Type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus - treatment, symptoms, nutrition, prevention

Among the most common chronic diseases, diabetes mellitus is far from the last place in the modern world. This disease is expressed in an increase in the level of glucose in blood cells. In a healthy person, the corresponding level is always normal, regardless of the amount of sweets consumed. It is about the presence in the body of insulin - a special hormone that is secreted by the pancreas. It is he who breaks down glucose.

Patients with diabetes also have insulin in the blood, but it is not enough or cannot cope with its functions due to a special pathology of blood cells. The statistics are disappointing: many people skip the initial stage of the development of the disease, start its course and turn to specialists only when the symptoms become so severe that they interfere with normal life and work.

types of diseases

The disease is expressed by multiple symptoms. Different forms of this disease occur for different reasons and have different pathogenesis. In itself, the concept of "diabetes" is quite extensive. Experts distinguish 2 types of the disease.

Diabetes type 1

Type 1 diabetes is insulin dependent. It is most often diagnosed in young people, whose age does not exceed 40 years. This is a disease in which blood cells fill with sugar. The reason for this is antibodies that destroy insulin. The disease, the appearance of which is associated with the presence of such antibodies, is not completely cured.

Diagnosis of this disease involves serious laboratory tests. Such a diagnosis is not made from the photo, so you should not trust people who try to tell a person about his illness without even seeing the test results. At the first suspicion of a disease, you should immediately contact a medical institution.

People with type 1 diabetes tend to have a slim physique. They need regular insulin injections from the time the disease is diagnosed until the end of their lives. The medical history of such patients is standard. The disease is hereditary.

Those who have had diabetes in their family have a genetic predisposition to this disease. They present a chronic variant of this type of disease in certain circumstances. It can be caused by a variety of viruses and bacteria, as well as strong or prolonged stress. Due to such negative factors, antibodies are formed that can destroy the cells responsible for the presence of insulin.

type 2 diabetes

Insulin-independent, the second type of the disease is often diagnosed in older people. This is a variant of the disease, characterized by the inability of insulin to cope with its main function. Sugar cannot break down on its own and builds up in the blood. Gradually, the cells of the body develop an "addiction" to insulin. The hormone itself is produced, there is no shortage of it, but the glucose in the cells is not broken down.

The insulin-dependent variant of this disease has its own progressive development. As a rule, this disease is detected in people over forty years of age, but sometimes it is found even in children. Patients suffering from this type of diabetes mellitus are overweight. The blood cells of such people are no longer able to perceive any effect of insulin.

Characteristics of type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is the result of insufficient secretion (release) of insulin from the pancreas. Specialists indicate characteristic symptoms that make it possible to suspect the presence of this disease in a person even in the early stages. Among them: a constant feeling of thirst, excessive urination, fatigue, a chronic feeling of weakness. It is necessary to determine the level of glucose and insulin in the blood. If the diagnosis is confirmed, treatment is immediately prescribed; otherwise, the patient may develop ulcers and a wide range of other complications.

Why does type 1 diabetes develop? The classical medical school gives an unequivocal answer to this question. The main cause of this disease is a disorder of the pancreas, in which the formation of insulin is stopped or significantly slowed down. It is also worth noting that pregnant women have so-called gestational diabetes, associated with the risk of developing an insulin-dependent form of the disease.

Let's not forget to discuss very specific topics and symptoms. Often type 1 diabetes is accompanied by the formation of acetone odor in the oral cavity. These are the first bells of the body, which should alert and encourage a person to contact a specialist. The earlier in this case the patient comes to the doctor, the more likely it is that the disease can be detected at an early stage. However, many times people, and especially men, forget to visit a specialist and live for a year or several years, not even knowing about their diagnosis, until it becomes completely unbearable.

Indirect signs of diabetes mellitus form 1 include:

1. Complications in the treatment of infectious diseases;
2. poor wound healing;
3. Heaviness in the legs;
4. Pain in the calf muscles;

It is also important to remember that people suffering from this disease must constantly monitor their own blood pressure and maintain its normal state with modern medications. Specific drugs should be prescribed exclusively by a specialist, based on the diagnosis and individual characteristics of the patient.

How to detect type 1 diabetes?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined the procedures that people should undergo if they suspect the presence of this disease. His list includes:

• Blood tests for glucose;
• glucose tolerance test;
• Detection of glucose levels in urine;
• Calculation of the percentage of glycosylated hemoglobin;
• Insulin and C-peptide detection in blood.

