Home | Indian Cuisine | Diabetes
  
  What is Diabetes  
  Diabetes mellitus is a condition in which the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly. Glucose comes from the digestion of starchy foods such as bread, rice, potatoes, chapatis, yams and plantain, from sugar and other sweet foods, and from the liver which makes glucose.

Insulin is vital for life. It is a hormone produced by the pancreas, that helps the glucose to enter the cells where it is used as fuel by the body. The main symptoms of untreated diabetes are increased thirst, going to the loo all the time – especially at night, extreme tiredness, weight loss, genital itching or regular episodes of thrush, and blurred vision.		  
     
 
Types of Diabetes
 
 
Type 1 Diabetes develops if the body is unable to produce any insulin. This type of diabetes usually appears before the age of 40. It is treated by insulin injections and diet and regular exercise is recommended.

Type 2 Diabetes develops when the body can still make some insulin, but not enough, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance). This type of diabetes usually appears in people over the age of 40, though often appears before the age of 40 in South Asian and African-Caribbean people. It is treated by diet and exercise alone or by diet, exercise and tablets or by diet, exercise and insulin injections.

The main aim of treatment of both types of diabetes is to achieve blood glucose and blood pressure levels as near to normal as possible. This, together with a healthy lifestyle, will help to improve wellbeing and protect against long-term damage to the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and major arteries.
 
     
  The main symptoms of diabetes are  
 
  • Increased thirst
  • Going to the loo all the time – especially at night
  • Extreme tiredness
  • Weight loss
  • Genital itching or regular episodes of thrush
  • Blurred vision.
 
     
  Causes of Diabetes  
 
     Diabetes develops when the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas have been destroyed. Nobody knows for sure why these cells have been damaged but the most likely cause is an abnormal reaction of the body to the cells. This may be triggered by a viral or other infection. This type of diabetes generally affects younger people. Both sexes are affected equally.
     Diabetes used to be called 'maturity onset' diabetes because it usually appears in middle-aged or elderly people, although it does occasionally appear in younger people. The main causes are that the body no longer responds normally to its own insulin, and/or that the body does not produce enough insulin. People who are overweight are particularly likely to develop this type of Diabetes.
     There are some other causes of diabetes, including certain diseases of the pancreas, but they are all very rare. Sometimes an accident or an illness may reveal diabetes if it is already there, but they do not cause it.