DIABETES
India accounts for a major share of the world's diabetic burden. Approximately 1 out of every 15 adult Indians has diabetes. The proportion is poised to increase to an alarming 1 out of every 6-10 Indians by the end of this decade.
It has implications on metabolism of not just carbohydrate but also on proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins.
Hence it is inappropriate to consider it as a 'sugar disease' because it is truly a pan- metabolic disorder and failure to appreciate this leads to frustration in diabetics who by avoiding rice, sugar, sweets, etc still find it hard to believe that they are not controlled.
That's because it is absolutely unnecessary to avoid any particular food product, it is the 'quantity' of a given food and an individuals ability to modulate his caloric intake for healthy weight that will help achieve adequate control. Also the failure to educate oneself about 'control', has lead to unfortunate complications that should in modern medicine be relegated to a museum. However our patients still do walk in, with the most disastrous of problems.
Can we stop this malady from spreading??
No ! not till such time that we emphasize on self education
Yes! in our children, at least in whom we can inculcate a healthy preventive approach. If only one is educated with respect to disease alone, and not necessarily in a background of academic schooling, then the need for accuracy in checked values in laboratories and what is a marker of concern can be learnt, rather than seeing one fasting sugar/ post meal sugar that is normal.
This simple factual statement best states it:
When a vehicle has its engine subjected to adulterated fuel, it gives up one fine day and suffers a breakdown.
The mechanic fixes the breakdown. But if one continues to insult the engine with the same fuel, it will irremediably stop.
Our heart and our vessels are such an "engine". If the fuel, "blood", is not treated for its multitudes of insulting molecules, it too will result in a heart attack. The mechanic fixes the damaged vessel supplying fuel to the heart, which is definitely essential.
But have you taken care of your fuel problem, this is a proper care of diabetes in its initial years and associated lipid / protein abnormalities.If you haven't, which is what unfortunately happens, you are assured of another major attack, if not in the heart, in your brain or limb circulation. So, do not take it lightly when any doctor proclaims, 'you are controlled', do ask what is good control, have all your problems been tackled before you experience a major event?. If "yes", you should not experience the event in the first place. Do not blame anyone if advice was given but not followed.
But do seek advice from your doctor, because in diabetes, what event you do not see and do not experience is the best stage when you ought to treat it. Sounds stupid, right??. But this is a fact as what you suffer today has its inception a decade or more ago and if it was anticipated, it could have spared you this problem, and expenditure would have been meager. Now that the odds of a next complication. You have succeeded only temporarily, but not you have spent 'lakhs' on tackling a complication you may seem to have beaten to the extent you would have, if you had bothered to tackle the origins of the problem much, much earlier.