Act Today To Change Tomorrow!!!
By: Hina Maryam
Do you know 382 million people have diabetes worldwide out of which 175 million people with diabetes are undiagnosed? Every six seconds a person dies from diabetes & 80 % of the people with diabetes are living in low and middle income countries. World diabetes day is celebrated every year in the month of November with the purpose to create. Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the body cannot produce enough insulin or cannot use insulin effectively. Insulin is a hormone which is produced in the pancreas. It acts as a key that lets the body’s cells take in glucose and use it as energy. There are three types of diabetes that includes:
Type 1 Diabetes:
In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas is unable to produce insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels. It is also known as insulin dependent diabetes. Type 1 diabetes often develops suddenly and can produce symptoms such as:
- Abnormal thirst and dry mouth
- Frequent urination
- Lack of energy, extreme tiredness
- Constant hunger
- Sudden weight loss
- Slow-healing wounds
- Recurrent infections
- Blurred vision
If you oberve symptoms from the ones mentioned above, consult your doctor and get your blood glucose level checked. Keep your blood glucose level less than 140mg/dl.
Type 2 Diabetes:
In type 2 diabetes, the body is able to produce insulin but either this is insufficient or the body is unable to respond to its effects (also known as insulin resistance), leading to deposit glucose in the blood. Many people with type 2 diabetes remain unaware of their illness for a long time because symptoms may take years to appear. It is difficult to reveal the resaons of diabetes type 2 but there are risk factors which are involved in developing type 2 diabetes and they are:
- Obesity
- Poor diet
- Physical inactivity
- Advancing age
- Family history of diabetes
Gestational Diabetes:
Women who develop a resistance to insulin and subsequent high blood glucose during pregnancy experience gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes usually occurs around the 24th week of pregnancy. The condition arises because the action of insulin is blocked, probably by hormones produced by the placenta. There are two major reasons behind the need to maintain regular physical exercise:
- Exercise helps with weight loss.
- Exercise is good for heart health, helping to prevent diabetes complications.
Engage yourself in activities like gardening to avoid sedentary lifestyle. Take plenty of fresh fruits & vegetables instead of high-calorie foods. Eat regularly and avoid skipping meals. Eat pulses, a low-fat starchy source of protein and fiber, such as beans, lentils & chickpeas. Eat fish twice a week or more, but avoid frying, go for oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, trout and herring, which are rich sources of Omega-3.
“Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the body cannot produce enough insulin or cannot use insulin effectively.”