Are you sittingcomfortably? Don’t look around you, only try to concentrate on your currentpresence and imagine that you sit in a chair that can lift itself up and isslowly taking you high into the sky and you are enjoying the view of yourhouse, town, country…until you so high that you will see entire continents asyou know them with the green and brown land and mountains, white clouds and blueseas and oceans, then imagine that you can see all the countries around theworld and people living there, people of different ages, men and women andchildren from different walks of life, you can look into their lives and whatthey are up to at this moment of life, maybe you are looking at your family orat your friends, visiting people you haven’t seen for a while……

But suddenly you realizethat your picture is distorted by a purple glow now and then. This is the lightthat your imagination is allowing you to see around every single person, who suffersfrom diabetes or is at risk of developing diabetes, some of them are morepurple than others, but in your imagination they all show their purple glow,but then you are slowly taken away from the individual people and you arelooking more from the distance, you don’t see individual people any more, buttowns, cities and countries until you see the image of the whole continents again,but now the picture is different it has its purple glow, now if you look Asia,Africa and South America the image is slightly purple with patches of morepurple around big cities surrounded by vast areas, where you can hardly see theglow, the world there is nearly the same, with green and brown lands and peopleliving there nearly diabetes free, hmmm you say, and then you look Europe, NorthAmerica and Australia and the purple glow is nearly blinding you, why?

The statisticians wouldcall this ‘World Prevalence of Diabetes’ and they would happily give you allthe numbers, charts and statistical data to go with it as well as historicaldevelopment and future predictions. But let’s dig deeper and look under themysterious blanket covering diabetes.

Genetics looked into thegenes and are claiming that both type 1 and type 2 diabetes have a stronginheritance pattern. However, even though there is an element of geneassociated susceptibility, both, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, require a triggerto change the status of diabetes from at risk stage to active illness.

What is the trigger?

In type 1 diabetes it is still being debated upon.Some experts believed to be a viral infection or autoimmune reaction againstown insulin producing cells or perhaps other nutritional factors, but theevidence to support these speculations is lacking.

In type 2 diabetes the picture is clearer withsupporting research and evidence that eating a healthy balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight, exercisingregularly and leading healthy life-style prevents type 2 diabetes.

Butlet’s not forget that diabetes is more common in developed countries, wherewith the modern developments of everything convenient to human kind,urbanisation, and lifestyle and nutritional changes, the diabetes is on itsincrease.

Intothe debate comes a strong believe that the single trigger for developingdiabetes is bitterness of people who live in today’s world, the world ofspending majority of time indoors, work, car or home, the world of hi-techdevelopments where everything and anything is available at the end of the clickof the mouse.

 Whatdo you think?

Haveyour say.

Even though in diabetes, andespecially in type 2 diabetes, the level of bloodsugar usually reaches higher than required ranges that we can see in ahealthy person, the body still needs its sugar to work. Sugar or in medicalterms glucose has a vital role of a source of body energy.Human body is not able to produce glucose itself and therefore the body cellsare dependent on its supplies to survive.

Glucose is supplied into the body from the diet weconsume, where it is usually present in the form of complex carbohydrates orsimple sugars and is digested by enzymes and transported into the blood streamin the form of a simple compound of glucose. Once in the blood stream glucoseis transported throughout the body and carried towards the cells that need it. However,glucose can only enter the cell through the glucose gates, which have to beopen. Insulin acts as a key for these glucose gates and has the ability to openglucose gates and thus allowing glucose to enter into the cell.

Therefore after each meal the level of bloodglucose rises as the glucose is transported from the food into the bloodstream, and the cells can be supplied by adequate amounts of energy. However,in the emergency situations, when the body needs immediate supply of glucose,such as during exercise, or increased physical and/or mental activity; orduring prolonged periods of fasting, the body utilizes glucose from its stores inliver and muscles, where glucose that was supplied from the diet but was notused by the cells, is stored in the form of glycogen. Glycogenis a complex compound of glucose molecules. The process of converting theglycogen into glucose is called gluconeogenesis, which can be translated asmaking new glucose. Therefore, the body is always prepared for emergencysituations.

From the above you can see howcrucial glucose is for the human body, and its organs that aredependent on glucose supplies. Probably the most vital is the brain, where itis absolutely necessary that the brain cells have always enough glucose tofunction and survive, because all the major and vital functions of the body aredirected by the brain.  If for somereason the brain glucose requirements are not met, the function of the brainwill be affected and with it the rest of the body.

