In addition to regulate the diet, people with diabetes also should be diligent in exercising. Because, exercise helps the body to absorb the maximum sugar circulating in the body. But, doesn’t exercise also trigger excretion of sweat that quickly makes you thirsty? Especially when fasting, can people with diabetes exercise?

“Do not always identify exercise with excessive sweat, especially for people with diabetes,” said Dr. Michael Triangto, SpOK, sports medicine specialist from Slim + Health Sports Therapy.

Thus, exercise that is suitable is not aerobic and aerobic gymnastics. Because aerobic exercise has a movement repeatedly with a short time, it is more difficult. As a result, people with diabetes will easily lose breath and accelerate decline in blood.

Then, what kind of exercise is aerobics? Michael mentions, brisk walking or biking can be a relaxing choice. But, before doing the exercise, Michael reminded to see if there are other diseases that accompany diabetes.  One could have done a good exercise for diabetes, but not for other disease.

That’s why before exercising it s should first be defined what purpose and for what goals to be achieved is to stay healthy during fasting and after fasting, it must be done according to the health value. Parameters for this, he said, is the measurement of heart rate with the formula 220 minus age in years. The results of the formula is 100% of heart rate and for people with diabetes, the limit is 50-70% of maximum heart rate.

For example, people with diabetes aged 30 years, so maximum is 190 beats per minute. Thus, heart rate limits when walking or cycling is a leisurely 80-133 per minute. That means, he explains, is less than 80 means the exercises done is less helpful, but if it is more than 133, it could be dangerous.

When talking about the benefits, exercise which is done regularly and for long periods can help the muscles to absorb sugar, or glucose that circulate in the body. Therefore, people with diabetes is difficult to absorb sugar, it takes a higher insulin to absorb the glucose.

“And with the muscles that are aerobic,  the body has a better sensitivity of glucose”. As a result, blood sugar levels can be more stable and for people with early diabetes, regular exercise can help them break away from medicine addiction.

SLEEP is not only a perfect rest for body and soul, but also makes you enjoy life more. Conversely, lack of sleep not only affects your chance to enjoy life, but also create a threat to health.

Lack of sleep at the age of approximately 20 did not show side effects that are too visible. In fact, when enough time to rest overnight, it will give a dramatic effect on your face.

There is a clear correlation between the time sleeping with one’s appearance. A recent study found that poor sleep has hormonal effects that are similar to the aging process. In fact, increasing the possibility of disease associated with age, according to quotes from Legal Daily Mail, Tuesday (16/2/2010).

“We suspect that loss of sleep not only accelerate the aging, but also enhance the disease, such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and memory loss,” said Eve Van Cauter, a scientists who led the research path.

Furthermore, other studies found in the fact that lack of sleep could trigger the stress which would  react on the body, increase cortisol levels, the emergence of stress hormones, and glucose. Please note, the increased levels of glucose in the body indicated a greater risk of heart disease and stroke.

In addition, a more worrying again, the woman who has a habit of approximately five hours of sleep a night, was tantamount to raise herself to the risk of heart disease. Disrupted sleep also affect blood pressure (which usually falls at night) and make us susceptible to colds and flu.

A study which is done by Europe Sleep Research Society found that people who sleep less tend to be judged less attractive and has a paler color. Cause, during deep sleep, that’s when skin cells are newly produced.

The reason why so many of us feel and look 10 years younger after the holidays is because, when on vacation, we have enough time to sleep.

“One of the primary functions of sleep is to allow the brain to repair themselves,” says Professor Jim Horne, director of the Sleep Research Center at the University of Loughborough.

During sleep, the cortex [the largest part of the brain, which regulate the functions of higher, such as thoughts and actions] went into recovery mode. Without a break, you may wake up in the condition irritable, depressed, forgetful and unable to concentrate on the task.

Well, of course is not unreasonable if you have to spend a lot of money to become a member at the gym and buy expensive face cream to look young, but all you need is at least six hours of sleep each night.

