Ayurveda and Diabetes

Curated Paper 1

Biology of Disease 4500

Reggie Allen

What is Ayurveda? How does diabetes affect it?

Today in class we talked about Ayurveda, which basically is balance in the world. This idea and practice originated in India and is very popular in India. The first thing I thought about is yoga, and other meditations people use; which these things and Ayurveda are very alike. Ayurveda is the traditional Hindu system of medicine so it is a bit more in depth then your regular yoga.

We talked more about Ayurveda in class today. We talked about what imbalance would look like especially in regards to disease. Many things were mentioned on the subject. For example how the bacteria in ones body can become imbalanced. The brain, and metabolism, and various things can become unbalanced. So in essence Ayurveda is this idea of balance, of body, spirit and mind. Someone brought up the question what is the difference between spirit and mind, but I think that it depends on one’s background and perspective. However, I do believe they do affect each other when it comes to keeping balanced.

Ayurveda is a personal approach to health. Balanced diet and lifestyle are essential to having this, Ayurveda. For example energy is important in metabolism giving your body and mind energy to perform their function. The article mentioned, health is order; disease is disorder. The website I researched on Ayurveda had a daily routine one can do to reach greater balance in their life. I will list a few here: wake up early, say a pray before leaving bed, clean the face, mouth and eyes, drink water in the morning, exercising and other daily rituals one can do. These habits can help prevent disease and keep balance.

Diabetes is an example of imbalance in the body. The study that I read was titled, Inhibition of GSK3 Promotes Replication and Survival of Pancreatic Beta Cells. Diabetes basically is little to no insulin, or your body does not react to insulin like it should. Beta cells play a big part in diabetes. In type one, beta cells are destroyed by the person’s own immune system. Type two, the beta cells fail, or there is some insulin resistance. Something interesting I never knew beta cells were so important when it comes to diabetes and that the regeneration of them can make a big difference. Diabetes is a disease which is cause by an imbalance in the body.

Furthermore, diabetes is a disease most people have heard about it mainly because it has become more prevalent and more diagnosed in the USA. Like many I know several people with diabetes whether it be type 1 or type 2. I think for me it is good know the difference between type 1 diabetes, and type 2. Type one is a autoimmune response compared to type 2 which is not autoimmune but insulin-resistance.

Diabetes has an economic cost that I have never thought of before. There is a direct and indirect cost to diabetes. Directly diabetes cost money to buy insulin, and to pay for medical bills. Indirectly it cost businesses because they lose some workers, and productivity because of it. I know over the summer I worked a landscaping job and one of my coworkers was diabetic. Because of this, he had to be checking his blood sugar frequently and if it got to high or low he had to take a break. Also he could only work limited hours. It is a disease that can be debilitating for some and keep them from being able to work. When someone has diabetes; it has to be checked on frequently and regulated. This takes time and costs money.

We discussed diabetes in class about some of the social factors, and ways that we can change behavior. My personal thoughts are, not just telling people what to change, but inspiring them to change. People normally do not change something that is working seemingly fine. In the case of diabetes people usually don’t start changing until it gets to the point they need to visit their doctor or becomes a problem and danger to themselves. Which leads to greater costs for that person, and their family. Diabetes tends to run in families as well which may be a reason one may be more vulnerable. So I think that teaching people while they are young could help this, and just giving people a reason to change before it gets bad. Letting people know that they can change and be the healthiest version of themselves.

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death, and their are ways that we can personally help. As far as social causes it’s difficult to say what is the right way to change behavior. So focusing on the person and getting them involved in physical activities can help. This also means making those physical activities available and affordable. I was involved in lots of sports growing up this included, swimming, soccer, and basketball. If these sports were not affordable I probably wouldn't of been able to participate in those things. So I think it's personally important as kids are growing up to have those physical activity opportunities affordable to instill those healthy habits. Also kids and families these days are more likely to stay inside and play video games, and movies then get outside and play. Therefore, parents can have an important impact on the child by teaching and showing them how to live an active life. Teaching parents how to live, teach, and be an example to their children can have a big impact on that social role. Rarely do you see an obese person with very healthy parents. I was able to learn a lot more about diabetes, and the economic impact it has.

As was previously mentioned Ayurveda, essentially balance, is important in preventing serious diseases like diabetes. Sometimes it is an inevitable disease in certain circumstances. However, I believe we ourselves have responsibility to teach and live principles of balance to prevent this disease if possible.

Mussmann, R., Geese, M., Harder, F., Kegel, S., Andag. U., Lomow, A., Burk, U., Onichtchouk, D., Dohrmann, C. and Austen, M. (2007) Inhibition of GSK3 Promotes Replication and Survival of Pancreatic Beta Cells. J. Biol. Chem. 282, 12030-12037.

https://www.ayurveda.com/resources/articles/ayurveda-a-brief-introduction-and-guide