Diabetes mellitus is the second most common disease worldwide in both young and elderly people

Diabetes mellitus is the second most common disease worldwide in both young and elderly people.

Diabetes mellitus is a pancreatic disease associated with its inability to absorb, process and utilize glucose in the body. The hormone insulin is produced by special cells of the gland, finds excess glucose in the blood and excretes it through the kidneys. In the case of diabetes, one of the links in this complex chain will be broken. There are two options:

The first option: the cells that produce insulin die, there is no insulin in the body, glucose levels increase, type 1 diabetes develops.

The second option: pancreatic cells work normally, insulin is produced enough, but it does not recognize glucose and its level also rises. This is type 2 diabetes . 

Type 1 diabetes mellitus usually manifests itself, unfortunately, at a young or childhood age. The most common causes are : 

• genetic predisposition
• autoimmune destruction of cells responsible for insulin production
• deviation in the diet in favor of sweet and fatty foods (the pancreas, alas, can not cope with the load, and the cells that produce insulin die)

Causes of Type 2 Diabetes

• In the first place is banal obesity. As a result of excess body fat in the body, insulin receptors change their structure, and insulin cannot recognize them.
• Smoking; prolonged rest in an armchair and on a sofa; huge portions of five meals a day with an equally large dessert for a snack; overeating at night – also play a very large role in the development of diabetes.

Signs and symptoms of diabetes

1. A large amount of urine. Excess blood glucose is excreted in the urine (despite the fact that normally there is no glucose in the urine). Urine density rises, people often run to the toilet, especially at night.
2. Unquenchable thirst. Thirst arises due to the fact that the body removes a very large amount of fluid, the reserves of which need to be replenished.
3. Indomitable appetite. Since the body is unable to process glucose, a person constantly wants to eat in order to allegedly replenish the lack of glucose.
4. Losing weight. Patients lose weight due to a good metabolism of proteins and fats. Glucose is not absorbed by the body; consequently, it is not deposited in “problem” places and a person loses weight.

Symptoms characteristic of both types of diabetes:

1. Itching of mucous membranes and skin, dry skin
2. Dry mouth
3. Long healing wounds on the skin
4. General persistent weakness
5. Headache

Diabetes treatment

The treatment of diabetes is primarily aimed at normalizing carbohydrate metabolism in the body, reducing body weight and preventing complications. The primary step in the treatment of diabetes is diet. With type 1 diabetes mellitus, diet is a practical primary means to keep the disease in a reliable framework. It should include food that is easily digested. The amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates should be uniform.

To know for sure how to treat diabetes for each patient individually, endocrinologists advise keeping a nutrition diary where the patient writes down the amount of food eaten and drunk per day. This is done so that the doctor can choose an adequate dose of insulin and develop an individual diet.

Nutrition for type 1 diabetes is not distributed by the number of calories, but by the number of bread units. This is a kind of standard of the amount of food that is allowed to be eaten by the patient. A day, he should eat from 12 to 25 bread units (the so-called XE), taking into account physical activity, body weight, lifestyle. One bread unit is about 20 grams of bread. There are special tables that recalculate bread units into food products.

Diet for diabetes (what you need to eat):

1. Bread: rye, bran, wheat – up to 300 g per day
2. Main dishes:
   – soups on low-fat broths
   – meat and fish of low-fat varieties
   – cereals (buckwheat, wheat, oat) in a small amount
   – vegetables (any when converted to bread units)
3. Desserts:
   – sweet and sour fruits / berries
   – sweets with fructose (each store has special departments for diabetic sweets)
4. Dairy products. Everything is possible here except for sweet curds, yoghurts; spicy and salted cheeses
5. Drinks:
   – coffee with milk
   – compotes, sauces, unsweetened fresh juices

Products that are better not to eat if you have diabetes:

1. Of the main dishes, these are fatty broths, soups, meat and fish.
2. Cereals: semolina, rice; pasta.
3. Smoked sausages, canned food, salted fish, caviar, preservation and sauerkraut.
4. Almost all sweets are forbidden (including dark chocolate, ice cream and honey).
5. Spices, seasonings, sauces and heavy cream.
6. From drinks carbonated sweet water is not allowed, sweet juices (especially grape); alcohol is forever excluded.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus can be corrected with a properly selected diet in the early stages of the disease. In more severe cases, the doctor prescribes sugar-lowering drugs to the patient.

Medicines that reduce blood glucose levels: glibenclamide, metformin, siofor, glucophage, diabeton, diapyrid , diagnzid.  

Of herbal remedies, patients are best suited for various tinctures, decoctions and extracts. This is a decoction of burdock root, an infusion of walnut leaves, a decoction of elecampane.

Plants with sugar-lowering properties: lettuce, blueberries, mulberries, celery root, garlic, chicory. Various types of medicinal plants are usually sold in the pharmacy in the form of fees and teas that can be drunk with diabetes. They include all of the above plants.  

Summarizing, we can say that nutrition and diet for diabetes should be as consistent as possible with the so-called ” proper nutrition “.

Features of the course of type 1 diabetes in pregnant women

In pregnant women, diabetes is unstable, therefore, before pregnancy, it is necessary to enter the period of stable normal glucose levels and monitor it daily. During pregnancy, glucose levels can change frequently. In severe diabetes, the consequences are possible: miscarriage, late toxicosis, the threat of premature birth, difficult birth, fetal hypoxia. In physical and physiological terms, a child born to a mother with diabetes will have some deviations: children are born large, their fatty tissue is too developed; the likelihood of malformations is very high; mortality after birth is higher in those children whose mothers did not control the course of diabetes during pregnancy. In principle, women with diabetes can have children, but subject to several conditions:

– severe complications of diabetes mellitus (pathology of the retina, kidneys, brain vessels) – direct contraindication for pregnancy

– both parents have diabetes. The probability of diabetes in a newborn is almost 100%

– insulin-insensitive diabetes mellitus. Taking antidiabetic drugs during pregnancy will adversely affect the fetus.

Diabetes mellitus of any type requires close monitoring, diet and regular examination by an endocrinologist. In order to prevent vascular complications (vision problems, cardiovascular diseases), the examination should be done once every six months.