Among the most common chronic diseases, diabetes mellitus is far from the last place in the modern world. This disease is manifested by an increased level of glucose in the blood cells. In a healthy person, the corresponding value is always normal, regardless of the amount of sweets consumed. It's all about the presence of insulin in the body - a special hormone that the pancreas secretes. It is he who breaks down glucose.
Patients with diabetes also have insulin in their blood, but it is either not enough or, due to a special pathology of blood cells, is not able to cope with its functions. The statistics are disappointing: many people skip the early stages of disease development, begin its course, and only turn to specialists when symptoms become severe enough to interfere with normal life and work.
disease types
The disease manifests itself through several symptoms. Different forms of this disease occur for different reasons and have different pathogenesis. In itself, the term "diabetes" is quite extensive. Experts distinguish 2 types of the disease.
type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is insulin dependent. It is most often diagnosed in young people whose age does not exceed 40 years. This is a disease in which the blood cells are filled with sugar. This is due to antibodies that destroy insulin. The disease, the occurrence of which is associated with the presence of such antibodies, is not completely cured.
Diagnosing this disease involves conducting serious laboratory tests. Such a diagnosis is not made based on the photo, so you should not trust people who try to tell a person about his illness without even seeing the test results. At the first suspicion of a disease, you should immediately contact a medical institution.
People suffering from type 1 diabetes tend to have a slim physique. You will need regular insulin injections from diagnosis to the end of your life. The medical history of such patients is standard. The disease is hereditary.
Those who have had diabetes in their family have a genetic predisposition to the disease. They may have a chronic variant of this type of disease. It can be caused by a variety of viruses and bacteria, as well as severe or long-term stress. Due to such negative factors, antibodies are formed that can destroy the cells responsible for the presence of insulin.
Type 2 diabetes
Independent of insulin, the second type of disease is often diagnosed in older people. This is a variant of the disease characterized by the inability of insulin to cope with its main function. Sugar cannot be broken down by itself and accumulates in the blood. Gradually, the cells of the body develop an "addiction" to insulin. The hormone itself is produced, there is no shortage of it, but glucose in the cells is not broken down.
The insulin-independent variant of this disease has its own progressive development. As a rule, this disease is detected in people over forty years old, but sometimes in children. Patients suffering from this type of diabetes mellitus are overweight. The blood cells of such people can no longer perceive the effect of insulin.
Characteristics of type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is the result of insufficient secretion (release) of insulin by the pancreas. Specialists point out characteristic symptoms that make it possible to suspect the presence of this disease in a person even in the early stages. These include: a constant feeling of thirst, excessive urination, fatigue, a chronic feeling of weakness. It is necessary to determine the level of glucose and insulin in the blood. If the diagnosis is confirmed, treatment is immediately prescribed, otherwise the patient may develop ulcers and a variety of other complications.
Why does type 1 diabetes develop? Classical medicine gives a clear answer to this question. The main cause of this disease is a disease of the pancreas, in which the production of insulin stops or is significantly slowed down. It is also worth noting that pregnant women suffer from what is known as gestational diabetes, which is associated with the risk of developing an insulin-dependent form of the disease.
Let's not forget to discuss topics and very specific symptoms. Type 1 diabetes is often accompanied by the formation of the odor of acetone in the oral cavity. These are the body's first bells, designed to alert and encourage a person to contact a specialist. The sooner the patient comes to the doctor in this case, the more likely it is that the disease can be detected at an early stage. Often, however, people, especially men, fail to see a specialist and live a year or more unaware of their diagnosis until it becomes completely unbearable.
Indirect signs of diabetes mellitus form 1 are:
- Complications in the treatment of infectious diseases;
- Poor wound healing;
- heaviness in the legs;
- pain in the calf muscles;
It is also important to remember that people suffering from this disease need to constantly monitor their own blood pressure and use modern medicines to maintain its normal state. Specific drugs should be prescribed exclusively by a specialist, based on the diagnosis and individual characteristics of the patient.
How do you recognize type 1 diabetes?
The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined the procedures that people must go through if they suspect the presence of this disease. Your list includes:
- blood test for glucose;
- glucose tolerance study;
- detection of glucose levels in urine;
- Calculation of percentage of glycated hemoglobin;
- Detection of insulin and C-peptide in the blood.
You should know that blood for analysis must be taken on an empty stomach. The results of the study are compared with the values \u200b\u200bof the glucose level in a special table. If this level:
- Does not reach 6. 1 mmol / l - there is no hyperglycemia, the disease is excluded;
- It is in the range of 6. 1-7. 0 mmol / l - the level of glycemia is close to the maximum allowable;
- Exceeds 7. 0 mmol / l - the presence of a disease is very likely, but an accurate diagnosis requires additional confirmation.
