Metformin is prescribed for many people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes because it does a good job of lowering blood sugar. One of the side effects, however, is that it can lower levels of vitamin B12 and the B vitamin folate, or folic acid, as well as raising levels of a molecule called homocysteine. Homocysteine can cause oxidation, leading to cell damage.

Investigators at the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Iran set out to discover whether giving people with Type 2 diabetes folate supplements could raise their:

• vitamin B12 levels,
• lower homocysteine levels, and
• lower oxidation, and
• inflammation.

Their results were published in June 2011 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

Sixty-eight men with Type 2 diabetes were included in the study:

One group was given 5 mg per day of folic acid while another group was given a placebo for eight weeks.

– The folate-supplemented group showed lowered homocysteine levels by the end of the study along with a raised antioxidant capacity and increased levels of folate and vitamin B12.
The group taking folic acid also showed lowered levels of malondialdehyde, a toxin that can harm cells and is used to measure oxidative stress.
– The placebo group showed no changes.

Folic acid, also known as vitamin B9, and vitamin B12 are necessary for the bone marrow to make red blood cells. Lack of either vitamin can cause megaloblastic or macrocytic anemia, in which the bone marrow makes overly large, immature red blood cells.

Signs and symptoms of folic acid deficiency include:

• tiredness,
• diarrhea,
• prematurely gray hair,
• mouth ulcers,
• poor growth, and
• a swollen tongue.

Signs and symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency include:

• weakness,
• light-headedness,
• pale skin,
• sore red tongue,
• bleeding gums,
• nausea,
• weight loss,
• diarrhea, and
• constipation.

The recommended daily intake of folic acid is 4.0 mg per day for adults over 19 years of age.

• One cup of fortified breakfast cereal provides 2.0 to 4.0 mg of folate.
• A cup of spinach provides about 2.6 mg
• A half-cup of lentils provides about 1.8 mg.

Other foods with a good supply of folic acid include other beans and legumes, other dark green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, wheat bran and whole grains.

The recommended daily intake of vitamin B12 is 2.4 micrograms.

• A cup of fortified breakfast cereal contains 1.5 micrograms of vitamin B12.

Certain types of yeast are also available for providing vitamin B12.

Volunteers in the study were given 5.0 mg of folic acid per day; not 50. If one pill is good for you, two pills are likely to cause an overdose. Discuss with your doctor whether testing for folate deficiency is a good idea for you.

/p

People with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes should be taken care of in hospital if they need surgery, even if the operation is classed as a minor one. Surgery is never an easy experience to go through, even without complications. But while complications from surgery can occur for anyone, they can be even more prevalent for diabetics. Not only can their disease affect the preparation and the surgery itself, it can also have an impact on the outcome.

First, consider before the surgery. Surgery is stressful enough for a non-diabetic, but for diabetics this stress can become magnified very easily. Since stress and diabetes do not go together very well, keeping the stress levels under control also means keeping blood sugar levels that much closer to normal.

Prepping for surgery means having your body in as good a shape as possible. The better your disease is being managed, the better off you will be through the surgery process… including recovery. During an operation, blood pressure, heart rate and respiration are all closely monitored. Having normal readings before surgery is a benefit that will help you to not only get through the operation, but will allow your body to recover faster and with less complications.

This is when being on a regular exercise program is really going to pay off. The more fit your body is when going in for surgery, the faster your recovery will be. Plus, your body will undergo less stress during recovery and there will be less opportunity for complications.

Your doctor, and your surgeon, will not encourage surgery unless your disease is at least somewhat under control. If you take oral medications for diabetes and the surgery is minor, you can delay taking your medications until you are ready to eat. If the surgery is more major and you are likely to miss more than one meal, your surgeon may order you to have intravenous insulin.

Having elevated sugar levels will also affect the healing of your operation site and the possibility of contracting an infection. If an infection does occur, it will also be much more difficult to treat if sugar levels are out of balance, and will result in the recovery time being extended.

If you are a smoker or alcohol drinker, the time to stop is several weeks before surgery. The reduction in alcohol will help your blood sugar level and your tissues will respond better to oxygen. Plus, oxygen will also be absorbed much easier if the body is not laboring from cigarettes.

Post surgery, it is just as important to keep your blood sugar levels stable. Even if your appetite is affected, it is best to not skip meals or snacks. Hospitals cater for diabetics and will ensure you have what you need. Make sure you eat at the appropriate meal times since you will not have access to food other than that provided by the hospital.

Any type 2 diabetes meal plan must have 3 things if it is going to be worth it’s weight in salt. But before I get to that, the first thing that I have to mention is diabetes is all about getting to the root of the problem. And with a good diet it is very possible to control diabetes.

Viagra online Australia

So how do we get this done?

First, we have to understand that when starting any type of diabetes diet meal plan there are 3 things that at the core we need to understand. These are things that are more psychological and if you don’t really get it, it will be hard to stay on track.

So here are the 3 diabetes diet meal plan guidelines:

1. Avoid eating foods that have no nutritional value

One of the main reasons why our body breaks down is because we eat refined foods that simply taste good and have been stripped away of all nutrients. What this does over time is it leads to problems with metabolizing sugar. Foods like soda, cake, candy, and white bread are all like fake foods. These types of foods cause the pancreas to work harder after a meal and over time this system breaks down.

Another big problem is we look to food for instant gratification. Most people don’t drink coffee for its nutritional value. Instead they drink it for the quick boost from the coffee for the caffeine only to crash a couple of hours later. But caffeine is a drug. And it impairs glucose metabolism in people with Type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes. For every cup of coffee the pancreas produces 3 units of insulin. This is one of the reasons why we recommend that Type 2 diabetics cut back on the coffee and caffeine. Too many cups of coffee can screw up your blood sugar.

Step one is you need to change the foods you eat and make healthier choices. Instead of eating foods with no nutritional value you need to start having nutrient dense foods. A few examples of some of these nutrient dense foods would be leafy green vegetable like kale, spinach and collard greens to name a few.

2. Don’t eat food just for taste

I know it’s hard to eat and not think about pleasing your taste buds. But from now one you need to change your thinking when it comes to food. When you eat food try to think terms of 3 timeframes. The first time frame is What this food will do to me in the short-term (the next few hours), the next is the intermediate term (1-3 years from now) and the third time frame is long-term (5-20 years from now). What you’ll want to do is eat foods that will produce the most benefit in the intermediate to longterm.

3. Don’t allow your emotions with food to get the best of you

In the US so many times, we use food as a means of comfort. Many of us have the wrong conditioning around food. In so many households, more food the better. Not to mention, we rely on food to help us feel better emotionally. For the holidays we get with family and usually eat into oblivion usually the worst foods possible.

Mexican hgh

I’ve even had some doctors struggle with this and ask me for help in this area. I can recall numerous times at conferences where they’ve shared with me how hard it is to “give up” or avoid certain foods. The bottom line is it all comes down to wiring. We must change how we think about food.

The way to do this is by catching yourself in the moment and living more consciously in this area. Ask yourself – why am I turning to foods that have no nutritional value only to fill an emotional void?