WHAT IS DIABETES????
We always associate insulin intake with diabetes without understanding how they are connected to each other. We need to understand their relationship to be able to effectively manage diabetes.
Diabetes is a disorder that adversely affects your body’s ability to produce or use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that plays a vital role in energy consumption in the body. When your body turns the food you eat into energy (also called sugar or glucose), insulin is released to help transport this energy to the cells.
Insulin acts as a “key.” Its chemical message tells the cell to open and receive an appropriate amount of glucose.
Also Read What is Diabetes Mellitus? Symptoms and Cure
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF DIABETES??
Type 1 Diabetes:
Type 1 diabetes is a serious, lifelong condition where your blood glucose level is too high because your body is unable to produce the insulin hormone. It is characterized by loss of the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas, leading to insulin deficiency.
Also Read What is Type 1 Diabetes?
Type 2 Diabetes:
Type 2 diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance, which may be due to relatively reduced insulin secretion. It is a serious condition where the insulin your pancreas produces can’t work properly, or your pancreas can’t make enough insulin.
Also Read What is Type 2 Diabetes: Symptoms and Cure
Gestational Diabetes:
Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that affects pregnant women, usually during the second or third trimester. Women with gestational diabetes don’t have diabetes either before their pregnancy, or after that, it is generally for a short term period. Gestational diabetes is usually diagnosed through a blood test at 24–28 weeks into pregnancy. But if proper care is not taken, it might continue even after the pregnancy period is over.
Also Read 13 Simple Steps to Overcome Gestational Diabetes
WHAT IS THE NEED OF INSULIN???
Type 1 Diabetes– People who have type 1 diabetes must take insulin as part of their treatment. Because their bodies can’t make insulin anymore, they need to get the right amount to keep their blood sugar levels in a healthy range. The only way to get insulin into the body now is by injection with a needle or with an insulin pump.
Type 2 Diabetes- In the Type 2 diabetes management mainly include blood sugar level control to reduce insulin resistance. Initially one may be able to treat the condition with oral medication and lifestyle changes, such as exercise and weight loss, most people with type 2 diabetes eventually need to take insulin by injection.
Diabetes In India:
While there are numerous health issues that India is battling with, diabetes is one of the most worrisome issues. According to research by the International Diabetes Federation, In India, There were over 72.946.400 cases of diabetes in 2017.
India is one of the 6 countries of the IDF SEA region. 425 million people have diabetes in the world and 82 million people in the SEA Region; by 2045 this will rise to 151 million.
The International Diabetes Federation projects that the number of Indians with diabetes will soar to 123 million by 2040. Currently, 5% of the Indian population suffers from diabetes.The above figures show the exponential increase in the number of diabetic patients.
Can we expect permanent cure for Diabetes in near Future? Watch this Video
HOW DOES EXTERNAL INSULIN AFFECT THE BODY???
Diabetes occurs either due to the pancreas inability to producing enough insulin, or the cells of the body have strong insulin resistance. Glucose is responsible for the formation of sugar in the blood and acts as one of the main energy sources.
A lack of insulin in your body causes sugar to build up in your blood. This may lead to many serious health problems and weight gain. In these conditions, the body is unable to get the necessary energy it requires, leading to a drastic weight loss. During such conditions, doctors always try to control blood sugar first with oral tablets.
But when the blood sugar levels go beyond control, insulin is suggested to be taken externally to balance our body hormones. Intake of insulin helps to maintain the blood sugar level in the human body.
Injections of insulin can help manage both types of diabetes. The injected insulin acts as a replacement for your body’s insulin. People with type 1 diabetes can’t produce insulin, so they must inject insulin to manage their blood glucose levels.
Many people with type 2 diabetes can manage their blood glucose levels with lifestyle alterations and oral medication. However, if these treatments don’t help to control glucose levels, people with the condition may also need insulin to help control their blood glucose levels.
EFFECTS OF EXTERNAL INSULIN INTAKE
People suffering from diabetes are generally prone to get hypoglycemia i.e. Low blood sugar level as their body lacks enough sugar to use as fuel. If a person is experiencing hypoglycemia, then they need to write the date and time of its happening and the course of action taken. Then share this record with your doctor to enable him to alter your medicine.
