Diabetes Mellitus

WHAT IS DIABETES?

It is a medical condition characterized by high blood gluccose, due to the lack of insulan or inadequate response of body cells towards the action of insulin. When blood gluccose is too high, gluccose is found in the urine. Diabetes mellitus in ancient Greek means 'a lot of sweet urine'.


WHAT IS INSULIN?

Insulin is a hormone secreted by the endocrine glands called Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. Its function is to regulate the level of gluccose in the blood.


WHAT ARE THE SIGNS AND SYMPTONS OF DIABETES?

The classical symptons are:

• Frequent urination
• Excessive thirst
• Hunger
• Fatigue
• Weight loss

However, lack of sympton is very common and thus, many people only know of their condition during a routine medical check-up.


WHAT ARE THE TYPE OF DIABETES?

There are 2 main types:

1. Type 1 for Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus(IDDM). This is an autoimmune disorder where the body immune system attacks the unsulin producing cells in the pancreas and destroys them. The pancreas then produces little or no insulin and diabetes develops, usually over a short period. It frequently affects younger persons and children and is sometimes called Juvenile Diabetes.
   
   
   
2. Type II or Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM). Tis accounts for 90-95% of all diabetes cases. It occurs when pancreas produces insulin, but the cells are unable to use it efficiently (insulin resistance). The symptons often develope gradually. Type II diabetes is associated with obesity, physical inactivity, family history of diabetes and age (>4o years).
   
   

HOW IS DIABETES DIAGNOSED ?

1. Diabetes is diagnosed when:
   (a) a fasting glucose level is above 140mg/dl or
   (b) a non fasting glucose level is above 200mg/dl with the presence of symptons of increased thirst and urination, fatique.
   
   If the person has no sympton, a second abnormal blood glucose is required to confirm the presence of diabetes.
   
   
2. A urine test for glucose is often used but it is frequently unreliable. Glucose usually appears in the urine when blood glucose is above 180mg/dl. Thus urine test will fail to detect many diabetic patients. From some people, glucose will appear in the urine even though their blood glucose levels are normal. They do not have diabetes but just a benign condition called Renal Glycosuria.
   
   
3. For persons who have no sympton and have normal fasting blood glucose levels, but are considered potential diabetics due to some clinical reasons, a glucose tolerance test can be done. By measuring the blood glucose reponse over 2 hours towards a standard load (75g) of glucose drink, a more accurate diagnoses of diabetes can be made.
   
   
   

WHAT ARE THE DANGER OF DIABETES ?

1. When blood glucose is persistently high, it results in damage to the body cells especially those of the blood vessels. The cells lining the fine capillaries in the kidneys are particularly vulnerable. Damage to those blood vessels will impair kidney function. Most cases of kidney failure requiring dialysis are caused by diabetes.
   
   
2. Blindness often occurs when blood vessels in the retina of the eyes are destroyed.
   
   
3. When blood vessels to the nerves are affected, the nerve damage may result in numbness and pain in the feet giddiness, diarrhoea and impotence in men.
   
   
4. Diabetes accelerates the narrowing of arteries with fatty plaque, a condition called atherosclerosis. It therefore increases the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and foot gangrene. This is the most important complication as death from heart attack is twice as common in persons with diabetes.
   
   
   

WHAT SHOULD A DIABETIC DO?

Diabetes cannot be cured and needs lifelong treatment and monitoring. The aims of treatment are maintaining normal blood glucose level and preventing complications. This can be accomplished through regular physical exercise, a carefully controlled diet and medication. Blood glucose and HbA1c (glycosylated haemoglobin) need to be tested regularly, as well as monitoring of blood cholesterol, kidney function, blood pressure, heart disease and eyesight. Person with diabetes should pay regular visits to their physicians to monitor their conditions properly.


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Should you eat 'your colours'?

By eating your colours everyday you will stay fit an healthy.

• Colourful fruits and vegetables contain many of the vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals your body needs to maintain good health and energy.
  
  
• They also protect against the effects of aging and can help reduce the risk of disease like cancer, heart disease and obesity.
  
  
• Many of the phytochemicals and other compounds that make fruits and vegetables such healthy foods also give them their colour.
  
  
• There are many different phytochemicals and compounds associated with the colour, so to ensure you get a wide range of them you need to try and eat fruits and vegetables from each of the colour groups every day.
  
