Brief Overview Of Diabetes And Diet
Diabetes has been around for centuries. There are presentlysixteen millions diabetics in America, but eight million do notknow that they have the disease. Today, diabetes is in thirdplace as the cause of mortality, behind cardiovascular dis...
...easesand cancer.Diabetes is caused by a disruption in insulin production in thebody. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas when thelevel of blood sugar, glucose, increases – after a meal, mostcommonly. With the help of insulin, glucose moves from the bloodinto the cells. The cellular components turn the glucose intoenergy. When glucose does not enter cells, it stays in the bloodand is filtered by kidneys which later eliminate it from thebloodstream.Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when insulin in thebody does not work as it should. Main symptoms of diabetesinclude excessive thirst, excessive urination, excessiveappetite, fatigue, blurred vision, frequent and slow-healinginfections including bladder, vaginal and skin. In men, diabetesmay be accompanied by such symptoms as erectile dysfunction.In order to timely recognize diabetes, everyone should befamiliar with the different types of diabetes as well as withmain symptoms of diabetes.Type 1 diabetes is a life-threatening condition which is lesscommon. Those suffering with this type of diabetes need completeinsulin replacement because the body does not make sufficientamounts of this essential hormone.The most common type of diabetes is type 2 diabetes, ornon-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. 90% of all diabetescases in the US are diagnosed as Type 2.There is also gestational diabetes, which occurs duringpregnancy due to specific hormonal changes in the body of theexpectant mother.Diabetes is often accompanied by obesity and high cholesteroland is a disease that often runs in families, so if one of yourfamily members has it, you have a higher risk of developingdiabetes too. Lack of activity, a diet rich in fats andprocessed products and obesity significantly increase your riskfor diabetes.Diabetes can be prevented and controlled by amending your diet.When we eat a product that is rich in sugar, the pancreas startsto produce more insulin to turn the sugar into energy. Saturatedfat is transformed by the liver into sugar, which triggers thesame response of pancreas – more insulin, more energy.When the body doesn’t use this energy, it stores it as fat inthe liver, on the stomach and hips. The more sugar and fat weeat, the more “storage space” our body requires.However, when you switch to eating vegetables, cereals and otherfiber-rich products cooked or seasoned with olive or grape seedoil, the pancreas does not need to produce any extra insulin. Asa result, fat is not deposited in the body and the blood sugarlevels remain stable. By avoiding sweet and fat-rich foods,blood sugar levels remains balanced which can delay the onset ofdiabetes and for those already diagnosed as diabetic can helpthem manage the condition.
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