Diabetes: All you need to know about the disease

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when the blood sugar level in your body increases. The main source of energy in your body is the blood sugar stored in it and it comes from the intake of food rich in carbohydrates.

The insulin hormone produced by the pancreas helps the glucose present in your food to be used for preparing and storing energy in your cells. Now sometimes it might happen that your body does not make a sufficient amount of insulin. The glucose then stays in your blood and does not reach your cells.

If the glucose level in your blood increases, you may incur some health problems. Most common of which is Diabetes. Although there is no permanent cure for diabetes, there sure are certain steps that you can follow to manage your blood sugar level and stay healthy.

But for this, you will have to know the reasons behind diabetes so that you can overcome it.

When insulin reaches the pancreas, the level of glucose in the blood increases. This condition is called diabetes. Insulin is a hormone made by the digestive gland. This is the hormone that controls the amount of sugar in our body. In this situation, the increased level of glucose starts damaging various organs of the body.

Heart attack and stroke are the main cause of death among diabetes patients. For people who suffer from diabetes, the risk of heart attack increases by fifty times. Increasing the amount of glucose in the body causes hormonal changes which affect both blood vessels and veins.

This may even cause an artery blockage leading to a heart attack. The risk of stroke also increases. The retina of a person would also be damaged if diabetes is not treated for a prolonged period of time.

Suggested Read: Busting the myths about Diabetes

Symptoms of diabetes

• High level of thirst
• Frequent urination
• Vision becomes Blurry
• Healing of cuts or wounds would be slow
• Tingling in the hands
• tiredness
• Dizziness
• Irritability

These are some measures to prevent diabetes

• Keep a regular check on your glucose level and be alarmed if it is more than 100–125 prior to and after your meal. Undergo the HbA1c test every three months to monitor your sugar level and accordingly take medicines only after consulting a doctor.
• If you cannot go to the gym, then walk for three to four kilometers per day and do yoga exercises.
• Eat low-calorie food. Completely eliminate the sweetened food items from your meal. Include vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, dairy products, and sources of omega-3 fats in your diet. Apart from this, fiber should also be consumed in good quantities.
• Instead of eating three times a day, eat at regular intervals.
• Reduce smoking and alcohol consumption, or quit altogether if possible.
• Do not stress over office work and get enough sleep at night. Less sleep is not good for health. To reduce stress, you should meditate or listen to music, etc.
• Undergo a routine health check-up and monitor your sugar level daily so that it never exceeds the optimum level. Once the sugar level increases, it is very difficult to bring it down.
• Take 2 kg of wheat and barley and mix it well with one kg of a gram. Eat chapattis made of this flour in your meal.
• Diabetes patients should include drumstick, spinach, turmeric, turnip, radish, cauliflower, tomato, cabbage, and leafy vegetables in their daily diet.
• In fruits include berries, lemon, tomato, papaya, melon, raw guava, orange, seasonal, pear in your diet. Mangoes, bananas, apples, dates, and grapes should not be eaten because they are high in sugar content.
• Soak fenugreek seeds at night and eat them every morning.
• Include almonds, garlic, onion, sprouts, etc. in your food and intake less potato, rice, and butter.

If you do not get timely treatment for diabetes, it can be very dangerous for you. Pay more attention to your daily lifestyle, balance your diet, and include exercise in your daily routine, do not let yourself towards obesity. Therefore, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and monitoring your daily diet is the key to improving your blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of diabetes.