Diabetes? A term known to all. Those affected must take daily insulin and are only allowed to eat diabetic foods. Or is it not? It's time to put an end to prejudice. We bring verified facts.
- Diabetes? It's that harmless diabetes.
True and false. It is true that diabetes is known as sugar disease. The name comes from the fact that untreated diabetics secrete sugar from their urine, which has a sweet smell. Metabolic diseases can be treated; however, they are not harmless. The consequences of diabetes can be high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke, as well as kidney or vision damage. Every six seconds in the world someone dies from the consequences of this disease. The International Diabetic Union reported that during 2014 almost five million people died from the consequences of diabetes. And the World Health Organization predicts that by 2030 diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death.
- Diabetes gets the one who eats too much sugar - or?
Not literally. To begin with, a distinction must be made between the different types of diabetes. In type 1, the body does not produce enough insulin due to a genetic disorder, and in type 2, the insulin is not processed properly. In addition, there are several more rare forms, such as gestational diabetes. Type 2, which is the "acquired form", has 90 percent of diabetics: diabetes mellitus. This disease often appears due to lack of movement and excess weight, which is a consequence of a diet full of fats, carbohydrates and sugars. So, sugar is not the only cause of diabetes even in type 2, but a combination of all those factors, and in autoimmune diabetes type 1, sugar does not play any role.
3. Only overweight people can get diabetes
False - although the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in overweight people is twice that of normal weight people, especially obese people, where the risk is three times higher. However, more than a quarter of obese people have a healthy metabolism. This means that other factors are also the cause of diabetes. For example, hereditary gene or age. But it has not been fully explored. Last year, scientists discovered that certain enzymes also play an important role: people with a deficiency of the hemoxygenase-1 enzyme, despite obesity, do not get diabetes. In short: the fatter a person is, the more likely they are to develop type 2 diabetes. However, both thin and average-weight people can get the disease, too.
- Diabetes is a "disease of rich societies"
Totally incorrect. The number of people suffering from diabetes in the world is increasing, especially type 1. The reasons for this are still unknown. In 2014, according to the International Diabetic Union, there were 387 million diabetics in the world, 80 percent of them living in developing countries and countries on the threshold of industrialization. The federation estimates that 24 million Africans will be affected by diabetes in the next 20 years. The number of unreported diabetics is high: in Sub-Saharan Africa, about 90 percent, and in Southeast Asia, about half of diabetics are not even aware of their disease.
- Diabetes attacks only old people
Incorrect. Although diabetes mellitus is more common in old people, both types of diabetes affect people of all ages. More than 30,000 children and young people up to 19 years of age have type 1 diabetes, and the number of sick children up to 14 years of age grows by at least 2,000 per year. More and more young people are suffering from type 2 diabetes. The number of people suffering from type 2 diabetes has increased fivefold in the last ten years.
- In Germany, diabetes affects everyone - regardless of whether they are rich or poor
That's correct. Albert Pluck of the German Diabetic Association explains that the preconception of "fat and stupid" diabetics is simply incorrect. But studies show that certain risk factors can affect the occurrence of type 2 diabetes in children - for example, the conditions in which the child grows up: if he has stable emotional connections, he is less exposed to the danger of the disease. Research by the Robert Koch Institute also shows that obese children are at greater risk of disease than their thinner peers. The problem is often in the family in which the child grows up, that is, in the low social status. But it has nothing to do with income, but with education. For example, specific knowledge about minerals or dietary fiber. Until now, there are almost no studies on the influence of education and income on the occurrence of type 1 diabetes, so the existing research results cannot be easily interpreted.
- Diabetics have to take insulin every day
True and false. Type 1 diabetics must take insulin anyway, because the body is not capable of producing the hormone insulin on its own. For type 2, this is not the case, at least initially. The body can still compensate for the lack of insulin by producing large amounts of hormones. Even after many years, the pancreas is exhausted and produces less and less. At some point, insulin production can stop altogether. Then type 2 diabetics must also start insulin therapy.
- ...and it gets really dramatic when there is no more insulin
In movie scenes, diabetics sweat and collapse if they don't have insulin anywhere nearby. Lack of insulin, however, does not cause such drama. Sweating with spasms, as shown in the movies, is a sign of hypoglycemia, that is, a lack of glucose in the blood. It happens with an excess, not with a lack of insulin, which then lowers the blood sugar level. With hyperglycemia, i.e. increased level of sugar in the blood, diabetics are thirsty, have a headache, are tired, have nausea in the stomach and cramps. But that might not be dramatic enough for the film industry. However, diabetic ketoacidosis, a severe metabolic disorder, can be very dramatic. It mainly occurs in type 1 diabetics, develops rapidly and can be life-threatening.
- Diabetics should eat special diabetic foods
Incorrect. Neither special diabetic nor diet foods are good for diabetics. Since the end of 2012, foods must not be manufactured as special diabetic, nor must it be specially labeled, because it misleads patients: because of a label "recommended for diabetics", consumers think they can take those products without consequences for your therapy. Also, even with diabetic cupcakes, attention must be paid to the amount of carbohydrates and energy content. All in all, the same rules apply to diabetics as to those without diabetes: the less fat, sugar and salt, the more fruit and vegetables.
- Diabetes is incurable
Correct. People with type 1 diabetes are dependent on insulin throughout their lives. However, it is different in type 2 diabetics. Obesity and lack of exercise promote the disease, and healthy eating and exercise can stop the deterioration or improve the condition. However, treatment with drugs or surgery is not possible.
- Animals are protected from diabetes
Incorrect. Not even animals are immune. Diabetes mostly affects female dogs and cats. In dogs, which are particularly affected by type 1, it is often a matter of a genetic predisposition due to which the cells of the pancreas, which produce insulin, are destroyed. In cats, which have a tendency towards type 2, the causes are usually obesity or medication. As with humans, they must be given insulin and their diet changed. In the first 12 months, the disease can be stabilized in 10 to 30 percent of cats and brought to a "resting phase".
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