What Is Diabetes? By Peter Lenkefi, Fri Dec 9th Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism the way our bodies usedigested food for growth and energy. Most of the food we eat isbroken down into glucose, the form of sugar in the blood.Glucose is the Read more...
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Diabetes - A Disease Of The Modern Age By Trevor Dace There are two major variations of diabetes – Type 1 and Type 2, and they are quite different in cause and treatment regime. There also exists a type of diabetes called gestational diabetes that is only suffered by pregnant women.
To understand diabetes, we must first appreciate the role that insulin plays in our body. When we consume glucose, fructose or carbohydrates, our body converts them into glucose in the blood stream. For us to be able to use the glucose to produce energy, the pancreas produces insulin which 'unlocks' receptors in our cells and allows the glucose to enter the cells and be converted into energy.
Type 1 diabetes is characterised by the failure of the body to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar levels correctly. It is often referred to as juvenile diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes, and it is usually found in people under the age of 30.
The condition comes on quite suddenly and is characterised by excessive thirst brought on by a surplus of glucose in the blood stream. This consequently results in frequent urination, another symptom. It is a chronic condition – that is, it is a lifelong illness. It is thought to be an auto-immune problem in the pancreas that destroys the insulin producing cells.
Those suffering from Type 1 diabetes make up between 5-10% of those with diabetes and the condition is treated by administering insulin either by drip feed or more normally by regular injection. There is a danger for type 1 diabetics that they may suddenly lose consciousness and they are also at risk for serious complications.
There is new technology that has emerged in recent years where a transplant of islet cells is undertaken, and even though the recipient has to take drugs to stop the body rejecting the cells, the new cells are able to produce insulin and trial patients have reported greatly reduced levels of insulin injection. It is hoped that the injections may one day be totally eliminated through the use of transplants of islet cells.
Type 1 diabetics are liable in their later years to be affected by micro-vascular disorders, sight problems, vascular disorders and kidney problems due mainly to deterioration in their blood vessels.
Type 2 diabetes applies to the vast majority of diabetes cases. Patients with type 2 diabetes can produce insulin, but their cell receptors have become resistant to insulin. Thus, their body has to produce ever increasing amounts of insulin in order to 'unlock' the cells so that they can utilise the glucose from the blood stream. Eventually, these sufferers get to the point where they cannot create enough insulin to reduce the glucose in their body.
Type 2 diabetes affects 15-20% of those over sixty. A substantial number of adults remain undiagnosed as diabetes sufferers. It is usually diagnosed during a doctor's check-up following complaints of problems such as urinary, skin or chest infections.
Type 2 diabetes can be managed through weight reduction and diet control or with prescription
medicines. Although there is a definite genetic link to the disease in a high number of cases, it is brought about by being overweight, a lack of exercise and pursuing a diet full of high glycaemic index carbohydrates (white rice, white bread, sugar and fruit).Weight management, exercise and a diet low in sugars, fructose and processed carbohydrates are recognised as important techniques when trying to avoid the disease.
More alarming is the recent trend of children being found suffering from Type 2 diabetes. This is almost certainly due to the high incidence of overweight children, together with the lack of exercise taken by overweight children and the foods they eat that are high in carbohydrates and sugar with a high glycaemic index.
Gestational diabetes affects around 4% of women during their pregnancy. Most of them recover from this form of diabetes once the baby has been born, but it does appear to indicate an increased risk of contracting type 2 diabetes later in their lives.
The most common sign of diabetes is constant thirst and subsequent regular urination. Other symptoms include itching, constant fatigue, unexplained weight loss, dizziness and pain in the legs whilst walking.
If diabetes just involved taking insulin for the remainder of your life, it wouldn't be such a worrying illness. Sadly, people suffering from diabetes have a variety of elevated risks including:
- twice the rate of heart disease as non-diabetics
- five times more likely to have a stroke
- the most frequent need for amputation of limbs outside of accidents
- diabetes is the most likely cause in all new cases of blindness in people aged 24 to 74
- the cause of over one third of new kidney diseases and the leading cause of end-stage renal disease.
Accurate and consistent management of blood sugar levels lowers the chances of any of the above occurring.
This article on the causes and treatment of diabetes was written by Terry Cod, a travel writer who himself suffers from the illness. He is the owner of www.twistedorange.co.uk/ which has sections on diet and weight loss.
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