You should know that blood must be taken for analysis on an empty stomach. The results of the study are compared with the values of the glucose level in a special table. If this level:

1. Does not reach 6. 1 mmol / l - there is no hyperglycemia, the disease is excluded;
2. It is in the range from 6. 1 to 7. 0 mmol / l - the glycemic level is close to the maximum permissible;
3. Exceeds 7. 0 mmol / l - the presence of an ailment is very likely, but an accurate diagnosis requires additional confirmation.

The prediabetic state of a person is indicated by violations of glucose tolerance - an increase in glycemia, which, however, has not yet exceeded the permissible limits. A patient with such findings needs further monitoring and prophylaxis.

How is type 1 diabetes treated?

There are the following treatments for this disease: a special diet, exercise, medication.

Correctly selected nutrition system helps to relieve the main symptoms of diabetes. The main task of the diet is to limit the intake of sugar in the body as much as possible.

How to treat the disease? In situations with type 1 disease, in most cases, regular insulin injections are indispensable. Experts determine the optimal daily dose of this hormone for each patient individually.

Insulin-containing preparations are absorbed into the blood at different rates and act for different times. It is necessary to choose the right places for injections. There are several varieties of this hormone:

• Short-acting insulin: its effect is noticeable almost instantly;
• Intermediate insulin is administered to the body through a special preparation that contains substances that slow down the absorption of the hormone. This drug works for about 10 hours;
• Long-acting insulin. It is supplied to the body through a series of special drugs. It should take about 14 hours to reach peak effectiveness. The fuss is valid for at least a day and a half.

As a rule, patients make the introduction of drugs on their own, having learned to give themselves injections under the guidance of a specialist.

The clinician tailors a treatment regimen based on the patient's presentation, reflecting factors such as:

1. Increase;
2. The weight;
3. Years;
4. Insulin susceptibility.

If a patient with diabetes is overweight, then a mandatory measure of treatment and prevention is to reduce the percentage of high-calorie foods in the menu. It is harmful to use canned foods, fatty meats, smoked foods, sour cream, mayonnaise, nuts, and many fruits. We'll have to forget about sweets. This is especially difficult if the disease is diagnosed in children or in women who tend to pamper themselves.

We have to look for ways to reduce the amount of high-calorie foods. There is an energy deficit and the body consumes adipose tissue. However, it must be remembered that it cannot be brought to energy depletion.

Physical activity helps lower blood sugar levels. A moderate workload is required. Exercises should be done regularly, dosed. There is no need to exhaust yourself with heavy weights. Enough aerobic exercise.

The so-called insulin pumps can significantly improve the quality of life of patients. These are devices from the world of electronics that accurately determine the level of sugar in the blood and, based on the received readings, independently perform metered injections of insulin. They make treatment more effective and minimize the risk of complications.

How to store insulin preparations?

Opened vials can be stored at room temperature for no more than six weeks. They should be kept in places where sunlight or artificial light does not penetrate. Do not store insulin-containing preparations near heat sources.

The inadmissibility of using the drug is indicated by the formation of a characteristic film or clots inside the vial, visually similar to scales. This signal plays an important role. The use of an expired drug threatens to increase the problems with the disease and can even have fatal consequences.

diabetes mellitus type 2

The pancreas of people with type 2 diabetes produces enough insulin on its own, but the body cannot absorb this hormone due to malfunctioning cell receptors. Glucose is not processed properly, as a result, blood vessels are damaged, as well as internal organs. This can be especially dangerous during pregnancy. However, the non-insulin-dependent form is typical of older people.

Diabetes of the second variety is formed for certain reasons, the main of which are considered to be overweight and a genetic predisposition to this disease. According to statistics, about 80% of type 2 diabetes patients are obese. Can you fully recover by reducing your own body weight? The answer here will be negative, but as a preventive measure, this measure can be very effective. According to the generally accepted scientific concept, an excess of fat cells prevents the body from using insulin.

Symptoms and complications of type 2 diabetes

Symptoms of the first and second types of the disease are similar in many respects: strong thirst is accompanied by excessive urination, a person constantly feels unwell - weakness and fatigue, bouts of irritability, sometimes nausea and vomiting.

Special attention should be paid to possible complications. According to the latest International Classification of Diseases (MBC 10), its list is quite extensive and causes great concern in patients. If the blood is full of glucose, pathological changes in almost all internal organs are inevitable. In the advanced stages of the disease, patients even receive disability.

In patients with type 2 diabetes, the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke, all kinds of kidney diseases and visual impairment increases significantly. Even minor wounds do not heal for a long time. Sometimes the disease becomes capable of causing gangrene, which may require amputation of the injured limb. The list of complications for men completes impotence. Such a serious list of negative aspects forces specialists to continue to find ways to the most effective therapy today.

