Researchers have recently discovered that sodas – especially colas – can lead to gestational diabetes.  The first study of this type took place recently in New Orleans.  A doctor in the area found that drinking these colas, which are filled with colas and empty calories, increases the risk of the mother getting diabetes during pregnancy exponentially.

LSU Health Sciences Center Epidemiologist Dr. Liwei Chen is the physician behind the study.  She studied nearly 14,000 women who were used to drinking at least 5 colas per week.  As a result of this, even before they get pregnant they have a 22% higher chance of getting gestational diabetes.The study followed the 14,000 women for ten years.  One of the factors that the research revealed is that even when a woman gets pregnant, she doesn’t always change her diet or some of her other habits, especially the things that they drink.  This is often because they don’t realize the long term affects on themselves or their unborn child.

Some of the long term affects include complications or illness during the mother’s pregnancy.  In addition, more dangerous, is that the baby could be larger which could create complications during the delivery – jeopardizing the health of the mother and the baby.  If the complications are too severe, it might mean that the mother needs a C-section.  Last, but not least, both mother and child are more likely to end up with diabetes as time passes.  Not only are the children more prone to diabetes, but they are also more prone to obesity.  The combination of diabetes and obesity can create other health problems and lead to everything from high blood pressure to vision problems – even blindness – to kidney problems to heart attack, amputations and even death.

If you are thinking about getting pregnant and you drink soft drinks – especially cola – which contain a lot of sugar, it is time to cut down and eventually stop.  For the sake of yourself and your future unborn child, substitute healthier drinks – including more water – for your health and your baby’s.

There are many people with diabetes, however, that take various medications to control their diabetes.  Some of these medications work well without creating side effects.  Others, however, do create side effects, just as with any kind of medication – whether it is from the cold medication a person takes or from blood pressure medication.  Any medication can cause a side effect, and the effect can range from something small, such as a slight headache to something much more annoying, such as terrible stomach cramps or worse.

One of the things that has been discovered recently is that in some cases certain medications for diabetes can possibly be fatal.  Some of these medications can cause cardiovascular issues and changes which can lead to death.  

Researchers state that metformin – which is one of the most widely used diabetes medications – is one of the best and most effective medications to begin treatment for Type 2 Diabetes, with very few side effects.

It is important that the right medication be used to control diabetes because diabetes brings with is numerous other health challenges.  The majority of individuals with diabetes also have either high blood pressure, kidney problems, vision problems and more, including cardiovascular issues.  In fact, individuals with diabetes have twice as much incidence of heart problems – including fatal heart attacks – as those without diabetes.

The research revealed that metformin was so much safer than other drugs and that sulphonylureas are linked with fatal results in too many cases and at least 30% more heart problems.  The British Medical Journal has stated that if at all possible, it is important to use metformin and other types of diabetes medications that are much safer and have fewer side effects – especially the ones that can kill you.

In the meantime, there are ways to help work to avoid diabetes altogether.  Stopping the disease before it starts is one way.  If you don’t have diabetes or have not been diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes, it is important to live a healthy lifestyle by having a moderate diet, engaging in moderate exercise and working to stay as healthy as possible when it comes to obesity, cardiovascular issues and blood pressure. Something new that has been discovered is that when a woman has had a baby, breastfeeding can help prevent diabetes both in the mother and the baby.  When researchers studied over 700 women for 20 years, they found that the women who had breastfed had a much lower incidence of metabolic syndrome, which includes several symptoms that likely lead to diabetes – including high blood pressure, high blood glucose, heart disease and abdominal obesity.  These combined symptoms more often than not lead to diabetes.

Mothers who breastfed during this study – and other studies – eliminated a great deal of the risk of getting Type 2 Diabetes in the future.  Even mothers who had gestational diabetes – diabetes during their pregnancy – lowered their incidence of diabetes as well.  This is a critical find, since once a woman has gestational diabetes, her odds of getting Type 2 Diabetes later are much higher than a woman who has not had gestational diabetes.

If you are pregnant or are about to have a baby – or have just had a baby – think carefully about breastfeeding.  Not only is it good for your baby for a tremendous amount of reasons, but it could be wonderful for your own health, especially in preventing you from developing diabetes.

Numerous studies have shown that there are strong connections between obesity and diabetes.  Sometimes the diabetes comes first and it becomes harder to control one’s week.  On the other hand, in the majority of cases, a person can be obese or at least struggling with their weight and as a result, they can develop diabetes because their metabolism is not working correctly and their blood glucose level is rising too high.