  

Eating 5 to 10 servings of vegetables and fruit per day as part of a healthy diet can help reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke.


RED

It's important to eat all your colours every day to get the varety of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that you need to stay healthy and fit. Include RED in your low-fat diet to help maintain:

• A healthy heart
• Memory function
• Lower risk of some cancers
  
  

Health Promoting Benefits

Specific phytochemicals in the red group that are being studied for their health promoting properties include lycopene and anthocyanins. Get a variety of red every day by eating fruits and vegetables such as: Cherries, Red Onions, Chili Peppers, Red Peppers, Radishes, Red Potatoes, Raspberries, Rhubard, Red Apples, Strawberries, Red Cabbage, Tomatoes, Red Grapes, Watermelon, Red Kumara.



PURPLE

Eat all your colours every day to get the variety of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals you need to stay healthy. Include BLUE/PURPLE in your low diet to help maintain:

• Lower risk of some cancers
• Urinary tract health
• Memory function
• Healthy aging
  
  

Healthy Aging

Blue/purple fruits and vegetables contain varying amounts of health-promoting phytochemicals such as anthocyanins and phenolics, currently being studied for their potential antioxidant and anti aging benefits. Get a variety of blue/purple every day with foods such as: Beetroot, Plums, Blackberries, Purple Cabbage, Prunes, Blackcurrants, Eggplants, Raisins, Purple Asparagus, Blueberries, Boysenberries, Purple Grapes, Cranberries, Purple Peppers.


BROWN AND WHITE

Eating a colourful mix of fruits and vegeables daily provides the variety of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals you need to fight disease. Including WHITE in your low-fat diet helps maintain:

• A healthy heart
• Cholesterol levels that are already healthy
• Lower risk of some cancers
  

Health Promoting Phythochemicals

White, tan and brown fruits and vegetables contain varying amounts of phytochemicals of interest to scientists. These include allicin, found in garlic and the onion family. Get all the health benefits of whilte by including a variety of foods such as:Bananas, Onions, Brown Pears, Parsnips, Cauliflower, Potatoes, Dates, White melons, Garlic, White Netarines, Ginger, White Peaches, Mushrooms, Turnips



GREEN

To get the range of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals you need to stay healthy and fit, eat a colourful variety of fruits and vegetables. Include GREEN in your low-fat diet to maintain:

• Vision health
• Lower risk of some cancers
• Strong bones and teeth

Healthy GREENS

Green vegetables contain varying amounts of phytochemicals such as luteins and indoles, which interest researches because of their potential antioxidant, health-promoting benefits. Go green every day with a variety of fruits and vegetables like these: Artichokes, Green Melons, Asparagus, Green Pears, Avocados, Green Pepper, Broccoli, Kiwifruit, Brussels, Sprouts, Leafy Greens, Celery, Leeks, Chinese Cabbage, Lettuce, Cucumbers, Limes, Green Apples, Okra, Green Beans, Peas, Green Cabbage, Spinach, Green Grapes, Zucchini.



ORANGE AND YELLOW

To stay healthy and fit, think colour and variety when you make your fruit and vegetable choices. Including YELLOW/ORANGE in your low-fat diet helps maintain:

• Lower risk of some cancers
• A healthy heart
  
• Vision health
• A healthy immune system

ANTIOXIDANTS

ORANGE/YELLOW fruits and vegetables contain varying amounts of antioxidants such as vitamin C as well as caroteniods and bio flavoniods, two classes of phytochemicals that scientist are studying for their health promoting potential. Every day, include a variety of orange and yellow foods like these: Apricots, Persimmons, Butternut, Squash, Pineapples, Carrots, Pumpkin, Golden kiwifruits, Rock melons, Golden Kumara, Swede, Grapefruit, Sweetcorn, Lemons, Tangelos, Mandarins, Yellow Apples, Mangoes, Yellow Peppers, Nectarines, Yellow Potatoes, Oranges, Yellow Tomatoes, Peaches.

Do You Have 'Dirty Blood?'

Symptoms of dirty blood.

1. Skin conditions that are frequently misdiagnosed as eczema, dermatitis, dry, flaking skin, or patch of red, itchy skin that either appears and disappears or moves around the body, place to place.

