Talk about diabetes. Practical Physician Tips
We will talk about a fairly common disease – diabetes and the factors predisposing to it. The full (medical) name of this disease is Diabetes Mellitus. Both of these words are of Greek origin. The first of these, translated into Russian, means “freely expiring” (this part of the name of the disease is inspired by the increased urination of patients with it). The second part of the name of this disease is translated by the phrase “sweet, like honey” (“mell” – in Greek – honey).
The explanation of this strange phrase again rests on the emergence of the special properties of urine in people with diabetes. Flies and all kinds of midges fly together on this urine. The spots left by drops of this urine on any surface are sticky. The same drops in case of accidental contact with the mouth cause a sensation of the taste of something sweet.
The Greek term “diabetes” in Russian was reduced to the word “diabetes” with the obligatory prefix “sugar” because of those with this disease, firstly – sweet (“almost like sugar”) urine; secondly, an excessive sugar content is found in the blood (although in the form of glucose monosaccharide “; the food sugar molecule consists of two more simple glucose molecules); and thirdly, the addition of the epithet “sugar” contrasts diabetes with a completely different disease, also called diabetes, but with the addition of the epithet “non-sugar”. In this article, we will ignore this – “non-sugar”, diabetes.
It will be useful to lift the veil over the role of glucose in the vital functions of the body. Without fear of exaggeration, it can be argued that the role of glucose in a person’s life is enormous. Because glucose is the energy supplier for the cells that make up our body. The human heart has been working non-stop for many decades precisely because it draws energy from the glucose delivered to its cells. Our muscles contract when doing any work, again drawing energy from the glucose they consume. Our internal organs contain smooth muscle cells. They work (and with them the rest of the cells of these organs) again, using glucose as an energy source.
The same can be said about the cells of the brain and spinal cord, their processes and places of junction with the processes of other cells of the same kind (these places are called synapses).
Glucose, entering into a chemical compound with oxygen, is converted to carbon dioxide and water. Carbon dioxide we exhale. Water is excreted in sweat, urine and exhaled air (it always contains water vapors that are clearly visible in frosty weather).
Well, we breathe in order to provide the body with oxygen – mainly for the oxidation with the help of all the same glucose. In the language of chemists, the oxidation of glucose (that is, the combination of glucose with oxygen) is the so-called exothermic reaction, that is, the reaction with the release of different types of energy, including heat. That’s how everything is “coolly tied” in a living organism (and not only man, but also animals)! Breathing, the work of muscles, internal organs and even the brain – everything “rests” on glucose and its connection with oxygen – for the sake of obtaining energy for the working cells of the body.
Each of our cells has a shell. This shell is easily permeable to atoms and simple atomic complexes. But for glucose, the cell wall is something like a locked entrance door to an apartment. A key is required to open this “door”. The key is the substance produced by specific cells in the pancreatic tissue. The name of this substance is insulin.
Finally, we found that the cells are supplied with glucose – using insulin. But some people’s bodies undergo changes, as a result of which insulin production is partially or completely stopped. It is they who develop diabetes. The sugar content (more precisely, glucose) in their blood increases. Excess it begins to be excreted in the urine. That revealed the secret of finding a sweet taste in urine …
Well, how does all this affect the functioning of the body? It reduces energy production. Hence the origin of the main manifestations of diabetes mellitus: fatigue, loss of strength, headache, weakening of memory and attention, decrease in general and mental performance, a predisposition to the development of atherosclerosis and hypertension, cold hands and feet, even in warm weather (due to poor blood circulation in the terminal regions limbs).
No one has yet managed to get rid of the arising diabetes. But the metered use of insulin (for the whole let go of life!) Returns the lost health to the patient. Insulin can not be drunk because gastric juice destroys it. Insulin must be administered subcutaneously (insulin dosage issues are decided on the basis of special studies conducted by doctors who have been trained in endocrinology).