WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DIABETES

In sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria has the highest number of people with diabetes with an estimated 3.9 million people (or an extrapolated prevalence of 4.99%) of the adult population aged 20-79-year-old.

Prediabetes is often considered a transition step to Type 2 diabetes, but with important lifestyle changes Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed.

In all forms of diabetes, the body’s ability to make or properly use insulin is affected. Insulin is a hormone that is made by the pancreas, and it helps your cells store and use energy from food. If you have diabetes, glucose collects in the blood but doesn’t get transported into the cells. Thus, your body is not getting the energy it needs. Also, the high levels of glucose circulate through the body, damaging cells along the way.

Diabetes increases the risk of having a heart attack or stroke and may lead to kidney, eye and nerve damage.

Types of Diabetes

There are two main types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2:

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is also called insulin dependent diabetes. It used to be called juvenile-onset diabetes, because it often begins in childhood.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition. It happens when your body attacks your pancreas with antibodies. The organ is damaged and doesn’t make insulin.

Your genes might cause this type of diabetes. It could also happen because of problems with cells in your pancreas that make insulin.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes used to be called non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes. But it’s become more common in children and teens over the past 20 years, largely because more young people are overweight or obese. About 90% of people with diabetes have type 2.

When you have Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas usually creates some insulin. But either it’s not enough or your body doesn’t use it like it should. Insulin resistance, when your cells don’t respond to insulin, usually happens in fat, liver, and muscle cells.

How to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.

1. Check your risk of diabetes. 
2. Manage your weight. Excess body fat, particularly if stored around the abdomen, can increase the body’s resistance to the hormone insulin. This can lead to type 2 diabetes.
3. Exercise regularly. Moderate physical activity on most days of the week helps manage weight, reduce blood glucose levels and may also improve blood pressure and cholesterol.

• Eat a balanced, healthy diet. Reduce the amount of fat in your diet, especially saturated and trans fats. Eat more fruit, vegetables and high-fibre foods. Cut back on salt.
• Limit takeaway and processed foods. ‘Convenience meals’ are usually high in salt, fat and kilojoules. It’s best to cook for yourself using fresh ingredients whenever possible.
• Limit your alcohol intake. Too much alcohol can lead to weight gain and may increase your blood pressure and triglyceride levels. Men should have no more than two standard drinks a day and women should have no more than one.
• Quit smoking. Smokers are twice as likely to develop diabetes as non-smokers.
• Control your blood pressure. Most people can do this with regular exercise, a balanced diet and by keeping a healthy weight. In some cases, you might need medication prescribed by your doctor.
• Reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease have many risk factors in common, including obesity and physical inactivity.
• See your doctor for regular check-ups. As you get older, it’s a good idea to regularly check your blood glucose, blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels.

Signs, Symptoms and Testing

Signs and symptoms of diabetes include going to the bathroom frequently, being unusually thirsty, losing weight without trying, feeling tired, irritability, blurred vision, frequent illness or infection and poor circulation such as tingling or numbness in the feet or hands. If you have these symptoms, see a doctor immediately. You may need to have one of the following tests for diabetes:

• Fasting Plasma Glucose: Indicates the amount of glucose in a sample of blood taken when a person is fasting (often they haven’t eaten anything for eight to 12 hours).
• A1C Test: Measures a person’s average blood glucose range over the past two to three months. This test shows the amount of glucose that sticks to the red blood cell
• Oral Glucose Tolerance Test: Results of this test show how the body uses glucose over time. This test is performed by a health care professional after an overnight fast. A blood sample is taken, the patient drinks a high-glucose beverage and then a blood sample may be taken every hour for up to three hours after drinking the beverage.

Managing Blood Glucose Levels

If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, a registered dietitian nutritionist, or RDN, will work with you and other members of your healthcare team to help you manage your blood glucose levels and reduce your risk of possible complications. Some goals your care team may work with you on include:

• Keeping blood glucose levels within a normal range. Or, as close to normal as possible, which can prevent or reduce complications.
• Keeping blood pressure in normal ranges.
• Working to get healthy cholesterol levels.

People with Type 1 diabetes need daily insulin injections or an insulin pump. People with Type 2 diabetes can help control blood sugar levels through food choices, physical activity and, for some people, a combination of medication and insulin injections.

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What then can SUPHAGE Tablets do for you?

• Suphage(glimepiride working synergestically with Metformin) significantly reduced glycosylated hemoglobin level ,and post prandial glucose level.
• Suphage has decreased Mortality rate

• Suphage is comparable to Insulin in reducing hyperglycemia
• Suphage Shows No weight gain
• Suphage is a cornerstone in the management of DM