Diabetes: the disease, the causes and how to prevent it

If you have a disease like diabetes, you may conclude there is nothing you can do to avoid it. Anyway for type 2 diabetes it is possible to take concrete steps to live better and reduce its severity. Nowadays t is impossible to prevent type 1 diabetes. Generally the immune system destroys the cells that produce insulin. That is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors contributes to this destruction. Children, adolescents or young adults can be affected by this type of diabetes. At the present time, researchers have not completely understood this negative process. They also don’t know why this happens at different ages. Anyway there are many kind of promising researches, like a vaccine, that could target the immune system and prevent it from attacking the insulin-producing beta cells, or for example the pancreatic islet cell transplants. In fact for more than 20 years scientists have been looking for a way to transplant islets of Langerhans, where insulin is produced. Unfortunately, researchers have still a lot of obstacles, like the rejection or insufficient quantities of islets. Five years ago, a team of researchers from the University of Alberta perfected a method for isolating these islets: the Edmonton Protocol. This method simplifies the isolation of islets; they managed to make much cells survive by using a combination of less aggressive anti-rejection methods. “We are not afraid”, says my Italian doctor. “The research continues”. They have to find other methods to let islets survive longer. Some years ago many scientists tested whether injecting insulin could prevent type 1 diabetes. The hypothesis postulated that by injecting small doses of insulin in persons at risk of developing the disease, the body would develop antibodies to fight the destruction of its beta cells. Unfortunately a few years after the scientists concluded that injecting insulin did not prevent type1 diabetes. Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes can be prevented. The factors contributing to this kind of disease are well known. Generally it depends on the age, on the genetic family history or being overweight. An high – fat diet makes you on the “road” to become diabetic. However, nobody can really completely prevent diabetes even with good lifestyle habits. Scientists says that certain ethnic groups are at higher risk than others. For example they talk about Hispanics, Asians and people of African. Obviously people who live in the industrialized world are more at risk… But I can say that most part of type 2 diabetics are overweight. One of the most important symptoms can be that diabetes might not be diagnosed for a long time. A varied and well-balanced diet is very important to prevent diabetes. The secret to healthy eating is to select low fat foods, not to add sugar while you eat something and increase the consumption of high-fibre foods. Diabetics have to be followed in their diet by a specialized doctor. They should have a precise individual meal plan. A dietician can provide one and also review your food habits. Make some exercise to have more health benefits. Just 30 minutes of exercise are sufficient. When you increase the amount of exercise, you raise your metabolism. By moving more, you expend more energy. For a diabetic, this means more efficient use of the insulin injected or produced by the pancreas.