Understanding Cholesterol

What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is an important constituent of our body's cell membrane. It is an oil based substance which travels in the body through lipoproteins.

Cholesterol can be good or bad. When it is high, cholesterol is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease and can cause heart attack.

Cholesterol is fat-like in appearance. It is produced by the body and can also be consumed in food. It is essential for:
- Building component of cell structure
- Producing hormones
- Vitamin D production
- Food digestion

Two types of lipoproteins carry cholesterol:

1. Low density lipoproteins (LDL) which carries "BAD" cholesterol
2. High density lipoproteins (HDL) carries "GOOD" cholesterol.

*Lipoproteins are molecules that transport fats in extracellular fluids.

Risk factors for high cholesterol
- Family history
- Life style choices; diet
- Sedentary life style

Causes of high cholesterol
- Consumption of food high in:
a. Cholesterol such as animal fat, meat, cheese
b. Saturated fats in diary products, fried foods, certain processed food.
c. Saturated fats present in some baked foods, deep fried foods, processed foods etc
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- liver or kidney disease
- Pregnancy or conditions that increases female hormones
- Certain drugs that lowers HDL and increase LDL

How do I feel when cholesterol is high?

High cholesterol is one of the causes of :
- "He just slumped and died"
- "Sudden death"

In other words, one can be living with a very high blood cholesterol without knowing until he/she develops complications and visits the hospital. In the event of high cholesterol, plagues deposit in the wall of arteries and cause narrowing of the walls which in turn reduced blood flow, causing artherosclerosis and other complications such as
              -stroke
              -heart attack
              -death
So, frequent blood test (lipid profile in this case) will help detect high cholesterol and of course prevent this risk.

How do I control high cholesterol?
The first major way is prevention, to prevent is to eat healthy. So most of the things we eat and call enjoyment are "killer mates".

In the event of high cholesterol, life style modifications such as diet and exercise will help a lot. If this fails your doctor can prescribe medications such as statin to lower the cholesterol levelq.

Food(s) that help reduce and maintain cholesterol are:
- Nuts: cashew, groundnut, walnut etc
- Vegetable oil
- Soy
- Beans
- Vegetables: okra, eggplant
- Oats
- Fibre rich foods: wheat
- Fruit like apples, grapes, strawberries
- Whole grains: corn, barely, millet

In all, maintaining a healthy weight and avoids habits such as smoking eiwi help a great deal.

Normal values for cholesterol are:
Total cholesterol------- <200mg/dl
HDL-------------------------- 40-80mg/dl
LDL--------------------------- 50-150mg/dl

We are here to help you win DIABETES!

"Ij please call me", that was the message my friend dropped on my inbox. I didnt take her serious because I felt if she is serious she will call me.

Her next message read, "you no want call untill I die here, I need your advice on diabetes". Immediately I read diabetes, me wey no get call credit, piam! I loaded my phone, called her asap.

She have been diabetic for 5years, it started with gestational diabetes, never able to reverse it, had all her three kids premature. We spoke at length, I asked questions about how she have been managing the diabetes. She never got any tangible counseling, have been doing the dietary aspect all wrong without considering her blood glucose levels. As at when we were speaking her fasting blood glucose was at 9.8mmol/L. Did I add she developed hypertension as well. All this have affected her eyesight.

By God's grace I was able to put her through the sure things she can do to be in charge of her health, 2-3weeks later, her story is different, blood glucose levels have dropped to 4.5mmol/L, blood pressure is also down.

As a diabetic you are your own doctor, look for people who are informed and learn from them, tryout healthy options, select and stick to those that best keep your blood sugar in check. Read books and surf the internet on ways to manage diabetes naturally.

As a care giver living with someone who has diabetes, your responsibility does not end in providing for them, encourage them, support them especially with respect to meals, let them don't feel left out, join them to make and eat healthy meals, it will help you as well.

Type 2 diabetes is reversible, any one can achieve that. Having problem managing your health, contact us today for the help you need.
#diabetestalks
#diabetes

Smoking Alert!

