Diabetes has slowly become one of the most common lifestyle disorders affecting both, urban and rural areas alike. You can attribute this to overeating, obesity, stressful, busy and sedentary lifestyles which lead to the early symptoms of diabetes. This also includes lack of proper nutrition which leads to disturbed glucose metabolism. Heredity is also a major factor in the development of the disease. It is usually misunderstood that eating only refined sugar in excess will lead to diabetes but that’s not the case. Excess intake of proteins and fats also leads to development of diabetes because ultimately they are also metabolized and converted to glucose.

Diabetes is characterized by the elevated levels of glucose in the blood and urine. It is of 2 types:

• Type 1: is present since birth due to complete absence of insulin 
• Type 2: Develops later in life due to the deficiency of insulin

There are other variants too like gestational diabetes which occur during  pregnancy. Read more about it here: https://goqii.com/blog/what-gestational-diabetes-can-do-to-you-your-unborn-child/ 

Since untreated or uncontrolled diabetes gradually starts affecting the functioning of major organs of the body, like the heart, kidneys, brain, nervous system, eyes, etc. it is important to diagnose and treat the disease as early as possible.  

How Can You Diagnose It? 

It is diagnosed by a blood test, in which the blood glucose in the fasting state (normal values range between 80-120 mg/100 ml of blood) and 2 hours after having the meal (normal values, 140 mg/100 ml of blood) are measured. Now, even before getting your blood glucose tested, there are certain signs and symptoms which our body shows which indicate the development of diabetes. 

Early Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes

1. 3P’s: Polyphagia (increased hunger), polydipsia (increased thirst), polyuria (increased urination). Remember these 3 P’s and look out if you are experiencing these. 
2. Loss of weight: In spite of increased hunger, there will be a very sharp loss of weight, which again is a warning symptom. This is happening because the glucose is getting lost in the urine, also due to insufficient insulin, the available glucose is not getting utilized to provide energy and to function, the body has started utilizing the glucose which is stored in the muscles and organs. 
3. Getting tired: Loss of weight due to this condition leads to early tiredness. The person gets tired easily both mentally and physically. 
4. Dry mouth: Despite drinking more water, there will be dryness in the mouth. 
5. Paleness: appears because of anemia.
6. Frequent infections and delayed healing of wounds: happens due to excess of glucose in the blood. 
7. Loss of libido. 

In its early stages, we can easily prevent it from progressing further to a full blown Diabetes Mellitus with: 

• Regular exercise: for a minimum of 30 minutes to maintain optimum weight. Engage yourself in light games. 
• Proper diet: Which includes salads with meals (this slows down digestion and prevents an immediate spike in blood sugar levels) and excluding refined sugar, alcohol, smoking and high fat foods. 
• Yoga & meditation: take care of the stress levels and curb the disease from getting any worse. Pranayama and certain yoga asanas like bhujangasana, sarvangasana and various others help in stimulating the pancreas to produce insulin . 

There are certain home remedies which can be used as a supportive measure. I want to discuss here the two most important ones. 

1. Bitter gourd (Karela): is highly beneficial in the treatment of diabetes. It contains an insulin-like principle, known as plant-insulin which has been found effective in lowering the blood and urine sugar levels.
2. Jambul fruit (Jamun): The seeds contain a glycoside ‘jamboline’ which has the power to check the pathological conversion of starch into sugar in cases of increased production of glucose. In the Homoeopathic system of medicine, we have a very effective medicine prepared from this fruit to treat diabetes. 

We hope this article helps you manage Diabetes and helps you spot the early signs and symptoms. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! For more on Diabetes, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play. 

#BeTheForce Against Diabetes!