Diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, is a growing threat to people's health. Anything that can lessen or ward off symptoms is a welcome discovery. Chi kung, also called qigong, is a form of exercise in Chinese medicine. More studies are needed...
Honey and cinnamon are two types of foods with medicinal properties that may lower your risk of diabetes and diabetic complications. Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by high blood sugar and multiple complications that involve high blood...
A person with insulin resistance has special dietary needs to control blood sugar, prevent diabetes and cardiovascular complications, and lose weight. Insulin resistance is characterized by the inability of your cells to respond to insulin, the...
Hemoglobin A1C is a type of hemoglobin that is normally found at low levels in your bloodstream. Levels of hemoglobin A1C are influenced by sugar in the blood, and is therefore a useful measurement of sugar control by individuals with diabetes.
Glycosylated hemoglobin, also known as hemoglobin A1c or HbA1c, is a measurement of the amount of sugar attached to the hemoglobin in your red blood cells. It is a measurement taken in patients with diabetes on a quarterly basis. Even though most...
Green tea, which is made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, has been used by China and India for hundreds of years to treat wounds, improve heart health and relieve gas. Most of green tea's benefits are due to its antioxidant...
Pulse oximeters are devices that are used to indirectly measure the amount of oxygen in the blood by measuring a quantity known as oxygen saturation, or SpO2. SpO2 is a measurement of the percentage of hemoglobin molecules that are bound to...
With diabetes on the rise, learning tips and tools for controlling blood sugars -- also known as glycemic control -- is critical. There are three types of diabetes: type I, type II and gestational diabetes, which occurs in pregnant women and...
An infant is born with cells that have the capacity to carry oxygen to all the tissues in the body. These red blood cells contain the protein hemoglobin, which carries the oxygen. Oxygen saturation is a measure of how much oxygen is bound to the...
Strictly speaking, the term “anemia” means “without blood.” In reality, if you are anemic you still have enough blood in your arteries and veins to sustain life, but you either have an insufficient number of red blood cells...
Diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas does not produce enough of a hormone called insulin. Insulin works to pull sugar out of the blood. As a result, patients with diabetes have elevated blood sugar levels. In order to determine how well...
Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, exists in two forms: vitamin D2, also known as ergocalciferol, is produced by plants, and vitamin D3, also known as cholecalciferol, is the form your skin manufactures when it is exposed to the sun. Vitamin D3 is...
High levels of blood glucose, or blood sugar, might lead to diabetes and harm your health in other ways. When blood glucose is too high, it coats the surface of your red blood cells, stiffening them and interfering with their smooth passage...
Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that distributes oxygen from your lungs to all your body tissues. It also helps eliminates carbon dioxide, a waste product, from your body. A simple blood test can determine the amount of hemoglobin in...
Nephrons, which house the capillary network called glomeruli, are the functional units of the kidneys. In chronic renal disease, the damaged glomeruli do not function normally. Therefore, urine output decreases, anemia develops and electrolyte...
A blood gas, also called an arterial blood gas or ABG, is a blood test that measures the oxygen saturation (Sa02), carbon dioxide (PaC02), partial pressure of oxygen (Pa02), pH, and bicarbonate (HC03) of arterial blood. The blood is analyzed, and...
The Arthritis Foundation reports that approximately 294,000 children under the age of 18 suffer from some form of arthritis. Most prevalent, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is a chronic condition affecting the joints, bones, muscles, tendons,...
Diabetes mellitus ranks sixth among the leading causes of death in the U.S., according to Eleanor Whitney and Sharon Rolfes in "Understanding Nutrition." Persons with diabetes are also twice as likely to develop chronic diseases including heart...
The lack of fiber in the Western diet has been recognized as an important health issue and an area of much-needed improvement for decades. Beyond colon health and regularity, scientific research in recent years has revealed significant benefits of...
Cinnamon, a spice commonly added to foods and beverages to add flavor, may also confer health benefits on people who consume it. One such potential benefit of cinnamon is a lowering of blood sugar, which may be important for diabetics who have...
Individuals participating in regular and moderate to intensive workout sessions tend to deplete levels of iron in the body. This happens through excessive sweating, higher urine output from drinking more fluids and reduced consumption of the right...
Insulin resistance occurs when the body produces insulin but cannot use it properly. Insulin resistance increases the risk of diabetes type 2 and heart disease. Green tea has been used for blood sugar control in traditional medicine and is now...
Pulse oximetry is a technique that uses a special device to measure the oxygen-carrying capacity of a component in your red blood cells called hemoglobin. Normal pulse oximetry readings typically indicate oxygen levels near maximum carrying...
Your blood naturally contains a certain amount of a sugar known as glucose. Glucose is the predominant fuel for cells within the body. High blood glucose levels can be a sign of diabetes, a condition caused by problems with how your body produces...
Multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow that causes certain cells to grow out of control and break down bone, is the most common type of bone cancer, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. The word 'stage' is used to...
Vitamin D deficiency has become a prevalent issue in the news and in research circles. In 2010, controversy continues to abound as to what are optimal levels, how and why deficiencies occur and what are the health effects of insufficient levels....
Blood gases are the dissolved gases in the bloodstream, namely oxygen and carbon dioxide. These gases are measured by taking a sample of blood from an artery, usually the wrist and measuring the partial pressure of the dissolved gases in the...
Health-boosting properties attributed to green tea are many and varied and include cardiovascular benefits, prevention and treatment of a variety of cancers, blood sugar control and weight loss. Scientific research has also revealed potential uses...
Beets, native to the Mediterranean region, belong to the same family as chard and spinach and have been cultivated for food for centuries. Beet leaves are eaten as a green vegetable and the taproots are prepared by boiling or pickling. Beets...