[Also Read Improve your Insulin sensitivity with these 2 naturally avaiable vitamins]
Symptoms of Hypoglycemia
People generally tend to start experiencing the symptoms of Hypoglycemia when their level of blood sugar is 70 milligrams per deciliter or lower. Symptoms of Hypoglycemia vary for every individual.
Early symptoms include:
- Confusion
- Feeling shaky
- Dizziness
- Irritability
- Headaches
- Pale skin
- Sweating
- High Pulse
- Weakness
- Trembling
- Anxiety
If one intakes too much insulin, one can get a low blood sugar level. This is called an insulin reaction. If you exercise too much or don’t eat enough, your glucose level can drop too low and trigger an insulin reaction. You need to balance the insulin that you give yourself with food or calories.
Also Read How To overcome Diabetic Hypoglycemia?
Guidelines to be followed if a person is on insulin:
- Whenever possible, insulin should be self-administered by the patient.
- In the case of children, the proper age for initiating this depends on the individual development of the child. It should not be delayed beyond adolescence.
- Insulin-using patients should practice self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG).
- Insulin dosage adjustments should be based on blood glucose measurements.
- Illness, traveling, and any change in routine (e.g., increased exercise and a different diet during vacation) may require more frequent SMBG under the guidance of a physician.
- People taking insulin should ensure their food intake is sufficient to consume all the insulin injected to the body to avoid hypoglycemia.
- Make it a habit to check blood sugar levels at least once in a month.
- Never skip meals when under insulin medication.
The intake of insulin creates a lot of myths that whether it helps one to lose weight or it works to weight gain.
Intake of Insulin leads to weight gain!!!
It has been observed through various researches that the people taking insulin put on weight after a certain course of duration. Why does this happen?
The answer to this is when one is suffering from diabetes; your body can’t use glucose (sugar) from your food for energy. That means the sugar builds up in your blood, which can lead to diabetes complications. One may feel hungry frequently because you’re not getting enough energy, and thirsty because your body is trying to flush all that sugar out of your bloodstream.
The intake of insulin in an appropriate amount will help you to maintain body weight. It’s important not to cut back on your insulin without a doctor’s guidance, even if you gain weight. You may lose weight again when you’re off insulin, but you’re then risking various forms of health complications.
Once you start treatment again, the weight will come back harder. This can lead to an unhealthy weight gain- weight-loss pattern and long-term complications such as heart diseases or kidney damage.
The good news is that you can maintain your weight while using insulin. It means changing your eating habits and being more physically active, but this can help you avoid excessive weight gain.
[Also Read 5 most important tips for Diabetic in managing weight]
Here are some tips on how one can maintain body weight while taking insulin-
Count Calories
Stick to the proper intake of calories. Eating and drinking fewer calories helps you prevent weight gain. Stock the refrigerator and pantry with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Prefer to have a diet plan and work with a dietician. Meal planning plays a major role n calorie intake counting.
Also Read Diabetes diet: Make your Healthy Food Choices and Eating Plan
Portion control
Portion control can help with managing your calorie intake. In addition to counting carbs, consider using the “plate method” of portion control. Trimming your portion size can help with lowering your calorie count.
Also Read Fruit and Diabetes: Limits, guidelines, risks, and tips
Exercise Daily
The best way to get rid of extra calories is to burn them off through being physically activity. As you exercise more and start to lose excess weight, your need for insulin may decrease as well.
Don’t reduce the insulin dosage on your own
It might be tempting to cut back on insulin for a while to try to lose some weight, but this is never a good idea. It’s dangerous, can drastically affect your control over diabetes, and when you go back on insulin, you’ll likely gain the weight right back.
Also Read At What Blood Sugar Level Should One Start Medication?
Herbal Supplements
Try to reduce blood sugar levels naturally using herbal supplements like SugarKnocker. These herbal supplements reduce diabetes naturally without any side effects.
Also Read Herbs and Herbal Supplements: Everything You Need to Know
CONCLUSION
Diabetes is not a disease. It is just a lifestyle disorder. Sometimes when the conditions become extreme, the intake of insulin becomes necessary to ensure diabetes does not become fatal. Diabetes also leads to various other kinds of dangerous diseases like heart diseases, kidney diseases, etc which may also prove fatal to diabetics.
When insulin intake is started, it is evident that we tend to put on weight. However, but adopting certain lifestyle changes like exercise, calorie count and yoga, the extra pounds could be lost to maintain our body.