The prediabetic state of a person is indicated by violations of glucose tolerance - increased glycemia, which, however, has not yet exceeded the permissible limits. A patient with such findings requires further monitoring and prophylaxis.
How is type 1 diabetes treated?
There are the following treatments for this disease: a special diet, exercise, medication.
Properly selected nutritional system will help alleviate the main symptoms of diabetes. The main task of nutrition is to limit the absorption of sugar in the body as much as possible.
How is the disease treated? In situations with type 1 disease, regular insulin injections are indispensable in most cases. Experts determine the optimal daily dose of this hormone for each patient individually.
Preparations containing insulin are absorbed into the blood at different rates and have different effects. It is necessary to choose the right injection sites. There are several variants of this hormone:
- Short-acting insulin: its effects are felt almost immediately;
- Intermediate insulin is supplied to the body by a special preparation containing substances that slow down the absorption of the hormone. This drug works for about 10 hours;
- Long-acting insulin. It is supplied to the body through a number of special drugs. It should take around 14 hours to reach the peak of potency. The tumult is valid for at least a day and a half.
As a rule, patients carry out the introduction of drugs themselves, having learned how to give themselves injections under the guidance of a specialist.
The doctor will create a special treatment regimen based on the patient's presentation, taking into account such factors as:
- Growth;
- The weight;
- Age;
- susceptibility to insulin.
If a patient with diabetes is overweight, then a mandatory treatment and preventive measure is to reduce the proportion of high-calorie foods in the menu. It is harmful to use canned food, fatty meat, smoked foods, sour cream, mayonnaise, nuts and many fruits. We must forget sweets. This is especially difficult when the condition is diagnosed in children or women who tend to self-indulge.
We need to look for ways to reduce the amount of high-calorie foods. An energy deficit develops and the body consumes fatty tissue. However, it should be noted that you cannot bring yourself to energy exhaustion.
Physical activity helps lower blood sugar levels. Moderate workload required. Exercises should be carried out regularly and in doses. You don't have to exhaust yourself with heavy weights. Enough aerobic exercise.
The so-called insulin pumps can significantly improve the quality of life of patients. These are devices from the world of electronics that accurately determine the level of glucose in the blood and, based on the readings obtained, independently make dosed insulin injections. They make treatment more effective and minimize the risk of complications.
How should insulin preparations be stored?
Opened bottles can be stored at room temperature for no longer than six weeks. They should be kept in places where sunlight or artificial light does not penetrate. Do not store insulin-containing preparations in the immediate vicinity of heat sources.
The inadmissibility of using the drug is indicated by the formation in the vial of a film or characteristic clots that visually resemble flakes. This signal plays an important role. Taking an expired drug threatens to aggravate problems with the disease and can even lead to fatal consequences.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus
The pancreas of people with type 2 diabetes produces enough insulin on its own, but the body cannot absorb this hormone due to malfunctioning cell receptors. Glucose is not processed properly, causing damage to blood vessels and internal organs. This can be especially dangerous during pregnancy. However, the insulin-independent form is typical for older people.
Diabetes of the second variety is formed for certain reasons, the main of which are considered obesity and genetic predisposition to this disease. According to statistics, about 80% of patients with type 2 diabetes are obese. Can you fully recover by reducing your own body weight? The answer here will be negative, but as a preventive measure, this measure can be very effective. According to generally accepted scientific opinion, an excess of fat cells prevents the body from using insulin.
Symptoms and complications of type 2 diabetes
Symptoms of the first and second types of the disease are similar in many respects: severe thirst is accompanied by excessive urination, a person constantly feels unwell - weakness and fatigue, bouts of irritability, sometimes nausea and vomiting.
Particular attention should be paid to possible complications. According to the latest International Classification of Diseases (MBC 10), their list is quite extensive and causes considerable concern among patients. When the blood is full of glucose, pathological changes in almost all internal organs are inevitable. In the advanced stage of the disease, the patient is even awarded a disability.
In patients with type 2 diabetes, the risk of heart attack and stroke, all types of kidney disease and visual impairment are significantly increased. Even small wounds take a long time to heal. Sometimes the disease can lead to gangrene, which may require amputation of the injured limb. The list of complications for men completes impotence. Such a serious list of negative aspects forces specialists to continue to look for ways of today's most effective therapy.
What is useful if you notice signs of illness?
