Diabetes is a metabolic disease that has affected a population of up to 18.2 million people in the US. Diabetes manifestation in the human body happens when the blood sugar levels are beyond optimal for a long period in order To control the disease manifestation in the human body, blood sugar levels can be controlled and managed in various ways, including diet, exercise, insulin injection and medication. Diabetes exists in its three main types based on the factor of age and gender, from which type 1 diabetes primarily affects children and people of young age. There is type II diabetes which is common in a population of 40 years and beyond. The third category is gestational diabetes which affects the female gender during pregnancy.
Diabetes is a group of complex metabolic disorders which result in hyperglycemia. These metabolic disorders vary from person to person based on various factors, including; Overweight issues, hereditary factors, and the pancreas, where the beta cell are located (Jadhav, 2016). Hyperglycemia can cause blurred vision, nerve problems, dry skin effects, kidney issues, and retinopathy. Diet is the major and primary option to control and prevent blood levels from accumulating in our bodies. As diabetes disease depends on blood sugar levels, there is the need to understand the amount and the concentration of sugars in the type’s food intake in terms of fats, carbohydrates and proteins. The major reflection of diet concerns is to regulate the sugars in the bloodstream so the Insulin can manage the sugar levels in your bloodstream. There is no known cure for Diabetes; however, exercise and medication control hyperglycemia conditions.
Introduction
Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic disease characterized by high blood sugars in the blood. There is possibly two cause of the disease; the can be a situation where the body may fail to use the Insulin optimally, or there might be a case where the body may fail to produce the Insulin. Both cases result in the hyperglycemia condition, therefore the manifestation of Diabetes Mellitus when the condition is prolonged in either of the cases, which at times may occur at the same time, i.e. the body may fail to properly use the Insulin and fail to produce Insulin all at the same time. Extreme effects of the disease may cause blindness, leg amputation, kidney failure and death. Diabetes Mellitus is number three on the list of the leading causes of the rising mortality rates in the United States (Magee, 2014).
Normal anatomy of the body system is affected
Energy is primarily the basic unit of life itself, and the human body manufactures its energy from the absorbed sugars through digestion. The digestion process starts from the moment food gets into the mouth. The food is broken into tiny, permeable sugars that are absorbed into the bloodstream through digestion. The insulin factor controls the admission of these sugars into the bloodstream, which then the cells admit these sugars and break them down to produce energy. When our bodies may fail to use Insulin or produce Insulin into the bloodstream properly, the condition contributes to hyperglycemia; unregulated sugar admission into the cells and sugar concentration in the blood accumulating within a prolonged period results in Diabetes Mellitus disease. A membrane encloses the body cells; the Insulin regulates the membrane in the insulin receptors regarding when to allow the sugars into the cells. When the insulin attachment is successful on the receptor keys, the sugars are absorbed through the cell membrane into the cell, where they are burned to produce energy (Beaser, 2008).
Normal physiological body system affected
A membrane encloses the body cells with insulin receptors. The insulin receptors control and regulate the levels of sugar admission into the bloodstream when the Insulin in the bloodstream successfully attaches to the receptors. In the pancreas, Insulin is produced by the Beta Cells located at the tail of the pancreas. Beta Cells produce and store the Insulin until when the body needs it. Glycogen, a hormone produced in the pancreas, is used to raise the sugar levels and combined with Insulin, they balance the body’s sugars. The pancreas is also home to other various enzymes that help in the process of breaking down the food into smaller absorbable substances during the digestion process. When the body fails to manage the insulin within the pancreas, this results in more absorption of the sugars into the bloodstream and, with time, results in diabetes disease.
- The eye
The hyperglycemia conditions cause blurred vision from leakage(s) of the fluid into the lens, and the lens adjusts to the changes in vision. When you start the diabetes treatment, the distorted images and blurred vision get better within a few weeks. The disease’s extreme damage to the eye is retinopathy, bleeding of the small vessels of the eye in the retina; this may damage the retina resulting in blindness.
- Nerves
Prolonged high blood sugar levels have various advanced effects on the nerve system characterized by a painful experience known as neuropathy. The pain is like pins piercing through the skin and feeling like you are on a pair of gloves, and in extreme cases, you cannot feel the hands, legs, or both. Diabetic people may often feel dizziness when sitting or standing up from a lying position.
- Kidney
The kidney is a very special organ where blood purification is done as waste products and from the bloodstream, and other substances are filtered through the kidney. High blood sugar levels can damage the small kidney filters resulting in kidney failure (Beaser, 2008).
- Dry Skin
High sugar levels in the bloodstream may cause dehydration, especially when the blood sugars are beyond optimal and there is no proper control. It results in inadequate fluid in the tissues and dry skin. Diabetes may result in a skin condition called Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum, it is a harmless condition where the affected areas of the skin seem to be shiny, and the danger involved is that the skin can burst open in rare cases.
- Feet
Foot problems are the most common and significant effects of diabetes. When a person with diabetes is overweight, all the load is on the feet and bending can be exhausting for a person with diabetes, as well as having a clear sight on the feet to extend some carefully considered blurred vision characterized by diabetes. Diabetic people are at high risk of getting foot infections which in extreme cases results in amputation (Beaser, 2008).
Mechanism of Diabetes Mellitus
The disease manifestations occur in three types:
- Type 1 Diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes results from inadequate or production failure of the Insulin in the body. It is most common in children and younger adults as the primary cause of insufficient Insulin in the body may be attributed to the failure of the immune system. The immune system produces antibodies that are harmful or destroy the beta cells affecting the production of Insulin and therefore causing an accumulation of sugars in the blood. Type 1 diabetes is manifested when the condition is not controlled for a prolonged period.
- Type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes, like type 1, results from insufficient insulin in the body, mainly from the secondary factors that affect metabolism. These factors include damaged or inadequate beta cells, overweight, or hereditary factors. It is the most common of the three types of the disease, with almost up to 90% of the diabetic population.
- Gestational Diabetes.
Pregnant women experience this type of diabetes. It is common during the third pregnancy as the body may fail to produce the amounts of insulin required by the body during pregnancy. Insulin injection should be administered to help with the condition, which can worsen after birth when the condition is persistent for a prolonged period.
Approximately three per cent of the US population has diabetes, with 13 million officially testing positive for the disease among the 18.2 million potentially at risk of hyperglycemia. Diabetes is a chronic condition which most likely catches up with age. Currently, a population of 18.3% among those 60 years and beyond are positive with diabetes mellitus (Jadhav, 2016).
Prevention and Control
- Diet
The pancreas does not automatically have diabetes and adapts to the type of food you feed. Therefore there is a need for diabetic people to understand the content of the food they should eat according to how they are breakdown and what amounts of sugars they break. Diabetic people under insulin injection prescriptions should observe a manual change in their diet to maintain the normal range of blood sugars.
Carbohydrates contain more sugars than proteins and fats, and therefore, diabetic patients should opt to feed on cereals, lentils and peas as their sources of starch. Cereals provide optimal starch required and regulate the fats absorbed into the blood, thus controlling blood sugar levels. Diabetic people should avoid junk food with loads of sugar (Magee, 2016)r.
Proteins also help in the control of blood sugars. Diabetic people should feed on less fat proteins like lean meat. They contain enzymes that help break down the starch in the bloodstream into sugars. Fats are responsible for transporting these proteins, which break down into calories that help reduce body weight. Fats can be sourced from protein fats like cheese and peanuts (Magee, 2016).
- Medication
There are only two types of medication with a common objective of boosting insulin levels when the glucose concentration in the bloodstream is at its highest. Some use pills to boost the natural production of Insulin from the beta cells, and some use insulin injections. Patients using Insulin injections should be administered with the cautiousness of time factor. There are different types of Insulin, with particular types having an instant effect and others having a delayed effect. The injection should be in a way that considers the other activities of exercising and feeding (Beaser, 2008).
- Exercise
Exercises help maintain the sugar levels as cells get to use the available insulin in the body during exercise. Exercise also helps cut body weight, so the level of insulin demand on the body may optimize with the current needed levels, which come with reduced weight.
Treatment
There is no particular cure for the disease. The only remedy for diabetic people is to observe their dietary behaviours to maintain their blood sugars within the normal range and exercise so the body can use Insulin to avoid sugar accumulation in the bloodstream. Medication is for patients who need to manually control their blood sugars through injection or pills to increase their insulin content when the blood sugar shoots (Beaser, 2008).
Conclusion
Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic disease that no one would wish to have. It is characterized by a hyperglycemia condition that diabetic people can control through medication, diet and exercise. Self-education on blood sugar management and control is the only remedy for its prevention (Jadhav, 2016).
Reference
Beaser, R. S. (2008). The Joslin Guide to Diabetes: A program for managing your treatment. Simon and Schuster.
Jadhav, S. (2016). HOW TO HANDLE DIABETES (JUVENILE) IN CLASSROOM?. International Journal of Research in Informative Science Application & Techniques (IJRISAT), 1(2).
Magee, E. (2014). Tell me what to eat if I have diabetes: Nutrition you can live with. Red Wheel/Weiser.
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