It was 7.10am on a working day, a well dressed young man was puffing smoke!
My boo was like, ADDICTION, VERY BAD.
My thoughts: What if he is diabetic?
He might have heard but not informed of the hazards of smoking.

Some people many times refer to smokers who are close to their hundreds as an evidence of smoke not so harmful, my answer is, he have been fine with smoking, what if you keep copying him and become a victim of your own habit.

Again others say something must kill a man, well there is no problem with been ready and facilitating your death, my concern is disturbing the people in your life with the burden of the sickness you will create before you eventually die.
You want to wreck peoples pocket before your exist abi, Olorun ma je!

Picture stories of Precious Diabetes Foundation's activities

Warning signs of diabetes complication

*photo: viewers digression is advised

Diabetes is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease, blindness and amputation in adults.
Warning signs of diabetes complications are:
1. Eye problems eg blur vision or flashes
2. Tingling or numbness on your feet and hands.
3. Wounds or sores that don't easily heal

4. Chest pain
5. Tiredness

What can you do?

Keeping your blood glucose as normal as possible is the best way to avoid complications.
In cases where the complication have developed already, lowering your blood glucose level will help prevent further progression of the complication.

#diabetescomplications
#Diabetestalks

Diabetes and Erectile Dysfunction.

Quite a number of people who have erectile dysfunction don't want to talk about it, not even to a health care provider.

Erectile dysfunction is to mean the inability of the penis to achieve firm and sustained erection, sufficient to sexual intercourse.
Put in broken English, erectile dysfunction na when penis no stand well enough during sex.

Premature ejaculation is different from erectile dysfunction. That you experienced occasional erection problem is not to mean you have erectile dysfunction, but it could get worst if not checked.
Men who have diabetes and above the age of 40 are at the risk of developing erectile dysfunction.

Causes of erectile dysfunction in men with diabetes are:
- blood vessel damage
- nerve damage
-low testosterone
*cardiovascular disease and neuropathy are risk factors for erectile dysfunction.


Other causes of erectile dysfunction are:
*Alcohol
*Smoking
*Medications for treating high blood pressure, peptic ulcer, depression and anxiety.
* Stress
*Anxiety

Diagnosis
Your health care provider may ask you to see a neurologist. Test that can be conducted are:
-Ultrasound
- Drug test: this involve injecting drugs into the penis to check if the cause is blood vessel damage related.

Prevention of erectile dysfunction
*Keep your blood glucose level close to normal  as possible
* Quite smoking
* Quit or reduce alcohol intake

Treatment
*Medication
*Stress therapy
*Psychotherapy
*Testosterone injections
Some supplements have been found to be very helpful though they are quite expensive.

Can a child have diabetes?

O yeah, diabetes can occur at any stage of life. The type of diabetes that occur in children is called type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes.
 After asthma, diabetes is the second most common chronic disease in children- American Diabetes Association.

Photo: Know your blood glucose level campaign, April 2011 at Akwanga, Nasarawa State, Nigeria.

People with type 1 diabetes are unable to produce insulin (the substances that unlocks the body cells so they can take up glucose from the blood stream), therefore glucose pile up in the blood, causing diabetes.

Symptoms
1. Extreme thirst
2. Extreme hunger
3. Blurred vision
4. Frequent urination
5. Tiredness

 Causes
Scientists are of the opinion that the cause of this lack of insulin is because, for some unknown reasons, the body's immune system in these patients sees the cells (islets of Langerhans in the pancrease) where insulin is produced as foreign body and begin to destroy it, this destruction may take months or years.

Risk factors include:
1. Family history and gene
2. Drugs and chemicals
3. Viruses
4. Race and ethnicity
5. Auto antibodies

Management
Most kids just like adults are not diagnosed early, some even go into coma as a result of very high glucose levels.
People with type 1 diabetes usually get very ill if their diabetes are not well managed.
Management, unlike type 2 depends largely on insulin therapy. Exercise and nutrition also compliments the insulin here.

Contrarily to type 2, juvenile diabetes cannot be prevented. If your child is having any symptoms of diabetes, in addition to the regular malaria and typhoid test in hospitals, let him or her take a #bloodglucosetest, it helps.