American Diabetes

Diabetes is a merciless condition affecting no less than 25 million people within the United States. The seventh leading cause of death in 2010, this illness triggers kidney failure, heart diseases and stroke, blindness and lower-limb amputations, hypertension, dental problems and many other health issues.

Statistics show one in every 400 children has a form of diabetes, while in adults this percent is much higher: 11% of people aged between 20 and 65 and 26% of elders suffer from this ailment.   Both men and women are affected by this autoimmune disease, which manifests through excessive thirst and appetite, fatigue, nausea and blurred vision, unusual weight gain or loss, yeast infections, itchy skin, dry mouth and slow-healing cuts and sores.

What is diabetes and how it appears?

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the organism can’t produce the needed amount of insulin, a hormone that moves glucose from blood into the cells in order for them to get the needed energy for their daily tasks.  Glucose, as you know, it’s a form of sugar in which most eaten foods are broken down after being digested. This substance is the body’s fuel and it’s used by all tissues and organs for growth and normal functioning.  But in order to pass into the bloodstream and from there into the various cells, glucose needs to meet insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreatic gland that’s located right behind the stomach.

In a normal, healthy body, the pancreas starts producing exactly the needed amount of insulin when foods are eaten, moving the glucose into the cells. But in people with diabetes, this gland can’t produce enough hormones or the cells don’t respond normally to the secreted insulin and as a result, glucose starts building up into the blood cells. From here, it passes into urine and it’s eliminated from the organism, so the body loses its main source of energy regardless the amount of eaten and digested foods.

There are two main forms of this ailment:

• Type 1 diabetes, in which the body sees the pancreatic cells producing insulin as
  harmful and destroys them. As a result, the sufferer has to take daily doses of
  insulin to maintain his health and prevent complications that can be fatal.
• Type 2 diabetes, in which the organism produces insulin but the tissues can’t use
  it effectively so the hormone starts building up inside the blood cells, from
  where they’re eliminated. This form affects around 90% of all diabetes sufferers.

Why is healthy eating important in managing diabetes?

As you already know, the problem in finding a healthy diet for diabetes is that lots of foods contain high amounts of sugars, which can’t be broken down into glucose inside the body. So to maintain a proper health level and prevent complications, you need to control your diet carefully. Still, this doesn’t mean you should eliminate sugar completely from your menu: the key consists in choosing the right sweets and sugars. If you eat more than your body needs and can metabolize, you start gaining weight and this is one of the biggest risk factors for this ailment.

So here are some foods that are recommended to people affected by this illness: carrots, peas, beans and lentils, fruits with low sugar content, whole grains, almonds, olives and cereals are healthy as they give you the needed energy without rising blood sugar levels too much. Meats, fish and seafood, eggs, cheese excepting cottage, natural yogurt and soy products, nuts and olive oil are also allowed for diabetic people, but avoid sweet drinks and sodas, cakes, pastries, white rice, honey, high fat meat products, fried foods, salty snacks, salad dressing and pasta.

Can physical activity help in reducing the symptoms?

Exercises are helpful in controlling diabetes as they strengthen the body, lower bad cholesterol levels and improve circulation, maintain blood pressure at normal levels, increase endurance and relieve stress. These aspects are important in patients trying to manage diabetes symptoms, as the healthier the body is, the lower are the risks of complications caused by this ailment.

Still, physical activity is only recommended to people with blood glucose levels lower than 250 mg/dl, not affected by coronary conditions and not suffering from kidney failure, circulation problems or eyes damage. These patients should avoid physical activity and limit to regular walks, but all other diabetes sufferers can safely practice cardiovascular or resistance trainings for about 15-30 minutes a day, at least two-three days a week.

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