It is estimated that globally the number of people suffering from the diabetes disease falls within the range of close to one hundred and fifty million excluding new infections. Health officials basing on the above indicators are now convinced that the diabetes trend now satisfies all the conditions of a full-scale epidemic and hence they have gone ahead to declare it as such, alongside renewed measures to launch a relentless combat assault against it.



In this article, the reader will be treated through an elaborate discussion of the nature of the disease, the causative factors and its management in line with the current information about it.

Diabetes is a chronic disease arising by either the failure of the body system to secrete the hormone insulin. The second factor could be that either the body system generates insufficient quantities of the hormone or in the reverse case the insulin secreted is being resisted by the body, hence an inability of the hormone to discharge its functions. The insulin hormone facilitates the conversion of glucose into readily usable energy for the cells to provide the energy demands of the body.

What happens in an insulin defect is that, instead of glucose being broken into simple sugars to be used by the cellular system, it rather experiences a wholesale spillage into the blood stream thus raising the sugar concentration of the blood.

This state of high sugar content in the blood is termed hyperglycemia. The body system in its quest to restore the internal fluid chemistry to its optimum level goes through the filtration process in collaboration with the kidney (filtration organ). The kidney after going through the filtration cycle then excretes out the excess unwanted sugars through the urinary system.

The inevitable consequence of the deliberate deprivation of the body system of the much needed energy requirement is a woeful drop in energy levels, which is instead needed to serve the body`s combustion needs. Consequently, it then affects the ability of the sufferer to engage in highly physical activities, this is one of the many visible signs of the onset of the diabetes disease.

In the broadest sense, this is about the disease. However, due to the complexity of the disease it is classified into three major categories, in order to increase the chances of managing it efficiently. Depending on whether the body is incapacitated to secrete the insulin hormone or a general resistance by the body system to the performance of the hormone, then it satisfies the classification criteria for either Type I or Type II respectively. A third diabetic group though very subtle is the result of a defect or an anomaly in a pancreatic tissue responsible for the production of the insulin hormone. This state is a result of several factors that can include the side effect of a known malady of the pancreas or a previous experience of trauma suffered by the pancreas.

In any case, both Type I and Type II continue to exhibit similar visible signs such as:

- High affinity for water, which is not associated with any strenuous physical activity or an increase in external environmental temperatures resulting in perspiration couple with persistent unexplained acute hunger;

- Progressive general weight loss;

- A fall in general energy levels;

- Continues and frequent urinating.

This disease is generally not contagious, which means it cannot be transmitted from a carrier to a non-carrier. In some cases, it is known to be part of genetic condition, and indeed, in recent times unhealthy lifestyles have been identified to be a trigger factor of the disease. Bad eating habits that cause obesity have an intricate connection with a high chance of developing a diabetic condition.

Should you observe any of these symptoms, the wisest action to take is to immediately see a doctor who will order a laboratory fasting plasma glucose test to ascertain your blood sugar level. It is gratifying to note that, though there is no known permanent cure for diabetes it can be rightly managed medically to enable a patient lead a normal live.

Under the limitation of current medical technology, oral medication, advice with regard to proper dietary management, some regular physical exercises, and the administration of artificial insulin are the known treatment choices available to patients to date.

Undiagnosed and untreated diabetes can pose a mortal danger to any body, to this end it is highly recommended that as far as practicable people should seek to know the state of their blood sugar level. It is a sign of responsibility towards our personal health status.