The reason why the skin is so involved in this condition is that the blood cells aren't able to unload their poisons and toxins via the kidneys, so they go to the next best eliminative organ: our skin! Yes, our skin, which has millions of pores or openings, breathes. When we perspire, our body is "breathing" and eliminating excess water, toxins or poisons via those pores.

So, if the kidney tubules aren't creating osmosis to take the load off these laboring red blood cells, they then try and dump their load on the doorstep of the next eliminative outlet: the skin. This is why the skin will begin to get dry, itchy, flaking, red, swollen, oozing lymph fluid which is yellow or crusted, in order to try and "clean off" the red blood cells so they can carry a maximum amount of oxygen.

2. Headaches are frequently a spin-off and symptom of dirty blood. It can be a migraine headache or just a common old aching type that comes and goes; for seemingly no reason. Even if you take aspirin, and you make the pain go away, it does not mean that you've cured the root cause of all these headaches: which is to clean the tubules of the kidneys. As long as the kidneys aren't cleaned up, you will always have headaches that come and go.

The brain isn't receiving enough oxygen from these red blood cells, and it's getting "bathed" with dirty red blood cells which are loaded down like a toxic waste dump--so, it's no wonder your head starts aching!

3. Low-grade Fevers that come and go. Whenever the body raises its own internal temperature, it is trying to burn out and destroy an invader or attacker. Usually, it's an invading bacteria or virus. However, if your blood is dirty, it will raise the temperature a degree or so, trying to "burn out" and destroy this waste material. It doesn't, but it's one of the things the body can do to answer the call to get rid of the toxic waste dump being carried inside you.

The result of this symptom is that if you go to the allopathic doctor, he or she will assume you have a bacteria or virus present in your body and prescribe antibiotics to get rid of it. So, when you're on the ten-day cycle of antibiotics, your "grade fever" goes away, but as soon as you get off the antibiotics, guess what? Yes, the grade fever comes back. Oh, it's not there every day, but it may show up from time to time, with no periodicity or cycle evident.

After about two or three trips to your allopathic doctor, they may draw blood from you to see what in the world is going on. When they do, often, there will be an elevated or higher white blood count which to them, verifies bacteria or virus still active and in your body.


4. Allergies. Because as more and more of the red blood cells labor with their toxic waste dump load that they can off put via the kidneys, the immune system within the body hits the four alarm and goes into major action. It will create more white blood cells, which are the soldiers that protect us from outside attack by bacteria and viruses. If, after awhile the white blood cells don't do their job--and they can't--then the immune system, over several years time, becomes suppressed.

When the immune system becomes depressed, that means it can't operate at its highest peak function, which is to protect us from any invaders from the external world around us. As the immune system begins to crumble, we suddenly, for no reason, become allergic to something in our environment. It could be anything: ragweed, dust, mold, pollen, cat hair or whatever--the source doesn't really matter. What matters is that allergies are a signal that your immune system is eroding and this isn't good because in the long-run, it leaves you open for all kinds of problems later: such as more frequent colds, flu or other more deadly forms of bacteria and viruses which are now floating around in our atmosphere and environment. Your immune system, which is your main line of defense, your warrior with a shield, has been stripped of its protective powers and is leaving you wide open to all these other risks.

5. High white blood count. We talked about this in detail in number 2.
If your lab reports come back with a high white blood count and after antibiotics, is still there, consider the possibility of above.

6. Forgetfulness and other mental signs of deterioration. When the red blood cells cannot carry a major load of oxygen, which they were designed to do, then the brain does not receive it's necessary levels of oxygen, either, in order to operate at maximum efficiency.

The result is lapses of memory, forgetfulness and the beginning of making lists to remember what you forgot! If your memory is eroding for no reason, then consider the above.

Why Eat Vegetables

Nutritional powerhouses, vegetables have vitamins and minerals and are good sources of dietary fiber. They're naturally low in fat, sodium and calories and contain no cholesterol.

Vegetables have phytochemicals — a group of compounds that may help prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Many vegetables, such as broccoli, green peppers and spinach, are also good sources of antioxidants — substances that slow down oxidation, a natural process that leads to cell and tissue damage.

Enjoy a wide variety of vegetables because different types provide different nutrients. For example, asparagus is high in vitamin C and folate. Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A. And chicory is a good source of calcium, magnesium, riboflavin and vitamin B-6.