Diet, lifestyle boosts our natural insulin

By KATHERINE HOBY

The simplest definition of diabetes is having too much sugar in the bloodstream.

A blood test is the only way to check for diabetes. Because the risk of diabetes increases with age, regular testing is advised, particularly for people in high-risk groups.

There are three types of the condition - Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes - and, together, they affect hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders.

An estimated 11,000 New Zealanders have Type 1 diabetes, and it is more common among Europeans than Maori or Pacific Islanders.

Sufferers make up about 10 per cent of all New Zealand's diabetics. Most develop it as children or teenagers.

Type 1 diabetes is an "auto-immune condition". The body sets up an attack against the cells within the pancreas that make insulin. These cells are called beta cells.

Insulin is a natural hormone produced by the body. It is needed to take the glucose from the blood and move it into the body's cells where it becomes a source of energy for the activities each type of cell has to perform.

If a body cannot make enough insulin, glucose from eaten foods stays in the blood stream and the level of glucose in the blood will become high.

High blood-glucose levels are known as hyperglycaemia.

The auto-immune process happens over time. A person recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes will still be producing some insulin of their own. But over time this reduces further. Eventually, most people with Type 1 stop producing their own insulin altogether.

Maori and Pacific Islanders are more than twice as likely as European people to develop Type 2 diabetes, and it usually appears after the age of 40.

In Type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin, or the cells in the body do not recognise the insulin is present.

The end result is the same: high levels of sugar in the blood, although Type 2 diabetes can be controlled enough through diet and exercise that the pancreas is trained to produce the right amount of insulin at the right time.

In some cases, people have been able to put Type 2 diabetes into remission.

About a third of people with Type 2 diabetes also have high blood pressure (hypertension) and/or disordered levels of fat (cholesterol) in their blood.

Gestational diabetes occurs in some pregnant women. Their blood-glucose levels usually return to normal once the baby is born, but some women develop Type 2 diabetes later in life.

Diabetes in pregnancy is a leading cause of congenital abnormalities, stillbirths and miscarriages.

People with diabetes should have regular check-ups to ensure their blood-sugar levels are within control and also that their eyes, kidneys and heart are functioning properly.

When blood-sugar levels are higher, a person is more likely to develop complications.

There is no known way to prevent Type 1 diabetes. Prevention of Type 2 depends on lifestyle, exercise and diet changes.

Some diabetics have no symptoms. Others may feel thirsty, pass a lot of urine, feel extremely tired, have blurred vision or urinary infections.

Uncontrolled, Type 2 diabetes can lead to renal failure, blindness, impotence and amputation. More positively, a sensible diet and lifestyle prevents it.

Further reading
nzherald.co.nz/health