You’ve probably wondered how you developed diabetes.
You may worry that your children will develop it too. Since diabetes is a disease characterised by high blood sugar levels, many people wonder whether eating sugar can cause it.
WHO states that diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation. The number of people with diabetes rose from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014.
Type 2 diabetes has a stronger link to family history and lineage. A combination of genetics and lifestyle factors can cause insulin resistance, when your body doesn’t use insulin as well as it should. Insulin resistance is the most common cause of type 2 diabetes. That doesn’t mean that if your mother or father has (or had) type 2 diabetes, you’re guaranteed to develop it; instead, it means that you have a greater chance of developing type 2.
Most people who develop type 2 diabetes first have insulin resistance, a condition in which the body’s cells use insulin less efficiently than normal. As insulin resistance develops, more and more insulin is needed to keep blood sugar levels in the normal range. To keep up with the increasing need, insulin-producing cells in the pancreas (called beta cells) make larger amounts of insulin.
Over time, the beta cells become less able to respond to blood sugar changes, leading to an insulin shortage that prevents the body from reducing blood sugar levels effectively. Most people have some insulin resistance as they age, but inadequate exercise and excessive weight gain make it worse, greatly increasing the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes can occur at any age, but it most commonly begins in middle age or later. Signs and symptoms develop slowly over years. They include frequent urination (polyuria), excessive thirst (polydipsia), fatigue, blurred vision, tingling or loss of feeling in the hands and feet (diabetic neuropathy), sores that do not heal well, and weight loss. If blood sugar levels are not controlled through medication or diet, type 2 diabetes can cause long-lasting (chronic) health problems including heart disease and stroke; nerve damage; and damage to the kidneys, eyes, and other parts of the body.
Type 2 diabetes is a complex disorder resulting from an interaction between genes and environment.
Studies have identified at least 150 DNA variations that are associated with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Most of these changes are common and are present both in people with diabetes and in those without. Each person has some variations that increase risk and others that reduce risk. It is the combination of these changes that helps determine a person’s likelihood of developing the disease.
The majority of genetic variations associated with type 2 diabetes are thought to act by subtly changing the amount, timing, and location of gene activity (expression). These changes in expression affect genes involved in many aspects of type 2 diabetes, including the development and function of beta cells in the pancreas, the release and processing of insulin, and cells’ sensitivity to the effects of insulin. However, for many of the variations that have been associated with type 2 diabetes, the mechanism by which they contribute to disease risk is unknown.
Genetic variations likely act together with health and lifestyle factors to influence an individual’s overall risk of type 2 diabetes. All of these factors are related, directly or indirectly, to the body’s ability to produce and respond to insulin. Health conditions that predispose to the disease include overweight or obesity, insulin resistance, prediabetes and a form of diabetes called gestational diabetes that occurs during pregnancy. Lifestyle factors including smoking, a poor diet, and physical inactivity also increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Many health conditions are caused by the combined effects of multiple genes (described as polygenic) or by interactions between genes and the environment. Such disorders usually do not follow the patterns of inheritance listed above. Examples of conditions caused by multiple genes or gene/environment interactions include heart disease, type 2 diabetes, schizophrenia, and certain types of cancer.
Genes do play a role in type 2 diabetes, but lifestyle choices are also important. You can, for example, have a genetic mutation that may make you susceptible to type 2, but if you take good care of your body, you may not develop diabetes.
Genes of Interest and Recommendations
Via True You DNA profiling, We can determine the variant profile for your susceptibility to diabetes by analysing the following genes associated with lipid mobilisation within human fat cells, obesity, and diabetes, among others: ADRB2, PPARG, PLIN1, IL6, FTO, UCP1, CDKN2A, MTNR1B, HHEX, SLC30A8, SLC11A2, GCKR.
The prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes, representing >90% of all cases of diabetes, are increasing rapidly throughout the world. The International Diabetes Federation has estimated that the number of people with diabetes is expected to rise from 366 million in 2011 to 552 million by 2030 if no urgent action is taken. Furthermore, as many as 183 million people are unaware that they have diabetes.
To help balance out your system, Elken Xeniji, which contains 65 types of fruits and vegetables, can help you. The contents has been broken down through a complete fermentation process over 1,200 days into a broad spectrum of bioactive micro-fine nutrients and enzyme catalyst.
Elken Spirulina can supplement your diet as it contains over 60 types of natural nutrients (including 46 essential nutrients). Among its benefits include protein (amino acids), vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, chlorophyll, beta-carotene, phycocyanin and xanthophyll.
