Tuesday, 21 May 2013

Here is an article I have put together about type 1 diabetes


 Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease. When the pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin to regulate blood glucose levels. The Immune system attacks its own beta cells which help produce insulin.
It is known that type 1 diabetes is not caused by poor diet and lack of activity, but it is known that type 1 diabetes has a strong family link and cannot be prevented. The onset of type 1 diabetes is usually found in people under 30 Years of age but can occur at any age. Type 1 Diabetes is managed by insulin injections which may need to be administrated up to 6 times a day. Having a healthy diet and following an eating plan is important, it is also important that people with this disease check their blood glucose levels regularly, which may also need to be done up to 6 times a day. Regular exercise will help control diabetes, it helps the insulin work better.

History of Diabetes Globally
Research helped improve the production of insulin, from first extracts from canine pancreas to development of new sources of insulin, insulin that last longer and changes to dosage.
Type 1 and type 2 Diabetes were identified as separate conditions for the first time by the Indian physician Sushruta and Charaka in 400 – 500 AD with type 1 associated with youth and type 2 with being overweight”

The Imbalance between exercise, diet and insulin can allow your blood sugar levels to get low, also known as hypoglycemia which can cause you harm and possibly lead to a coma. People with type 1 diabetes are at risk of developing kidney disease.
High glucose levels can also be dangerous, it can lead to cardiovascular problems, angina and even a stroke.

The more common effects that diabetes has on your body are
  • High blood pressure
  • High Cholesterol Levels
These can be controlled by regular checks of glucose levels and blood pressure.
Diabetes also can have effects on your heart, increased risk of a stroke and can also effect your eye sight.
Diabetes suffers have a tendency to have problems with their feet, because diabetes can cause damage to the nerves and blood supply to your legs and feet. Damage to the feet is more likely to happen if a person as had diabetes for a long time, a persons blood glucose levels have been to high for extended periods, if the person smokes and is inactive. It is advised to avoid exercises that will cause stress to the feet e.g. running. Exercise is important to people with diabetes because it will help control their weight and will lower blood pressure,
activities don’t really need modification for type 1 diabetes suffers, but they may need to avoid activities such as running that could cause injury to their feet.

The support network that will assist and provide information to type 1 diabetes are
  • doctors
  • dietitians
  • credentialed diabetes educators
References
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/history_of_diabetes