Some Cause Of Diabetes?

Diabetes starts most often between the ages of forty-five and fifty years, twice as often in women as in men, and especially in married women who have had children. Diabetes seems to be a racial characteristic which afflicts the Jewish race heavily for some unknown reason. Inheritance also is a factor in diabetes and if any one of our close relatives is found to have this disease, we ourselves are possible candidates and an examination for diabetes is in order.

The biggest reason for diabetes seems to be “obesity.” The reason is not clear, but schooled opinion exists that the fat person is continually looking down the gun barrel of diabetes. Stress also is thought responsible for bringing about diabetes, and the stress of a severe burn, high fever, pregnancy or severe emotional upset is very often the straw that breaks the back of the diabetic candidate. Examination after such episodes often reveals, for the first time, the presence of diabetes.

Control of diabetes means control of sugar within the body. In light diabetes, restriction of sugar in the diet may be sufficient, but in severe diabetes, insulin (which should have been manufactured by the pancreas) becomes necessary for effective treatment. Diabetics usually wonder why they cannot take insulin by mouth and the reason is that the hormone insulin, is also a protein, and if taken by mouth like other foods, is simply digested away. There is beginning use, however, of drugs taken orally which do have a pronounced effect in some cases of diabetes, and eventually it is probable that complete treatment of diabetes may be entirely by the oral route rather than by the unwelcome hypodermic route.

Smoking increases your risk of getting diabetes.

If you smoke and think you are otherwise in good health. Think again. According to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, smoking 16 to 25 cigarettes a day increases your risk for Type 2 diabetes to three times that of a non-smoker. The more risk factors a person has, the greater the chances are of developing diabetes.

Risk factors for Type 2 diabetes include:

Family history of diabetes
Being of African-American, Hispanic, or Native American race or ethnic background
Obesity (This means a person is 20 percent or more over his or her desired body weight.)
Physical stress (This includes things such as surgery or illness.)
Use of certain medicines
Injury to the pancreas (Injuries can occur from things such as infection, tumor, surgery, or accident)
Autoimmune disease
Hypertension
Elevated blood cholesterol or triglyceride levels
Age (Risk increases with age.)
Alcohol (Risk increases with years of heavy alcohol use.)
Smoking
Pregnancy (Women can develop diabetes during pregnancy. If this happens, the chance of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life also increases.)