Have you checked your Blood sugar levels recently ?

Few months ago, I was on a public transport on my way to get some stuffs from the market. The person seated next to me had been on a phone conversation for several minutes.

From what I understoodod from his discussions with the person at the other end, the young man had a diabetic mom whose condition was out of control to the extent that one of her legs had been affected. The doctor had said that it would have to be amputated in order to halt gangrene.

I already knew it had to be type I diabetes (insulin-dependent) but I wasn't sure whether the young man was aware that he's likely to acquire diabetes in the future since such type of diabetes is more of a genetic don'tition which is due to the failure of production of thr hormone insulin from its source.

In fact, he stood a 50 percent chance of having diabetes since one of his parent have the condition already. The other 50 percent generally depends on lifestyle habits.

Nevertheless, a young person who's family have a history of the disease can still prevent or at least delay the onset of the condition by:

* Avoiding smoking and heavy alcohol consumption

*Avoiding soft drinks ( it has been proven that they could be more lethal than alcohol in the long run)

* Excercising regularly. It doesn't even have to be vigorous, so long as one is consistent.

*Maintaing a balanced diet that includes fruits and veggies.

It is also imperative for one to constantly monitor their blood sugar level. Routine observance would help one quickly notice the slightest changes in the normal blood sugar and immediately take preventive measures in order to cushion the effect.

The normal blood sugar level is around the range of 3.5mmol/L - 7.8mmol/L.

A reading of about 11.0mmol/L indicates that the sugar level of the blood had spiked and one needs to be more careful.

13mmol/L to 15mmol/L translates to diabetes.

You could always divide by 18 to get the value in gmmol/L.

Unfortunately a lot of young people who have diabetes in their lineage are ignorant of the importance of blood sugar testing. That's the reason why someone might just suddenly develop diabetes even when they are sure that they hadn't been engaged in an overcomsuption of sugar over the years.

Type I diabetes can be chronic and it has no known cure. Unlike type II diabetes that could be reversed by eating low calories on a strict protein diet or by engaging in a marathon fasting for a week (although you still have to seek medical advice first In case of hypoglycemia ).

This is because type II diabetes is not found on a mutated gene in the family tree. It is only caused by the common added sugar in our diets like soda and junks. That's the reason why some people would hardly have diabetes no matter how much they consume junk. Instead they become as fat like @Kushyzee when he was a still a child 😆

This doesn't mean that such a person wouldn't suffer from other health conditions as a result of over indulgence.

But in the case of type I diabetes, the islets cells of langerhans that are responsible for the production of insulin in the pancreas can never be reactivated no matter how long you fast since they are already obsolete due to genetic mutation.

In fact, each time one try to fast for long periods, one would lose more energy and might later be hospitalized. This is because in the absence of insulin, the body cannot immediately metabolise glucose which is the number one source of energy again.

The female diabetes ward at any government hospital in Kano state is always filled with patients during Ramadan. Some housewives would never listen whenever they are warned not to fast due to their health conditions. 🥺

Hence, in the absence of insulin, the body would have no choice than to turn to secondary stores like proteins and lipids for its energy reqirements. This is the reason why patients with type I diabetes always tends to lose weight since the flesh that should be stored to improve the body's appearance are now been used as the immediate source of energy for his day to day activities.

So, the patient becomes weaker, especially when they haven't eaten. And even when a patient with type I diabetes eats, they could consume more food than normal (dysphagia), since they have to make up for the constant lose of energy from their body.

No need to mention that they tend to always feel hungry and dehydrated, since they urinate often and glucose ( energy) is always passed out in the urine.

..... By the way, insulin is an hormone: (hormone=chemical messenger ) that is responsible for the conversion of excess glucose ( sugar) in the blood into glycogen for storage in the liver and adipose tissues.

.....For a diabetic patient, glucose is been wasted in the urine since there's no insulin to help out.

Worse is that type I diabetes can attack a person at any time. Just imagine if one is diagnosed with this type of diabetes in her teenage years! I don't know if that person would live for another 10 years. Complications would definitely begin to come in no distant time. Conplications lije kidney failure

So , a person whose either parent or even an uncle is diabetic should check their blood sugar level at least twice a month as soon as they attain adulthood. It would help them take precautionary measures in the form of modification of their lifestyle, dieting and exercise in order to adjust the blood sugar back to normal or to a fairly normal level.

I once asked a friend whose father was disbetic wether he had gone to have a sugar test ( FBS, as it is popularly called ) recently. He replied that he had never had the test. According to him, he believes that if he goes to check at a pharmacy or a lab, they'd prescribe some drugs for him after the test, and he doesn't want to buy drugs.

I was shocked at such an ignorant mindset. Although, he plays football every evening and looks very fit. This is very good for him especially as he spends more than thirty minutes daily exercising on the football field.

Well, as long as he doesn't consume refined sugar from soda to bread, egg roll, meat pie etc. everyday, I believe he'd be alright.

A lecturer once revealed that a lot of young Nigerians are not aware that they already have diabetes till around 15 to 20 years later when the complications begin to manifest. This is because no one is even talking about the high levels of cholesterol that had accumulated in the body over the years as a result of the carbohydrate addiction and unhealthy lifestyle.

"We should always take care of our body as it is the only place we have live".

Thsnks for reading 💖💖