What Ails You: Dealing with diabetes

The human body, though it appears solid, is actually a matrix. Individual cells, like self-contained villages each performing a unique function, sit very close together, but not touching. The cell wall, an amazing structure in its own right, has a number of gates through which various supplies can be brought in, but each gate has a lock on it which must first be opened before anything can go in or out.

All of the work being done within the cell is powered by sugar (carbohydrate). Without a steady supply of sugar, all of the busy work in the village begins to slow down. Even sugar, though, cannot be brought into the village until the lock on the sugar gate is opened.

Insulin, manufactured in the pancreas, is the key to the lock which allows carbohydrate into the cell. Whether you don’t have enough insulin (not enough keys to open the locks) or whether your cells are insulin resistant (either you don’t have enough locks or too much sugar is being delivered), your insulin levels directly affect your blood sugar levels.

Type I diabetes was previously known as Juvenile Diabetes since it is normally diagnosed in childhood or early adulthood. The pancreas, the organ which manufactures insulin, fails. There are simply not enough keys to open the locks so carbohydrate is not able to get into the cells. It doesn’t matter how much carbohydrate you eat, it simply can’t work for you. Folks with Type I diabetes rely on synthetic insulin, often through regular injections, to manage their blood sugar. It is very important that they take enough insulin to manage the amount of carbohydrate they eat. Allowing too much carbohydrate to build up in the blood stream can have deadly implications. There is currently no cure for Type I diabetes although some very hopeful research is being done.

Type II diabetes develops when there is too much sugar for your insulin to handle. Folks who are obese are likely candidates to develop Type II diabetes; however they are not the only ones to develop the disease. For some, their cells have become resistant to insulin. The insulin may be there, but their cells refuse to respond and let the sugar in. For others, the amount of carbohydrate they eat simply overwhelms their normal insulin supply. Whichever is the case, sugar accumulates in the blood stream. If not managed effectively, the results can maim or kill you.

Type II diabetes is highly treatable with diet, exercise and medication. Even a moderate walk, 30 minutes each day, can improve the cell’s sensitivity to insulin. Moderating the diet is an imperative.  In particular, limit the refined carbohydrates found in white breads, sweets and chips. Even fruit can be problematic. Limit your two fruit choices each day to those which are lower in sugar, but higher in soluble fiber which you need to have a healthy heart.

Carefully monitoring your blood sugar for a few weeks can help you to learn how particular foods affect you. By knowing what to expect from your metabolism, you can act accordingly with extra medication or exercise. A few visits with a good nutritionist can be an enlightenment experience.  Having diabetes does not mean you can never again enjoy the sweets you love.

Whichever diabetes you have, it will require a significant lifestyle change to manage your disease.  Knowledge truly is power. There are a number of excellent books available to give you tips and encouragement about living with diabetes as well as cookbooks with a wide variety of tasty recipes. 

ABOUT THE WRITER:
Jackie Randa is a physical therapist who owns Back on Track in Barstow. She can be contacted at jranda@aol.com