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Biofeedback involves measuring a subject’s bodily processes such as blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature and muscle tension. This information is then conveyed such information to the subject in real-time in order to raise his or her awareness and conscious control of the related physiological activities. The subjects are then trained to improve their health by using signals from their own bodies.

Many physical therapists now use biofeedback to help stroke victims regain movement in paralyzed muscles. Psychologists use it to help tense and anxious clients learn to relax. Specialists in many different fields use biofeedback to help their patients cope with pain. Physicians, medical assistants, nurses and other healthcare professionals are now providing patients with information about the benefits that biofeedback therapy can offer.

The word “biofeedback” was coined in the late 1960s to describe laboratory procedures then being used to train experimental research subjects to alter brain activity, blood pressure, heart rate, and other bodily functions that normally are not controlled voluntarily. At the time, many scientists looked forward to the day when biofeedback would give us a major degree of control over our bodies. They thought, for instance, that we might be able to “will” ourselves to be more creative by changing the patterns of our brainwaves. Some believed that biofeedback would one day make it possible to do away with drug treatments that often cause uncomfortable side effects in patients with high blood pressure and other serious conditions. Most scientists now agree that such high hopes were not realistic. Research has demonstrated that therapy can help in the treatment of many diseases and painful conditions. It has shown that we have more control over so-called involuntary bodily function than we once though possible. But it has also shown that nature limits the extent of such control. Scientists are now trying to determine just how much voluntary control we can exert.

Scientists cannot yet explain how biofeedback works. Most patients who benefit from teatment are trained to relax and modify their behavior. Most scientists believe that relaxation is a key component in biofeedback treatment of many disorders, particularly those brought on or made worse by stress. Their reasoning is based on what is known about the effects of stress on the body. In brief, the argument goes like this: Stressful events produce strong emotions, which arouse certain physical responses. Many of these responses are controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, the network of nerve tissues that helps prepare the body to meet emergencies by “flight or fight.

Biofeedback uses your mind to control your body. This is a type of complementary and alternative medicine called mind-body therapy. Using feedback from a variety of monitoring procedures and equipment, a biofeedback specialist will try to teach you to control certain involuntary body responses, such as brain activity, blood pressure, muscle tension and heart rate. Once you learn to recognize and control these responses, you can use biofeedback to help treat a wide range of mental and physical health problems. Even if you don’t have a specific disease or condition this may help your overall health and sense of well-being.

This therapy has been shown to be helpful in treating about over a hundred medical conditions, including: asthma, Raynaud’s disease, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), Hot flashes, nausea and vomiting, incontinence, headaches, irregular heartbeats, cardiac arrhythmias, high blood pressure and epilepsy. Many people who have tried biofeedback can’t explain how they’re able to control their bodies to relieve their symptoms. In order to truly assess whether biofeedback is effective in treating your particular symptoms, keep a daily diary to monitor your use of the treatment as well as how you feel before, during and after the therapy.

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Medical Assistant Program http://www.medassistant.org

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For Diabetes food Therapy should be followed under the supervision from your doctor. Check your sugar level frequently so that sugar levels do not go beyond the recommended level.

Foods to avoid
It is always advisable to avoid some foods if you are diabetic such as refined sugar, sweets, syrups, glucose, jam, molasses, fruit sugar, ice-cream, cakes, pastries, sweet biscuits, chocolates, soft drinks, condensed milk, cream and fried foods. Fats like butter, ghee and hydrogenated vegetable oil should also be avoided. White sugar and white flour should be reduced drastically. Avoid all processed foods, junk food, pastries, cookies, canned and preserved foods. They contain harmful preservatives and lot of salt. Avoid soft drinks since these have a lot of sugar. Try to avoid fried foods from your diet.

Smoking results in the using up of oxygen in the body. It will result in less of oxygen needed by the body to metabolize glucose. So smoking should be avoided.

Foods to be limited
Salt consumption should be reduced to a minimum. You will get enough salt form the vegetables and fruits you eat. Reduce animal foods especially red meats. Reduce poultry and egg. Reduce caffeine and alcohol. Do not drink tea and coffee more than 2 cups a day. Try to replace it with green tea or herbal teas like Parsley tea, Blueberry leaf, Tea made of tender walnut tree leaves, Water in which kidney bean pods have been cooked is good diabetes.

Do not consume alcohol in empty stomach. Alcohol on an empty stomach can cause low blood glucose or hypoglycemia.Foods that should be consumed in moderation are honey and other natural sugars like palm sugar, dates which can be used instead of white sugar. Remember these should be consumed in very little quantity only.Pasta, coconut, other nuts, unsweetened juices, eggs should be limited. You can replace it with whole grain, unpolished rice and Soya products. Try to eat whole grain bread instead of white flour. Fats like olive oil and peanut oil are more advisable that hydrogenated fats. Low fat food like skimmed milk and low fat home made cottage cheese can be taken in moderation. You can also substitute it with yoghurt. Sea food and fish also can be taken in moderation.

Foods to be taken
Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.

An alkaline diet with natural food is recommended. Wholegrain, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and dairy products form a good diet for the diabetic.

Raw vegetables can be taken in high quantities. It has been found that cooked foods raise blood glucose higher than raw, unpeeled foods. Cooking destroys many of the enzymes and some vitamins and minerals.

