|
|
|
| HEALTH & FITNESS |
|
|
|
What diabetics should do during pregnancy
Diet, exercise benefit heart patients
Firm handshake linked to longer life
Health Notes
|
|
What diabetics should do during pregnancy Women with diabetes should consult their gynaecologist soon after deciding to become pregnant. The doctor may assemble a team of specialists to work with you throughout pregnancy, like a diabetes specialist, obstetrician, paediatrician, dietitian and neonatologist. Women with poor diabetic control have a 6 per cent to10 per cent risk of giving birth to babies with birth defects. Furthermore, high blood sugar can lead to stillbirth, the baby having low blood sugar or jaundice. Poorly controlled diabetes in pregnancy can also put you at a higher risk of various other problems: A condition called pre-eclampsia, which causes high blood pressure Having too much amniotic fluid (the fluid around your unborn baby) You’re more likely to need a caesarean delivery than the women who don’t have diabetes. You’re also more likely to develop gestational diabetes in future pregnancies, and are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. The diet and exercise plan, the fluctuation of hormones, morning sickness, etc, will be considered in the health treatment during the course of pregnancy. In addition to blood sugar monitoring, ultrasound tests for baby growth will be conducted, weight gain will be supervised, eyes will be examined and blood pressure regularly checked to detect any problems. Further examination of the eyes is of great value to assess the underlying dangers to the mother and the child both. For diabetics, three important health problems need to be watched during pregnancy: hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis. Hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia refers to low blood sugar levels in the body. Occasionally during pregnancy the sugar level may fall below the normal and you may feel dizzy and disoriented. Therefore, it is important to take precaution in various situations, such as operating any machinery, driving, or any activity that could be potentially dangerous. Hyperglycemia
Hyperglycemia refers to a condition when your body does not have adequate insulin that can occur in a variety of situations. Your body will lack insulin if you consume too many calories, do not exercise when you are supposed to or miss a dose of insulin. Lack of insulin can also be caused by stress or sickness. During the second trimester of your pregnancy, you will begin to need more insulin. If you do not meet your insulin requirements, you will
have high blood sugar. Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA)
If your body does not get enough insulin over a period of time, chemicals called ketones will accumulate. Ketones are dangerous because they can change your body chemistry and have ill effects on your health as well as your baby’s health and may cause miscarriage or stillbirth. Diet and exercise regimen
To ensure healthy pregnancy you will work with a dietician to make a carefully controlled diet plan. It is important that you monitor your meals so that you know how much carbohydrate and sugar you are consuming. Make sure to get enough folic acid, either through vitamins or food sources, as this can reduce your risk for birth defects. You diet plan will need to increase by 300 calories a day for your baby to get proper nutrients. You will need to eat carbohydrates in the morning to regulate your blood glucose levels. You should have plenty of snacks throughout the day with complex carbohydrates and protein. Never skip meals as this can lower your blood glucose levels. Women with diabetes may be advised to have a caesarean birth because they are at increased risk of having larger babies weighing over 10 pounds. After your baby is born, the paediatrics team will monitor him for low blood sugar, birth defects, etc.
To ensure healthy pregnancy l
Work with a dietician to make a diet plan
l Make sure to get enough folic acid l Eat carbohydrates in the morning
|
|
Diet, exercise benefit heart patients A new study has found that an intervention delivered in a primary care setting aimed at getting patients at risk for heart disease to increase their physical activity and improve their diet improves quality of life and is highly cost-effective compared with standard care.
