DIABETES
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease in which your blood sugar level behaves
abnormally. Actually pancreas in our body produces insulin to control blood
sugar level. Failure of our body to use insulin or malfunctioning of pancreas
in the production of insulin can cause the diabetes. To give energy to our
cells insulin helps the glucose to get in our cells. Glucose or sugar in our
body comes from our daily food. Diabetes can cause serious problems to our
body. High blood sugar can cause damage to our kidneys, eyes or even our
nerves. The reason behind our stroke, heart disease or even limb removal could
be the diabetes.
There are three main types of diabetes, type 1 diabetes, type2 diabetes
and gestational diabetes. In type 1 diabetes our pancreas does not produce
enough insulin, which control blood sugar level. In type 2 diabetes our body
does not use insulin properly. Type2 diabetes is more common than type1
diabetes.
There are tests to determine the sugar level in blood. You can control
your diabetes problem by regular exercise, weight control and by following
proper diet plan. You have to monitor your blood sugar level regularly and take
medicines if prescribed by your doctor.
More Amazing Information is coming Click here to subscribe
Symptoms of Diabetes
It is really important to control
your diabetes at initial level because type 2 can cause serious complications
to our health. It is important for everyone to be aware of the symptoms of
diabetes and get tested if he has any of these.
Treating diabetes at early stage is easy.
Sometime type 2 diabetes has no
particular signs at initial level. Almost 33% of diabetes patients are not even
aware that they have diabetes. So it is really important to talk to your doctor
if you have any of the following symptoms.
Here we will discuss the warning signs of diabetes and there importance.
Some most common signs of
diabetes are:
Ø Feeling
very hungry even you have eaten your meal
Ø Very
Often Urinating
Ø Blood
in Urine
Ø Feeling
very thirsty
Ø Dry
Mouth
Ø Wheezing
Ø Tiredness
Ø Blurry
visions
Ø Losing
weight even though you are eating healthy food
Ø Feeling
pain in hands or feet
Ø Headaches
Ø Feeling
Hopeless
Ø Chest
Pain
Ø Weakness
in arms and legs
Above mentioned are the common
symptoms of diabetes if you have any of these visits your doctor and test your
blood sugar level as soon as possible. With the help of exercise and proper
medication a diabetic person can live an active life. If you are detected with
the early level diabetes then the risk of developing complications is under
control.
Pregnant women often have no
symptoms of gestational diabetes. So it is important for them to test their
blood sugar level at a proper time and avoid the complications.
Causes of Diabetes
There are no universal factors
which cause diabetes. Causes of diabetes vary person to person depending on
their family history, genetic makeup, health and environmental factors. There
are no common factors which fit for the cause of each type of diabetes. So we
are going to discuss the cause of every type of diabetes separately.
Causes of Type 1 Diabetes
Destruction of cells by the
immune system in pancreas that make insulin causes the type 1 diabetes. In this
type body does not have enough insulin to work normally. This type is an
autoimmune reaction because in this condition body starts attacking itself. The
exact cause of this type of diabetes is not known yet, but following are the
most possible triggers which can cause it.
Ø Genetic
disposition
Ø Bacterial
infection
Ø Food
toxins
Ø Viruses
Overweight is not considered as a
cause of type 1 diabetes.
