Kathmandu:

Busy work schedule permits very less time for us to think of our physical well-being. Not surprisingly, plagued by its accompanying stress, we are increasingly finding it difficult to maintain a healthy body. Moreover, most of us prefer to expend whatever free time we have in activities other than regular exercise.

Given this lack of exercise, we also fail to burn increasing intake of refined carbohydrate and high-cholesterol foods that eventually takes a heavy toll on our health. Diabetes, also called diabetes mellitus, is one such scourge that results from it.

Causes

Diabetes results either due to less secretion of insulin, or its inefficacy. Insulin is a secretion from pancreas (an organ near to our lower stomach), which helps to take the sugar in the blood to the cells, where the sugar is burnt into energy. Thus, it plays a vital role to maintain the blood sugar level.

Types

Diabetes is of two types. ‘Type 1’ results out of low synthesis or secretion of insulin, which consequently fails to reduce the sugar level in the body. This case usually develops during childhood, and insulin has to be injected from the early stage.

‘Type 2’ diabetes results out of the ineffectiveness of insulin that is secreted. Lack of

exercise, obesity, unhealthy food habits, smoking, stress, among others are responsible for the inefficacy of insulin. According to doctors, this case is rampant among those who have a family history of diabetes.

“In Type 2 diabetes, it is mainly the resistance of insulin in various organs that does the damage. Especially obese people and those above forty years of age are prone to develop this resistance,” says Dr Dhruva Lal Singh, president of Nepal Diabetes Association. But shockingly, in the recent years, even people as young as 20 years have been affected by diabetes, given their lack of exercise coupled with high intake of refined foods and fast foods.

Detection

Diabetes is usually diagnosed during routine blood tests. Blood test after an overnight of fasting helps to diagnose the disease. Similarly, along with the symptoms of diabetes, random blood test taken in more than one occasion also reveals the blood sugar level in our body. Urine tests are also done to check the level of sugar, but many do not consider this process very reliable.

Symptoms

Diabetes may not produce symptoms until late. Or, it may surface with other complications of heart, kidney, eye, nerves, and feet, among others. “The usual symptoms are dry mouth and increased thirst, weight loss yet increased appetite, high urine excretion, decreased libido, non-healing wounds and ulcers, and regular skin infections, among others”, explains Singh.

Neglecting the disease for long may cost us very dear– it may lead to kidney failure, heart diseases, blindness, gangrene in foot, non healing wound and various strokes, among others.

Prevention:

Physical activities

Doing light but regular exercise helps to avoid the disease, or even if you have, you can control it substantially through exercise. “If you think you are vulnerable to the disease, brisk walking or jogging an hour daily is recommended,” says Singh. Trying to control your stress, for example, by developing an antidote to it helps to ward off the disease.

Diet control

Avoiding high intakes of fast foods, sweet meats, sugar, refined carbohydrates like refined flour, saturated fats like vegetable ghee, alcohol and smoking, works a good deal to control sugar level. Fibrous items like fruits, spinach, salads are preferable. “People who have descended from the hills to the valley are very prone to this disease. First of all, they lack the necessary physical regimen and on top of it they are being more inclined to eat refined foods, rich in sugar levels. So, turning towards the traditional helps here,” says Singh.

Treatment for Type 2

“First, of course, embracing treatments sans medicines, as above, through exercises and diet control, is suggested,” says Singh. If this doesn’t work out, the next suggested step is to go for oral hypoglycemic drugs or tablets. Then the last remaining option is to directly inject the insulin, according to sugar levels.

This can be self-administered following directions from doctors. However, here we have to note that sometimes injecting too high level of insulin in the body may lead to a life threatening condition called hypoglycemia, or lower sugar level in the body. So doctors have to be consulted regularly regarding this. Blood test for sugar should be done on a regular basis. Skipping food and irregular heavy exercise while suffering from diabetes can also lead to hypoglycemia.