What makes sense to do when you find signs of illness?

If there are first suspicions of diabetes of the second form, it is urgent to undergo a medical examination. People who are aware of their genetic predisposition to this disease should regularly monitor the sugar content of their blood and urine. This is especially true for people over 50 years of age, as well as for all those who are overweight.

If the diagnosis is already established, the patient should be under medical supervision and periodically visit a specialist.

For people with type 2 diabetes, doctors prescribe:

• Control glucose and cholesterol levels, as well as body weight;
• Change your own diet by adding low-calorie foods to the menu, in which there should be as little sugar as possible. You need to eat more complex carbohydrates and foods with plant fibers;
• Exercise regularly.

Patients must learn to independently determine the level of glucose in the blood. Today, there are specialized devices that make it easy to do this at home. They are called glucometers.

It is necessary to constantly adhere to strict self-control. Treatment is inextricably linked with dietary therapy and exercise. These points effectively complement therapy based on the use of hypoglycemic drugs, called incretin mimetics in medicine. In most cases, these are tablets, not injections, as is the case with medicines that contain insulin.

A specific drug must be prescribed exclusively by a doctor, based on all the data he has about the patient. You must individually determine the frequency of subsequent visits. It is necessary to conduct many tests to establish what the general condition of the patient is, whether there is a risk of developing complications, the prevention of which will require additional treatment.

With the help of the results of numerous scientific studies, experts were able to find out that along with weight loss, the disease takes on a weaker form. As a result, its symptoms are less tormenting for patients and their quality of life improves significantly.

Recently, a new remedy, the Chinese diabetes patch, has been widely publicized in the media. Its manufacturers promise an almost miraculous effect, urging you not to skimp on money and buy their products. However, conventional medical professionals are skeptical about this treatment option. If you read comments on the Internet about this patch, they are extremely contradictory. Some write that they supposedly helped. Others are completely disappointed with this remedy.

Prevention measures

Authoritative experts in the field of medicine have long proved that stress is a provoking factor in the development of many diseases. It can also contribute to the onset of diabetes, so avoid worry and try not to react less to any problem in life.

As mentioned above, you need to exercise and take care of your own diet. There are specially designed diets that are beneficial to the health of this type of patient. If you strictly follow the doctor's recommendations, you can significantly improve the quality of your own life, eliminating a significant part of the symptoms that accompany this disease.

It is necessary to exclude certain products from the menu. Specialists often prescribe the so-called 9 diet. Its goal is to minimize the consumption of foods that contain a large amount of carbohydrates. It has been proven that in patients using this diet, the work of the pancreas improves significantly.

What products can be consumed? Their list includes: low-fat varieties of meat and fish; cabbage, cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes and zucchini; buckwheat, barley, millet and oatmeal. Apples and strawberries are also allowed, but in moderation. Dairy products can only be consumed low-fat. After such a meal, the blood sugar level will not rise to an unacceptable level.

In the medical selection of the menu, the structural composition of food is necessarily taken into account. The diet should include:

1. 55% animal grade protein (80-90 grams).
2. 30% vegetable fat (70-80 grams).
3. 300-350 grams of carbohydrates.
4. 12 grams of table salt
5. One and a half liters of liquid.

Do not consume more than 2200-2400 kcal per day. You should eat 5-6 times a day, evenly "spreading" your carbohydrate intake over time. The sugar will have to be removed. Sweet dishes are prepared in small quantities and only with sugar substitutes such as stevia, sorbitol or xylitol.

Salt intake should also be limited. The cooking method is important. Boiled and baked dishes should prevail in the diet. Fried and stewed foods are acceptable for consumption in a minimal quantity. There are recipes designed specifically for diabetics. Following them, you can cook delicious dishes that will not harm your health.

On the day you need to adhere to a certain menu. So diet number 9 can be represented by:

• In the morning - tea, buckwheat porridge, fat-free cottage cheese, milk;
• Second meal: wheat bran (boiled);
• Lunch: cabbage soup with sunflower oil (vegetarian), fruit jelly, boiled meat with milk sauce;
• Snack: a small amount of apples;
• Dinner: baked boiled fish with milk sauce, as well as cabbage dishes.

What do they eat during the week?

Table number 9 is the fruit of the work of Soviet nutritionists. They created a food option suitable for specialized sanatoriums. The ninth table significantly increases the effectiveness of complex therapy.

The menu for the week looks like this:

Monday

• Breakfast: chicory, fat-free cottage cheese with milk, porridge (buckwheat).
• Lunch: 200 ml of milk.
• Lunch: vegetarian cabbage soup, white poultry breast, fruit jelly.
• Afternoon: apple.
• Dinner: boiled fish, tea, cabbage dishes.
• Before bed: a glass of low-fat yogurt.

