Health: Diabetes prevention and cure

Manila Bulletin – 23 hours ago
The news that the number of people suffering from diabetes in the United Kingdom has reached an all-time high – more than four million living with the disease, with 280,000 more people diagnosed annually, making it a “national health emergency,” has led to concerns about a similar health problem in the Philippines. Experts reported 3.4 million diabetes cases in the Philippines today and project that there will be 6.16 million diabetic Filipinos by 2030.
Diabetes in the Philippines affects the lives of 9.7% of the adult population; one out of every five Filipino adults has either diabetes or is at risk with impaired glucose tolerance. Worldwide, there are 371 million people living with diabetes and another 280 million are at high risk, posing a global problem.
Diabetes mellitus, or simply diabetes, is lack or insufficient amount of insulin in the body, or a case of insulin resistance, commonly known as having too much sugar in the blood. When uncontrolled, it could lead to blindness, heart and blood vessel disease, kidney failure, limb amputation, nerve damage, and stroke. There are two kinds: Type 1, triggered by genetic predisposition; and Type 2 which is associated with lifestyle and gestational diabetes, a condition that affects pregnant women. In many cases type 2 diabetes is preventable, while Type 1 is management. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90% of all cases in the Philippines.
Prevention is better than cure, and programs by the Department of Health (DOH) seek to prevent Filipinos from developing the disease. The DOH campaign  seeks to raise awareness of warning signs of diabetes and promotes action for early diagnosis to prevent or delay its complications and reduces the risk factors for Tyre 2 diabetes. Diabetes and its complications are preventable and there are proven, affordable interventions available. Depending on type and severity, diabetes is controlled by diet, weight loss, physical activity and exercise, lifestyle change, medication, and injected or inhaled insulin. Early detection allows patients to manage the illness to stop it from getting worse.
Diabetes is the eighth leading cause of death in the Philippines, with an approximate 2.5 million Filipinos diagnosed with Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes. Doctors have found obesity as one of risk factors for diabetes; Filipinos becoming heavier could be linked to changing dietary habits as shown in a Food Consumption Survey showing an increasing intake of rice, sugar, and meat, and a declining intake of fruits and vegetables.
A big number of Filipinos, including those afflicted with diabetes, know  little or nothing at all about the disease, necessitating proper education and information, an integral part of diabetes prevention and treatment.

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