রবিবার, ২৭ ডিসেম্বর, ২০০৯

What is Diabetes ?

Diabetes : Diabetes is a pretty common disease with abnormally high levels of glucose in the bloodstream. Perhaps more than any other disease, it is strongly associated with western culture and diet.
The pancreas produces insulin and insulin is used to lower blood glucose levels. If the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, your body will develop diabetes. Not enough insulin in the body causes diabetes. The body cannot absorb or make full use of some of the food that we eat, especially the carbohydrates or sugars or starches.
The pancreas does not make enough insulin available to burn these foods as energy or store them for future use. The starches and sugars increase the blood sugar content. The sugar now passes through the kidneys and into the urine. The symptoms of diabetes are caused by the loss of carbohydrate energy, leading to an illness which can be fatal if not treated properly.
There are two types of Diabetes; these are Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes. Whatever diabetes type, it represents an abnormal rise of glucose in a person's blood. This anomaly is due to the insufficient level of insulin or maybe a misuse of it. If it is not treated appropriately, this disease can be the origin of many serious complications (cardiac disease, amputations, blindness, and impotence).
Glucose brings energy to different parts of the human body. Insulin plays a major role to stabilize the glucose in the blood after physical effort or after a meal. This is a complex regulating system.

For a normal person, glycemia levels oscillate at between 0,5 and 1,5 gram per liter of blood. Glycemia is the sugar rate in the blood, and the average value is 1 gram per liter (5,5 mmol/l). It varies between 1 and 1,4 gram/l two hours after a meal. It varies between 0.8 and 1.26 gram/liter in the morning.
According the World Health Organization, there is a diabetes problem when glycemia levels are higher in the morning or equal to 1.26 gram/liter. Hypoglycemia corresponds to a glycemia lower that 0.46 gram/liter.
Self monitoring services allow the use of capillary glycemia testing to be made. A puncture is made on a finger to measure it. The drop of blood obtained is deposited on a strip and it is immediately readable by a reader that can be stored in the patient's pocket.
The glycourie is the sugar rate in the urine. It is necessary to know its value because when the sugar reaches 1.6 gram/liter, sugar has passed into the urine.
The most common symptoms for Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes are as follows:
Fatigue is a cause for concern. Fatigue signals the body is not efficiently using the glucose for fuel. The body will switch over to burning the fat in the body as its fuel source. This causes the body to use more energy and the result is constant tiredness.
If you experience unexplained loss of weight, even though you are eating the right amounts of food, and even more, you may not be processing the calories. You are also losing sugar and water by frequent urination. Dehydration also leads to weight loss. Excessive thirst occurs when there are high blood sugar levels in the blood. It signals the brain there is too much sugar in the blood and the body tries to dilute it. This will make you constantly feel thirsty.
Another way to rid the body of excess blood sugar is through frequent urination. Sugar carries water with it as it is flushed out of the body. The body gets confused and tries to produce more insulin when the body has become resistant to it. In turn, you may also feel an extreme need for thirst. Commonly, intense hunger is found in those with diabetes. This is due to the fact that the body does not realize why the sugar it ingests is not being processed, so it is simply asking for more food to help remedy the problem. When the body has high insulin levels, the body thinks it needs to stimulate hunger. You may be eating more, but not gaining weight, and could even lose weight.
A slow healing of wounds in the proper time is another sign you should be concerned about high blood sugar levels. The high sugar levels prevent white cells from functioning properly. White blood cells fight bacteria and clean up dead tissue and cells. When the white blood cells are not working properly, it takes wounds longer to heal and there is more of a chance of infection in the wound.
Frequent infections also may be a sign of poor blood sugar control. Yeast infections, skin infections, and urinary infections appear because sugar levels in the blood allow infections to attack and grow. If these infections often show up, you should contact your doctor, especially if you have been diagnosed as prediabetes.
If you experience weakened or blurry vision, you should have your blood sugar levels checked. This isn’t a symptom of diabetes alone, but is widely known as a symptom of high blood sugar levels as well as itching, especially around the groin.
One of the scariest diabetes symptoms could be how it affects your mental status. Agitation, inability to pay attention, increased irritability, confusion, and high sugar levels could explain inactivity and the previously listed symptoms. Some people go through times of extreme agitation and irritability, usually caused by neglecting what they are supposed to be doing to control their sugar levels. Symptoms of diabetes are different with each person. Knowing how diabetes works can help you understand how complications may happen. If someone is experiencing any of the listed problems, your doctor may want you to have a blood sugar test before the doctor appointment.

