Hello Viewers, I am meeting you all after a long break. Sorry for the break. Hereafter I'll be in touch with you all every month with a new subject. Today's topic is about diabetes.

Diabetes affects the way the body turns the food into energy. Your blood always has some glucose in it because your body needs glucose for energy to keep you going. Glucose comes from the food your eat and is also made in your liver and muscles. Your blood carries the glucose to all the cells in your body. Each cell of our body needs glucose to survive. Glucose is essential to build and rebuild tissue and regulate our body's functions. Glucose is the body's fuel and its chief source of energy.

A part of the body called pancreas releases insulin into the blood. The gland pancreas is the size of the palm of your hand which lies below and behind the stomach. The insulin helps the glucose from the food get into your cells. If the body doesn't make enough insulin or is the insulin doesn't work the way it should, glucose can't get into your cells. It stays in your blood instead. YOUR BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVEL THEN GETS TOO HIGH, CAUSING YOU TO HAVE DIABETES.

Symptoms:
Diabetes in adults may start slowly. In fact, millions of people don't even know they have it. They may just feel very later may have these symptoms.

• Urinating more than usual, as the body tries to get rid of the extra sugar in the blood.
• Feeling unusually thirsty, because the body needs to replace the lost fluid.
• Nausea
• Blurred vision
• Feeling hungry while losing weight
• Frequent infections
• Skin sores that won't heal

It's important to remember that diabetes symptoms may not be the same for everyone:
• The symptoms of type 2 diabetes may come on gradually.
• Some people may have no symptoms at all.
• Many people have type 2 diabetes and don't know it.

Treatment:
The immediate goals of treatment are to stabilise the blood glucose and eliminate the symptoms of high blood sugar. The goals of treatment are to prolong life, improve quality of life, relieve symptoms, and prevent long - term complications such as kidney failure, total blindness etc.

Proper Diet, Regular exercise, medication, blood glucose level testing and foot care are vital for good control and prevention of its complications.

Here are the normal glucose levels for people without diabetes

• Before breakfast: 70 -110
• Before Lunch, supper and bedtime: 70 - 120
• One hour after meals: 140 or less
• Two hour after meals: 120 or Less

Dietary Management
Meal planning includes choosing healthy foods, eating the right amount of food, and eating meals at the right time. The Diabetes Association currently recommends that 50 % to 60 % of a person's diet should come from carbohydrates 20 % from lean sources of protein, and less than 30 % from fats.

The exact breakdown of these percentages is different for each individual. A registered dietitian can be helpful in determining an individual's specific dietary needs.

In type II, weight management and a well - balanced diet are important. Some people with type II diabetes can discontinue medications after intentional weight loss, although the diabetes is still present. Consultation with a registered dietitian is invaluable planning tool.

Eat on time, and eat well. Keep track of what you eat, and how much you eat. Small, regular meals are best for most people who have diabetes.

Exercise
Regular exercise is very much important for the person with diabetes. It helps with blood sugar control, weight loss and pressure. Diabetics who exercise regularly are less likely to experience a heart attack.

Foot Care
People with diabetes are prone to foot problems because of the likelihood of damage to blood vessels and nerves and an ability to fight infection. Problems with blood flow and damage to nerves may cause an injury to the foot to go unnoticed and infection develops. Death of skin and other tissue can occur.

If left untreated, the affected foot may need to be amputated. Diabetes is the most common condition leading to amputation.

To prevent injury to the feet, people with diabetes should adopt a daily routine of checking and caring for the feet as follows:
• Check your feet every day, and report sores or changes and signs of infection.
• Wash your feet every day with lukewarm water and mild soap, and dry them thoroughly.
• Soften dry skin with lotion or petroleum jelly.
• Exercise daily to promote good circulation

Treating Blood Sugar:
Low blood sugar, know as hypoglycemia, can occur in diabetics when they use too much insulin, exercise too much, or eaten enough food. Hypoglycemia can develop quickly in people with diabetes. Symptoms low blood sugar typically are the sugar level falls below 70. Watch for weakness, shaking, headache, nervousness, and hunger.

If these symptoms occur and you have a blood sugar test kit available, do a blood sugar check. If the level is low, the person with diabetes should eat something with sugar: fruit juice, several teaspoons of sugar, a cup of skim milk, or regular soda, if you have a test kit handy, sugar should be eaten anyway - it can't hurt. Symptoms should subside within 15 minutes.

If the symptoms don't subside, more sugar should be eaten and the sugar level tested again.

After the symptoms subside, more substantial food can be eaten. Eat simply sugar FIRST to get the situation under control, " real" food should not be eaten until the sugar level comes up.

Long term Complications
People who have had diabetes for several years are likely to develop long - term complications such as: Vascular Disease, Micro vascular Disease, Eye complications, ( Diabetic retinopathy ), Diabetic nehropathy, Diabetic Neuropathy, Diabetic Foot problems, Skin and mucus membrane problems, coronary artery disease.

Before the 1920s, there was no treatment for diabetes, and type 1 was always fatal. Then in 1922, insulin was extracted from the pancreases of animals and given to people with diabetes. Since then, insulin has been greatly improved.

People who control their blood sugar have fewer diabetes complications. The best thing you can do for your health is
• Keep testing your blood regularly.
• Keep eating healthy food, and eating regularly.
• Keep exercising
• Keep taking you medication.