So can diabetes kill you ? Diabetes kills one person every 8 seconds.
Diabetes kills one person every 8 seconds. According to studies conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), over 60% of people around the world have a sedentary lifestyle. WHO figures also show that the condition kills one person every eight seconds. Diabetes is an incurable disease, so patients diagnosed with this condition must change their lifestyle and periodically measure their blood sugar levels.
Doctors say that this disease decreases life expectancy by an average of 5-10 years and is one of the major causes of premature death in the world. However, doctors warn that, globally, people are not aware of the risks they are exposed to because they have an unbalanced diet and are sedentary. Nutritionists point out that a diabetic’s diet should not be completely different from that of a healthy person.
However, these patients need to eliminate saturated fats from their diet, which affect the heart and blood vessels. Studies in the field have shown that the Mediterranean diet, rich in vegetables, fish, unsaturated fats such as olive or walnut oil and low in red meat or fatty dairy products, substantially ameliorates the unpleasant effects of the disease.
Exercise helps lower blood pressure, increases the level of good cholesterol in the body and decreases the resistance of tissues to the action of insulin, lowering blood sugar levels.
So can diabetes kill you? Diabetes doesn’t kill you, but the complications from diabetes do!
Diabetic ketoacidosis is a complication of diabetes that can lead to death. It occurs when the insulin produced by the body is insufficient and causes the blood to become acidic and the body to become dangerously dehydrated. Diabetic ketoacidosis can occur when diabetes is not treated properly, or it can occur against a serious illness. The body needs a constant source of energy. When enough insulin is produced, the body’s cells can get all the energy they need from glucose. But if there is not enough insulin in the blood, the liver is programmed to produce emergency “fuels.” These fuels, obtained from fats, are called ketones (or keto acids), which can provide energy. However, if the body remains dependent on ketones for too long to have energy, it will soon become ill. Ketones are acidic chemicals that are toxic in high concentrations.
In diabetic ketoacidosis, ketones accumulate in the blood, severely altering normal blood chemistry and affecting the function of several organs. They make the blood acidic, which causes vomiting and abdominal pain.
If the acid level of the blood becomes extreme, ketoacidosis can cause low blood pressure, coma, and death. Ketoacidosis is always accompanied by dehydration, which is caused by high blood glucose levels, according to specialists from Harvard Medical School. Glucose builds up in the blood if there is not enough insulin to carry glucose into the cells. During an episode of ketoacidosis, it is common for blood sugar to rise to over 400 milligrams per deciliter.
When blood sugar levels are so high, some of the sugar “spills” into the urine. Because sugar is transported in the urine, water, salt, and potassium are drawn into the urine with each sugar molecule, and the body loses large amounts of fluid and electrolytes, which are minerals that play a crucial role in cell function. As this happens, much more urine is produced than normal.
Eventually, it may become impossible to drink enough fluids to keep up with the amounts of fluid removed. Vomiting caused by blood acidity also contributes to fluid loss and dehydration
Type 2 diabetes can lead to ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction, can cause arteriopathy, circulatory disorders, kidney failure, diabetic retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy.
The prevalence of diabetes worldwide is constantly increasing, so World Diabetes Day – November 14 is, every year, an opportunity to remind that this condition is a major public health problem and that it is very important to learn about diabetes prevention and know the risk factors that cause the disease.
