310mg/day for women). This is troubling to many experts, since a significant number of previous trials have shown that meeting the RDA for magnesium helps both healthy [...]
Every year, many people in the United States consider having weight loss surgery. This kind of procedure poses a few health risks, both during and after surgery. A recent study has found that gastric bypass procedures and one of the newest weight loss surgeries, called a sleeve gastrectomy, [...]
Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. Luckily, women can take charge of their heart health by making smart lifestyle changes now. Try to eat more fruits and vegetables, stay active every day, and get more sleep. Read [...]
When it’s cold outside, your blood vessels constrict (narrow) to keep your body warm. Your blood vessels also narrow when they are clogged and during stressful times. Eventually, this can lead to high blood pressure. High blood pressure, or hypertension, can increase your stroke risk. It is, [...]
If your goal is to lose weight to improve your health, then you should be proud of yourself along this journey. However, if you become obsessed with your weight loss goals so much that it affects your daily life, then you may have gone too far and should seek help from a healthcare provider or [...]
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, may increase your risk of heart disease as well as trips to the hospital, especially if you are African-American. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that African-American women between the ages of 18 and 44 years had over 5 times more trips to the [...]
If you have high cholesterol levels, your risk of heart disease can increase greatly. Therefore, along with creating a heart-healthy lifestyle, you may need medicine such as statins to help lower your cholesterol. For some, high-dose statins, which can be used alone to lower cholesterol levels, [...]