Eat at least five fruits every day. Fruits like grape fruit, pomegranate juice, Indian blackberry, banana, granny smith apples, fig, cranberries, black berry, kiwi fruits, and citrus fruits are highly recommended. It can be taken as a snack. Cucumber, Lettuce, onion garlic string beans cucumber radish, tomato, carrot, leaves; spinach turnip, cabbage and Jerusalem artichoke are good for diabetes. Colorful vegetables are good for the functioning of pancreas. Drink Fruit juices without sugar. Brewer’s yeast and sprouted alfalfa and mung beans are good for the body. Unripe banana also can be cooked and eaten.

The most important of all is eating high fiber diet which lowers need for insulin. It releases energy into the body slowly. It has also been found that diabetes decreases and may even disappear in people eating a high fiber or whole food diet. High fiber diet has more chromium and chromium is very good for people with diabetes.

Eat lot of potassium rich foods like raw peanuts, tomato, bananas, melons, dried peas, potatoes, apple cider vinegar, skimmed milk powder, wheat but do not take potassium supplements.

Include soluble fiber in your meals like barley, oatmeal, almond meal, dried beans, kidney beans, cooked black beans, peas, cereals, chickpeas, Bengal gram which has low glycemic index, Black gram, lentils and corn or garbanzo beans to helps considerably in reducing blood sugar levels. Soy products like tofu, tempeh, soymilk, soya powder, soy bean sprouts, nuggets etc are also very good in containing neurological complications in diabetes. You can make bread out of any of the whole grains. Get a lot of soluble fiber into your diet. When you eat lots of bread, cereal and starchy vegetables you will get enough of starches which is very helpful for diabetes.

Insoluble fibers, found in bran (oat bran, wheat bran), whole grain breads, whole grains and nuts, act as intestinal scrubbers by cleaning out the lower gastrointestinal tract. Fiber cleans your intestinal tract by moving out the food so that it wouldn’t stay there and putrefy. Butter milk and yoghurt diet are very beneficial.

Helpful herbs and vegetables

1. Bitter Gourd (Karela):
Bitter gourd Momordica-charantia or bitter melon juice contains plant insulin and should be taken 2 ounce 2 times daily on an empty stomach. It is found to be very effective for diabetes.

Or
It can be cooked as any vegetable and eaten.

Or
The bitter melon powder can be made by drying. Take bitter gourd powder I teaspoon daily in empty stomach.

2. Taking half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day may help prevent the onset of diabetes. Even soaking a cinnamon sticks in your tea, could also benefit non-diabetics who have blood sugar problem but are unaware of it.

3. 30 gram fenugreek seeds can be soaked in a glass of water at night and after 12 hours take it and grind it into a paste with the soaked water and drink it on a empty stomach.

Or
2 teaspoon if powdered seeds can be taken with water or milk.

Or
You can add fenugreek into anything you cook.

4. Eating upto 3 grapefruits a day has also been helpful

5. 1 tablespoon of amla (Emblica officinalis) after removing the seeds extract the juice and mix with a cup of bitter gourd juice and take daily for 2months in a empty stomach.

6. Gymnema Sylvestre a traditional ayurvedic herb the leaf of which is to be taken up to 4 grams per day.

7. Indian blackberry seeds or Jamun seed powder (scientific name of Jamun is Eugenia jambolana or Syzygium cumini L and) is very good for diabetes. Take 1/4th teaspoon with 1 teasoon honey for 50 days.

8. Eating freshly crushed raw garlic 3-4 grams a day lowers blood sugar. You can wash it down with a glass of water.

9. Neem seeds daily 2 times a pinch. Taking a gram of neem leaf daily helps in diabetes.

10. Bael (Aegle marmelos) : The leave of the bael tree when chewed are very useful in diabetes. Pulp of this fruit could be dried and taken in doses of 5 to 10 gms a day

11. A pinch of pure turmeric powders mixed in amla juice (Indian goose berry) and eat daily in empty stomach.

12. Use of turmeric and gooseberry in equal quantities in powder form taken with warm water is very useful in this behalf. These activate the pancreatic cells and more insulin is produced.

13. Wild jeerakam cumin seeds black colored 60 gm in 1 liter and boil a reduce it to 1/4th liter and take half divide it into two equal parts and drink one part in the morning and one in the evening 2 times daily

14. Grind (Bacopa monnieri )Bhrahmi and add a teaspoon of it to milk and drink

Vitamins that help
Supplements in natural forms are more conducive to the body.

Magnesium supplementation has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity .

Vitamin C: 500 mg is recommended. Vitamin E: This vitamin is very valuable for diabetes. A daily dose of 200 i.u. of Vitamin E is recommended for a fortnight at a time.

Chromium:. Whole grains, seeds, mushrooms, corn oil and brewer’s yeast are relatively good sources of biologically valuable chromium.

Vitamin A: Take A dose of 15,000i.u. on alternate days.

Vitamin B: Avoid large dosage of vitamin B because this vitamin interferes with the absorption of insulin by cells.

Things to do
Controlling your Weight is the best way to treat diabetes. Exercise improves the body’s response to insulin. An exercise program should be started only with the advice of a doctor to avoid unnecessary complications. Walking, light games, jogging and swimming are also good.

Yoga can help a lot.
To relieve stress do meditation once a day for 10 to 40 minutes. Yogic asanas like Siddhasana, Vajrasana, Talasana, Yastikasana,, like Yogamudra, Hastapadasana, Paschimottanasana, Chakrasana, Ustrasana, Bhujangasana, Sarvangasana and Viparitakarani, as halasana, shalabhasana, dhanurasana, Pratipaksabhavana and shavasana will also be beneficial.

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About the Author: Anita cherry is a health enthusiast who offers informative tips on certified organic products. For more information on health visit www.healthinfoforyou.com/an/natural-cure-for-diabetes.htm.