At the first suspicion of diabetes type 2, a medical examination is urgently required. People who are aware of their genetic predisposition to this disease should regularly check their blood and urine sugar levels. This is especially true for people over the age of 50, as well as anyone who is overweight.
If the diagnosis is already established, the patient should be under medical supervision and regularly visit a specialist.
For people with type 2 diabetes, doctors prescribe:
- control of glucose and cholesterol levels and body weight;
- Change your own diet by putting low-calorie foods on your menu that should contain as little sugar as possible. You need to eat more complex carbohydrates and foods with plant fiber;
- Do sports regularly.
Patients must learn to independently determine the level of glucose in the blood. Nowadays there are special devices that make it easy to do this at home. They are called glucometers.
It is necessary to constantly adhere to strict self-control. Treatment is inextricably linked to nutritional therapy and exercise. These points effectively complement the therapy through the use of sugar-lowering drugs, which are referred to in medicine as incretin mimetics. Most often these are tablets and not injections, as is the case with insulin-containing medicines.
A specific drug should be prescribed exclusively by a doctor based on all the data he has on the patient. He must determine the frequency of follow-up visits individually. It is necessary to do a lot of tests to determine what the general condition of the patient is, whether there is a risk of developing complications, the prevention of which requires additional treatment.
Using the results of numerous scientific studies, experts were able to determine that with weight loss, the disease acquires a weaker form. As a result, the symptoms are less distressing for the patients and their quality of life improves significantly.
Recently, a new cure, the Chinese Diabetes Patch, has been widely promoted in the media. Its manufacturers promise an almost miraculous effect and urge you not to save money and buy their products. Conventional physicians, however, are skeptical about this treatment option. If you read reviews of this patch on the Internet, they are extremely contradictory. Some write that they supposedly helped. Others are completely disappointed with this remedy.
preventive measures
Relevant experts in the field of medicine have long proved that stress is a provoking factor in the development of many diseases. It can also contribute to the onset of diabetes, so you shouldn't worry and try to be no less responsive to any problems in life.
As mentioned above, you should exercise and watch your own diet. There are specially designed diets that are beneficial to the health of such patients. If you strictly follow the doctor's recommendations, you can significantly improve the quality of your own life and get rid of a significant part of the symptoms associated with this disease.
It is necessary to exclude certain products from the menu. Often specialists prescribe the so-called Diet 9. Its goal is to minimize the consumption of foods that contain a large amount of carbohydrates. It has been proven that in patients using this diet, the work of the pancreas improves significantly.
Which products may be consumed? Their list includes: low-fat meat and fish varieties; cabbage, cucumber, eggplant, tomato and zucchini; Buckwheat, barley, millet and oatmeal. Apples and strawberries are also allowed, but in moderation. Dairy products may only be consumed low in fat. After such a meal, the blood sugar level does not rise to an unacceptable level.
When choosing a menu for medicinal purposes, the structural composition of food is necessarily taken into account. The diet should include:
- 55% animal protein (80-90 grams).
- 30% vegetable fat (70-80 grams).
- 300-350 grams of carbohydrates.
- 12 grams table salt
- One and a half liters of liquid.
Consume no more than 2200-2400 kcal per day. You need to eat 5-6 times a day and "spread" the intake of carbohydrates evenly over time. Sugar needs to be eliminated. Sweet dishes are prepared in small quantities and only with sugar substitutes such as stevia, sorbitol or xylitol.
Salt consumption should also be limited. The method of preparation is important. Boiled and baked dishes should prevail in the diet. A minimum amount of fried and steamed food is permitted for consumption. There are recipes specifically for diabetics. By following them, you can cook delicious dishes that will not harm your health.
During the day you need to stick to a specific menu. So diet number 9 can be represented by:
- Morning: tea, buckwheat porridge, fat-free cottage cheese, milk;
- Second meal: wheat bran (cooked);
- Lunch: cabbage soup with sunflower oil (vegetarian), groats, boiled meat with milk sauce;
- Afternoon snack: a small amount of apples;
- Dinner: boiled fish baked in milk sauce, as well as cabbage dishes.
What do you eat during the week?
Table number 9 is the result of the work of Soviet nutritionists. They created a dining option suitable for specialized sanatoriums. The ninth table significantly increases the effectiveness of complex therapy.
This is what the menu for the week looks like:
Monday
- Breakfast: chicory, fat-free cottage cheese with milk, porridge (buckwheat).
- Lunch: 200 ml milk.
- Lunch: vegetarian cabbage soup, white breast of bird, grits.
- Afternoon: apple.
- Dinner: boiled fish, tea, cabbage dishes.
