Ways to Cope with Diabetes
The incidence of diabetes, known as ‘diabetes’ among the people, has been increasing rapidly in recent years due to reasons such as an unhealthy and sedentary lifestyle. According to studies, it is expected that there will be approximately 600 million diabetics in the world by 2035. There are over 7 million diabetics in Turkey and about 3 million people are unaware that they have diabetes. Although the numbers are frightening, it is actually possible to prevent diabetes with lifestyle adjustments.
One of every 7 people over the age of 20 has
diabetes. Diabetes, the incidence of which is increasing day by day, is found in 382 million people in the world today. There are also 316 million pre-diabetes patients. Diabetes and diabetes-related health problems have an important place in our country. In Turkey, 14 out of every 100 people have diabetes and 12 out of every 100 people have pre-diabetes. It is known that the incidence of diabetes increases rapidly in parallel with the increase in obesity, and one out of every seven people over the age of 20 has diabetes. According to studies, the prevalence of diabetes has increased by 90 percent in the last 12 years, and the rate of obesity has increased by 44 percent in 12 years. It is known that the biggest reason for this is a sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet and increase in obesity.
The most important form of treatment is life change.
Diabetes is defined as the body’s inability to properly use and store blood sugar. In insulin deficiency or ineffectiveness, “diabetes” occurs, the amount of sugar in the blood increases and is excreted through the kidneys with urine. In cases where the person’s blood sugar level is higher than normal but not high enough to diagnose diabetes, the person is defined as prediabetic, that is, latent diabetes patient. It is known that most people who are pre-diabetic develop Type 2 diabetes within 10 years. People with diabetes often experience: weakness, excessive appetite, excessive thirst and drinking water, frequent urination, weight loss, blurred vision, skin infections, non-healing wounds. For the diagnosis of diabetes, blood sugar is checked after 10-12 hours of fasting. Fasting blood sugar higher than 126 mg/dl, If the randomly measured blood glucose level is higher than 200mg/dl and the blood glucose level is 200mg/dl or more during the glucose tolerance test, the person may have diabetes and should consult a specialist without delay. The most important form of treatment is life change. In the treatment of diabetes, medication is used in cases where sugar control cannot be achieved with diet therapy and exercise.
The underlying cause of many serious diseases: Diabetes
Among drug treatments, there are oral antidiabetics and insulin treatment options. Unfortunately, there is no cure for diabetes completely. It is estimated that every 30 seconds in the world, a patient’s foot is amputated due to a diabetic foot ulcer. In addition, 50 percent of patients treated in dialysis units have diabetes. 10-20% of diabetic patients die due to kidney failure. In the world, three people get diabetes every 10 seconds and two people die from diabetes-related causes every 15 seconds. Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death in many countries. Adult diabetics have up to 4 times the risk of cardiovascular disease compared to their nondiabetic peers. 60-75% of diabetics i are lost due to cardiovascular diseases (coronary artery disease and stroke). Diabetes shortens life expectancy by five to ten years. Diabetes mellitus is the most common cause of kidney failure treatment and blindness and non-traumatic amputation cases under 65 years of age worldwide. It is known that 2 percent of diabetics whose diabetes duration reaches 15 years develop blindness and 10 percent develop severe vision loss.
Basic recommendations to prevent type 2 diabetes and its complications
- Body weight appropriate for height should be targeted and efforts should be made to maintain this weight.
- Adequate and balanced diet; At least 5 (five) portions of vegetables and fruits should be consumed per day.
- 25-30 percent of daily energy should be provided from fats, the ratio of energy from saturated fatty acids should be below 10 percent.
- Simple carbohydrates such as sugar should not exceed 10 percent of the daily energy, dry legumes and whole grain products should be preferred instead of simple carbohydrates.
- The daily intake of salt should not exceed 5 g.
- You must be physically active. At least 5 days a week, at least 30 minutes regularly. moderate-intensity activity (eg brisk walking exercises) should be done. More physical activity is required for weight loss.
- Smoking should be avoided and excessive alcohol consumption should be avoided.
Currently, there is no effective treatment method that can prevent Type 1 diabetes. Therefore, early diagnosis is essential to prevent complications of diabetes.