Diabetes and diet

Diabetes mellitus is one of the so-called diseases of lifestyle that is starting to occur more and more frequently in South Africa.
While one of the most important things to remember if you are diabetic, is that you need to consult a clinical dietitian to have an individual diet worked out for you, here is certain basic information about diabetes that may prove useful.
Individuals who suffer from diabetes all have raised blood sugar or glucose levels. The cause of these high blood sugar levels is either an inability to produce enough insulin (a hormone made by the pancreas), or a decrease in the sensitivity of body cells to insulin, so-called insulin resistance.
The food we eat is digested and broken down into simple components. One of these simple components is called glucose which is obtained from carbohydrate breakdown.
Glucose is the main source of energy in the body and this is why it is so important to be able to transport the glucose from the digestive tract via the blood to each and every cell in the human body. The hormone insulin is responsible for carrying glucose over the “wall” of the cell membrane into the cell.
If you don’t make sufficient insulin or have insulin resistant cells in your body, you will not be able to transport glucose over the cell membrane and your body cells will literally “starve” due to a lack of glucose as an energy source. At the same time, the glucose levels in the blood will rise because glucose is not being removed from the blood and transported into the cells, hence the high blood glucose levels.

Two kinds of diabetes

People suffering from diabetes are usually divided into two categories, namely:

Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, or Type I diabetesThese patients do not make sufficient insulin to meet the needs of the body. Type I diabetes is most often diagnosed in children and adolescents. Treatment consists of taking insulin injections, combined with a special diet and controlled amounts of exercise.
Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, or Type II diabetesPatients with Type II diabetes often make some insulin but not in sufficient quantities to meet the need of their bodies and/or have become resistant to the insulin their bodies produce. This type of diabetes is more common in adults and older people. In some cases Type II diabetes can be controlled by diet alone, while a combination of oral medications, diet, weight loss and exercise is used in other cases.

How do I know if I have diabetes?

The following symptoms tend to occur when you have diabetes:

a) Symptoms associated with uncontrolled, high blood sugar levels

* weight loss (can occur even if you are eating well and have a good appetite)
* uncontrollable thirst
* increase in urination (without having a bladder or kidney infection)
* blurred vision
* bad abdominal pains
* tendency to develop infections and sores that do not heal quickly or well
* feelings of exhaustion
* inability to concentrate

On the other hand, blood sugar levels can also drop too read more