Newsletter

Diabetes:-

Diabetes is a serious complex condition which can affect the entire body. It is described as a ‘chronic’ condition, meaning that it lasts a long time, often for someone’s whole life. Diabetes requires daily self care and if complications develop, quality of life is reduced. There are different types of diabetes; all types are complex and serious. The three main types of diabetes are type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes.

• Type 1 – where the pancreas doesn't produce any insulin
• Type 2 – where the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin or the body’s cells don't react to insulin
• Another type of diabetes is gestational diabetes, occurs in some pregnant women and tends to disappear following birth.

How does diabetes affect the body?

When someone has diabetes, their body can’t maintain healthy levels of glucose in the blood. Glucose is a form of sugar which is the main source of energy for our bodies. Unhealthy levels of glucose in the blood can lead to long term and short term health complications.

For our bodies to work properly we need to convert glucose (sugar) from food into energy. A hormone called insulin is essential for the conversion of glucose into energy. In people with diabetes, insulin is no longer produced or not produced in sufficient amounts by the body. When people with diabetes eat glucose, which is in foods such as breads, cereals, fruit and starchy vegetables, legumes, milk, yoghurt and sweets, it can’t be converted into energy.

Instead of being turned into energy the glucose stays in the blood resulting in high blood glucose levels. After eating, the glucose is carried around your body in your blood. Your blood glucose level is called glycaemia. Blood glucose levels can be monitored and managed through self care and treatment.

Three things you need to know about diabetes:

• It is not one condition- there are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes
• All types of diabetes are complex and require daily care and management
• Diabetes does not discriminate, anyone can develop diabetes

Insulin is a hormone; a chemical messenger produced in one part of the body to have an action on another. It is a protein responsible for regulating blood glucose levels as part of metabolism.

Silky hair

If you want manageable and silky hair especially during the monsoons, apply this pack on your hair.

• Mix two tablespoons of curd, two eggs, juice of lemon and five drops of honey in a bowl.
• Apply it on your scalp and hair.
• Keep it for half-an-hour before washing it off with water.

Insulin has two modes of action on the body - an excitatory one and an inhibitory one:

• Insulin stimulates glucose uptake and lipid synthesis
• It inhibits the breakdown of lipids, proteins and glycogen, and inhibits the glucose pathway (gluconeogenesis) and production of ketone bodies (ketogenesis).

What is the pancreas?

The pancreas is the organ responsible for controlling sugar levels. It is part of the digestive system and located in the abdomen, behind the stomach and next to the duodenum - the first part of the small intestine. The pancreas has two main functional components:

• Exocrine cells - cells that release digestive enzymes into the gut via the pancreatic duct
• The endocrine pancreas - islands of cells known as the islets of Langerhans within the "sea" of exocrine tissue; islets release hormones such as insulin and glucagon into

Diabetes is serious:

Diabetes can be managed well but the potential complications are the same for type 1 and type 2 diabetes including heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, limb amputation, depression, anxiety and blindness.

We know diabetes:

• Is the leading cause of blindness in working age adults
• Is a leading cause of kidney failure and dialysis
• Increases the risk of heart attacks and stroke by up to 4 times
• Is a major cause of limb amputations
• Affects mental health as well as physical health. Depression, anxiety and distress.Early diagnosis, optimal treatment and effective ongoing support and management reduce the risk of diabetes-related complications.

Why is diabetes increasing?

All types of diabetes are increasing in prevalence:

• Type 1 diabetes accounts for 10% of all diabetes and is increasing
• Type 2 diabetes accounts for 85% of all diabetes and is increasing
• Gestational diabetes in pregnancy is increasing

Type 2 diabetes is increasing at the fastest rate. There are large numbers of people with silent, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes which may be damaging their bodies. Type 2 diabetes is one of the major consequences of the obesity epidemic. The combination of massive changes to diet and the food supply, combined with massive changes to physical activity with more sedentary work and less activity, means most populations are seeing more type 2 diabetes.

