Is there an explosion in the occurrence of Diabetes in our modern society?.
Before looking for a cure for diabetes it is important to understand what the disease entails and how it affects the body.
When a person has problems with the level of insulin in their body they are suffering from Diabetes. There are three forms of this disease, being type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes. They all relate directly to the insulin levels and how our body functions under this altered state.
Basic information on the Types of Diabetes
1. Type 1 diabetes
In this disease the individual’s auto immune system attacks and reduces the pancreatic beta cells from producing the necessary insulin for the body to function properly. When the pancrius is not functioning as it should the production of natural insulin is reduced below optimum levels or is in fact stopped altogether which has dangerous implications for other functions of the body.
2. Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes accounts for approximately 90% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. In this type of diabetes the body does not make or properly use insulin, a hormone that helps convert sugar, starches and other foods into energy. Over a prolonged period a person’s body will stop producing insulin if they have this disease. It is believed that genetics and environmental factors do play a role in its development. Unfortunately, modern science has not yet defined the exact cause if this disease.
Gestational Diabetes
Thirdly, Gestational diabetes is only found to occur in pregnant women. Unlike Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes has no recognizable symptoms. The best way to know if you have it is through regular blood screenings throughout the term of your pregnancy. These screenings require fasting overnight before blood tests are taken, then you are given a sugary drink to see how your body reacts. Two positive readings are required before you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
Are There Cures For Diabetes?
The cure for gestational diabetes is simply to give birth. Since some hormones produced in a pregnant woman’s body promotes some tissues to resist insulin, by giving birth these symptoms will disappear. Your doctor will suggest a diet that will assist in keeping your blood sugars in check during your pregnancy.
However, at the moment, doctors do not have an actual “cure” for diabetes types 1 & 2. Their current advice to “cure” diabetes is to present alternatives to patients who suffer from this disease. This is because an actual cure for diabetes has not yet been discovered, there are however cures for the symptoms which are readily available.
Most doctors recommend for both Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes sufferers a change to the patient’s diet whilst keeping a close watch on insulin levels or in more severe cases, injecting insulin into the body during times when it becomes too low.
Research is being carried out where replacing the defective beta cells that produce insulin in order to refresh the pancreatic cells. Still in it’s early stages, this method of cure for diabetes is undergoing experimental tests and has not been made available for public use. The research has brought to light the potential problem of needing long maintenance medication in order to support the transplanted beta cells.
Although there is still a long way to go before any cure for diabetes can actually become a reality. With the rapid improvements in experimentation you should keep track of the progress that researchers and pharmaceutical companies are making towards finding a cure for diabetes.
If you are a sufferer, whilst waiting for this cure for diabetes, you should keep yourself healthy with plenty of regular exercise and a healthy natural diet. Try to keep away from all those fatty, oily processed foods as we await the day when the cure becomes a reality.