During your pregnancy, you're probably doing everything you can to stay healthy for your unborn baby. Because your behaviors and well-being can directly affect your baby's development, it's important to maintain good nutrition, follow your...
Measuring your blood glucose and cholesterol levels is highly important for your health. Measuring blood sugar levels gives you insight as to how well your body is processing glucose, which is blood sugar. For instance, a random blood draw with...
Diabetes mellitus is a disorder in which the body cannot properly use glucose, allowing it to remain in the bloodstream. This elevated glucose, or blood sugar, is damaging to the organs of the body. When the cells of the body do not have a good...
Being overweight or obese increases your risk of type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body is no longer able to metabolize blood sugar properly. This leads to increased levels of glucose, or sugar, in the blood....
Glucose is a sugar in your bloodstream, and its levels fluctuate depending on your diet and health. A high level of glucose for a prolonged period is usually a sign of diabetes. If you feel that you might be at risk of diabetes, speak to your...
High blood glucose or high blood sugar is referred to as hyperglycemia in medical terms. The hormone insulin, which is produced and secreted by the pancreas, regulates blood glucose. When your body can't use insulin correctly or has too little...
When humans eat carbohydrates, the body converts them to sugar. The sugar fuels every cell in the human body, but it's important that sugar levels be neither too high nor too low. Low blood sugar, called hypoglycemia, can cause brain damage and...
The blood sugar or blood glucose in the human body is normally kept within a fairly narrow range by the hormones insulin and glucagon. When there are problems such as diabetes or if a diabetic's medications are not working properly, then blood...
Blood sugar, also referred to as blood glucose, serves as the body's main source of fuel. It provides the building blocks to builds cells and muscles. A blood sugar test measures how the body utilizes glucose. Too much glucose in the blood stream...
Your blood sugar rises and dips throughout the day in response to your eating. It also varies by your diabetic status. What's considered a healthy blood sugar level, therefore, depends on these factors. There are several indexes, from which public...
Your heart health depends on how many, or few, risk factors you face. Problems that contribute to cardiovascular disease include high levels of triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking,...
If blood sugar levels get too high, a condition called diabetes can occur. However, blood sugar levels that get too low can also cause serious symptoms. In the early stages of either condition, there may not be any warning signs or symptoms, so...
The only way that a diagnosis of diabetes can be confirmed is by one or more blood tests that are carried out by a physician. Symptoms of diabetes include fatigue, excess thirst and hunger and frequent urination. The National Institute of...
Diabetes is a condition that causes blood glucose levels to be elevated. Monitoring blood glucose helps diabetics avoid some of the complications of this disease, which include heart disease and vision problems. Blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c...
Diabetes mellitus is a hormonal disorder that is commonly referred to as diabetes. In this disease, a person's blood glucose levels are abnormally high. Diabetes is caused by problems with a hormone called insulin. It is diagnosed based on...
Diabetes is a condition that requires a diagnosis and treatment to prevent serious complications. Without treatment, blood glucose levels can become dangerously high, causing damage to blood vessels and nerves throughout the body, says the...
A child's blood glucose level is a measurement of the amount of sugar contained within the blood. Glucose, or blood sugar, is the major source of energy for most of a child's organs, including muscles, nerves and the brain. Measuring a child's...
Up to 3 percent of all pregnant women develop gestational diabetes during their second trimester. As a result of the many changes in your body during pregnancy, you may be unable to process glucose effectively, which leads to high blood sugar...
Blood tests are available to diagnose diabetes and monitor sugar levels. Decades ago, people had to test their urine for the presence of sugar. This showed only that blood sugar levels were much too high. Today's diagnostic tools show both the...
Diabetes is a group of diseases in which the body cannot regulate glucose within normal limits. Glucose is a simple carbohydrate that is an important source of energy and is the preferred source of energy for the brain. According to the National...
Most toddlers are pint-sized bundles of energy that never seem to stop moving. You are used to your child's extreme moods: the highs that occur after a period of excitement like a birthday party, and the cranky low times when your toddler needs a...
Beta-carotene is an important nutrient for vision, skin, growth and bone development, and is found in many yellow fruits and vegetables. In addition to having a protective effect on your lungs and eyes, beta carotene may also be beneficial for...
One of the first ways doctors test for high blood sugar is with a urine sample. People with high blood sugar often have glucose in their urine. Normally urine contains very little glucose, so this test is the first indicator that blood sugar...
Blood and urine tests are vital to the diagnosis, monitoring and management of diabetes. This is true whether you have type 1 diabetes, caused by the body's inability to make insulin, type 2 diabetes, arising from the body's inability to use...
The blood sugar level is a measure of how much glucose, or sugar, is in the blood. High blood sugar levels are an indication of diabetes, a health condition characterized by the inability of the body to properly regulate blood sugar levels. Rates...
The swine flu, or H1N1, is a new type of flu virus that is thought to be a combination of four different virus genes. These genes include European and Asian pig flu, bird flu and human flu; and it is these genes that make the virus so deadly. The...
Diabetes mellitus type 2 is typically a chronic, adult-onset disease that is caused when production of the hormone insulin is inadequate or the body becomes insensitive to it. Insulin is needed to transport dietary glucose from the blood into the...
Diabetes is a serious medical condition. If it is well controlled you can successfully manage this condition and prevent complications. The goal is to start treatment as early as possible. Diabetes can be challenging to treat because in the early...
According to the American Diabetes Association, over 6 million people in the U.S. have diabetes but don't know it because the early symptoms of diabetes can often be mistaken for other conditions. Early diabetes symptoms such as fatigue may pass...
