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Diabetes Mellitus also called 'late-onset
diabetes' or 'non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus' (NIDDM). Despite
this name, diabetes in later life may eventually need insulin.
Patients with diabetes don't have
enough insulin, the hormone which helps burn down the sugars in our
body. The small amount of insulin which remains in the blood is not able
to work properly, leaving large quantities of unused sugar going round
the bloodstream. Too much sugar destroys our proteins in a process
called 'cross-linking'
The numbers of new cases of diabetes
increase with age. On many occasions there is a genetic predisposition
to this disease. Eating too much refined sugar is also thought to make
diabetes more likely in certain sensitive people.
Diabetes can cause:
- retinopathy (damage to the retina
of the eye causing visual problems)
- kidney damage
- leg ulcers
- impotence
- increased risk of thrush
Conventional treatments for diabetes include tablets
which urge the pancreas to release insulin or which make insulin work in
harmony with the cells. When these diabetes treatments fail, insulin injections
are used.
Controversial diabetes treatments for preventing
diabetes include the drugs amino guanidine and the hormone DHEA.
Chromium picolinate supplements have also been tried (but ask your
doctor before starting these if you are already a diabetic), as have
garlic and nettle root teas.
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