WORLD DIABETES DAY: What You Need to Know About Diabetes
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that diabetes was the direct cause of an average of 1.6 million deaths globally in 2016, and over 2.2 million global deaths were also similarly attributable to high blood glucose in 2012. Today, studies show that 415 million people are living with diabetes globally, and that can be better interpreted to mean that 1 in 11 of the world’s adult population has diabetes. More shocking is the fact that 46% of people with diabetes globally are undiagnosed. On this 14th day of November 2018, being the World Diabetes Day; Havana Hospital, therefore, brings you “What You Need to Know About Diabetes”.
Diabetes is a disease condition characterized by the persistent rise in the blood glucose levels of an individual to unbearable levels — as a result of a “loss of” or “impairment in” the body’s sugar control mechanism.
A hormone called insulin which is secreted by the Islets of Langerhans of the pancreas is what aids the taking-up of glucose from the blood (sourced from food) into the body cells where they are used in cellular respiration to produce energy — needed for carrying out our daily activities.
There are two main types of diabetes namely;
- Type 1Diabetes in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. The effect, therefore, is that sugar is not (efficiently) mopped-up into cells. People with this type of diabetes are often treated with varied doses of insulin every day to remedy their condition.
- Type 2 Diabetes in which the body loses its ability to properly utilize insulin. In this case, insulin may be available but neither binds (well) to its receptors (in order to produce the desired effect of opening up cells to glucose intake) nor stimulates any other effect to the reduction of control of blood glucose.
Below are 7 Salient fact everyone should get acquainted with about diabetes:
- The genetic nature of diabetes is often taken for granted. Yes, there’s a genetic aspect of diabetes, and people who “diabetes runs in their family” are more susceptible to coming up with the disease (especially type 2 diabetes). To assess your health risk for diabetes in respect of this point, you just have to answer this simple question: “has there been any member of my family that has ever been diagnosed with diabetes?” If yes; then you should really watch it, but if no, you just have to still ensure that you are healthy anyways …see the subsequent points.
2. Precaution! Precaution!! Precaution!!!
People are generally advised to take precaution, as the lifestyle they lead could expose them to diabetes; whether they have any family history of it or not (after all everything that is starts at some time — but this could be avoided!).
- Maintaining a healthy diet is the best way to keeping diabetes far from you.
- Diet: Control of carbohydrate and other high-calorie food intakes, alcohol, etc.
- Living an active life would help a great deal! Regularly engaging in physical activities like swimming, cycling, or walking helps to delay or outrightly prevent diabetes. To this wise, it is recommended that you walk at least 30 minutes daily to remain healthy, but 90 minutes daily walk is needed for those who are already over-weight.
- Lack of exercise is one of the major contributing factors to the global rise in diabetes levels. It leads to weight gain, and gaining weight is proven by research to increases the risk of diabetes by at least 2–3 times.
3. People who have diabetes can lead a normal life as long as they continue to try. This one cannot be stressed enough. Often times, people who have been diagnosed with diabetes continue to neglect precautions (as discussed above) even while they take their drugs to control their sugar levels. Many in this case would say: “as far as I am concerned, I already have diabetes so what’s there to be precautious about again”. What such logic fails to take into account is the fact that the precaution is now even needed more now (not to prevent diabetes) but to prevent other (even more) deadly conditions that diabetes could expose the body to. In fact, someone who has diabetes is advised to take more precautions.
Studies have shown that not only does smoking double the risk of a normal individual coming up with type 2 diabetes; smoking also causes great complications in many people already living with diabetes (than diabetes itself would simply cause), especially through arteries’ damage and in effect, impaired ability to supply blood to certain parts of the body.
Diabetes when not properly managed could lead to blindness, heart attack, amputation, high blood pressure and eventually a stroke. Don't joke with your medications if you are diabetic, don't miss any of your medical appointments for any reason. Much more this is when you should now watch your lifestyle even more — and adhere strictly to good health habits. Modified lifestyle can help curb the effect of this health condition. Once again: “People who have diabetes can lead a normal life as long as they continue to try”.
4. Give yourself a break.
This is surely passing-of as a strange point already because “diabetes is supposed to be all about avoiding sugary foods” but NO! A 2006 report of the British Medical Journal once revealed that stress increases the risk of people coming up with diabetes by significant factors. Isn’t that startling? Also, it has been proven that keeping your blood pressure down will also keep your risk for diabetes down. Take note: “High blood pressure (in people who are not diabetic) increases the risk of diabetes” — Hatami et al., (2012).
- Sunlight also prevents diabetes: Sunlight has been reported to have a preventative effect on mainly type 2 diabetes, and to a lesser degree, type 1 diabetes. To this wise, ample research findings have concluded that Bangladeshi immigrants in the UK are very exposed to type 2 diabetes partly because they get too little vitamin D or sunlight exposure.
- People whose job entails sitting down at a spot for long hours, e.g. typists, receptionists, etc. are at high risk for diabetes. In fact, findings have it that being a driver is a particularly noteworthy factor for diabetes mellitus. How weirder can it get? A piece of advice: if your job entails sitting down at a spot for very long hours all for most of the day, ensure to always get up and walk around at planned time intervals. Plan it now and start it soonest!
- Too much of television viewing increases obesity. Being overweight multiplies the risk of diabetes in folds that are not as funny as this line intends to be. You are not implicated, right? How about your children??
6. #SadFact: “The amount of people living with diabetes globally is expected to rise to 642 million by 2040 — World Health Organization. This wouldn’t be a sad fact after all if it would make you reading this to take necessary precautions as this piece is replete with, and also spread the awareness to not only help those who are already living with diabetes live better but also preventing someone out there from falling into the number.
7. Question: “when last did you check your blood glucose level?”
In our previous article on 10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD GO FOR A LAB CHECK-UP TODAY, we established blood sugar one of the important blood metabolites that should be regularly monitored by every individual that seeks to be healthy. This becomes even more necessary as one increases in age, because — the susceptibility of people to diabetes increases with increasing age. If you have not been doing so before now, go for a blood glucose test today and make it a routine practice (alongside other blood parameters that need regular assessment). For those who have a positive family history for type 2 diabetics (as explained in the first point), the World Health Organization recommends a fasting blood sugar test at least every 3 years.
Additional points: The World Diabetes Day 2018 isn’t just all about the “bad news” and the necessary precautions!
— People are living well with diabetes. According to diabetesselfmanagement.com; “With adequate adherence to necessary medication (insulin), home testing, and lowered-carbohydrate diets, people live longer”. A 2012 study by the University of Pittsburgh, revealed that people with Type 1 diabetes born after 1965 had a life expectancy of 69 years. It becomes necessary at this juncture to reiterate: “People who have diabetes can lead a normal life as long as they continue to try”.
— For those who are at risk and are already manifesting symptoms of diabetes (prediabetic stage) …this drug — “Metformin” can reduce the risk of eventually coming up with the disease.
— Again, we say; Live healthily! Come to find out your status. Diabetes counseling is available in our facility Havana Specialist Hospital. Havana cares! Happy World Diabetes Day!!!