Can diabetes be cured? -Management of diabetes with diet and exercise

Diabetes

Diabetes is a condition in which blood sugar level is too high, pancreas is not able to make insulin which is the main source of energy and can get from food.

A hormone called insulin released by pancreas which regulate glucose level.Normally, insulin help to store and use sugar from food. In case of diabetes the pancreas doesn’t secret enough insulin, glucose then accumulates in blood and can’t reach to the cells.

On 14 November 2019, which is World Diabetes Day, IDF highlighted the prevalence of diabetes around the world, which reported 38 million more diabetic patients as compared to last 2017 published results.

People with diabetes need to control and manage their diabetes to stay active and healthy.

Insulin’s role in Diabetes

Body is made up of millions of cells, these cells need food to make energy because many cells of the body depend on insulin to take glucose for energy from blood. Insulin helps to control blood glucose. Insulin signals the liver to take up glucose and store it as glycogen when the body already has enough energy. The liver can store around 5% of glycogen.

Insulin released in a very small amount from the pancreas, the pancreas releases more insulin when there is a high level of glucose in blood to push glucose into the cells.

In the case of diabetes, people either don’t make insulin or cells of the body are resistant to insulin,which leads to high blood glucose level.

Types of Diabetes

• Type 1 diabetes
• Type 2 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes

Other terms for type 1 diabetes are juvenile diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes, occur at any age but mostly in children and adolescents in which the body produces little or no insulin. The patients with type 1 diabetes are Insulin dependent, which means they need daily insulin injection to maintain blood glucose level.

Type 2 diabetes

In this type of diabetes the body is not able to regulate blood glucose level because the body is unable to use insulin properly (may be due to resistance of the body towards insulin or deficiency of insulin or excessive hormones production that oppose the action of insulin). It is the most common type of diabetes and mostly occurs in adults.

Can diabetes be cured?

There is no cure for diabetes till now, but the term “remission” use to control diabetes in which body doesn’t show any sign of diabetes but actually disease still present which means when diabetic patient is in remission there will be no outward signs or symptoms, but on the other hand patient should be careful because the disease is technically present.

According to Diabetes Care, there are 3 Types of remissions:

• Partial remission
• Complete remission
• Prolonged remission

There is a good chance for remission when diabetes is detected early and managed properly.

Goals of managing diabetes

1. Keeps blood glucose and cholesterol level near to normal
2. Control blood pressure
3. Prevent other diabetes related health issues

Management of diabetes

There are some ways from which we can manage diabetes

• Manage diet

“Your diet is a bank account. Good food choices are good investments.” – Bethenny Frankel says.

Giving up sweets is not a solution to control diabetes. Carbohydrates rich foods like rice and potatoes contain starch which is high in sugar, this is how food affects blood glucose level. So learn about carbohydrates counting or consult a dietician for a balanced diet.

• Exercise
  

Leading a sedentary lifestyle is a cause of overweight or obesity which also leads to diabetes like conditions. Exercise helps muscles to use glucose which helps the body to use insulin efficiently. A diabetic patient can do aerobic exercise like walking or biking ,with the passage of time when a patient is comfortable while doing exercise then also can add resistance exercise which strengthens muscles to store glucose.

• Avoid Stress

Stress is also the one of the cause which increase blood sugar level

• Consult a doctor

Diabetes is a long duration disease, to stay motivated and active it is important to consult doctor while managing diabetes

• Medication

Take medication if prescribed to regulate blood glucose level

Reference

1. http://www.nmcpondy.com/blog/2019/march/can-diabetes-be-cured-permanently.html
2. https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/diabetes-diet-exercise