One of the major factors for triggering diabetes is the weight of the person. A person who is overweight is more than twice at risk for diabetes than a person whose weight is normal. Further it has been found that diabetics who took the medication, and also managed their weights were found to maintain their diabetes at safe levels. More often than not, those who managed this were found to require less of the drugs that inhibit diabetes.

Why is weight so important for controlling Diabetes? The answer lies in the how and why diabetes takes place.

First, those people who are overweight or above the limits they are are supposed to have, are prone to take more of carbohydrates than is required by the body. Carbs, as it is called in short, provides energy to the body to function properly. When the intake is more than what is required, the rest is left behind in the body, without digestion, leading to weight gain. This weight gain in turn exerts its own pressure on the various organs of the body. For instance, it inhibits or damages the blood vessels, and this in turn, exerts pressure on the heart to pump at a higher rate so that the blood supply to the organs is maintained at the level it requires. Further, any exertion on the part of the overweight person also puts additional pressure on the heart.

Since the carbs are still undigested, the blood sugar, which is normally broken down by the body’s insulin is so high, that the insulin that the body produces is not enough to break down the excess sugar and therefore the blood sugar remains where it is, harming the blood vessels.

The answer to this conundrum lies in controlling weight. How can you control your weight? There are two ways that can be used.

One, give up eating fatty foods, or foods high in carbohydrates, or fried food, and of course junk food like burgers. Eat wholesome food like vegetables along with rice, or whole wheats, or oats, avoid red meat as much as you can, substituting it by lean meats, such poultry food, and add fruits. If you are addicted to fried food, try to use very little oil, and not too much of it. Greasy food adds to fat. Use oils that contain less of fats (they are indicated on the label). It is not as if there are no recipes around which help you. The American Diabetes Association has on its website a whole host of recipes that can be used. And no, you don’t have to GIVE up your favorite. All that is required is that you CONTROL the intake of your favorite.

Second, start exercising. Start slow, and gradually build up your pace, until you have reached a level you are comfortable with. Exercise burns the excess carbs, and the sugars present in the body, in addition to activating the organs to function more, and the heart pumps more blood through the body, thus revitalising the body. Did you know that when you exercise, you set in motion certain cells, that in turn due to the physical activity, coalesce into vital vitamins that you body needs!

Since your exercising burns up the excess carbs and the sugar in the body, you obviously have a lower blood glucose, which is what is required for a diabetic.

If however, you ignore the advice and medication given to you, let us see what can happen.
First and foremost, your weight will increase substantially. This will put a lot of pressure on your kidneys which will, after a time, be unable to cope with the amount of intake it has to filter, and FAIL. This is a long term process, and you won’t know till it’s quite late. You will have to undergo dialysis, which is expensive, and it is only postponing the inevitable: kidney failure.

Second, and this is likely to happen faster is that you are likely to land up with a heart problem; why, let’s face it – you may suffer a heart attack. This is because not only the carbs, which have cholesterol in them deposit them on the sides of the arteries, veins, and blood vessels, reducing their diameter, force the hear to pump harder to push the blood through this reduced holes, thus burdening the heart a little more at first. As you continue to add more and more cholesterol, the deposits correspondingly increase, and the heart is now pumping at nearly double what it should do – there are methods to determine that – and finally it gives up for the moment. You have had your heart attack.

Both kidney failures and heart attacks are life threatening, and if you survive, you are going to have to spend a lot of money on these conditions, in ADDITION to controlling diabetes. As yet, there is no alternative to kidney failure. And without Kidneys functioning….

So it is better, cheaper, and have life, by reducing your weight, by exercising, by eating the right foods, and following the physician’s advice.

Author: Abhishek Agarwal
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera News