Archive for the ‘Diabetes’ Category

The Basic Features of the Disease are Same.

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

Certainly. But the basic features of the disease are same. In any form of diabetes there is some underlying reason why your body is not able to utilize glucose (sugar) for energy, and that causes the levels of glucose (sugar) in your blood build up above normal. There are three areas that are important for you to understand in diabetes. First, the cells in your body which use the glucose are important as they must be able to remove sugar from the blood and put it inside the cell as a fuel. Secondly, the insulin which is made by your pancreas (an organ near your stomach) is important to allow the sugar to enter the cell (the key to unlock the door to enter), and lastly, glucose which is broken down from your food or from muscle and liver from a storage form of glucose called glycogen. Now if you think of the disease diabetes as involving a locking gas cap on your car, it will be easier to understand.

If you understand how a locking gas cap works, then you can understand how diabetes works. All of the cells in your body have a locking gas cap on them. Insulin is the key to the locking gas cap, and glucose would be the fuel for the car. In one form of diabetes, the body totally quits making insulin (keys) so you can’t get glucose (fuel) into your cells. In other forms of diabetes, your body makes some insulin (keys) but not much as your body needs. Therefore, only a few of the cells can be unlocked and opened to put the glucose (fuel) inside. Another thing that happens is that some of the locks on the cells become rusty and won’t work properly. So even if you have insulin (keys) you can’t get the cells to open. This is called insulin resistance. If the cells won’t open, you can’t get glucose (fuel) inside the cell for energy. The result of all of this is excess glucose in your blood.

Diabetes is a Disease in Which the Body Does Not Produce or Properly Use Insulin

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

Diabetes Mellitus or simply diabetes  is derived from the Greek word ‘Diabeinein’, meaning ‘To pass through’ describing copious urination, and Mellitus from the Latin word meaning ‘Sweetened with honey’. These two words signify sweetened urine or sugar in urine.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use Insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed, in the body, to control the rate at which sugar, starch and other food are converted into glucose required as energy for daily life. The hormone is produced and released into the blood by an organ called ‘Pancreas’. This insulin help to maintain the blood glucose level within a normal range. The World Health Organization (WHO) puts this normal range between 60 – 100mg/dl (Before taking any food for the day, hence this value is called Fasting Blood Glucose). In health, despite several demands for glucose in different situations, the blood glucose rarely exceeds this value.

After a meal the liver stores the glucose from the meal as glycogen and releases it into the blood in between meals. The role of insulin is the control of this storage and release of glucose. It ensures that the amount of glucose in the blood at every particular time does not go beyond or below the normal range.

Diabetes is a Disease Where Your Blood Glucose Sugar Levels Are Above Normal

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

Diabetes is a disease where your blood glucose sugar levels are above normal. It results from the inability of the glucose to get into your cells. As a result your cells are starving for their food glucose. It would be like a starving person surrounded by tables of wonderful food but their mouth has been sewn closed and they can’t eat.

Diabetes has hidden dangers that begin before diagnosis and continue to worsen if certain steps are not taken to prevent the complications that are the true, “killers” in terms of diabetes.

Statistics show that there are around 18 million diabetics in world, both Type 1 and Type 2. It is amazing how many people, diabetics included, who have no idea what dangers a diabetic faces over their lifetime. A diabetic, all things being equal, lives almost 10 years less than their non-diabetic counterpart on average. (more…)

Diabetes and Other Ailments

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Sugar is part of a whole slew of meals. The carbohydrates that we eat are later on converted into sugar or glucose while it undergoes the processes inside our body. These sugars are what we use for energy. However, there are really foods that are pure sugar or contain a lot it, which can cause the sugar level in our blood. When this sugar level increase, we may suffer diabetes and other ailments.Diabetes is a disease that affects the body natural ability to change carbohydrates and sugars into energy. There is no known cause for the onset of diabetes. However, there are certain factors that place a person at higher risk of contracting diabetes
You may choose medications or you may choose more natural treatments. Either way, a healthy diet and regular exercise will be an important part of your diabetes management. Once you have been diagnosed with diabetes, it is important to manage the disease to minimize the chance of suffering from diabetes complications.There are many aspects of diabetes that scientists and doctors have yet to understand, as well as emerging aspects of the disease that can be difficult to work on with current technology. For instance, there is still no known link between sleep apnea and diabetes, although sleep apnea can put people at a greater risk for cardiovascular disease, as can diabetes. Diabetic foot pain is also common, and well documented. Certain correlations have yet to be established, and new complications arise as scientists observe more people suffering from this much dreaded disease (more…)