“Extensive and intensive lifestyle intervention programs delay the onset of diabetes mellitus and reduce cardiovascular risk by increasing physical activity, reducing overweight and making changes in dietary habits,” the authors said. Researchers assessed the effect on quality of life and the cost-effectiveness of a three-year lifestyle intervention program among 151 men and women at moderate to high risk of cardiovascular disease visiting a primary care centre in northern Sweden. After six patients withdrew, 71 were randomly assigned to the intervention, which included progressive exercise training three times a week, diet counselling and regular group meetings. After an initial three-month intervention period, participants were invited to attend group meetings at regular intervals and encouraged to maintain at least 30 minutes per day of physical activity. The control group (74 individuals) was given verbal and written information about exercise and diet at one group meeting. Differences between the two groups, intervention group and control group, over the three-year period were observed on most of the quality-of-life measurements taken. The average number of visits to the family physician decreased by 0.28 per six months among individuals in the intervention group, whereas individuals in the control group made an average of 0.10 more visits per six months. This resulted in a savings of 384 dollars for health care use and a net savings of 47 dollars per intervention participant. “These results should be viewed in the context of the favourable impact on physical activity, fitness, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure and smoking cessation over the three-year period,” says the research. Hence, the study concludes that high-intensity and long-lasting interventions can produce sustainable improvements in quality of life and can obviously be cost-effective. The report appears in the September 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. — ANI
|
|
Firm handshake linked to longer life Scientists at the Medical Research Council, London, found that elderly people who could still give a firm handshake and walk at a brisk pace were likely to outlive their slower peers. They found simple measures of physical capability like shaking hands, walking, getting up from a chair and balancing on one leg were related to life span, even after accounting for age, sex and body size. The study is the first to provide a comprehensive view of the existing research by pooling data . “These measures have been used in population-based research for quite a long time,” said Rachel Cooper of the Medical Research Council’s Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing. “They may be useful indicators for subsequent health.” Cooper, said more studies are needed to clarify whether the measures would be helpful to doctors as a screening tool. The researchers examined 33 studies involving tens of thousands of people, most of whom were aged over 60 but living in the community rather than in hospital or care homes. Of 14 studies dealing with grip strength, the researchers found that those with the strongest hand grasps tended to live longer than those with limp grips. The death rate over the period of the studies for people with weak handshakes was 67 percent higher than for people with a firm grip. The slowest walkers were nearly three times more likely to die during the study period than swifter walkers. The people who were slowest to get up from a chair had about double the mortality rate compared to the quick risers. “Those people in the general population who have higher physical capability levels are likely to live longer,” Cooper said.— Reuters
|
|
Health Notes WASHINGTON: The common asthma drug albuterol can help patients with multiple sclerosis, perhaps by tamping down an overactive immune system, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. The cheap pill, available generically, may enhance the effects of a standard MS treatment called glatiramer, the researchers reported in the Archives of Neurology. Test for pregnancy complication
WASHINGTON: It may be possible to predict which women will develop a dangerous complication of pregnancy called pre-eclampsia weeks before they ever show the first symptoms, an international team of researchers reported Monday. They found a series of 45 different compounds linked with metabolism that were different in the women destined to develop the condition, and said that could form the basis of a test. Less-potent opiates for long-term use
NEW YORK: People taking opioid painkillers for extended periods of time are at greater risk of problems if they have been prescribed more potent forms of these drugs, new research shows. The study also found that people on long-term opioid therapy were more likely to visit the emergency room or to require medical care for overdose, withdrawal, intoxication or other alcohol and drug-related reasons if they had been diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder previously, or if they reported having headaches or back pain. Flu vaccine with short, thin needle
WASHINGTON: Vaccine maker Sanofi Aventis asked U.S. regulators on Monday to approve a new flu vaccine that uses a short, thin needle. Sanofi says the new vaccine, developed with syringe maker Becton Dickinson, may hurt less than standard vaccines, does a better job of stimulating protection against influenza, and requires less of the active ingredient. Antibiotics mess up your stomach
WASHINGTON: Even seemingly gentle antibiotics may severely disrupt the balance of microbes living in the gut, with unforeseen health consequences, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. An intimate study of three women given ciprofloxacin showed the drug suppressed entire populations of beneficial bacteria, and at least one woman took months to recover. — Reuters
|
It is a well-known fact that diabetes greatly increases the risk of complications during pregnancy and that it entails problems for the new born as well. A study revealed that baby deaths were four times greater for women with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Also, babies born to diabetic women had twice the rate of major birth defects, like problems with the heart and nervous systems. 
A firm handshake could be a sign of a longer life expectancy, according to British researchers.