Diabetes has become a household name in Nigeria. It has become a common disease. Some have rightly expressed the fear that diabetes is becoming as common as Malaria fever. It manifests symptoms of discomfort and kills slowly. This is diabetes. Diabetes itself often leads to heart disease and 80% of diabetics will die of heart disease.
What is Diabetes?
There is more than one type of diabetes:
1. Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that can occur during pregnancy.
2. Type 3 Diabetes- is a term for insulin resistance in the brain-(Alzheimer’s disease).
3. Steroid-induced diabetes; Steroid such as Corticosteroids- used to reduce harmful inflammation but can lead to diabetes- (some Asthma drugs, rheumatoid arthritis drugs, Ulcerative drugs etc.)
4. Diabetes Insipidus (is not related to blood sugar-related diabetes mellitus but shares some of its signs and symptoms. It is simply excessive urination (polyuria) and complications thereof, caused by an antidiuretic hormone called vasopressin.
Then there are some that are combination of types of diabetes, such as:
1. Diabetes LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood).
2. Diabetes MODY (maturity onset diabetes of the young).
3. Double diabetes (a combination of the features of Type 1 and 2).
But the two major ones are:
1. Type I diabetes- an autoimmune disease (the body’s own immune system kills off its own insulin producing cells) where the pancreas produces very little insulin or no insulin at all. Therefore also called Insulin-dependent. This is more common in children. Type 1 diabetes affects 90% of people younger than 25 who have diabetes.
2. Type II diabetes – It used to be known as Adult onset, but today many young people are also coming down with this type, referred to as MODY. This is the more common one. It is the Non-insulin dependent.
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease involving metabolism of glucose. It involves the interruption, impairment or faulty functioning of a regulatory or controlling function in the body that takes care of glucose.
The Diabetes Type II is a slow, incredulous condition that gradually hits a dysfunctional threshold at which the person is then diagnosed “a diabetic”.
So what does this mean?
Metabolism is a term that is commonly used when speaking of the body’s use of food. For reasons that are becoming clearer to scientists, diabetes occurs when the signaling gates for glucose storage runs into problems.
Is diabetes a global health problem?
An estimated 285 million people, corresponding to 6.4% of the world's adult population, lived with diabetes in 2010. The number is expected to grow to 438 million by 2030, corresponding to 7.8% of the adult population.
Source: IDF, Diabetes Atlas, 4th
While the global prevalence of diabetes is 6.4%, the prevalence varies from 10.2% in the Western Pacific to 3.8% in the African region. However, the African region is expected to experience the highest increase.
70% of the current cases of diabetes occur in low- and middle-income countries.
Source: IDF, Diabetes Atlas, 4th edition
How is diabetes developed?
It develops gradually. The first stage is to develop a state referred to as “insulin Resistance”
This is a pre-diabetic status, meaning your body is in the process of working up to the diabetic diagnosis threshold.The person is often labeled as having metabolic syndrome, Syndrome X, or insulin resistance syndrome.
What is responsible for this gradual development?
This development results from chronic metabolic dysfunction. The stage is being set for insulin resistance following this pattern:
1. When chronic caloric intake is in excess, more than the need of the body, excess glucose storage builds up in all cells of the body.
2. The cells then build up a defense to limit inflow of glucose by limiting the number of “gates” thereby disallowing glucose from entering cells.
3. The result is Glucose blood levels climb. The body responds by secreting more insulin and eliminating glucose in the urine. Insulin’s work is to move glucose (sugar) from bloodstream into cells; assist in moving fat from bloodstream into storage cells; keep stored fat from “leaking” back into bloodstream and convert excess protein and sugar (or starch) into fat storage.
4. The high calorie food comes from fat primarily. Fat begins to coat the receptor sites on the cell membranes where insulin normally attaches to transport glucose inside cell.
5. Pancreas starts putting out additional insulin to force glucose into cells in response to signals that blood glucose level isn’t going down. Pancreas becomes exhausted. –Pancreas unable to produce sufficient insulin to meet demand.
So, Diabetes Type II is a lifestyle-induced dis-ease. Do we eat that much fat and high calorie foods in this part of the world?
Dietary fat consumption in the average Nigerian diet has increased gradually and markedly over the last 50 years. We have perfected how to make all kinds of oil! At the same time, consumption of complex carbohydrates has decreased significantly, while sugar and simple carbohydrates (that convert quickly to sugar in the body) have increased dramatically. The two lifestyle behaviors that enormously influence developing (or not developing) diabetes are diet and exercise.
How can one be protected?
1. Limit drastically or avoid totally butter, margarine, grease, cooking oil and salad oils. They are 100% fat. Meat, cheeses, eggs, and whole milk average 50% to 80% calories as fat.
2. Increase your fiber intake. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans are foods high in fiber, low in fat and free of cholesterol.
This is the way to prevent chronic, non-communicable diseases and help to reverse coronary heart diseases and most adult diabetes. This is the way to go to enjoy better health and feel more energetic. And if you are overweight you can drop that excess weight by still eating a higher volume of this.
Is it safe to do away with the animal foods mentioned above?
Animal diet is high in fat, protein and cholesterol, and has no fiber at all. Studies after studies have linked this diet to increased rates of cancer, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. A lot has been discovered about the role of diet in diseases.
The Physicians committee for Responsible Medicine recommends a plant based food groups instead of the one by the 1956 food groups given by the USA agriculture department that makes animal food two of the 4 food groups. Now, we have a healthier four-food group;
1. Whole grains- ½ c hot cereal, 1 c dry cereal, one slice of whole grain bread
2. Vegetables – 1 cup raw, ½ cooked
3. Legumes -1/2 c cooked beans, 1/c tofu
4. Fruits – 1 medium size fruit, ½ c cooked fruit, ¼ c dried fruit
Make this four food groups the foundation of your diet by eating more of these foods. And do not eat fried foods.
Can frying food do any harm?
It sure does cause a lot of harm. The common vegetable oils used are unstable at the high temperature needed to fry food. The chemistry is altered and free radicals, trans fats and other harmful substances are formed, while antioxidant and other healthy elements are destroyed. And every time the oil is reused more damage is done. These changes are associated with damage to the immune system resulting in cancer and other degenerating diseases. If for any reason you must fry (highly discouraged) then you must never use the oil more than once. And if you use oil the recommended one is extra virgin Olive oil. It is not refined but pressed and it also contains its own phytochemicals.
Exercise is also very crucial to understand in this disease. How does that help and how can exercise be incorporated into our busy life?
Deliberate activity
• Increases the bowel’s ability to contract
• Increases the bowel’s mobility
• Relieves constipation
• Increases appetite & enjoyment of food
• Moderate exercise helps regulate and balance hormones
• Helps control blood sugar levels
• Produces endorphins (feel good chemicals in the body). All these improves dysfunctioning- faulty metabolism that we just talked about.
Start gradually and build up to where you can walk, garden, wash your car etc outdoors for 30 – 1 hour six days in a week
Marian O Atolagbe, ND
heavenlymanna2020@gmail.com
+234 705 071 1322
