What every Nigerian should know about Diabetes
When people hear diabetes, all they think about is the disease that affects the liver and increases blood sugar level, that definition is only accurate for one type of diabetes called Diabetes Mellitus but it is also the most common type of diabetes. There are four types of diabetes
They are:
1. Diabetes Mellitus
2. Diabetes Insipidus
3. Prediabetes
4. Gestational diabetes
Diabetes mellitus
Let me briefly tell you what diabetes itself is all about, Diabetes is a metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar. When we eat, the food is digested, absorbed, and converted to sugar which supplies energy to the body. There is a certain level of sugar that must be present in your blood, it must not be too high not too low. These manufactured sugars are removed from the blood and stored in the cell till it is needed by the body so that the blood sugar level can be regulated, the hormone responsible for this is called Insulin. In the body of anyone having diabetes mellitus, the body does not produce enough insulin to move the glucose into the cells, or the cells stop responding normally to insulin (called insulin resistance), the resulting high levels of glucose in the blood and the inadequate amount of glucose in the cells together produce DIABETES MELLITUS. Because Diabetes mellitus is the most common and widespread type of diabetes, the word ”Diabetes” usually refer to diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus is of two types; Type 1 and Type 2
1. Type 1 Diabetes: This diabetes is usually common in children and adolescents and it happens when the body attacks itself by mistake and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas that regulate blood sugar.
2. Type 2 Diabetes: This is the serious wahala that troubles most people and poses threat to all and sundry, especially fat people and people of old age. It occurs when your body becomes resistant to insulin then sugar builds up in your blood.
Diabetes Insipidus:
This is well talked about everywhere but it is a rare condition, only about 1 of every 25,000 people have it. Diabetes Insipidus is a result of the failure of the kidney to retain water to your body whenever urine is formed, it has nothing to do with sugar level regulation but body fluid regulation. when urine is formed, some of the water needs to be reabsorbed back into the body to regulate body fluids
The kidneys play an important role in this fluid regulation by removing extra fluid from your bloodstream. The bladder stores this fluid waste until you urinate it out. Your body regulates fluid levels by making less urine when you need to replace fluid lost to sweating, or by making more urine when there is too much fluid in your body.
Your brain regulates this process in a few ways. The hypothalamus, a part of the brain, regulates your feeling of thirst and the need to drink water. The brain also produces an antidiuretic hormone (ADH), also called vasopressin, which is stored in the pituitary gland after production.
When your body needs to retain water, the pituitary gland will release the vasopressin into the bloodstream. When you need to get rid of water, the hormone is either released in smaller amounts or not released at all, and you will urinate more often.
When any part of this regulation system breaks down, it can lead to diabetes insipidus. it is named a type of diabetes too because it also leads to excess urination just like other types of diabetes
Prediabetes:
Prediabetes This occurs when your blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes
Gestational Diabetes:
This occurs when insulin blocking hormones produced by the placenta caused high blood sugar during pregnancy
Symptoms of Diabetes
Diabetes symptoms are a result of an increase in blood sugar level, here are the general symptoms of diabetes.
i. Increased Hunger
ii. Increased thirst
iii. Weight loss
iv. blurry vision
v. extreme fatigue
vi. sores that don’t heal
Special symptoms of Diabetes in men
The following symptoms may accompany the above listed general symptoms in men
1. Low libido
2. Erectile Dysfunction (ED
3. Poor muscle strength
Symptoms of diabetes peculiar to women
Women with diabetes may see things like;
i. Urinary Tract Infections
ii. Yeast Infections
iii. Dry and Itchy Skin
Causes of diabetes
Due to the fact that there are various types of diabetes, they’re surely going to be various types of causes
Causes of Type 1 diabetes: Neither Traditional medicine more modern science and doctors has been able to know exactly what causes this type of diabetes. it was suspected to be the gene play a role or virus possible sets off the immune system against the body. The only thing that is known is that the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.
Causes of type 2/common diabetes: This can be caused by two factors, which are genetics and lifestyle. Being overweight or obese increases your risk too because it makes your cell more resistant to the effect of insulin on your blood sugar.
This condition runs in families such that family members share genes that make them more likely to get this common diabetes/type2 diabetes and as well to be overweight.
In conclusion, both genes and lifestyle play a role in triggering diabetes
Who is likely to have diabetes now or later
for type 1 diabetes: A child or teenager who have a parent or sibling with the condition or you carry certain genes that are linked to the disease
for type 2 diabetes: Your risk for type two diabetes increase if you are;
Overweight
Overage 45 or older
Have a parent or sibling with the condition
Aren’t physically active
Have had other types of diabetes (gestational diabetes or prediabetes)
Have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high triglyceride
Have any of the following ancestries; African American, Alaska Native, Pacific Islander, American Indian, Asian American Ancestry. if you belong to any of the listed ancestries, you are most likely and prone to having diabetes, this is not something to be afraid of, you just have to pay lit of attention to what you eat and also the condition of your health in general
Dangers/Complications of Diabetes
High blood sugar damages organs and tissues throughout your body. The higher your blood sugar is and the longer you live with it, the greater complications you risk
The following are brutal effects of diabetes on your body
1. Heart disease, heart attack, and stroke
2. Dysfunctions of nerves causing numbness and weakness(known as neuropathy)
3. Damage to the small blood unit that cleans the kidney (nephron) which eventually lead to malfunctioning of the kidney, this condition is called neuropathy and
4. Damage to the retina of the eyes due to abnormal blood flow, this is known as Retinopathy
5. Hearing loss
6. Foot damage and loss of sensation in your feet particularly
7. Skin conditions
8. depression
9. Dementia
The bottom line is that diabetes can lead to severe health complications but you can easily manage it even though it requires dedication coupled with maintaining a good lifestyle.
You can also manage it here with good herbal medications which you can get hERE
Treatment of Diabetes (Insulin-dependent diabetes)
When the sugar level in the blood is less than 5 but not lower than 2.5, it is normal: when it rises above 5, there is diabetes. When there is diabetes, there is two way to handle this.
1, Drugless treatment
2. Treatment with Herbal Mixtures
3. Medical treatment
Drugless Treatment for Diabetes
Water Treatment:
Insulin Independent Diabetes is easier to cure than Insulin-Dependent diabetes. Both of them are However caused by chronic dehydration. with time the more difficult diabetes will also be cured. HYDRATION (taking plenty of water) is the best treatment for insulin-independent diabetes: 41/2 liters of water (3 Eva bottles) daily will cure diabetes in two months if taken as follows
i. One Eva bottle of water upon rising.
ii. 1/3 bottle 30 minutes before
iii DO NOT REDUCE SALT INTAKE
iv if on medication, do not stop it until you see your doctor
v. Avoid or reduce carbohydrate, coffee, tea, beverages, soft drinks, alcohol, tobacco, etc
Tomato juice
Drink tomato juice for 3 weeks. it has a blood-thinning effect in people with Insulin-Independent Diabetes.
Drink 250 millimeters of tomato Juice every day on an empty stomach for 3 weeks.
Treatment with herbal Mixtures
Here I will be telling you how to make herbal mixtures that help lower and keep your blood sugar at the right level
1. Onion shoots (Alubola Elewe), Scent leaves also known as Wild Basil, Bitter gourd leaves, Guava Leaves, Bitter Leaves, grind everything together, add some water, add potash (Kahun bilala), Diabetic patient should be drinking two cups every morning and evening
For Conventional treatment Contact your doctor whenever you start seeing any Symptoms of Diabetes which I have mentioned
Leave a Reply