Breaking Free of Diabetes

Words : Sachini Perera

One of the common non-communicable diseases that persist in the present day is Diabetes. This disease is related to human metabolism and affects blood sugar levels, causing high blood sugar in patients diagnosed as having Diabetes. Awareness is key to battling any disease. This is the reason why the 14th of November is marked as the International Day of Diabetes: so that people pay more attention to this chronic disease, identify it better, and become familiar with its cures.

Understanding Diabetes

A major part of the food you consume is broken down into glucose and released into the bloodstream. When the blood sugar levels in your blood go up, the pancreas releases the hormone insulin, which uses the glucose in the blood to satisfy the energy requirements of the body cells. What happens when people suffer from diabetes is that either they do not produce enough insulin, or they cannot use the insulin produced effectively. Diabetes is of 2 types as Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Type 1 is caused by an autoimmune reaction in a person’s body, which causes the body to terminate the process of producing insulin. Type 2 Diabetes leads to the inability of the body to use insulin well and thus would not be able to maintain the blood sugar levels within the normal range. It should also be noted that Type 2 Diabetes is focused more going forward.

What causes Diabetes Type 2?

The causes for this condition can by no means be pinpointed to just one factor; hence it is evident that several causes involve in the maintenance of Type 2 Diabetes. Weight is one of the primary causes of diabetes. When the amount of fats in a person’s body is high, the fatty layer in the skin increases in size, and thus it would be more of a hassle for your insulin to carry out its function efficiently. Lack of proper and adequate amount of exercise is another predominant factor that aids in the sustenance of diabetes. When one does not engage in physical exercise; or if the amount of physical activity that one carries out daily is inadequate, the blood sugar level in the bloodstream would not be utilized as fast as it would; had any exercise been done. This would affect the proper functioning of insulin. Furthermore, suffering from high blood pressure too affects diabetes. Other than that, having a family history of diabetes and age are also predicted causative factors concerning this condition.

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