Potassium represents 5% percent of the total mineral content of a human body, even though only about one litre is found in the body at a time. Potassium is found in our bodies both inside and outside cells and is a very important mineral required every day to stay healthy. More than 98% of the body’s potassium is intracellular. The body easily absorbs potassium, but nearly 90% of it is excreted through the kidneys and bowels. Thus, potassium is a natural diuretic and is important for the elimination of body wastes, such as water and sodium.

Potassium is a primary electrolyte, it is a great alkalizer, and important for maintaining pH and water balance.

Benefits of potassium:

1. Along with other minerals such as sodium, chloride and calcium, potassium helps in normal cellular function, such as transmission of nerve impulses, digestion, healthy muscle contractions, proper cardiovascular functioning (heartbeat irregularities are normally a sign of potassium deficiency), and helping the body to convert glucose into glycogen (the body’s stored form of energy).

2. Potassium helps promote healthy cardiovascular health. It is strongly believed that potassium has the ability to pump sodium out of the body’s cells and reduce body fluid.

3. Potassium, along with sodium, helps to regulate blood pressure. Increasing potassium in the diet may protect against hypertension in people who are sensitive to high levels of sodium.

4. Potassium also affects blood vessel tone as well as the way blood vessels react to the flowing hormones, thus affecting pressure within blood vessels.

5. Potassium therapeutically assists in the treatment of alcoholism, acne, alleviating allergies, promoting the early healing of burns.

6. It also helps with problems such as congestive heart failure, chronic fatigue syndrome or kidney stones.

7. Potassium plays a vital role in cellular integrity by regulating the transfer of nutrients into the cell.

8. Potassium also attracts oxygen to tissues, helps correct positioning of vital organs. Potassium deficiency indicates that probably albumin, sugar, sodium, and chlorine are also in short supply or not being properly absorbed.

9. Potassium helps proper functioning of the adrenal glands. It helps support healthy sugar balance in the body.

Deficiency of potassium –

The kidneys excrete excess potassium from the body, and deficiencies are rarely found in people on a normal balanced diet. A deficiency may result in fatigue, cramping legs, muscle weakness, sluggish reflexes, acne, dry skin, mood swings and irregular heartbeat.

A shortage of potassium in body may cause a fatal condition known as hypokalemia, resulting from diarrhea, increased diuresis and vomiting. Hypokalemia can occur in people with a chronic disease or due to aging process. Deficiency symptoms include muscle weakness, ECG abnormalities, decreased reflex response, congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia and respiratory paralysis.

If the fluid and electrolyte balance is not restored, the risk of heart failure increases.

Potassium deficiency increases acid levels in the body, lowers the natural pH balance, causes problems with the formation of connective tissue. Kidney diseases (such as acute renal failure), diabetes can also cause fluctuations in the levels of potassium. Many medications such as diuretics, cortisone, prolonged use of aspirin, and laxatives also cause depletion of potassium.

Dietary sources of potassium:

Eating a variety of foods that contain potassium is the best way to get the required amount. Individuals who eat a balanced diet do not need potassium supplements. Foods, which are rich sources of potassium include turnips, whole grains, molasses, fish, citrus fruit, apple cider vinegar, bananas, avocados, yoghurt, tomatoes, poultry, oranges, apricots, potatoes (especially their skins), leafy green vegetables such as spinach, lettuce; and meat. One large orange will supply one with 250 mg of potassium, one-eighth of a person’s daily need. Dried apricots contain more potassium than fresh apricots.

Steaming of foods helps to retain nutrients that are lost through other cooking techniques such as boiling (loss of about 50% of potassium content). Steaming results in only a 6% loss of potassium.

Recommended Daily Allowance of potassium:

There is no recommended daily allowance (RDA) for potassium, but it is advised to get between 2,000-3,000 mg per day. The range of intake for children is 780 to 1,600 mg per day.

This is not difficult, and most people meet this requirement on their own through a normal diet. In general, nutritionists recommend reducing salt intake and ensuring adequate supply by increasing the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables in the diet.

If one is into bodybuilding, he must increase the potassium intake, since potassium is needed to maintain muscles in good form, and also because potassium is lost from excessive sweating and urine.

