The foremost difficulty for diabetics is not the lack of insulin, it is the result of the deficiency of insulin and that result is that the blood becomes ultra-saturated with sugar (or glucose).
Everyone's blood has glucose in it, the blood carries this energy to the limbs and organs to keep them functioning, but there is a fine balance between adequate and too much.
Insulin regulates that balance, so if you do not make enough insulin, as diabetics do not, your blood becomes dense and sugary. That does not sound too bad on the face of it.
Maybe a diabetic should be able to run further and faster than others with all that extra energy being pumped about the body.
Unfortunately, it does not work like that. The dense, syrupy blood cannot get into the thin veins and capillaries, which causes a deficiency of energy in these places, which are often at the very ends of your body and in internal and external organs.
Skin, hair, eyes, teeth and toes are all starved of the sugars they require to keep them alive, not merely to keep them super-fit. The places with the finest blood vessels begin to suffer first.
Not only that, but where the blood does reach can become more easily infected, because the bacteria think it is party time with all that extra food/energy in the blood.
A small infection that the body;s immune system could usually have dealt with in a day or two soon gets out of hand. This is a major difficulty for diabetics and one of the areas that is easily infected is the mouth.
Without the regular dental check-ups that affluent people can afford, the mouth would often get infected, as it still is in poorer countries and among poorer groups in rich countries. Children and older people are always requiring fillings, extractions and infections sorted out.
For diabetics who do not seek appropriate dental care this can soon become a major problem. Smoking worsens the problem. The concerns really start to mount up for smokers over the age of 45 when dental problems usually start to resurface after 20 odd years of relatively healthy teeth and gums.
Periodontitis is particularly dangerous for diabetics. Periodontitis is an infection that has an effect on the bones and gums in the mouth. It manifests itself in receding, bleeding gums. This exposes the blood rich in sugars to infection. Diabetics ought to advise their dentist of their condition and go for a check-up every six months.
Diabetics can easily lose all their teeth if they get periodontitis and it is readily done with high blood sugar levels. The first sign of such dental issues is bleeding teeth or gums.
It is imperative to regulate the blood sugar level to as close to normal as you can to avoid these and other complications and the two first keys to use are diet and exercise, otherwise you may have to resort to medication.
Everyone's blood has glucose in it, the blood carries this energy to the limbs and organs to keep them functioning, but there is a fine balance between adequate and too much.
Insulin regulates that balance, so if you do not make enough insulin, as diabetics do not, your blood becomes dense and sugary. That does not sound too bad on the face of it.
Maybe a diabetic should be able to run further and faster than others with all that extra energy being pumped about the body.
Unfortunately, it does not work like that. The dense, syrupy blood cannot get into the thin veins and capillaries, which causes a deficiency of energy in these places, which are often at the very ends of your body and in internal and external organs.
Skin, hair, eyes, teeth and toes are all starved of the sugars they require to keep them alive, not merely to keep them super-fit. The places with the finest blood vessels begin to suffer first.
Not only that, but where the blood does reach can become more easily infected, because the bacteria think it is party time with all that extra food/energy in the blood.
A small infection that the body;s immune system could usually have dealt with in a day or two soon gets out of hand. This is a major difficulty for diabetics and one of the areas that is easily infected is the mouth.
Without the regular dental check-ups that affluent people can afford, the mouth would often get infected, as it still is in poorer countries and among poorer groups in rich countries. Children and older people are always requiring fillings, extractions and infections sorted out.
For diabetics who do not seek appropriate dental care this can soon become a major problem. Smoking worsens the problem. The concerns really start to mount up for smokers over the age of 45 when dental problems usually start to resurface after 20 odd years of relatively healthy teeth and gums.
Periodontitis is particularly dangerous for diabetics. Periodontitis is an infection that has an effect on the bones and gums in the mouth. It manifests itself in receding, bleeding gums. This exposes the blood rich in sugars to infection. Diabetics ought to advise their dentist of their condition and go for a check-up every six months.
Diabetics can easily lose all their teeth if they get periodontitis and it is readily done with high blood sugar levels. The first sign of such dental issues is bleeding teeth or gums.
It is imperative to regulate the blood sugar level to as close to normal as you can to avoid these and other complications and the two first keys to use are diet and exercise, otherwise you may have to resort to medication.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of topics, but is now involved with diabetic friendly meals. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Cookbooks For Diabetics.
