Fun Facts

Diabetes is a disease that affects the ability of the body cells to derive the required energy from the glucose present in the bloodstream. If you happen to be a diabetic patient, the first thing that your doctor or persons known to you will do is advise you to keep close control on what you eat. The second thing they would say is to reduce the sugar content and try replacing the carbohydrates you normally take.

In this modern age where innumerable innovations in the medical technology have made it possible to live with diabetes happily and not worry about it, one need not panic or feel depressed when affected by that disease. A better understanding of the type of food we eat, the quality of the food and the quantity of food we take, the proportion of components of the food and such other things, is all that is required to either fight this disease with strength or avoid contracting the disease in the first instance.

The food that we normally consume on a daily basis include carbohydrates, proteins, fat and minerals. A correct mix and combination of these vital ingredients is essential for a healthy life that helps a person generate adequate amount of required insulin for supply of glucose and energy to the cells. It is the inability of the production of insulin or insufficiency of insulin for transfer of glucose or sugar to the cells that results in diabetes.

Carbohydrates is the primary source of energy and more than 50% of our intake of foods is primarily carbohydrates. It is this carbohydrate in the food that breaks down as sugars in the body and finally as the glucose that is required for the cells for energy. The level of sugar content in our blood and the amount of glucose it produces is dependent upon the content of carbohydrates in your daily intake of food. High level of sugar content in the blood and its inability to transfer the glucose or sugar to the cells is what diabetes is all about. As such, reducing the intake of carbohydrates will result in lower accretion of glucose or sugars to the body and as such the level of sugar content in the blood can either be kept at a steady level or reduced and through this means, the diabetes can be effectively managed.

It is for this reason that doctors advise to reduce the intake of carbohydrates as effective means to manage diabetes. Carbohydrates, the primary source of energy, is divided into two groups based on the their classifications. One is called as simple carbohydrate and the other is complex carbohydrate. Simple carbohydrate is nothing but sugars such as table sugar, fruit sugar and milk sugar. In medical parlance, sugars include sucrose, fructose and lactose. Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, are made up of more complex sugars, fiber and an assortment of nutrients.

Following significant research in each type of carbohydrate, ranking has been made for each carbohydrate and is assigned an index called as glycaemic index or GI, which indicates the level of impact of blood sugar levels in the body. Not only is the content of sugar in each carbohydrate but the time taken to break down the food and converted into sugar in the blood also is considered while calculating the index. Some fibers included in complex carbohydrates might take longer time to break-down in to sugar in the body while some simple carbohydrates will increase the level of sugar in the blood at a relatively quicker time.

Thus, as part of diabetic management, one need not avoid taking sugar or carbohydrates all together. Instead, one needs to have a close watch on the GI for each type of food in general and carbohydrate in particular and the consequences of the same in his blood sugar levels.

As such, carbohydrates is not bad in any way and the only thing that, as a diabetic patient, needs to do is not panic or feel depressed, but have a close watch on the GI, control the blood sugar levels and do more physical exercises that result in adequate processing of insulin hormone in the pancreas.

Health carbohydrates, diabetes, diabetes management

The level of glucose in the blood determines the health of a person to a great extent. Glucose is the primary source used by the body for energy and if the glucose is not used efficiently, one can become a victim of diabetes, a disease which needs medication and strict control through out the life once detected.

In short, high level of glucose in the blood is what we call diabetes.

What causes diabetes?

The pancreas in our liver is responsible for the creation of a hormone called insulin and this insulin is the carrier through which the glucose in the blood is transported to the cells. The cells get energy from this glucose through insulin and thus the glucose content in the blood is reduced to the extent the cells get energy and the level of glucose in the blood is maintained at an optimum and desirable level.

If the insulin is not sufficient enough in the body to transport the glucose in the blood to the cells and meet the body’s needs, then the excess sugar or glucose in the blood remains underutilized and thus increases the sugar content in the blood. This is referred to as type-II diabetes.

There is one other possibility for higher sugar content in the blood. If the body does not produce the required insulin in the pancreas or the cells that produce the insulin hormone are destroyed, then there is no possibility of transporting glucose to the cells from the blood, and thus result in higher sugar content in the blood stream. This type is referred to Type-I diabetes.