There is something new on the market being introduced on the market through Walgreens Pharmacies.  Walgreens provides a tremendous amount of care for individuals with diabetes and they also provide a tremendous amount of information to help individuals with diabetes. Because of this, introducing the new NutriSystem Diabetes Program is just another tremendous avenue of support for individuals with diabetes.  Since it is so hard for most of us to stay on a “diet” and since NutriSystem has helped millions of people lose weight, the fact that they had the insight to create a special NutriSystem Diabetes Program is a huge insight and should be a huge help and support for individuals with diabetes.

If you are battling Type 2 Diabetes and you are also battling weight problems, you might want to give NutriSystem Diabetes Program a try.  To get information on the products and to purchase them, contact your local Walgreens pharmacy.

Many people – with or without diabetes – feel that as long as a person basically eliminates sugar from their diet, they will be able to keep their diabetes under control. This is true, but only to an extent. Individuals with diabetes should be very careful about their sugar intake, but they can have a little sugar from time to time.

If their diet is healthy and they are getting regular exercise – even walking for a few minutes every day or every other day – they will be helping their body to stay healthy and having a little sugar in moderation every once in a while should not put them in extreme jeopardy. In fact, if they are doing other things to keep their body as healthy as possible, a little sugar here and there shouldn’t hurt them.

If a person includes mostly whole foods, such as lean meats, good fruits and vegetables in their regular diet and keeps their diet balanced a little sugar once in a while shouldn’t be a problem. In addition, if a person takes their insulin or other medicine this is a safeguard against sugar – especially since there are many products on the market these days that say they have no sugar, but have heavy corn syrup or fructose in them which is just another form of sugar. A person could be using them every day and not realize that these problems are not good for them. Despite this, you could have a little ice cream or slice of pie or cake (pie is better due to less carbs), and still be ok.

One of the smart things to do – not just for people with diabetes – is to become familiar with the foods and products that are made with low or no sugar and are also low in carbs (which turn to sugar in the blood). There are a tremendous amount of products available – from ice cream, pies, a vast array of yogurts in fun and delicious flavors and a lot of soft drinks, flavored waters and juices that are sugar free or very close. Instead of feeling you must go without, you will find that food and food products available for individuals with diabetes have come a long way and can help keep your diet balanced and help keep you happy.

Go to a few grocery stores and some of the bigger nutrition or whole/natural food stores and look at what they have to offer. You will be surprised and delighted and will now have some real choices – including real chocolate candy by Hershey’s, Dove, See’s, Russell Stover and more – that actually taste great and will help you when you have some of those cravings that we all get to help keep your diet and body in balance and your diabetes in check.

There is good news regarding current research. Studies in the U.K. have discovered a new drug that that will address both issues at the same time, helping people with diabetes to basically kill two birds with one stone.

With some of the serious health issues that individuals with diabetes and weight problems face and have to fight to control every day, this new discovery should make the life of a person with Type 2 diabetes just a little – if not a lot – easier.

Most people who have both diabetes and are seriously overweight have other side affects, too. They usually have to deal with high blood pressure and the possibility and tremendous risks of blindness, serious kidney problems, cardiovascular issues – especially risk of stroke – and these are just the obvious ones that are hard to control when tackling diabetes and weight problems at the same time.

The drug that has been discovered has been created for Type 2 diabetes. If a person has diabetes, they only need to take the medication once per day. It works as a time release medication, allowing the body to release insulin only if the individual’s blood levels become too high. This discovery and the medication which comes with it will make millions of lives of individuals with diabetes much easier, especially since many often have to take multiple injections every day.

In addition, the research shows that the way the medication helps with weight control is by slowing down how fast the stomach empties after a meal, therefore it makes a person feel full for a lot longer, eliminating the cravings for between meal snacks that can sabotage a diabetic’s difficult struggle to lose weight or at least keep their weight under control.

Victoza which is the original name for the medication is also known Liraglutide.

Another plus regarding the medication is that individuals can take it when it is convenient for them because it is a timed-release product. Therefore, no matter what time of day or night a person wishes to take the medication, depending upon their schedule and other activities, they can do so. In addition, the individual can continue using most or all other medications that they are on.

As a result of al these things, Victoza is also reported to lower blood pressure which eliminates some of the risk of cardiovascular complications. This drug could change the way that millions of individuals with diabetes live their lives and give them the hope – and probability – of living longer, healthier lives.

This is a very important study because over 24 million people, which adds up to one in every nine people have diabetes. Most have Type2. This type of diabetes usually develops when a person is an adult. In addition to the 24 million who have diabetes, it is estimated that there are another 57 million people who high blood glucose levels, but d not yet have diabetes. This is the group that will get the most benefit from the study and the lifestyle changes.