Tag Archives: Coronary disease

Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease

April 18, 2015

Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease: Understanding the Effects of Diabetes

Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease

Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease. The many risks of heart diseases can and must be avoided. Health must come first

Diabetes is a serious factor in causing coronary heart diseases. If you have diabetes for instance, you are more likely to develop coronary heart disease than someone without diabetes. It is therefore very important that you understand the relationship between diabetes and coronary heart disease for you to be able to take the appropriate action in keeping healthy. Experts have established that diabetes causes high levels of glucose in the blood and when this happens, it impacts negatively on the walls of the arteries causing them to be more likely to develop fatty deposits commonly known as atheroma. If this atheroma is allowed to build up in the coronary arteries (the arteries that supply oxygen-rich blood to your heart) the individual affected is likely to develop coronary heart disease which can eventually cause heart attack and angina says doctor Dalal Akoury MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. Now let us try to understand diabetes better in the context of causing coronary heart disease.

Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease: Types of diabetes

We have two common types of diabetes the type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes happens when the body lucks the capacity to produce insulin. This type of diabetes is very common with the children and young adults. Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body can’t produce enough insulin or the insulin doesn’t work properly. Type 2 diabetes is more common and tends to develop gradually as people get older usually after the age of 40. This type of diabetes is closely associated with being overweight, being physically inactive and having a family history of diabetes. Like most people in the south Asia origin and African Caribbean are associated with higher rates of diabetes. Nonetheless when diabetes is present, the most important thing is how to eliminate it and reduce the risk of other complications that come with it. Therefore you can effectively reduce your risk of developing diabetes by controlling your weight and doing regular physical activity.

The great news is that doing these things will also make you less likely to develop other cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and stroke as well as being great for your general mental and physical wellbeing. Whenever we mention engagement in physical activities many people do wonder how and whether they will achieve their set objectives. If this describes you then you need ton to worry for you are not alone. The most important thing to do is to resolve to take the first step of acknowledgement and willingness to lose. When this is done doctor Dalal Akoury will take you through the best and natural weight lose exercises in the most professional way that will leave you much healthier. Remember that by losing weight and being active, you will be succeeding in solving several health complications as already mention.

Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease: How can I protect my heart if I already have diabetes?

If you have diabetes, it’s very important to make sure that you control your blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels to help reduce your risk of coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases. To do this you can chose to:

  • To more physical activity
  • Eat a healthy, balanced diet
  • Control your weight, and
  • Stop up smoking.

If you are diagnosed with diabetes, you may also need to take a cholesterol-lowering medicine such as statins to help protect your heart.

Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease: Family history

If you have a family history of cardiovascular disease, you have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack, heart failure and stroke. Ideally you will be considered to have a family history of cardiovascular disease if:

  • Your father or brother was under the age of 55 when they were diagnosed with cardiovascular disease or
  • Your mother or sister was under the age of 65 when they were diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.

Doctor Akoury says that if you have family history of cardiovascular disease, it will be very important that you consult with your doctor in good time for professional evaluation which may include checking on your blood pressure and cholesterol.

Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease: How does family history affect me?

Genes can pass on the risk of cardiovascular disease, and they can also be responsible for passing on other conditions such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels. There’s no single gene that increases your risk of getting heart disease. It’s likely that several genes are responsible. Lifestyle habits, such as smoking or poor diet passed on from one generation to the next can also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease: Can I do anything about my family history?

This is very important but unfortunately there is nothing you can do about your family history. Having a family history of cardiovascular disease is sometimes called a ‘non-modifiable’ risk factor meaning that it’s a risk factor that you can’t change. However, whilst you can’t change your family’s background, you can choose your lifestyle.  So even if you have a family history, you can reduce your risk of getting cardiovascular disease by controlling other risk factors by:

  • Being physically active
  • Eating well
  • Keeping to a healthy weight and body shape
  • Not smoking
  • Managing high blood pressure
  • Managing high cholesterol, and
  • Controlling diabetes, if you have it.

Finally your risk of developing cardiovascular disease also depends on other things including your age. According to the several research findings, it has been established that the older you are, the more likely you are to develop cardiovascular disease. Therefore it is advisable that you be on top of everything when it comes to protecting your health. Talking to the experts is one way of being in the know. I would want to beseech you to call the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center and schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for a comprehensive review of your health and treatment where is applicable.

Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease: Understanding the Effects of Diabetes

 

 

 

 

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

Cancer Risk: Sugar and Insulin

January 1, 2015

Cancer Risk: Sugar and Insulin

Diabetes is a sugar disease. It is a disease in which the body does not produce insulin or make proper use of it. Insulin is useful in the body in utilization of blood glucose. It allows glucose to be absorbed in the cells to enhance the production of energy. In the condition of diabetes, insulin is not effective which results in the blood being saturated with glucose. This leads to high glucose levels in the blood.

Obesity is the major cause of diabetes. It induces the resistance of the body to insulin. When this happens, the body is not able to break down glucose into energy. This causes glucose to accumulate in the blood.

To make do with this insulin resistance, the pancreas ends up producing more insulin. This leads to a rise in insulin in the blood. This insulin production can go on for years but it is not indefinite. Eventually insulin production will wear out and this will result in blood sugar increase. When this happens, it is then that an individual is diagnosed with diabetes.

There are different kinds of diabetes in the world today. There is type 1 diabetes which results from the inability of the blood to produce the insulin hormone. Type 2 diabetes on the other hand comes about when the body is unable to properly utilize the hormone. Another type of diabetes is pre-diabetes. This results when the blood glucose levels in the blood are higher than normal although not high enough to become type 2 diabetes. The fact is that over 79 million Americans today are pre-diabetic.

Insulin and cancer

Diabetes and cancer

As is a link between sugar and cancer, there’s the same between diabetes and cancer. Diabetes has been linked to pancreatic cancer. It is in most cases a symptom of pancreatic cancer or a risk factor. Studies have shown pancreatic cancer can occur to patients who have heard diabetes for over five years. The research done on pancreatic patients who have had diabetes for less than five years was unclear if diabetes was in itself the cause of the cancer.

As a symptom for pancreatic cancer, studies have shown that onset diabetes in people who are over 50 years of age may be in itself a symptom. Abrupt changes in the levels of sugar in the blood in diabetics who had controlled sugar level is also a symptom of pancreatic cancer.

Insulin Resistance Link to Cancer

This link may be related to the high level of insulin compensation. Obesity causes the body to resists insulin and this causes the pancreas to produce more insulin. This leads to increase in insulin levels in the blood. Insulin contributes greatly to the growth of body tissues. It increases with increase in essential nutrients and reduces when the body is derived of these nutrients.

Insulin may cause cells to rapidly increase. This occurs when insulin causes an increase in insulin-like growth factors (IGF). It could also cause cells to become more sensitive to other factors of growth. One characteristic of cancer cells is their ability to uncontrollably grow and become resistance to agents of cell death.

Growth factors play a major part in the growth of cancer cells as well as their progression. Past studies have shown that people with high levels of insulin-like growth are in more risk of developing, breast, colon or prostate cancer.

Resistance to insulin is characterized by the cells losing their sensitivity to the effects of insulin to aid in the absorption of glucose into the cells. Although this is so, it continues to promote the growth of cells in the body. Only the ability of insulin to transport glucose is affected.

The resistant state of insulin promoted by diabetes may in this case promote the development of cancerous cells. As the amount of insulin increases in the blood, so does its ability to induce cell growth. When this happens it leads to a cancer characteristic of uncontrollable growth of cells. As the pancreas continues producing insulin an individual may not get diabetes but he/she increases the rate of getting cancer.

sugar and cancer

Sugar and Cancer

When most of us hear about sugar we instantly think about the white substance we take in our beverages. Sugar has been linked to causing cancer. So what do most of us do? We cut out the sugar in our body including those that are essential. We cut out eating fruits such as oranges that have natural sugars.

You end up depriving your body of essential nutrients such as fibers found in fruits. However, sugar does not necessarily mean what you take in your tea or in fruits or soft drinks. It is widely used to describe those sugars in our body. Sugar also called glucose is very necessary for a healthy you. It is broken down into energy hence you are able to do those daily task.

High blood levels in the blood cause diabetes. This results in the insulin not being produced or appropriately used. When this happens a person is said to be diabetic. Sugar goes back to the case of diabetes and as seen it can increase a person’s risk of cancer.

Dr. Dr. Dalal Akoury has had years of experience with patients with cancer as well as diabetes. She has vast knowledge about sugar and insulin and their link to cancer. Just visit www.awaremednetwork.com for more expert opinion on this topic and more health tips.