Causes of Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 is the most common type of
diabetes. In this type our body sells resist the action of insulin. Our
pancreas does not produce enough insulin to overcome this resistance. Exact
causes of type 2 are also unknown, but the most common causes are given below:
Ø Genes
and Family History of Diabetes
Ø Improper
Diet
Ø Obesity
Ø Old Age
Ø Illness
Causes of Gestational Diabetes
Diabetes during the pregnancy is
known as gestational diabetes. It is believed that this type of diabetes is
caused by the changes in hormones during the period of pregnancy. Placenta
produces hormones during the pregnancy to sustain it. Cells become more
resistant to insulin because of these hormones. Normally our pancreas produces
enough insulin to respond these cells. But sometimes or pancreas do not respond
to these cells, which causes gestational diabetes. Following are the factors
which increases the chances of gestational diabetes:
Ø Polycystic
ovary syndrome
Ø Obesity
Ø Over
weight baby
Ø Family
history of Gestational Diabetes
Other Causes of Diabetes
There are many other potential
factors which can cause diabetes. These are:
Ø Glucocorticoid
Therapy
Ø Glucagonoma
Ø Cushing’s
syndrome
Ø Polycystic
Ovary Syndrome
Ø Pancreatitis
Ø Mutation
Ø Hemochromatosis
Prevention of Diabetes
Prevention of diabetes means
preventing type 2 diabetes. There is a period when our blood sugar level
becomes higher than the normal level but not high enough to be diagnosed as
diabetes, this condition is called pre-diabetes. Almost 70% of people who are in
pre-diabetes condition go on to develop type 2 diabetes. It is not inevitable
to progress from pre-diabetes to diabetes. There are many factors which we
cannot change, such as past behavior, genes, and age. Luckily we can reduce the
risk of diabetes by taking some actions which are given below:
Physical Activity
Regular exercise can help us to
lose weight and lower our body sugar. By doing work out regularly we can
prevent diabetes. By regular exercise
our cells become more sensitive to insulin. In that way less exercise is
required to maintain blood sugar. High intensity work out can increases almost
85% of insulin sensitivity.
Many exercises are introduced to
increase insulin sensitivity for obese and prediabetic persons, such as high
intensity interval training, aerobic exercise, and strength training. Regular
workout increases the insulin sensitivity. It is really important to choose a
physical activity which you can enjoy, because you have to do it on regular
basis for a long term.
Fiber rich food
Fiber is very helpful for weight
management and gut health. Fiber helps us to keep our blood sugar and insulin
under control. Fiber after mixing with water form a gel, which slow down the
digestion process and lead to a gradual increase in blood sugar. Fiber reduces
the risk of diabetes and heart disease. It also helps us to reduce our weight.
Fiber rich foods are given below:
Ø Sweet
Potatoes
Ø Almonds
Ø Popcorn
Ø Kidney
Beans
Ø Carrots
Ø Bananas
Ø Raspberries
Ø Apples
Ø Avocado
Ø Strawberries
Ø Pears
Ø Chia
Seeds
Ø Dark Chocolate
Lose Extra Weight
Majority of the people who
develop type 2 diabetes are obese or overweight. Excessive fati our body helps
the cells to become insulin resistant. Weight loss and regular exercise can
reducethe risk of diabetes up to 60%. Every 1Kg weight loss will reduce the
risk of diabetes by 16%, and maximum up to 96%. So lose every pound you can
lose to reduce the risk of diabetes.
Ignore Fad Diet
Refined carbs and sugary foods
can speed up the development of diabetes. Our body immediately breaks down this
food and absorbs the sugar into our bloodstream. This can increase our blood
sugar progressively and turned into type 2 diabetes. Fast digestive carbs will
increase the risk of diabetes up to 40%.
Avoid Sweet Drinks and use Water instead
Water is the best and natural
beverage that we can drink. Beverages which are rich in sugar like soda and
punch increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.
If a person consumes two sweet drinks a day then he/she has 20% increased
risk of type 2 diabetes. If you replace
sodas with water while you are trying to lose weight then your insulin
resistance and blood sugar level will decrease. So start drinking water instead
of sugary drinks.
Quit Smoking
As we all know smoking can cause
serious diseases. Can it cause diabetes? Answer is yes it can cause type 2
diabetes. In regular smokers risk of diabetes increases by 44%, and it goes to
61% in those who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day. If you quit smoking your
risk of diabetes will reduce to 13% in five years, and after 20 years your risk
of diabetes will be similar to non smoker. SO if you want to avoid diabetes
stop smoking immediately.
Maintain Vitamin D
For controlling blood sugar
vitamin D is very important. People with lower vitamin D level have high risk
of all types of diabetes. It is recommended to maintain vitamin D blood level
of at least 75 nmol /I. People with high vitamin D have 43% less risk of type 2
diabetes than those with lowest vitamin D.
In children risk of type 1
diabetes will reduce by 78% if they take vitamin D supplements. So give your
children vitamin D supplements after discussing with your doctor.
There are many foods which rich
in vitamin D such as cod liver oil and fatty fish. Sun is also a good source of
vitamin D, exposure to sun can also increase vitamin D in our body.
We can control many factors which
can influence diabetes. Chose the best food and adopt a healthy lifestyle to
avoid the risk of diabetes.
No comments:
Post a Comment