Diabetes testing thru blood glucose monitoring: The main test for checking for diabetes is to monitor the blood sugar levels of a person at various points before and after meals. This can gauge whether or not the body is processing and using insulin as it needs to. There is another diabetes testing method, which is known as the glycosylated hemoglobin test. Also referred to as HbA1c, this test is not commonly used to check for diabetes. Developed in the late 1970s, this test helps to show the average blood sugar levels of a person during the last two to three months. It is commonly used to help gauge general baselines for what a person with diabetes’ blood sugar levels are at, and to see if there is an improvement in the levels of a person over a long period of time.
To determine if you have diabetes is best to contact your doctor or clinic and have him perform a urine and blood test examinations.
Herbal Tips:
Research done in China has demonstrated that it can potentially stimulate regeneration of cells in the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. The cells in this part of the pancreas are responsible for the proper production of insulin, and therefore the proper processing of blood sugar in the body. Stimulating regeneration of these cells can potentially reverse diabetes in adult-onset diabetics.
Bitter melon, also known as balsam pear, is a tropical vegetable widely cultivated in Asia, Africa and South America, and has been used extensively in folk medicine as a remedy for diabetes. The blood sugar lowering action of the fresh juice or extract of the unripe fruit has been clearly established in both experimental and clinical studies.
Asian ginseng is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat diabetes. It has been shown to enhance the release of insulin from the pancreas and to increase the number of insulin receptors. It also has a direct blood sugar-lowering effect.
A recent study found that 200 mg of ginseng extract per day improved blood sugar control as well as energy levels in Type 2 diabetes (NIDDM).
Vaccinium Myrtuillus is commonly called blueberry. A concoction of the leaves of the blueberry plant injected is only slightly less effective but less toxic than insulin. Its beneficial effects can last several weeks. The active ingredient is myrtillin, used to improve the functioning of the vascular system and effective in preventing diabetic retinopathy—an eye disorder associated with diabetes.
Blueberry Leaves – Leaves of Blueberries or Vaccinium Myrtillus have been commonly used in folk medicine for the treatment of diabetes. They contain an active ingredient called Myrtillin. Myrtillin is an anthocyanaoside that increases capillary integrity, inhibit the damage caused by free radicals and improve the patient’s vascular health. In Europe it is commonly used as an anti-hemorrhagic agent for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Myrtillin is also injected intravenously. It is a little weaker than insulin but said to be less toxic even when taken 50 times a gram per day therapeutic dose. Even a single dose of Myrtillin is said to produce effects that last several weeks.
Vizaysaar (Pterocarpus marsupium)
Vizaysaar is a big tree whose bark is very useful for diabetes. The bark of the tree is made into a wooden glass and the glass is termed as “The miracle cure for diabetes”. Some water is kept in the wooden glass overnight and is consumed early morning by diabetes patients. The color of the water changes to brown and glass is changed after around 1 month when the water color does not change. Diabeta Plus contains extract of bark of this miracle tree.

Pterocarpus marsupium (Indian Kino, Malabar Kino, Pitasara, Venga)
This medicinal herb has been used in ayurvedic medicine for diabetes treatment for a long time. In clinical studies it has been shown to provide a blood sugar balancing property. Epicatechin, a flavonoid extracted from the bark of this plant, protects the beta cells in the pancreas from damage that causes a reduction in insulin production. In studies involving rats, this herbal treatment for diabetes even showed promise in rejuvenating damaged beta cells in the pancreas. This is the only herb, or drug, with this potential

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