Ayurveda is a belief system that stresses the importance of balance between the mind and body. Ayurveda and Ayurvedic medicine originated in southern Asia and have connections to the Hindu religion. The practices of Ayurveda haven’t gained much traction as a way of treating illness but I think that some of the guiding principles can be very useful. Although, Ayurveda is not a scientifically supported practice, the idea that imbalance leads to disease is a commonly held belief of both those practicing Ayurveda and the scientific community.
Diabetes is definitely one of those diseases that is caused directly by an imbalance in the body. The most useful explanation of diabetes for me, is a disease that disrupts the body's ability to maintain balanced levels of glucose in the blood. Type I diabetes is caused by the body’s inability to produce insulin or at least produce enough of it. Type II diabetes is caused by the body becoming less sensitive to insulin. Type I diabetes is a genetic disease. Type II diabetes is the result of poor diet and lifestyle habits lacking physical activity. Type II diabetes is much more preventable, however, it is much more common in the United States.
When one system in the body is thrown out of balance, it can make it very difficult for other systems and processes to function normally.
The brain needs two things to function: oxygen and glucose. Because of the strict need for glucose, the brain is one organ that can be affected greatly by diabetes. While doing some research I came across the statement that diabetes can cause a decreased morning dopamine surge. I decided to dig into this a little bit and found that dopamine and melatonin work together to regulate sleep patterns. Healthy sleep patterns are also an essential part of maintaining good health. Sleep is a key to maintaining balance in the mind and body. I learned recently that certain stages of sleep are more for your brain to clean things up and process through things while other stages of sleep are more for your body to physically rest and recover. Loss of sleep or poor quality sleep can be very detrimental.
Diabetes is a very prevalent issue in our country. I haven’t considered it to be a pandemic before but I can see now how it could be considered as such. It’s interesting to see how the coronavirus is being treated while there are other issues that are arguably just as dangerous that we’ve been dealing with for years.
I think there is a lot we can get from the comparison between these two pandemics. From what I understand, we know how to prevent the spread of coronavirus, washing our hands, not touching our faces, keeping our distance when possible. We also know how to prevent the vast majority of Diabetes cases. Right now there is sort of a panic about the coronavirus, but not diabetes. I’m sure the media attention surrounding the issue and measures taken by the government to slow the spread contribute to that. We also know diabetes won’t kill us as quickly as coronavirus and that there are treatments we can use if we do develop diabetes. I wonder what would happen if we treated diabetes more like we treat coronavirus, more like a pandemic.
In my mind I think we have gotten really comfortable with band-aid solutions and not worrying about things until they are really causing problems. I think it’s easy for people to treat diabetes this way. We like to eat things that taste good and make us feel good in the moment but we have a hard time thinking about the future consequences.
While we focus a lot on the type of diet that causes Type II diabetes, we tend to focus less on the lifestyle of inactivity. The effects of physical inactivity are shocking and widespread. Many of the most common causes of disease, including diabetes, can be linked to physical inactivity as well as diet. Physical inactivity and high blood glucose are listed as some of the major health risk factors worldwide and especially in developed countries. Physical activity has been a big part of my life, not only helping me to maintain my physical health but also in maintaining my mental health. Beyond the physical effects, I believe that physical activity is key to maintaining balance in the mind and finding a connection between mind and body.
Diabetes can also take a huge toll on the mental and emotional health of patients and their families. The American Diabetes Association has estimated the economic impact of diabetes and the costs of the disease are staggering. They estimated the total economic cost to be $245 billion, $176 billion in direct medical costs. They estimated that each patient treated for diabetes pays almost $8,000 a year for their diabetes treatment. Other than the monetary cost, the ADA also mentioned the emotional and psychological impact of the disease, both on the patient and on unpaid caretakers.
More than ever I am starting to understand that we need balance in our lives. We need to eat balanced diets, we need to find balance in our activities with proper amounts of exercise and sleep. We need to find balance in our emotions. And all of these things work together to help our minds and bodies function the way we need them to.
I looked into Ayurveda as well and I feel that although it is not a scientifically approved medicine it is more of a psychological practice. There are those who develop blindness through a psychosis and Ayurveda can be considered therapeutic medicine. However, as a physical medicinal practice I agree that it is belief. Diabetes is outrageously expensive and doesn't show signs of slowing down the inflation of survival needs. That was an interesting tie into sleep patterns and how they can truly mess with the balance of the body.
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