Written By: Bhavyajyoti Chilukoti | Updated : April 6, 2016 5:06 PM IST
The theme of World Health Day 2016 is 'Beat Diabetes'. And of the numerous questions that people have regarding diabetes, one is can you beat diabetes? Well, according to Dr Anil Bhoraskar, Honorary Diabetologist, S L Raheja Fortis Hospital, Mumbai, you can beat diabetes. But is it possible if you are genetically predisposed to the condition? Here's what Dr Bhoraskar has to say.
Diabetes -- understanding the condition?
Before you understand how genes play a key role in diabetes, knowing about the pathophysiology of the condition is important. In type 2 diabetes, there is a combination of peripheral insulin resistance (improper action of insulin on fat, muscles and liver) and inadequate insulin secretion by the pancreatic beta cells. Insulin resistance causes elevation of free fatty acids and pro-inflammatory tissue poisons such as cytokines, which prevents glucose from entering into muscle cells and hence, causes an increased production of glucose in the liver and breakdown of fat. This is compensated initially by over production of insulin and a person starts putting on weight, but with time, this compensatory insulin production stops due to pancreatic exhaustion and the patient develop diabetes with symptoms of excessive thirst and urination, fatigue and weakness and weight loss.
How genes affect your risk of diabetes?
There is no doubt that Indians are genetically and ethnically susceptible to diabetes and heart disease. But just as a tree needs seed, water, fertilisers and the sunshine to grow, for diabetes to manifest into its full-blown condition besides genes, you need other triggering factors. These include environmental factors sedentary lifestyle, lack of physical exercise, faulty nutrition from infancy, lack of proper nutrition at the time of and severe mental and physical stress.
Although you can't beat genetic factors (not yet), you can beat the environmental factors which put you at risk of diabetes. It could start with eating a healthy and nutrient-rich diet, especially pregnant women, regular physical exercise from early childhood to late adulthood and leading a carefully planned lifestyle and management of food habits. And it can be achieved through considerable education, training and counseling not only of pre-diabetics or high-risk individuals but the entire community, as in the large population of metros, as every fifth person is potentially diabetic or is a diabetic. Hence, keep a tab on what you eat and exercise every day without fail along with carefully monitoring your blood sugar levels to beat diabetes. Also read about 7 life-saving tests for every diabetic.
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