(This is part of a Diabetes ebook I have. Feel free to comment.)
When you hear the word epidemic, you may likely think of diseases that
plague thousands of people in less developed countries far away. However,
epidemics are not exclusive to such places. In fact, the world’s most
widespread epidemics strike a lot closer to home than what you may think.
An epidemic defined is a disease that has come to affect a large portion of
a given population. The exact parameters differ among experts but a good
estimation puts the number at around 3% of a population. If the number of
people affected by the disease reaches this number, it can be considered
an epidemic.
Given this definition, people living in developed countries of the world are
not exempt from a growing global epidemic – one that has seen little
attention until recently.
Diabetes is now considered an epidemic that is affecting not just a select
number of countries but the entire globe. It joins a short, but
unfortunately, growing list of diseases of which, HIV/AIDS is part of.
Projections for the disease’s spread are alarming. The World Health
Organization (WHO) pegs the number of diabetes patients to reach 240
million people worldwide by the year 2010.
The disease comes in two forms: Type I and Type II. Both, however, are
similar in that both types involve the hormone insulin in the body and its
ability to process sugar in the bloodstream. Too much or too little sugar in
the body has adverse effects ranging from kidney failure, eyesight loss, and
in extreme cases, coma.
Type I diabetes occurs when the immune system attacks the insulinforming
cells in the body, misled into thinking that these cells are harmful.
The pancreas therefore fail to produce insulin leading to a heightened level
of sugar in the body, which puts stresses the kidneys, leading to further
complications.
Most of the patients demonstrate the disease’s symptoms at around 15
years of age, although the disease may have already been contracted years
before. It is because of this that experts have interchanged the term Type I
diabetes with “juvenile onset diabetes”.
However, recently, this practice has been set aside in light of the
alarmingly increasing number of young people contracting Type II diabetes.
Type II diabetes (also known as “adult onset diabetes”) is characterized by
the body’s failure to process sugar in the bloodstream despite the fact that
insulin is produced by the pancreas. This could be because not enough
insulin is produced or that the body simply does not respond to it. This
form of diabetes accounts for 90 percent of the estimated 300 million cases
of the disease worldwide.
There is a huge correlation between Type II diabetes and obesity. Most
obese individuals lead a sedentary lifestyle, while consuming food high in
carbohydrates, sugars and fat. These poor eating habits coupled with the
lack / absence of physical activity increases the volume of sugar in the
bloodstream. The pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to meet the
demands of processing so much sugar and therefore diabetes sets in.
If left unchecked, the complications arising from diabetes are many and
adverse.
- Retinopathy is the degeneration of the retina of the eye, leading to loss of
sight.
- Kidney diseases / failure sets in when the organ finally breaks down due
to the excessive stress from filtering too much sugar in the blood.
- Nervous system disorders are experienced by around half of diabetes
sufferers. Symptoms such as impaired sensation in the limbs, carpal tunnel
syndrome, and even impotence have been recorded among diabetics.
When sensation is impaired in the limbs, infection from injuries may
progress without being noticed, leading to no other resort but amputation.
- Diabetic coma (diabetic ketoacidosis) occurs when a patient becomes
severely dehydrated and metabolism is greatly imbalanced. Since the cells
in the body are starved of energy, the entire body shuts down leading to a
coma.
These complications, however, pale in comparison to the number of lives
that are lost every year due to diabetes. As of now, the number of deaths
related to the disease is placed at around 4 million annually.
But perhaps the greater tragedy is the fact that the adverse effect of
diabetes (particularly with Type II) could have been prevented. But seen
from a different point of view, that is also part of the good news. By
observing a healthy lifestyle of eating and exercising right, the chances of
leading a full and productive life despite the disease are very possible.
Start with the selection of the right food and its intake in the proper
amounts. Consultation with a medical professional will inform you on what
is right for your body type.
Observe the habit of physical exercises throughout the day. A regimented
workout schedule may not be necessary. Walking and doing manual
household chores may be sufficient. Again, consult with your doctor to
know what is appropriate for you.
If you are diabetic, or at risk of it, or if you know someone who is, take the
time to share this information and learn more about it. If the proper
information and motivation is shared enough, there still may be a chance
to reverse the tide of this global epidemic.
Coping With Diabetes 
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