With modern innovations and new-age thinking in the field of medicine, diabetes is no more a cause for worry. It has been proved that the art of managing diabetes is nothing but the art of having effective control over blood glucose through regulating and modulating the type, quality and quantity of food we consume.

There are three broad means through which blood sugar levels can be controlled and the menace of diabetes effectively managed:

Lifestyle habits : As part of the efforts, one should develop lifestyle habits which will ensure that the body is less susceptible to high blood sugar content. Resistance to insulin is one of the reasons for diabetes. If you are obese or overweight, then you should try to put down the excess fat and maintain a healthy body through regular exercises to maintain a slim and trim body such that the body becomes less insulin resistant. Merely cutting down on intake of foods will not be sufficient.

Dieting habits: If you are suffering from diabetes and have high glucose content, you need not enforce a ban on intake of carbohydrates altogether. Instead, ensure that you take enough meals at regular intervals such that undue fluctuations in blood sugar levels are reduced. Also make sure that adequate quantity of right nutrients are included in your daily intake of meals.

Adequate stock of insulin: The absence of insulin for carrying sugar or glucose to the cells from the blood is the primary cause for diabetes. One should ensure that adequate quantity of insulin is available in the body. If insulin is deficient, please make sure that insulin tablets or insulin injections are taken periodically at the stipulated time so that the level of insulin is maintained at the required level.

By effectively following these simple steps, one can take advantage about the new-age thinking and approach towards Diabetes and become an expert in the art of managing diabetes and living a healthy and tastier life.

Health blood level, blood pressure, diabetes, glucose, manage diabetes

One of the common words we often hear from a middle-aged or an old person is that he or she is a diabetic patient. It is also quite common to see some persons, though fond of eating, avoid some types of foods and beverages citing diabetes as one prime reason.

What actually is diabetes?

It is a well-known fact that our body is made up of a large number of cells and the functioning of the cells is essential for the life. The cells need energy for functioning and it is for this reason that we consume food in one form or the other. The food we intake is converted into glucose and this glucose is used by the cells to get energy for effective functioning of the various parts.

If the process of transferring the glucose in the bloodstream to the cells breaks down, then the person is said to be a diabetic or suffering from Diabetes. In other words, diabetes is a condition in which the process that transfers glucose into the cells from the bloodstream breaks down. As a result of this breakdown, the cells will not get the required energy, and the glucose content in the bloodstream, not transferred to the cells, gets increased, resulting in high sugar content or glucose content in the bloodstream.

What causes a breakdown in the transfer of glucose to the cells? Before answering this question, we should understand how the glucose is transferred to the cells?

The pancreas present in the liver secretes a hormone called insulin. It is this insulin, which is responsible for transporting the glucose from the blood to the cells. Now, coming to the earlier question, if the cells are not receptive to insulin or if adequate insulin is not secreted by the pancreas, then the transfer process from blood to the cells would get affected.

Diabetes can be caused in either of the two cases and as such, diabetes is of two types – Type I diabetes and Type-II diabetes.

If insulin produced in the body is not sufficient for the total requirement by the body, then it is called as Type-II diabetes. In this type, the cells resist the message from insulin to let blood glucose inside the cells. In other words, the cells become insulin-resistant.

In Type-I diabetes, the immune system in the body destroys the very cells in the pancreas which create the hormone called insulin. If there is no production of insulin in the body, then glucose in the blood could not be transferred to the cells for energy. The glucose stays in the blood stream and the content of glucose gets increased in blood, leading to high blood sugar and might lead to further complications such as heart attack, leg amputation, stroke, blindness and kidney failure.

What is clear from this discussion about diabetes is that the level of glucose content and the effective distribution of this glucose to the cells is what determines the diabetic condition of a person. Glucose is generated in the body through the food we take. Thus, the quantity and quality of the food we take and the amount of sugar content in the food we take is what determines the level of sugar or glucose in the blood and its effective distribution to the cells.

The moment a person is told by the Doctor that he is suffering from diabetes, or that he is a diabetic patient, the first thing that comes to mind is that he needs to curb his eating and stay away from sugar. However, one need not panic or get worried of being deprived of eating the food of his choice or regulating his food intake. With an effective understanding of the food we intake, we can have an effective control over the blood sugar levels and can, in fact, lead a life of satisfaction.

Diabetes is not a killer disease and the level of glucose in the bloodstream can be effectively kept under check, with planned intake of nourished foods and beverages.

Health diabetes