Symptoms of high intake of potassium:

Excessive potassium can be toxic and will affect the heart. This is a problem especially when one is suffering from some problem such as kidney failure. Irregular heart beat and muscle fatigue is sign of toxic potassium levels. In healthy people, the kidneys in the urine excrete excess potassium.

Who requires extra potassium?

People who require potassium supplements include:

# women on oral contraceptives,

# chronic alcoholics or drug abusers,

# smokers

# people undergoing stress

# athletes

# people doing strenuous exertion,

# anyone suffering from any degree of mal-absorption syndrome

# people with eating disorders, especially bulimia and anorexia..

There has been a dramatic decline in the number of deaths from heart attacks in the last decade. In 1970, nearly a million Americans died of cardiovascular disease; now the annual toll is below 600,000. The cause for this improved mortality rate are unknown, but most experts believe that the increased awareness of cardiovascular risk factors and their correction have played an important role in cutting the death toll.

What are the risks? Eventually, about half of all Americans develop some form of heart disease. The most common is a hardening of the arteries caused by a buildup of fatty deposits along the vessel lining. This is a slow process that usually takes many years to develop into serious disease. If the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart muscle, become severely blocked by the fatty deposits, warning symptoms of heart disease may appear. These include shortness of breath, chest pains (angina pectoris) that are relieved by rest, or a combination of the two. In many people, however, there are no warning signs — the first symptom of heart disease may be a heart attack. This is why it is important to identify and correct possible risk factors before they reach this stage.

In recent years, a number of these risk factors have been identified. Some of them, such as age, sex and family history of heart disease, are things over which we have no control. But there also are a number of factors that can be modified or eliminated, and such action appears to reduce the portability of a heart attack. The three most important controllable risk factors are high blood pressure, high levels of blood cholesterol and cigarette smoking. In fact, many experts attribute the recent decline in cardiovascular deaths to the fact that more people than ever before are now being treated for high blood pressure. Changes in the American diet that have reduced the consumption of butter, eggs and animal fats – and consequently lowered the average blood cholesterol — and a reduction in smoking by middle-aged men also are credited with lowering the toll. Since the likelihood of developing heart disease increases when two or more risk factors are present, modifying the controllable ones helps reduce the hazard of those over which we have no control.

Role of Diet

Studies have shown that population groups whose diets are rich in cholesterol and other animal and dairy fats have more heart attacks that those whose diets are low in these saturated fats. Americans, whose diets are high in meat and eggs, have a higher incidence of heart disease than the Japanese, who end to eat very little meat and other animal and dairy fats.

Studies have also shown that high blood cholesterol — more than 200 miligrams per mililiter of blood — can be lowered by modifying the diet. This means eating more fish and poultry while cutting consumption of red meat, eggs, butter and other dairy fats, and increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables and cereal grains. Substituting polyunsaturated cooking oils (corn, safflower or sunflower oil, for example) for lard or hardened shortening, and using margarines whose labels indicate a high ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fats (for example, 4 to 2) instead of butter or margarines with less favorable ratios (e.g., equal or 2 to 3) also help to lower blood cholesterol.

Role of High Blood Pressure

People with high blood pressure have a marked increase in heart attacks and strokes. The cause of most high blood pressure is unkown, but it usually can be lowered by the use of antihypertensive drugs, reduced salt intake, and weight loss in people who are overweight. Controlling high blood pressure is an important preventive measure because it increases the work load of the heart and also directly contributes to hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis).

Role of Cigarette Smoking

Since 1964, when the Surgeon General reported that cigarette smokers on the average had a 70 percent greater chance of having a heart attack than nonsmokers, many other studies have confirmed that cigarette smoking is a major risk factor. This risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked, and recent studies hae found that low-tar, low-nicotine cigarettes do not lower the risk of heart disease. Stopping smoking is now considered one of the best things you can do to help prevent a heart attack.

Other Risk Factors

Sedentary life style. Although evidence linking a sedentary life style to increased likelihood of heart disease is indirect, physically active people are known to have wider coronary arteries, which presumably would not be as prone to blockage as those sedentary people.

