In a previous blog article, I said this:
“Increasingly prevalent conditions such as Hypertension, Obesity and Diabetes, which have a very strong association with poor diet, don’t just affect the heart. They also affect the foot’s vascular health as well.”
Diabetes is a growing global problem, with the World Health Organisation estimating that 44 million people worldwide have some type of Diabetes. It’s also one the leading causes of death worldwide and the number of people becoming Diabetic is increasing.
If you are obese (as are over 15% of all adults worldwide!) or have a poor diet etc, the chances of developing Diabetes increases. Shockingly, more and more children worldwide are developing this too.
Welcome to the first of several posts talking about Diabetes and how it effects the feet. With this knowledge I will give to you as a Podiatrist, I hope it will empower you to protect yourself, your friends and family.
Q What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease that affects the body’s metabolism. There are several types e.g. Gestational (this affects pregnant woman) but the most common types are Type 1 and Type 2.
In order to understand a bit more about the two types, here’s a quick Bio lesson😁:
You have a Pancreas. One of its main roles is to regulate your blood Glucose levels via specific cells in it releasing Insulin.
Q What Is Insulin and Why Is It Important?
Insulin is a hormone needed for Glucose to be released into cells (Glucose is basically an energy source for your body). When you eat, your blood glucose levels increases and then eventually decreases and so forth.
When your blood glucose levels are too high
Insulin gets secreted to lower it. In Type 1 Diabetes, the body doesn’t produce enough Insulin- specific pancreatic cells become destroyed. The chances of having persistently too low blood glucose levels (known as Hypoglycaemia) increases.
In Type 2 Diabetes, the body produces Insulin but is resistant to it (Hyperglycaemia, aka having persistently high blood glucose levels, is associated with this).
The most common form of Diabetes worldwide is Type 2, which will be the main focus of this series.
Q What factors cause Type 2 Diabetes?
Diet/lifestyle-related
- High cholesterol levels (Hypercholesterolaemia)
- Hypertension
- Poor diet– high in (saturated) fats, high in (refined) sugar etc
- Excessive drinking habits
- Being overweight (having a BMI over 25) or obese (having a BMI over 30)
Other
- Being of Black African/Caribbean or (South) Asian descent– research into the why isn’t clear but from what I can gather, possible reasons include BMI, socio-economic issues, diet etc
- Not being active enough
- Family history
Conclusion
The information in this blog post is a sneak peak into what Diabetes is. I’ve met so many patients who didn’t necessarily know what type of Diabetes they have.
It’s essential that people like you are empowered with knowledge so that you can make appropriate judgements about your health. From next week, find out how exactly Diabetes affects the feet, in terms of its vascular health, and more.
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Click here to read the article discussing nutrition.
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