- Before bed: a glass of low-fat yoghurt.
Tuesday
- First meal: barley, chicken egg, chicory, stewed cabbage.
- Lunch: a glass of milk (only low-fat is suitable).
- Lunch: mashed potatoes, boiled beef liver, cucumber soup, dried fruit compote.
- Afternoon snack: grits.
- Dinner: boiled chicken, stewed cabbage.
- Before bedtime: low-fat kefir.
Wednesday
- The first meal: fat-free cottage cheese and milk, chicory, porridge.
- Lunch: a pot of jam.
- Lunch: borscht, boiled meat, buckwheat porridge, tea.
- Afternoon snack: one or two pears.
- Dinner: salad or vinaigrette, egg, tea.
- Before bed: a glass of low-fat yoghurt.
Thursday
- The first meal: buckwheat porridge, chicory, low-fat cottage cheese.
- Second breakfast: kefir.
- Lunch: lean borscht, compote of dried fruits, boiled meat.
- Afternoon snack: unsweetened pear.
- For dinner: cabbage schnitzel, boiled fish or low-fat teas.
- Before bed: a glass of fat-free yogurt.
Friday
- First meal: egg, a little butter, vinaigrette without potatoes with sunflower oil, chicory.
- Lunch: apple.
- Lunch: sauerkraut, stew or boiled meat, soup with peas.
- Afternoon snack: some fresh fruit.
- Dinner: pudding with vegetables, boiled poultry meat, tea.
- Before bedtime: a glass of curdled milk.
Saturday
- First meal: millet porridge, chicory, some doctor sausage.
- Lunch: wheat bran.
- Lunch: boiled meat, mashed potatoes, seafood soup.
- Afternoon snack: a glass of low-fat kefir.
- Dinner: low-fat cottage cheese, tea, oatmeal.
Sunday
- First meal: chicken egg, chicory, buckwheat porridge.
- Lunch: an apple or two.
- Lunch: beef chops, light vegetable soup, barley porridge.
- Afternoon snack: skimmed milk.
- Dinner: vegetable salad, boiled fish, mashed potatoes.
- Before bedtime: low-fat kefir.
Folk methods of treatment
In folk medicine, there are many recipes that help against high blood sugar with varying degrees of effectiveness. Certified doctors are often skeptical about such methods of treatment, but do not forbid patients to use them in conjunction with the main therapy. This "integrated approach" often gives positive results and allows patients to reduce the manifestation of painful symptoms.
The most effective recipes of traditional medicine:
- An egg with added lemon juice helps as a preventive measure. Shake the contents of one raw egg, add the juice of one lemon. Reception 50-60 minutes before meals, 3 days, in the morning. After ten days, the course can be repeated.
- Eat baked onions in the morning for a month.
- A good way to lower your glucose levels is to consume some mustard or flaxseed and blackcurrant leaf tea daily.
- Using freshly squeezed potato juice will help lower sugar levels. Raspberries and white cabbage are also used.
- White mulberry tincture (2 tablespoons) is prepared by pouring boiling water (2 cups), steeping time is 2-3 hours, taken three times a day.
- Do not forget about such a folk remedy as a decoction of oats. Pour a tablespoon of oat grains with water (one and a half glasses) and boil for 15 minutes. The course is 3 R / D 15-20 minutes before meals.
- Helps cinnamon - half a teaspoon a day. Take with tea.
- Grind oak acorns until a powder is formed. Course - 1 h / l in the morning on an empty stomach, as well as immediately before bedtime for seven days.
- Pour walnut fans (40 g) with boiling water (500 ml) and put on fire. Boil ten minutes. Insist until soft and drink 1 tbsp / l half an hour before meals.
- Pour boiling water (half a liter) aspen bark (2 tablespoons), put on fire and boil for about 10 minutes. Having insisted, drink half a glass before eating.
- An effective infusion is prepared from a glass of boiling water poured over cloves (20 pieces). Insist overnight, drink exactly a third of a glass three times a day. Do not remove used cloves, add a pinch in the evening, pour boiling water again, etc. The duration of treatment is six months.
- In half a liter of boiling water, brew two tablespoons of nettle mixture with rowanberries in the ratio: three to seven. Leave on for about three to four hours. Take half a glass twice a day.
- Burdock roots (20 g) pour boiling water (a glass), boil in a water bath for about 10 minutes. The course is 3 times a day for a table / bed before meals.
All information provided to readers in the article is for informational purposes only. Before you put the information you have gained into practice, be sure to seek advice from a competent specialist on the possible consequences!