Type A personality. In recent years, much discussion has focused on the relationship between the type A personality, characterized by anxiety, impatience and perfectionism, and the risk of a heart attack. Although many assessments have confirmed this relationship, scientific proof definitely linking personality type and the development of heart disease is yet to come.

Diabetes. People with diabetes, a serious disease in which the body cannot regulate its blood sugar (glucose), have a higher incidence of coronary disease and heart attacks. The incidence is increased further if the diabetic has other risk factors.

Obesity. the Framingham Study recently concluded that obesity alone increases the risk of heart disease — a hypothesis that has been debated for years. Since obesity often coexists with hypertension, diabetes and a sedentary life style, weight control is an important factor in reducing a number of coronary risk factors.

Sex and age. Some risk factors, such as age and aging and a person´s sex, are unavoidable. Statistics show that men under the age of 45 years are 10 times as likely to develop coronary artery disease as women in the same age group. Between the ages of 45 and 60 years, however, the sex difference diminishes. After age 60 years, the incidence of coronary artery disease is about equally distributed between men and women.

Family history. An inherited susceptibility is also an important risk factor that cannot be avoided. Some manifestations, such as high blood pressure or an inherited tendency to have very high blood blood cholesterol levels (familial hyper-cholesterolemia) can be controlled by drugs and diet.

For an example you eat a simple carbohydrate, such as a piece of fruit or a candy bar. Eaten alone, it would enter your bloodstream in the form of glucose and raise your insulin level almost instantly. Proteins, such as lean cuts of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, and low-fat dairy products, take much longer to digest and are broken down into their smallest components, amino acids. Amino acids, for the most part, do not stimulate insulin secretion. Protein also requires the body to put forth a greater amount of effort for a longer period of time to digest it, which once again slows down the digestive process.

When a carbohydrate is eaten in together with a protein, it becomes a new source of energy on a molecular level. So when a simple carbohydrate is eaten in combination with a lean protein source, such as a piece of cheese or a slice of turkey, that combination of foods goes through a very different digestive process than if either is eaten alone. If you combine carbohydrates with proteins, less glucose enters the bloodstream, and it is released over a longer duration of time. This lowers your insulin level so your body can burn the carbohydrates as fuel as opposed to storing them as fit.

Another important factor to consider is those endless cravings for sugar or carbohydrates. Eating a little protein with each meal will reduce your cravings for such foods. Let me give you a brief explanation. When you eat sugar or a carbohydrate alone, it raises(spikes) your insulin levels, but what goes up must come down. So when your insulin level drops, it creates a craving for more sugar or carbohydrates for immediate energy and to get “high” again, because now you are feeling tired and lethargic. Sounds like an addiction, right? It’s something to think about. However, when you eat a little protein with each meal, which forces the secretion of glucagon(the hormone that stimulates insulin secretion), your insulin level balances out so your body doesn’t go through the insulin roller-coaster ride. The result is that you have a sustained, well-balanced energy level throughout the day instead of that tired, lethargic feeling you may usually experience around midafternoon.

The premise behind a higher-protein diet is that it’s not the protein or fat in our daily diet that is causing the obesity epidemic, it is the excess of high glycemic carbohydrates and carbohydrates eaten alone and in excess that create and store fat. In other words, lean sources of protein and good fats will not make your weight raise they are eaten in the right proportion. Fat does not induce a secretion of insulin. Do you remember the low-fat craze that swept through our country not so long ago? Every major food manufacturer jumped on the bandwagon and made low-fat versions of almost every food product. What happened? We got fatter, not thinner! We ended up eating more of those low fat foods because they didn’t fill us up due to the reduced fat content and the fact that they were high in sugar and carbohydrates. Consider this: an entire chicken breast has approximately 300 calories; a small Snickers bar has approximate 275 calories. The chicken breast does not require the secretion of insulin, but the Snickers bar does. As a consequence, when eating the Snickers bar there is a greater chance your body will store these calories in your fat cells; eating the chicken breast will not. So start to eat more protein to keep your weight down and of course it will make you healthier.