Diabetes mellitus is a disease that not only affects carbohydrate metabolism, but also of fat and protein. The cause of the disease lies in the insufficient production of insulin – the hormone of the pancreas. Diabetes can be diagnosed in various forms, which differ both in symptoms and causes, and there are frequent cases of the transition of one form of the disease to another.
In medical practice, it is customary to diagnose diabetes in two main types. According to the WHO classification, diabetes associated with hormone deficiency (juvenile) belongs to type I IDDM, it can cause a serious complication – acidosis. Type II diabetes is not directly related to insulin deficiency; the patient produces enough of it, but it has a distorted structure, as a result of which it is not able to fulfill its function. It is called adult diabetes (or senile), since most often it accompanies the elderly.
Diet and insulin intake are the main tools for treating type 1 diabetes
The factors causing type 1 diabetes mellitus have not yet been studied, but it is believed that genetic heredity plays an important role in its occurrence. The severity of the course of the disease varies significantly: from mild, so-called pre-diabetic symptoms, to a deadly coma. The very onset of diabetes is difficult to fix because its symptoms are characteristic of many diseases. The first characteristic symptoms are:
The duration of the disease, as well as its severity, can also be different. Insulin treatment significantly lengthens the patient’s life due to a certain correction of impaired metabolism. Many factors play a role in the choice of treatment method, for example, the patient’s constitution, age or eating habits. The diet for type 1 diabetes should be followed especially strictly. Often, patients do not fully understand how important this factor is for them. They are well aware that you can’t eat a lot and sin with sweets, but they don’t think that eating is also dangerous. The intake of insulin should be carried out due to a sufficient amount of glucose in the body.
Its level in the blood with a small intake drops so that hypoglycemia develops. This condition is characterized by cold sweat, trembling, fainting, up to a possible hypoglycemic coma. Therefore, doctors and prescribed strict adherence to diet is paramount. For a diabetic, this is as vital as getting a daily dose of the hormone. And for insulin-dependent diabetes, the main tool of treatment is just insulin, that is, a replacement treatment. It enters the patient’s body in the form of dosage forms, compensating for the catastrophic shortage.
The diet for type 1 diabetes should be followed especially strictly!
But here there is a very important point: the deceitfulness of the apparent simplicity of its compensation. A healthy person can eat, especially without thinking about the amount eaten, his pancreas automatically releases an adequate amount of insulin. For diabetics it is a bit more difficult. Nutrition for type 1 diabetes should be arranged so that the dose of insulin taken can completely convert the amount of glucose received. Without a doubt, the most dangerous complications of diabetes are acidosis and coma. Other common complications are any infections, because as a result of the debilitating effect of the disease, the body’s immunity drops, which helps in the fight against various viruses and bacteria.
These infections occur in the form of boils, abscesses or bronchopneumonia, sepsis and tuberculosis. Appointed appropriate treatment, as a rule, successfully copes with them. However, due to the lack of protective forces, the patient’s body needs much more time for this than non-diabetics. The difficulty lies in the fact that in the treatment of infection, the patient’s body can demonstrate more or less pronounced non-acceptance of insulin. Accordingly, in this case, the carbohydrate balance is disturbed and activation of the treatment of the underlying disease is required.
The diet of diabetics should become part of the lifestyle!
In some forms of diabetes, there is a tendency to ketosis: the overproduction and accumulation of ketone bodies in the blood. The consequences caused by this process are called acidosis, it violates the acid-base balance and the mineral volume in the body. In turn, this leads to dangerous fluctuations in the adaptation of existing diabetes, that is, diet and medication stop working. Acidosis is the first step towards a diabetic coma.
There are several precepts in the diet of diabetics, which should become part of the lifestyle:
- For type 1 diabetes, all products can be included, the only exception is simple sugar (sweet foods and drinks with sugar, honey). Their consumption is not banned but should only be taken under strict restriction.
- Fast-acting insulin is always taken at least 30 maximum 40 minutes before a meal. If there is a likelihood of skipping dinner, then you cannot take a long-acting drug so that hypoglycemia does not occur at night.
- Diabetics should intake food at least 3 times a day, but to stabilize the metabolism, one should strive to increase the frequency of intake up to 5-6 times.
- Half of the calories consumed should come from carbohydrates: flour products, cereals, bread and baked goods with plentiful accompaniment of vegetables contained in high-grade foods.
- Daily intake of fruits for diabetics is required. But their consumption when containing a large amount of fructose (apples, oranges, tangerines, pears, etc.) is subject to restriction.
The question naturally arises: how do I defeat type 1 diabetes? Besides the aforementioned points for diabetics, some mandatory rules for the administration of insulin should be added:
- the drug for injection should be at room temperature;
- an open ampoule with insulin is stored under the same conditions, the temperature difference is harmful to it.
Undergoing treatment at the dentist, the patient must warn the doctor about the presence of the disease, since the risk of introducing infection is increased. In this case, the attending physician should monitor the patient’s blood glucose level for several days. You need to be prepared for the fact that in a diabetic during glycemic surgery, glycemia can occur as a result of stress. The presence of this indicator is not as decisive as the status of metabolism (acid-base, water metabolism, electrolyte content).