In diabetics the levels of high blood sugar therefore does notnecessarily mean that the cells are getting adequate supply of the glucose dueto either absence of insulin (in type 1 diabetes)or lower insulin production or insulin resistance (in type 2diabetes). The insulin acts as an opening key to the glucose gates enablingglucose to enter the cell.

My name is Tom and I have been diagnosed with diabetes 11 years ago. When my GPfirst told me that I have diabetes I didn’t pay much attention and simply askedhim what diabetic drugs he could give me to treat it. But my GP didn’t give me anymedications, but instead he just sent me home with some advice that I shouldfirst change my diet, start doing some exercises and lose few pounds and hewould see me in few months time to see how much progress I had done with mydiabetes. The GP also gave me some information leaflets but they soon ended upin a bin.  I was quite disappointed andangry, and went home to my family, not telling them what the GP had told methat day.

Iwas started on a diabetic drug several months later and believed that only thenI was fully treated. That the GP is finally doing his job properly and I wouldbe all right in no time.

Overthe next few years my diabetic medications were increased and changed severaltimes, and all I could made myself believe was that my diabetes was a really badone. My eyesight was getting slowly worse but I thought it was just because ofme getting older. I was getting more and more breathless, stayed more and moreat home, and wasn’t really happy with my life and what was happening to me. ButI would have never admitted that it was all due to my diabetes. I always foundother things to blame.

Onlylast year or so I started to finally listen to what my GP and the diabeticnurses were saying all years long about how I should change my diet andlifestyle or my condition will worsen even more.

Nowat 67 years I can say that I wish I had listened from the start. My eyesight andmy heart are damaged and they can’t be fixed, and over a year now I got a smallulcer on my leg that won’t heal. I’m doing all I can now, but the damage hasbeen done.

So the only thing I can suggest to you is BE SMART…Stop!Think!Protect Yourself! … Protect your life, Your Integrity… That’s the way you want to live your life!

Find the content that helps you to FOCUS, that drives your DESIRE and supports your BELIEF! Diabetes Support is a great Start … so start NOW, don’t waste your time any more!

Generally the signs andsymptoms of diabetes can be divided into two groups:

1/Symptoms common for bothtypes of diabetes, and

2/Symptoms specific to thetype of diabetes

1/ Symptoms common for both types of diabetes:

Even though type 1 and type 2 diabetesare very different in their origin, they can both have very similar symptoms.

One of the most obvioussymptom that people usually notice as something unusual in their daily routine isincreased urination(polyuria) and increased thirst (polydipsia), which are both result of highlevels of blood sugar (high concentration of glucose circulating in the blood).

Both types of diabetes candevelop these symptoms, the only difference is that in type 1 diabetes they developmore rapidly and can lead to an acute condition. Whereas in type 2 diabetes thesymptoms are mild and develop gradually over a period of weeks, months and evenyears.

Increasedurination and increased thirstoccur as a result of an inadequate amount of insulin or insulin resistance indiabetes, which then results in the increased blood glucose (hyperglycemia).Because without insulin blood glucose cannot be used by cells, it circulates inthe blood stream and eventually is secreted by kidneys into the urine, where itbinds to water. As a result, more urine is excreted hence the increased urination.And because more body water is lost through urination people have increasedthirst to replace fluids.

Other symptoms common forboth types of diabetes include drowsiness, low energy levels, lethargy, blurred vision and nausea.

2/ Symptoms specific to the type of diabetes

Peoplewith type 1 diabetes can develop a condition called diabeticketoacidosis, which is a condition where the blood becomes too acidic due to anincreased level of ketones (ketoacidosis). This condition occurs if a type 1diabetic does not take their insulin and as a result develops hyperglycemia. Howeverdue to absence of insulin body cells do not receive glucose, which serves as a bodyfuel energy. But because body needs energy to survive it stars breaking downits fat tissue that produces ketones. Though, the body cells utilize only someenergy from ketones. The firstsymptom of ketoacidosis is excessive thirst and urination, rapidly developinginto abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. If left untreated it canlead to emergency situation, or even coma and death.

People with type 2 diabetes can develop a condition called hyperglycemic-hyperosmolarnonketotic coma (HONK), where the levels of blood glucose become extremelyhigh, usually as a result of extreme body stress such as during severeinfection or using some drugs. Thefirst symptom of HONK is excessive thirst and urination, and if left untreated extreme hyperglycemia can progressively causeextreme loss of body fluids which then leads to severe dehydration, fatigue,drowsiness, mental confusion and seizures.