Cancer Risk: Sugar and Insulin

 

Related articles
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

Understanding Hot Flashes And It’s Treatment

December 28, 2014

Understanding Hot Flashes And It’s Treatment

hot-flashesHot flushes sometimes called hot flushes refer to a quick sensation of heat and sometimes a red, flushed face and sweating.  This is a common problem, however the exact cause of hot flashes is not known, but may be related to changes in circulation that take place during menopause. Hot flashes happen when the blood vessels near the skin’s surface dilate to cool. A woman may also sweat to cool down her body. And some women have a rapid heart rate or chills. Hot flashes with sweating can also happen at night. These are called night sweats and may make it harder to sleep. Hot flushes may also be accompanied by a red neck. When affected the period that it takes to ease vary among women who are going through menopause. In some women the hot flashes may disappear after a week while in other women it will affect them for life. Hot flashes become less severe as time goes on.

 Symptoms of Hot Flashes in Women

Women may suffer the following symptoms when hit by hot flashes

The frequency of hot flashes varies; sometimes you may have many hot flushes in a day while in other times you will have few hot flashes that may subside after few minutes. Though they can affect you during the day, they are more common in the night. When a person is affected by a hot flush it may take more than a year but most hot flashes will stop on their own within five years. Though hot flashes can subside on their own it is important to seek medical help if the symptoms become too severe.

Causes of Hot Flashes in Women

The exact cause of hot flashes in women has never been known. Not every decline in hormones results in hot flashes. It is also true that some women can go through menopause without suffering from hot flashes. However here are some factors that have been thought to have a great bearing on the cause of hot flashes.

Medications and Foods

When a drug or a type of food is introduced to the body the body will react to it in a way. There are some drugs and foods that are thought to induce hot flashes. These medications may include raloxifene (Evista) and tamoxifen (Tamoxifen and Nolvadex). There are some drugs that may also produce effects that mimic hot flashes. Spices used in preparing foods like peppers can also induce feelings similar to menopause induce hot flashes.

Stress and Anxiety

Stress and anxiety are some of the emotional causes of hot flashes. In reaction to external stimuli the body may release the stress hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine, which pump up blood flow and produce a warming sensation throughout the body. External stimuli such as migraine may cause heat that spreads all over your face.

Changes in hormonal balance

A change in hormonal surroundings may cause hot flashes even if it is not related to menopause. It is believed that hypothalamus plays a bigger role in occurrence of hot flashes. This is because it is the part of brain that deals with the body temperatures therefore any conditions that affects the hypothalamus can result in abnormal rise in temperatures such as hot flashes.

hot-flashes-symptoms

Other risks associated with hot flashes include;

  • Women who smoke are more likely to get hot flashes.
  • A high body mass index (BMI) is associated with a higher frequency of hot flashes.
  • Physical inactivity. If you don’t exercise, you may be more likely to have hot flashes during menopause.
  • More African-American women report menopausal hot flashes than do women of European descent. Hot flashes are less common in women of Japanese and Chinese descent than in white European women.
  • Alcohol- Alcohol may induce hot flashes in some people. Generally it is thought that using drugs of reaction may escalate the probability of hot flashes occurring.

Treatments for Hot Flashes in Women

There both orthodox as well as natural treatments for hot flashes. The natural treatment for hot flashes may include;

  • Evening primrose oil is a botanical herb that is often used to treat hot flashes, although there is no scientific evidence to support this. Side effects include nausea and diarrhea. Women taking certain medications, such as blood thinners, should not take evening primrose oil.
  • Although there is no scientific evidence to support using flaxseed, it is thought to decrease the symptoms of menopause, particularly hot flashes. It’s also known as linseed.
  • Soy products. Plant estrogens, found in soy products, are thought to have weak estrogen-like effects that may reduce hot flashes. Soy foods, not supplements, are recommended.
  • Black cohosh. Some studies suggest that black cohosh may be helpful in the very short term (6 months or less) for treating hot flashes and night sweats. Side effects include gastrointestinal upset.

Hot flashes are just some of the known symptoms that may trouble your life during menopause. Just like any other serious disease, it is necessary that you seek medical help. Contact Dr. Dalal Akoury an expert in natural therapies on (843) 213-1480 for help.

Understanding Hot Flashes And It’s Treatment

 

Related articles
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

  • Recent Posts

  • Blog Categories