Diabetes is a disease that is severely overlooked in the US. Although most of us know someone who struggles with this disease, I believe the effects to be misunderstood and under-taught. In fact, I think most of the population only knows two facts about diabetes. We know that this disease has a large effect on blood sugar levels, and we know that it is often caused by obesity. These facts are very important to gaining a clear understanding of the disease but further knowledge is required in order to decrease the effects of it on our population. Throughout this paper I want to focus on what these two factors mean, and how this disease affects the balance of our regular body systems.
In order to understand why this disease is so serious, we need to have a general understanding of the disease and how it works. In order to understand this, we need to also understand a bit of the normal processes of the human body. The process that is most directly affected by diabetes is the balance of blood glucose levels in the body. Our body uses two chemical signals to regulate blood glucose levels. These are glucagon and insulin. Many of us have heard of the latter but are unaware of its natural process in the body. Insulin converts glucose into glycogen and also works to open glucose channels in our cells. So in whole, insulin works to move glucose from the blood to storage or our cells to be used. Glucagon does the exact opposite of insulin. Glucagon converts glycogen into glucose that is transferred to our blood supply. So, put more simply, insulin lowers our blood glucose levels while glucagon raises it. Our body is constantly working to regulate the concentrations of each of these two chemicals to control the amount of glucose that is in our blood supply. When these become unbalanced, the body struggles to maintain the balanced blood glucose levels which leads to diabetes. The treatments that are used by doctors work to maintain this balance. When the balance is restored, the body functions normally.
Despite the efforts of medical professionals to control the effects of diabetes, we as a community still suffer from this disease. The imbalanced chemicals in our bloodstream lead to several other issues in our bodies. Our GI tract stops metabolizing correctly, our neurons are unable to fire correctly, and our heart is overworked. In fact, upon my research, it is difficult to locate a process that is unaffected by diabetes. While medicine is improving constantly, the best thing we can do to prevent diabetes is maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Most cases of diabetes are caused by obesity in the US. One possible reason for this upward trend in obesity could be the sudden change in environmental factors. With new arising technologies, we have less of a need for manual labor. This means a greater need to set aside time for exercise and a healthy diet. When we put the needed effort towards preventing diabetes we save ourselves from many symptoms of diabetes by restoring the natural balance in our bodies.
Overall, the main takeaway that I gained from my research of diabetes was the effect it has on the balance of our natural body systems. This balance is referred to as ayurveda. When all systems in the body are properly balanced, the body is healthy. Any unbalance leads to symptoms from the body as an effort to restore balance to the body. As we lead healthy lifestyles, the body becomes better adept at balancing these systems.
Works Cited
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, December 16). What is diabetes? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/diabetes.html#:~:text=With%20diabetes%2C%20your%20body%20either,and%20released%20into%20your%20bloodstream.
Home. American Diabetes Association | Research, Education, Advocacy. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.diabetes.org/
Ayurveda. Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2019, December 2). Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/ayurveda
While Ayurveda represents the balance between the body and mind, it can also be understood as the balance between different systems within the body. I really liked the focus you expressed towards the effects that diabetes has on other processes within the body. Ayurvedic medicine explains that when one part of the body is off balance, it can heavily effect other parts of the body that may not even seem to be connected. As you mentioned, despite the effort from physicians and scientists, this disease continues to be an epidemic. Through research I found that Ayurvedic medicine, and natural healing has been shown to decrease the effects of diabetes, and even help prevent it. I wonder if individuals sought treatment from both western medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, if there would be better results towards controlling the effects of diabetes on our society.
ReplyDeleteI agree that when most people think of diabetes they think of only a few things. I liked that you described some of the physiological effects diabetes has on the body. I think because of how common diabetes is, we tend to brush off the severity of it. Furthermore, I agree that being mindful of our lifestyles can lead to greater overall health.
ReplyDeleteHi Connor! I really like that you chose to focus more on researching diabetes and pushing the idea that it is more than just an issue with blood glucose levels and obesity--this is how many people see it (I was also guilty of this prior to reading the module on it) and I think we as a society severely suffer based on the lack of knowledge. Diabetes is significantly more common than people like to believe and caused by many factors that affect most people. Though the obesity and unhealthy diet side of diabetes is very important, I agree that there are other things that should be taken into consideration as well, but I truly believe that without more people taking the time to inform themselves of the risks, it doesn't matter what scientists and physicians do because at the end of the day it has to do with our own knowledge--not just what scientists put out and hope people will read. I think to further your research and understanding of the disease, it could be beneficial to look deeper into things outside of obesity and the causes and maybe look more into how financial status, mental health, etc., can all affect it as well. I really like how you tied in the change from manual labor jobs to more sedentary jobs has affected the time we have to take for physical health as we don't get it at work anymore--this is something that I think is severely over looked and can potentially be a pathway to finding more ways to fix the problem at a societal level. I learned that certain companies will actually offer free gym services within their facilities that their workers are welcome to use during lunch or when they need a quick break to keep their energy up during the day. Overall, I thought the idea of focusing more on diabetes was a really good one and how the changing world has only furthered this epidemic within the United States--a great paper that has serious potential for more research and furthering your ideas to better educate our society on the risks of unhealthy lifestyles.
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