The shocking truth about diabetes is that age doesn't matter. It is no longer a disease for the old!
Children, adolescents, young adults are all eligible candidates for the disease. It can make your life miserable and shorten your life span.
Diabetes is a non-communicable metabolic disease that describes the high level of sugar in the blood. This is because the hormone for regulating the blood sugar level called insulin is either not being produced, is produced in small quantities or the body does not effectively use the ones that are made.
Insulin regulates blood sugar level by moving the sugar to your cells either to be used for energy or stored away when there is an excess in the bloodstream.
When your body blood sugar level is high, you are at the risk of developing
- - Kidney disease
- - Blindness
- - Damage to your nerves and other organs
There are two main types of diabetes
Type 1
Type 2
Type 1 is an auto-immune disease where your immune system attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas, responsible for producing insulin so it doesn't produce insulin at all.
You can't prevent this but you can manage it.
Type 2
Type 2 diabetes occurs as a result of the resistance of your body to insulin. Your body, sensing this, overproduces insulin so it can work effectively but over time, the cells that produce this insulin wear out.
Genetics and lifestyle like Being overweight with 25-29.9 BMI, obese and carrying extra weight especially in your stomach predispose you to Type 2 diabetes.
Symptoms of Diabetes
- Excessive fatigue
- Frequent urination
- Excessive thirst
- Increased hunger
- Slow-healing sores
- Darkened skin
- Blurry vision
You can delay the onset and prevent Type 2 diabetes if you:
- Eat well balanced meal with more fruits, vegetables and whole grains
- Limit sugar and refined carbohydrates intake
- Exercise at least 30mins daily
- Eat smaller portions
- Try to lose 7% of your body weight if you are overweight or obese.
Nigeria is the leading country in Africa in terms of prevalence of diabetes with 3.9billion people diagnosed as at 2016.
Credit: Chizitere Amadi
Diabetes is very dangerous and you would be wise to make the necessary lifestyle changes to live a longer healthy life.
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