Diabetes

Diabetes 

What is Diabetes?

In 1910, Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer proposed that diabetes developed when there was a lack of a particular chemical that the pancreas produced. He called it insulin, meaning island because the cells in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas produce it. Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. Most of the food you eat is broken down into sugar (also called glucose) and released into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin

How does Diabetes happen?

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Blood glucose is your main source of energy and comes from the food you eat. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food get into your cells to be used for energy

What are the consequences of diabetes?

Over time, high blood glucose levels can damage the body's organs. Possible long-term effects include damage to large (macrovascular) and small (microvascular) blood vessels, which can lead to heart attack, stroke, and problems with the kidneys, eyes, gums, feet, and nerves. The symptoms of diabetes include: blurred vision, Fatigue, increased hunger and thirst, frequent urination, numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, sores that do not heal, unexplained weight loss

Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

People with type 1 diabetes, don't produce insulin. You can think of it as not having a key. People with type 2 diabetes, don't respond to insulin as well as they should and later in the disease often don't make enough insulin. You can think of it as having a broken key. The main difference between the two types of diabetes is that type 1 diabetes is a genetic disorder that often shows up early in life, and type 2 is largely diet-related and develops over time. If you have type 1 diabetes, your immune system is attacking and destroying the insulin-producing cells in your pancreas

Treatments for Diabetes

Treatment for type 1 diabetes involves insulin injections or the use of an insulin pump, frequent blood sugar checks, and carbohydrate counting. Treatment of type 2 diabetes primarily involves lifestyle changes, monitoring of your blood sugar, along with diabetes medications, insulin or both.

 

How many people had diabetes between 1995-2022?      Health Risks    

The prevalence of diabetes is 11.8 people aged above 50, according to a govt survey. The highest prevalence of diabetes was observed in the 70-79 years age group at 13.2%.

 Personal Experience

I interviewed my mother, who has type 2 diabetes and asked about her experience with the chronic disease:

“I was first diagnosed when I was pregnant with my first child, called Gestational Diabetes.”Which is somewhat common among pregnant women.

Gestational diabetes usually shows up in the middle of pregnancy. Doctors most often test for it between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. Often gestational diabetes can be controlled through eating healthy foods and regular exercise. Sometimes a woman with gestational diabetes must also take insulin.

“I was advised to take Insulin Shots to keep my sugar levels under control but after my firstborn was born my sugar levels went back to normal and was in control until I was pregnant with my second daughter. The second time around my sugar levels were elevated but was always borderline and was on medication for the same..”

 

“But this time after her delivery my sugar levels did not come back to normal, but continued to be elevated and that is when I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

I continue to be on medication, taking Metformin 250 mg morning and night after food.

I also ensure that I walk at least 30 mins a day, exercises and does Yoga to keep herself healthy.

I try hard to avoid sweet and sugary foods but sometimes I fail !!!!! “

 

 

Diabetes Impact Today

Diabetes imposes a substantial economic burden on society and is one of the costliest chronic diseases, accounting for $245 billion in economic costs in 2012 alone for diagnosed cases, including $176 billion in direct medical costs and $69 billion in reduced productivity. Today we have different methods for people who don't take sugar to still have sweet things, for example, artificial sweeteners with no dairy and glucose is an option given to them.

 

The End!

Lactose Intolerance 

What Is Lactose Intolerance?

 

Also known as milk intolerance is The inability to fully digest the sugar (lactose) in dairy products.

Lactose intolerance is usually caused by a deficiency of an enzyme in the body called lactose. Lactose intolerance is caused by lactose malabsorption. If you have lactose malabsorption, your small intestine makes low levels of lactose—the enzyme that breaks down lactose—and can't digest all the lactose you eat or drink. The undigested lactose passes into your colon. Usually, lactose intolerance is found in infants when they are born. It's something that can be inherited or is just a deficiency one is born with. It's sometimes difficult for people to realize they have it since reactions to lactose can differ. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/lactose-intolerance/symptoms-causes

How does lactose Intolerance take place and where?

Inside the stomach is where lactose intolerance takes place (in the digestive system). 

Lactose intolerance occurs when your small intestine doesn't produce enough of an enzyme (lactase) to digest milk sugar (lactose). Normally, lactase turns milk sugar into two simple sugars — glucose and galactose — which are absorbed into the bloodstream through the intestinal lining.

https://www.informedhealth.org/lactose-intolerance.html

What are the effects of Lactose Intolerance?

Lactose intolerance causes symptoms such as:

●        A bloated belly

●        "Gas"

●        Pain in the lower belly

●        Feeling full 

●        Diarrhea

●        Nausea, vomiting

●        Sometimes constipation too

It takes at least half an hour for symptoms to occur after the person has eaten or drunk something containing lactose. The symptoms are at their worst after around 1.5 to 2 hours, but they can last longer.

 

Treatments for Lactose Intolerance

In people with lactose intolerance caused by an underlying condition, treating the condition might restore the body's ability to digest lactose, although that process can take months. For other causes, you might avoid the discomfort of lactose intolerance by following a low-lactose diet.

To lower the amount of lactose in your diet:

●        Limit milk and other dairy products

●        Include small servings of dairy products in your regular meals

●        Eat and drink lactose-reduced ice cream and milk

●        Add a liquid or powder lactase enzyme to milk to break down the lactose

●        Maintain good nutrition

●        Probiotics

With some trial and error, you might be able to predict your body's response to foods containing lactose and figure out how much you can eat or drink without discomfort. Few people have such severe lactose intolerance that they have to cut out all milk products and be wary of non-dairy foods or medications that contain lactose.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lactose-intolerance/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20374238

How does the disease affect society today?

Today there's around 60% of the population that deal with lactose intolerance. In the current world we find that many products such as sweets, drinks and other foods have a label on them saying “Contains Dairy” or “Lactose Free”, you can find this lael on almost any food product. This is usually to let the person know that a certain food contains this, and that it may not be good for them. 

Personal Experience

Speaking from my own personal experience, I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance when I was 12. Well, not exactly diagnosed, more like self diagnosed. I figured out there was something wrong with my stomach after I drank milk when I told my mother that I used the restroom around 3 times a day. My mom told me that was unnatural and something was wrong but I felt as though it was normal, because to me that was how my body had worked since forever. During this time I drank milk every morning, but as school started It became every evening. I went to yoga classes after that and noticed that my stomach began to hurt when I put on some sort of heat or did movement and I needed to use the restroom immediately. I told my mom and eventually she stopped giving me milk. I noticed that after that, my body felt a lot better. I wasn't bloated and I didnt use the restroom so often. I later found out my aunt and my grandmother had the same problem, and they didn't notice until later in their lives too. My stomach has a lot of problems other than my lactose intolerance but I try to not eat/drink anything with milk, especially hot milk (because for some reason they have a worse effect one me). I also try not to put too much pressure on my stomach if I do, or else I'll end up going to the restroom. Today I find that drinking cold milk is ok, but I get bloated and uncomfortable. So today, I try to stay clear of dairy products, which is kinda hard.