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\u00a0<\/h4>\nBy: Jennifer Darby, PT, DPT, GCS, CPAHA, CEEAA<\/h4>\n
Diabetes mellites (translated literally means sweet urine) is a metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar.\u00a0 Consistent high blood sugar affects various parts of the body including kidneys, eyes, the nervous system and other organs.\u00a0 Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, regulates blood sugar.\u00a0 For the body to convert sugar and\/or carbohydrates into energy, first the digestive process breaks the sugar and\/or carbohydrates down into glucose and then transfers the glucose into the blood to be absorbed by the cell.\u00a0 It is in the cell where the glucose can be converted into energy.\u00a0 Insulin serves as the key that allows the glucose to be brought into the cell.\u00a0 Without the presence of insulin, the body cannot bring the glucose into the cell, allowing it to remain in the blood.\u00a0 So, blood sugar rises and stays high.\u00a0 The body needs to get rid of the excess glucose that is floating around in the blood causing damage.\u00a0 This happens through the urine, thus its name, diabetes mellites, or as its most often referred to, diabetes.<\/p>\n
There are several types of diabetes.\u00a0 The most common is type 2 diabetes.\u00a0 Before we dive into the most common form, let\u2019s get familiar with the other types.<\/p>\n
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that causes the body\u2019s own immune system to attack and destroy the cells in the pancreas that make insulin.\u00a0 It\u2019s unclear what causes this attack, but about 10% of people have this type of Diabetes.<\/p>\n
Type 3 diabetes is associated with Alzheimer\u2019s patients. This type of diabetes occurs when the neurons in the brain become unable to respond to inulin. \u00a0Although this type is not yet completely understood, some researchers believe it is related to the cognitive decline that occurs in the disease process.<\/p>\n
Type 4 diabetes is the type used to describe age-related insulin resistance that occurs in lean, elderly people.\u00a0 Thus, although type 4 is like type 2, it is associated with older age, rather than diet and lifestyle.<\/p>\n
Type 2 diabetes, the most common type, is caused by diet and lifestyle and to some degree genetics plays a role as well.\u00a0 Type 2 diabetes arises when the cells become resistant to the insulin.\u00a0 This occurs when there is a constant bombardment of high blood glucose levels from eating high glycemic index foods.\u00a0 The pancreas needs to dump a high amount of insulin into the blood, in response to this sudden influx of glucose.\u00a0 Blood sugar suddenly drops as the high amount of insulin gets all the glucose into the cells.\u00a0 When blood sugar drops, the person may feel light headed and hungry and reach for a sugary snack which the body begins to crave due to the sudden spike, and then this sudden drop in blood glucose levels.\u00a0 The sugary snack causes the blood glucose to spike again, pancreas dumps high amounts of insulin into blood and the process continues.\u00a0 After this process ensues over time, the cell begins to create a resistance to the insulin.\u00a0 The sudden spiking and then down swinging of blood glucose levels at great amounts in short periods of time create this lack of sensitivity.\u00a0 Then over time less and less glucose is absorbed into the cell and the metabolism begins to get rid of the excess blood glucose through the urine and type 2 diabetes process has begun.\u00a0\u00a0 Genetically some of the population contains genes placing them at a greater risk of developing this condition, however diet and lifestyle play a larger role on weather or not these genes will be turned off or turned on.\u00a0 So, although some have this genetic predisposition, diet and lifestyle are the key factors in developing this disease.<\/p>\n
Now that we know the process of why type 2 diabetes occurs, let talk about the main causes being diet and lifestyle.\u00a0 Diet is a major player on whether a person will develop type 2 Diabetes.\u00a0 The food we eat all contain various amounts of sugars.\u00a0 We assign the sugar content a number that we call a glycemic index.\u00a0 Glycemic index is a value assigned to foods based on how slowly or quickly those foods cause increases in blood glucose levels.\u00a0 Remember the quicker the blood sugar increase, the higher the spike in blood glucose and the lower the drop and the higher chance to cause decreased insulin sensitivity over time.\u00a0 Thus, eating foods that have a lower glycemic index have a much gradual blood glucose change and allow for less insulin to be released and leave the blood sugar levels steadier over a period of time without those large spikes and dips.\u00a0 A level blood sugar with a gradual rise and gradual drop allows the person to feel satiated for a longer period and reduces the craving for sugary foods, since blood glucose levels do not drop suddenly.\u00a0 Insulin does not get pumped into the blood in high amounts and the cell remains sensitive to the low levels of insulin and easily absorbs the glucose out of the blood. \u00a0Glycemic index tells the person how quickly their body will convert the food they are eating into glucose.\u00a0 The quicker the conversion the greater spike in blood sugar.\u00a0 Foods that are considered 55 or less on the glycemic index are considered slow glucose converters and will not spike blood glucose as fast as foods that are higher than 55 on the glycemic index scale.\u00a0 Regular table sugar is considered a 59 on the glycemic index scale.\u00a0 Hybridized wheat (Including white or whole wheat flour, white or whole grain breads, pizza, pasta, and cereals) are rated at a level 69 on the glycemic index scale.\u00a0 Eating these types of foods will not only spike blood sugar levels, they will also not allow the person to feel satiated for very long, thus creating the need to eat more high glycemic index foods.\u00a0 It becomes a viscous cycle that over time leads to weight gain and type 2 diabetes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Exercise is also a key component in preventing and managing diabetes.\u00a0 Although any aerobic exercise can help lower blood glucose levels, high intensity short interval training programs appear to have a greater influence in not only decreasing weight, by reducing fat storage in the body, but also in decreasing blood sugar levels over a longer period.\u00a0 Strength training has also been shown to have great long-term effects for both decreasing the chances of developing diabetes as well as controlling blood sugar levels in diabetics.\u00a0 Specifically, strength training at an 80% of one repetition maximum twice a week for all major muscle groups has been shown to have great effects on long term blood glucose levels.<\/p>\n
Type 2 diabetes can be a very debilitating disease, causing nervous system and organ damage.\u00a0 However, type 2 diabetes is also very preventable and curable in many cases.\u00a0 Diet and lifestyle play a key role including nutrition and exercise and understanding the disease process is the first step in preventing and\/or treating the disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n