Tuesday

• First meal: barley, chicken egg, radicchio, stewed cabbage.
• Lunch: a glass of milk (only low-fat is suitable).
• Lunch: mashed potatoes, boiled beef liver, pickle soup, dried fruit compote.
• Snack: fruit jelly.
• Dinner: boiled chicken, stewed cabbage.
• Before bedtime: low-fat kefir.

Wednesday

• The first meal: cottage cheese and non-fat milk, radicchio, porridge.
• Lunch: a cup of jelly.
• Lunch: borscht, boiled meat, buckwheat porridge, tea.
• Snack: one or two pears.
• Dinner: salad or vinaigrette, egg, tea.
• Before bed: a glass of low-fat yogurt.

Thursday

• The first meal: buckwheat porridge, radicchio, low-fat cottage cheese.
• Second breakfast: kefir.
• Lunch: lean borscht, dried fruit compote, boiled meat.
• Snack: pear without sugar.
• For dinner - cabbage schnitzel, boiled fish from low-fat tea varieties.
• Before going to bed: a glass of skimmed yogurt.

Friday

• First meal: egg, a little butter, vinaigrette without potatoes with sunflower oil, radicchio.
• Lunch: apple.
• Lunch: sauerkraut, stew or boiled meat, soup with peas.
• Snack: some fresh fruits.
• Dinner: pudding with vegetables, boiled poultry, tea.
• Before going to bed: a glass of curdled milk.

Saturday

• First meal: millet porridge, radicchio, some doctor's sausage.
• Lunch: wheat bran.
• Lunch: boiled meat, mashed potatoes, seafood soup.
• Snack: a glass of low-fat kefir.
• Dinner: low-fat cottage cheese, tea, oatmeal.

Sunday

• First meal: chicken egg, chicory, buckwheat porridge.
• Lunch: one or two apples.
• Lunch: veal cutlet, light vegetable soup, pearl barley porridge.
• Snack: skimmed milk.
• Dinner: vegetable salad, boiled fish, mashed potatoes.
• Before bedtime: low-fat kefir.

Folk methods of treatment

In folk medicine, there are many recipes that, with varying degrees of effectiveness, help to combat high blood sugar. Certified doctors are often skeptical about such treatment methods, but they do not prohibit patients from using them along with the main therapy. This "integrated approach" often gives positive results, allowing patients to reduce the manifestation of painful symptoms.

The most effective traditional medicine recipes:

• For prevention, an egg with the addition of lemon juice will help. Shake the contents of one raw egg, add the juice of one lemon. Reception 50-60 minutes before meals, 3 days - in the morning. After ten days, the course can be taken again.
• In the morning, eat baked onions for a month.
• A good way to lower glucose levels is to drink a little mustard or flaxseed every day, in addition to blackcurrant leaf tea.
• The use of freshly squeezed potato juice helps to reduce the sugar level. Raspberries and white cabbage are also used.
• White mulberry tincture (2 tablespoons) is prepared by pouring boiling water (2 cups), the infusion time is 2-3 hours, it is taken 3 times a day.
• Do not forget about such a folk remedy as a decoction of oatmeal. Pour a tablespoon of oatmeal grains with water (one and a half glasses), then boil for 15 minutes, the course is 3 r / d 15-20 minutes before meals.
• Cinnamon helps: half a teaspoon a day. Consume with tea.
• Grind oak acorns into a powder. Course: 1 h / l on an empty stomach in the morning, as well as immediately before bedtime for seven days.
• Pour the walnut partitions (40 g) with boiling water (500 ml) and put on fire. Boil ten minutes. Insist until tender, drink 1 tablespoon / l half an hour before meals.
• Pour boiling water (half a liter) poplar bark (2 tablespoons), put everything on the fire and cook for about 10 minutes. Having insisted, drink half a glass before eating.
• An effective infusion is prepared from a glass of boiling water, which is poured over the cloves (20 pieces). Insist overnight, drink three times a day exactly a third of a glass. Do not remove the used cloves, add another pinch at night, pour boiling water again, etc. The course of treatment is six months.
• Prepare half a liter of boiling water two tablespoons of nettle mix with rowan berries in the ratio: three to seven. Leave for about three or four hours. Take half a glass twice a day.
• Pour burdock roots (20 g) with boiling water (a glass), boil in a water bath for about 10 minutes. The course is 3 times a day for a table / bed before meals.

All information provided to readers in the article is for informational purposes only. Before using the obtained information in practice, be sure to discuss the possible consequences with a competent specialist!