By Bimbola Segun-Amao
Diabetes is a disease in which the blood glucose levels are too high and there is Type I and Type II diabetes. With Type I, the body does not make insulin, and with Type II the body does not make proper use of the insulin. Insulin makes the glucose get into the cells to give them energy so without insulin, the glucose or sugar stays in the blood and doesn’t get into the cells.
A lot of people who are diabetic are unaware of their condition until they are beaten down by its grave consequences. You don’t want to wait till then.
According to The Guardian, a Nigerian Newspaper, the latest edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas released on 5th Nov in Frankfurt, Germany noted that “Africa has the highest mortality rate due to diabetes with 81.2% of diabetes undiagnosed and do not know they have the disease”. If you feel disproportionate thirst, frequent urination, increased fatigue and irritability, with or without frequent infections, skin, gum or bladder, burry visions or tingling or numbness in the limbs, you should see a doc. If you have a family history of diabetes, you should be more concerned.
Type 1 diabetes cannot be cured and would require injection shots of insulin; pills would be destroyed by the stomach digestion so they are not applicable. There is good news however, one can control both Type I and II and may cure Type II.
To control, manage or protect yourself from diabetes, you need to make healthy choices. Make a healthy choice of sustaining a low carbohydrate diet; our aim is to keep the sugar low in the blood. Attain a BMI in normal range; take off the fats from your waist. Eat less sugar and sugary foods, less of non essential fats, and consume less or no alcohol, you would be shocked how much of glucose alcohol releases into the blood. You would need to be moderate with milk, meat and other proteins also. Eat more of whole foods, vegetables, fruits, beans whole grains and complex starchy foods.
Get off your butts, walk short distances, dance hard like a child and take the stairs most times. If you can, hit the gym. Take a food fast of about 12 hours from dinner to breakfast; let your body use the sugars in your blood already, if you must eat breakfast like most health workers preach, then eat early dinner.
Be on alert, don’t even wait for the symptoms, take a sugar test and encourage someone else to do same.