- 0 Comments
- Health & Wellness
World Diabetes Day – 14 November 2022 World Diabetes Day was created in the year 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organisation. It became an official United Nations Day in 2006. The day marks the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting. Fredrick Grant Banting and Charles Herbert Best from Toronto, Canada isolated insulin in 1921 in the laboratory of John Macleod. James Collip contributed with purification of the insulin extract. Insulin was clinically used for humans in January 1922 in a 14-year-old boy named Leonard Thompson in Toronto, Canada. In 1923, the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to Banting and Macleod. Insulin is a hormone secreted by our body to process the carbohydrates and sugars which we consume. Once digested, the blood takes up the sugars and the level in blood goes up. Insulin is needed to take in the carbohydrates and help the body use them or store them for future use. This brings the sugar level in blood back to normal. In the absence of insulin action, these processes do not happen. Carbohydrates and sugars cannot be used by the body and their levels in the blood stay high. This is the cause of Diabetes Mellitus. The Theme of World Diabetes Day 2022 is “Education to Protect Tomorrow”. This highlights the need for better access to quality Diabetes Education for health professionals and people living with diabetes. Let us understand Diabetes. The name Diabetes Mellitus comes from a combination of two words. Diabetes in Greek means siphon—to pass through. This indicates the passage of large volumes of urine. Mellitus in Latin means sweet. This is to denote that the urine of diabetic patients tastes sweet. Ancient Indian physicians had known this condition and had given a near-accurate description of the symptoms. However, the mechanism of this disease and the appropriate treatments were elucidated largely in the 20th century. Diabetes is generally classified into two types: Type I and Type II. It was Sir Harold Percival Himsworth who published research that differentiated the two types in 1936. Type I Diabetes Mellitus is an autoimmune disorder. It often starts at a young age and even in small children. It is caused by the destruction of the insulin-producing cells in the organ called the pancreas. This condition can only be managed with regular insulin injections. Before the discovery of insulin by Banting, Best & Co., all these children were dying. Insulin is a boon to these patients. Type II Diabetes Mellitus is an acquired condition seen in adults. An unhealthy lifestyle, and more importantly poor knowledge of what to eat, is the major cause of this condition. It has a hereditary pattern of inheritance, but the continued intake of high amounts of carbohydrate foods over years is the primary precipitating factor. High carbohydrate load causes the secretion of higher amounts of insulin to help the body process the carbohydrates. In due course, the body develops resistance to insulin due to its sustained higher levels. Hence, though insulin is secreted by the body, it does not act as it should, and sugar levels in the blood rise. This condition is not caused by absolute insulin deficiency, but by the development of resistance to insulin, driven by sustained high carbohydrate intake. The ideal approach is to restrict carbohydrate intake, which directly reduces insulin resistance. The management of type II diabetes should include proper dietary planning with a low-carbohydrate diet alongside appropriate medications advised by your doctor. On World Diabetes Day, let us spread this light of knowledge to dispel the darkness of diabetes. Let’s all live a healthy life.
Learn More