Diabetes is a health condition that can only be treated but cannot be cured as of date. It is the condition of the body in which the beta cells in the pancreas are unable to produce insulin hormone that regulates the blood sugar level. When this function is not carried out properly, the sugar level in the blood would increase, leading to many severe health complications like heart attack, kidney failure, and blindness and so on.
Symptoms that commonly indicate the disease are sudden and drastic loss of body weight, excessive hunger, frequent urination, dry skin, unhealing wounds and dry skin. There are two types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. Type 1 is insulin dependent and is more common, whose causes are hereditary and environmental factors like viral infections.
On the other hand, type 2 is insulin non- dependent and is prone to happen in older people, obese and those who have physical inactivity and irregular food habits. In this type, the insulin is produced but the cells are insulin resistant and cannot respond to the hormone and hence, sugar is accumulated in the body.
Gestational diabetes is comparatively rare and occurs in pregnant women only during their period of gestation and then disappears when treated for this short span of time. Although, it has not been authentically found what causes diabetes, it is found that it runs in families and children whose parents have this condition are more prone to be affected. But it has been proved that obesity contributes to a great extent for its cause and people, who are 20 percent more than the weight recommended, use less of insulin and thus sugar is accumulated in the body.
Obviously, age plays an important role in type 2 diabetes. The most worrying thing is that the prevalence of diabetes is on the increase everyday and is more prevalent in males than in females. As for the food habits, excessive eating and taking refined carbohydrate, processed foods, and fatty items results in sugar accumulation. Excess fat prevents pancreas from producing insulin. The less active a person is, the more the risk of developing diabetes.
More commonly, smoking greatly contributes to the risk of developing diabetes as it increases insulin absorption and retards joints mobility. Psychologically, stress and tension- both physical and emotional also contribute to diabetes incidence.
As for the treatment, people with mild diabetes can control it by taking regular prescribed diet, along with exercise and weight loss programs, if necessary, but a more advanced stage may need injections of insulin recommended by the doctor.
It is necessary to take adequate precautious to prevent them. It is agreed that diabetes is a severe health condition that can only be controlled, but it can be prevented or at the best delayed, through a proper and healthy life style and regular food habits and sufficient exercise. This is very crucial because diabetes is a killer diseases that can affect the major organ systems of the body. But diabetics can lead a normal and active life like others provided, they keep their sugar levels under control, which is in their hands.
