14th November, World's diabetes day - this day is to acknowledge the non-communicable yet the most prevalent disease- Diabetes. India being the “diabetes capital” alleges us of being intolerant towards the health of our generations. Diabetes is a chronic disease to be highly managed. Therefore we are required to be aware of the risks and consequences.

The globally increasing prevalence of diabetes prompts us to delve into the roots.

India is the country of celebrations and festivals. This Invites frequent sugary and fatty diets for the population. And when our bodies cannot metabolize sugars efficiently it creates a stressful load on the body and calls for one of the many diseases- diabetes.

Let us try to understand the two types of diabetes

(Insulin is the weapon to maintain our sugar levels)

a.Type 1 diabetes, wherein the body stops producing Insulin.

b.Type 2 diabetes, where the body is no longer capable of identifying insulin.

Both types of diabetes have similar symptoms- Frequent thirst, frequent micturition (urination), frequent hunger, fatigue, unexplained weight loss.

Type 1 diabetes, often autoimmune in nature, has less scope for management at a personal level.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by various factors such as low physical activity, poor lifestyle, obesity, stress, etc and can be managed a great deal with personal involvement

Lifestyle is one of the major causes of diabetes. A conscious effort to improve our diets and physical activity can improve the overall lifestyle.

Obesity and diabetes have an age-old immortal relationship.
- Some signs to look for obesity are:-
  - High waistline than the normal range. (Normal range:- 90 cm for men and 80 cm for women)
  - Progressive and extensive weight gain.
  - Increased appetite and hunger.

Urbanisation and its consequences have a role in increasing diabetes. The increased intake of processed foods, high sugars, and instant foods are some of the culprits.
Methods like sugar tax to restrict sugar usage in industrial products are not yet effectively enforced in India. Therefore, it becomes our responsibility to control the consumption of these products.

LEARN MORE! Check out our blog on Five Easy Things to Manage Blood Sugars and Beat Diabetes

People due to unawareness tend to wrongly perceive diabetes and so, in India, diabetes education is highly necessary. Stigma or taboo around any health issue needs to be addressed. Let us take a moment and clear some doubts.

Allow us to bust some myths regarding diabetes: -

1. “Diabetes occurs only in old-age”

Even though age does play a role in increasing the susceptibility of diseases.

Research says,

Diabetes in the young has been classically defined as the onset of diabetes <35 yr of age. The increasing prevalence of childhood obesity is also contributing to the burden of T2DM (type 2 diabetes mellitus) in young ones.

The rise of increasing diabetics irrespective of their age has disproved the myth!

2. “Gender has less or no control over diabetes”

The risk of diabetes according to gender can be partially supported with research. Stating gender has no control would be incorrect.

Data says,

Type 2 diabetes is more frequently diagnosed at lower age and body mass index in men. However, the most prominent risk factor, which is obesity, is more common in women.

Thus, gender along with many other factors play a role in persuading the risks of diabetes.

3. “Smoking has no role in diabetes”

Smoking is thought to be uninvolved in diabetes. While it does a lot more harm than you think.

Smoking is one of the causes of type 2 diabetes.

Research says people who smoke cigarettes are 30%–40% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people who don’t smoke.

4. “Stress has no relation to diabetes”

Unlike believed, there is proven data to state that stress has directly contributed to diabetes mellitus.

Stress raises blood glucose levels leading to an increase in the metabolic load of the body. One of the major causes of insulin resistance, thus leading to T2DM (type 2 Diabetes mellitus)

Not just an etiology, stress also negatively interferes in the progress of treatment in diabetes.

5. “Sugars are to be blamed”

Ladoos, rasgullas, modaks and many more! All these sweets have been in our country for ages.

Attacking them or any other sweet recipes would be unjust. These were made to savor and not prompt health imbalances.

We go wrong when we get involved in binge eating, frequent consumption of sugary products. Quality eating is the best way to go about it. A balanced and conscious approach will always keep you on your toes.

Along with that, Look for healthier sweet options like jaggery, honey, brown sugar over refined white sugar. Natural sugars like fruits and cooked sweet potatoes are good to opt for.

Look for healthy sweet recipes here - (Oats Chivda & Sugar-Free Nuts Ladoos)

World diabetes day was introduced for us to shield our health from the diabetes epidemic.

The increasing prevalence of diabetes in India plays the siren of concern. It prompts us to acknowledge the risks we are facing. Today is the day to tackle the precursors of diabetes and many more such diseases.

The representation for the world’s diabetes day campaign is the blue circle, signifying the unity against diabetes. The blue circle reminds us of the blue Ashoka chakra in our Indian flag, The spokes within symbolize the 24 virtues. The color blue stands for the sky and the ocean, all of these combine to represent the motion of life. The beauty of both is the unity against terror they denote. It inspires us to rightfully save our community from the terror of living with diabetes.

We would like to conclude with the message that,

We all deserve to live guilt-free and healthy!

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(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6676830/)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4890267/

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/diabetes.html https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8105502/