Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The Problems With Diabetes And High Cholesterol Levels

By Owen Jones


Diabetes is a chronic disease which can have many side effects. The condition (usually) comes about as a result of the pancreas not creating sufficient insulin, which you need to handle the sugar level in your blood.

Having diabetes, or too much glucose in your blood can have serious results such as cataracts (treatable blindness), decayed teeth and an elevated risk of common illnesses.

However what lots of individuals do not realize is that there is a link between high cholesterol levels and diabetes. This link is called macular edema and it affects eyesight. If you have diabetes and high cholesterol levels, you should be paying particular attention to your eating habits in order to avoid macular edema

Macular edema is frequently a painful, non-reversible kind of blindness.

If you are uncertain about cholesterol, it would be best if we talk about this topic in order to clarify. People talk about 'cholesterol levels' because there are three measurements that are vital. HDL cholesterol is often called 'good cholesterol' and LDL cholesterol is called bad cholesterol.

It is important to have LDL because it helps in the production of bile and vitamin D and it assists regulate hormones, but too much of it can block arteries and cause heart problems. HDL is 'good' because it soaks up LDL and takes it back to the liver where it is got rid of.

Those are the two key levels. You might be forgiven for thinking that it is best to have as much HDL as possible, and this is a fact, to a certain extent, because you do need LDL as well, but the combined of both of these levels is also important. You should not have a high level of both together either.

The other reason why these levels are more important to diabetics is because diabetics with a high level of LDL run approximately three times more danger of getting macular edema than non-diabetics. Therefore the danger of high cholesterol for diabetics is crucial.

This is such a serious difficulty that diabetics are advised to check their cholesterol levels very often. The good news is that diabetics will already be watching their food and the low cholesterol diet is fairly comparable and is simple to integrate into your present regime.

The foodstuffs that you should avoid to reduce your LDL cholesterol level include saturated fats such as are present in red meat and dairy products like full-fat milk, butter, cream and cheese.

It is also to be found in trans and hydrogenated fats, which are present in junk foodstuffs and cheap margarine.

The foodstuffs to eat in order to raise your level of HDL are basically mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, vegetarian foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, soya products, fish, nuts and grains, particularly whole grains.

Roughage and fibre are what you ought to be looking for. Fish and olive oil are also useful in the fight against LDL cholesterol.




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