Diabetes and Circulatory Disease

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

Diabetes is a scourge on our society. The number of diabetes patients in the US has climbed to an estimated 12-14 million, up from 8 million in 1990. This article will deal with the growth in Type-I and Type-II diabetes in the US, and the effect that diabetes can have on circulatory disease.

The rate of increase is closely tied to the number of obese and morbidly obese people in the US. There are 66 million obese people in the US (obesity is defined as a BMI of over 30%). Nearly a fifth of these people have diabetes today. Left untreated, we can forecast that many with long-term obesity problems will eventually contract Type-II diabetes as a response to long-term problems of insulin resistance.

It’s no coincidence, therefore, that rates of heart disease and other circulatory problems is increasing. What is surprising is, until recently, the rate of heart disease had been declining since the 1950’s. The reason for the fall was primarily due to a reduction in cigarette smoking, from over 60% of the population, to under 25% today.

In addition, we’ve seen an increase in certain populations which are more susceptible to circulatory disease: these maladies are much more common amongst people of Latin American and African-American subgroups. There is a certain correlation between diabetes and circulatory disease. Both African-Americans and Latinos have much higher rates of obesity and heart disease. As those subgroups have grown, so has the overall incidence of diabetes and circulatory disease.

Finally, people are living longer. As we age, we grow more susceptible to circulatory diseases. It is estimated that the number of people in the US over 75 will double between 2005 and 2030.

What is the connection between diabetes and circulatory disease? Cause and effect works in two directions: as we exercise less, we gain weight. With less exercise, we also tend to have higher levels of circulating insulin. These higher levels contribute to an overall increase in insulin resistance from the cells of the body. As insulin resistance increases, the pancreas increases insulin output in order to counteract the problem. A long period of insulin resistance is typically followed by the onset of insulin-resistant Type-II diabetes.

What effect does diabetes have on the circulatory system? Blood vessels thicken throughout the body in response two three factors related to obesity and diabetes:

  1. High blood pressure causes a thickening of the arteries
    High circulating LDL and lower HDL ratios contribute to the formation of plaque in blood vessels, which leads to a further narrowing of those vessels
  2. Inflammation, which can result from circulating substances such as homocysteine in obese and diabetic patients, leads to higher levels of heart and circulatory disease.
  3. The smaller the blood vessels, the greater the damage caused by this thickening and narrowing of the blood vessels. The greatest problem in both diabetics and obese people is with their circulation in the capillaries and their extremities. That’s why we see blindness (as a result of constriction in the capillaries of the eye), neuropathy in the feet and hands, and a reduction in circulation in the brain and heart—all are due to a less-effective circulation and narrowing of the arteries.

Heart disease and circulatory disease are interrelated. It is estimated that 60% of those patients who undergo angioplasty will also need vascular intervention—particularly in the kidneys, iliac, SFA (superficial femoral artery) and femoral-popliteal arteries of the leg. Left untreated, patients are at a much higher risk of heart attacks, strokes, and diabetic foot ulcers.

Diabetes is closely linked to heart and other circulatory diseases. The correlation between the two means that both must be treated in order to improve a person’s morbidity and mortality.

John Lonergan is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Insulin Resistance & Diabetes.

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Quit Smoking by Going “Cold Turkey”

Thursday, December 13th, 2007

There are many smokers who have quite the habit by going cold turkey. Most will tell you that they did so without much in the way of preparation. Usually going the cold turkey route is something that is not thought out or pre-meditated, it just happens. Usually the smoker goes cold turkey in response to an event like a close friend or loved one dying of lung cancer, or perhaps they lost someone in a house fire that was caused by careless cigarette smoking.

To quit smoking this way, usually involves a drastic and very emotional motivator. The event usually is something that shows the smoker in a very dramatic way that smoking has caused a lot of grief or harm to someone and smoking becomes so distasteful that quitting becomes the only option. The smoker simply stops and the motivator is so vivid in their mind that every time the urge to smoke occurs the motivator zaps the urge and the person remains smoke-free.

There are times when the motivator to quit cold turkey is a pregnancy announcement and mom decides that the baby’s health is more important then the pleasure received from lighting up yet another smoke. Sometimes the motivator is the health of another person that is living in the same household as the smoker.

Whatever the reason, the timing is usually in a way that prevents the smoker from putting much thought or planning into the act of quitting. To succeed the smoker either needs to be able to stay focused on the motivator or to have a constant reminder of the motivation to quit. A pregnant mom can tape the ultrasound picture on her refrigerator or bedroom mirror as a reminder of the life growing inside of her that needs her to quit smoking. A father of an asthmatic son may need to hear his son wheezing and watch him reach for his inhaler to serve as a reminder that he needs to make his home smoke free.

Having gone cold turkey without a plan does not mean that you need to continue without one. You can devise a plan and can enlist the help of family and friends anytime. Speak with your healthcare provider about your decision to quit smoking and ask for advice and support groups.

After you have quit the smoking habit, you can still let others know of your decision and surround yourself with non-judgmental supportive individuals. Negative people will only drag you down and make you feel like you cannot succeed. Surrounding yourself with positive energy allows the positive energy to flow through you and gives it the ability to bring about positive changes in your life.

Whether you are going cold turkey or have designed a plan to quit you are likely to run across feelings of irritability, being tired, cravings at every turn and the need to put something in your mouth.

Here are some tips to help you survive:

  • Understand that being irritable tired or out of sorts is to be expected.
  • Make sure you drink lots of water all day and evening.
  • Do something physical like going for a swim or walk to keep your mind active and off your cravings.
  • Surround yourself with support - people who can help you to resist the temptation to smoke.
Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more informaton on Quit Smoking.

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