Diabetes

By Joseph Conrad

Diabetes is becoming a public health challenge worldwide. Gradual urbanization is resulting in dozens of lifestyle changes, which negatively causes discordant in the metabolic processes of the human being. The socio-economic liability posed by diabetes disease is gigantic due to its wide range of complications [1].  This disease can cause blindness, peripheral vascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and coronary artery disease.

Diabetes is an illness that weakens the human individual’s capacity in processing blood glucose levels. According to the research done by medical audit experts, the estimated figure of persons over eighteen years of age underdiagnosed and diagnosed with diabetes in the United States is around 30.2 million.

It is a false misconception that all types of diabetes originate from an individual being overweight or consuming too much food that contains a lot of cholesterol [2]. Shockingly, there can be a strong genetic component to the onset of diabetes.  

What Causes Diabetes?

The quantity of sugar in your bloodstream is regulated by a hormone known as insulin, which is generated by the pancreas. The pancreas is a gland positioned right behind your belly. When you eat any type of food, it enters directly into the bloodstream. Insulin plays a very vital role in moving your glucose out of the bloodstream into your cells. This is further broken down for the purpose of producing energy.

If you are suffering from diabetes, your body is incapacitated to transform glucose into energy. This problem occurs mostly because there is insufficient insulin to move the glucose, or alternatively, the insulin generated does not function in the proper way.

Type 1 Diabetes

In type 1 diabetes, your body immune operation attacks and harms the cells that produce insulin. The insulin production process is altered, and the level of glucose in the body increases which eventually damages your body organs. Type 1 diabetes is also called insulin-dependent diabetes. Most of the time it usually occurs before the age of 20 or during the teen years. It is for this reason diabetes 1 is also known as early-onset diabetes or juvenile diabetes.

Normally diabetes 1 is not common compared to diabetes 2.  If you are diagnosed with this kind of diabetes, you will need regular insulin injections for the rest of your lifetime.  It is also very crucial to have high consideration in your style of living. This will assist you profoundly in ensuring that your blood glucose level is at equilibrium [3].

Risk Factors for Diabetes type 1

The signals that may accelerate the risk of getting diabetes type 1 include the following:

  • History of the family: you are at higher risk of Diabetes Type 1 if your parents or siblings have Diabetes Type 1.
  • Environmental factors: There is increasing research on viral illness, environment, and their impact on the onset of Type 1 Diabetes.
  • The presence of causing harm to immune cells system: in some instances, members of the same family are tested for type1 diabetes to check the diabetes autoantibodies. If you happen to have autoantibodies, your risk of getting diabetes 1 is higher. However, not all people with autoantibodies acquire Diabetes Type 1.
  • Geography: Some specific countries like Sweden or Finland have been shown to have higher incidences of Type 1 Diabetes.  

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is the situation where the body does not produce adequate insulin, or the body cell doesn’t respond to insulin. This process is simply known as insulin resistance. There are recommendations for managing Type 2 Diabetes: Eating a healthy balanced diet, monitoring the blood glucose levels consistently, and doing regular exercise assist with managing Type 2 Diabetes. Some people associate Type 2 Diabetes with obesity. Obesity connected diabetes is often called maturity-onset diabetes because it tends to affect older people. However, we know that this is not always the case.

For instance, many sufferers of Cushing’s syndrome, an illness that causes unexplained rapid weight gain due to excess Cortisol (stress hormone) in the body; develop an onset of Type 2 Diabetes. However, the weight cannot be blamed on diet or exercise, as the cause of the dramatic weight gain is the source of the excess Cortisol, usually in the pituitary (brain), adrenal gland, or eptopic source such as the lungs [4] For more information about Cushing’s syndrome, visit https://epictogether.org/summary-of-cushings/

The Signals that may accelerate the risk of getting diabetes 2 include the following

Weight: if your body has a large number of fatty tissues, the higher the resistant to insulin. It is recommended that you engage in regular exercise [5].

Inactivity: Inactivity can increase a person’s risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes.  

Family History: your risk increases if your parents or your siblings have type 2 diabetes.

Age: the risk of getting diabetes 2 increases as you become older.

Gestational diabetes: if you had gestational diabetes during your pregnancy, the risk of getting diabetes type 2 and prediabetes increases. If you delivered a baby weighing more than 4 Kilograms, the risk of developing diabetes type 2 is higher.

Polycystic ovary syndrome: There are higher comorbid risk factors for women diagnosed with PCOS.

High blood pressure: Uncontrolled and consistent higher blood pressure is connected to a higher risk of diabetes type 2.

Abnormal triglyceride and cholesterol levels: if a person has a low level of high-density lipoprotein, he or she has a high risk of getting diabetes type 2. Triglycerides are another type of fat in the blood. Individuals who have a high level of triglycerides have a higher risk of getting diabetes type 2.

Diabetes can cause disability and it can also be life threatening. Generally, poor stress management, poor diet, nutritional practices, and genetic inheritance have all been correlated with the onset of Diabetes [6].  It is recommended that the medical community collaborates with non-profit organizations, such as The EPIC Foundation, to fight this horrible illness and to help its suffers.

References

  1. Bolinder J, Ljunggren O, Kullberg J, et al. Effects of dapagliflozin on body weight, total fat mass, and regional adipose tissue distribution in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with inadequate glycemic control on metformin. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Mar; 97(3):1020–31. [PubMed]
  2. Borges JL, Bilezikian JP, Jones-Leone AR, et al. A randomized, parallel group, double-blind, multicentre study comparing the efficacy and safety of Avandamet (rosiglitazone/metformin) and metformin on long-term glycaemic control and bone mineral density after 80 weeks of treatment in drug-naive type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2011 Nov; 13(11):1036–46. [PubMed]
  3. Dr. Katharine Morrison, 2012, retrieved from Low carbohydrate diets for diabetes control
  4. Pilgrom, C. Summary of Cushing’s. Retrieved from www.epictogether.org (2016)
  5. Nielsen JV, Joensson EA, 2013, retrieved from Low-carbohydrate diet in type 2 diabetes: stable improvement of bodyweight and glycemic control during 44 months follow-up
  6. Richard K Bernstein, 2008. Retrieved from Dietary carbohydrate restriction in type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome: time for a critical appraisal