Genes also play a part with higher risk of type 2 diabetes in Chinese, South Asian, Indian, Pacific Islander and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.

Symptoms:

In type 1 diabetes, symptoms are often sudden and can be life-threatening; therefore it is usually diagnosed quite quickly. In type 2 diabetes, many people have no symptoms at all, while other signs can go unnoticed being seen as part of ‘getting older’. Therefore, by the time symptoms are noticed, complications of diabetes may already be present.

Common symptoms include:

• Being more thirsty than usual
• Passing more urine
• Feeling tired and lethargic
• Always feeling hungry
• Having cuts that heal slowly
• Itching, skin infections
• Blurred vision
• Unexplained weight loss (type 1)
• Gradually putting on weight (type 2)
• Mood swings
• Headaches
• Feeling dizzy
• Leg cramps

India is becoming the diabetes capital of the world. Due to sedentary lifestyle, junk and oily food and lack of exercise, even the youth are becoming diabetic. There is no permanent cure of diabetes. Its symptoms and impact can only be controlled, and hence it is prudent to prevent it in the first place with the help of right diet and physical activity from an early age. If you are a diabetic and check your blood sugar level often, it becomes necessary for you to know the most common causes which increase the blood sugar level.

Skipping breakfast:

The insulin and blood sugar level spike up in the obese and over-weight people who do not take their breakfast. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the chances of geting diabetes are 21 per cent higher in those who skip their breakfast. The research confirms that the beneficial protein and good fats in the breakfast keep the sugar level normal during daytime.

Artificial sweeteners:

An Israeli research has revealed that the diabetes patients who prefer artificial sweeteners are at risk of several harmful effects. According to this research, artificial sweeteners can spike up blood sugar level abnormally. In fact, such sweeteners confuse the gut bacteria, and hence they do not help the body to absorb glucose. The researchers further said that those who prefer diet coke instead of normal cold drinks should avoid doing so.Instead, they should quit all types of cold drink.

High fat diet:

Diabetes patients should avoid high fat diet. In the 2011 edition of the Journal of Nutrition, a research claims that high fat diet can increase the blood sugar level by 32 per cent. According to this research, high fat diet also affects the blood flow and its sugar filtering ability.

Overuse of coffee:

The latest researches claim that though coffee helps to cut the chances of geting type 2 diabetes, it can worsen the condition of a person who is already suffering from diabetes. According to the American Institute of Diabetes, it is not necessary to completely stop coffee, but its use should be rationed as even black coffee can spike up blood sugar level.

Infections:

In case of infections, whether it is flu or something else, our body's defense system releases a particular chemical which also disturbs blood sugar level, leting it go abnormal. In fact, an infection keeps the immune system very alert and this also increases blood sugar level, which in turn, disturbs insulin production and flow. An infection can bring a dramatic increase in blood sugar level, hence diabetes patients should take extra precautions in case of an infection.

Insomnia:

A good sleep recharges our body and mind and it helps a diabetic in many ways. The insulin flow comes down by 20 per cent in Type 1 patients who only sleep for just 4 hours. Lack of sleep spikes up stress level which causes blood sugar level to go high. Although smoking is harmful for everyone, it is particularly more dangerous for diabetes patients. according to the California State University, blood sugar level increases abnormally due to the presence of nicotine in the blood, and its heavy presence can create complexities in diabetes patients leading to dangerous conditions like heart attack, paralysis and kidney failure.

Diabetes mellitus, one of the most common endocrine metabolic disorders has caused significant morbidity and mortality due to microvascular (retinopathy, neuropathy, and nephropathy) and macrovascular (heart attack, stroke and peripheral vascular disease) complication. Human bodies possess enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidative mechanisms which minimize the generation of reactive oxygen species, responsible for many degenerative diseases including diabetes.The disease is rapidly increasing worldwide and affecting all parts of the world. Due to deficiency of the insulin people suffering from diabetes have high blood glucose level.Type 2 diabetes or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, is the most common form of the disease, accounting for 90%–95% of cases in which the body does not produce enough insulin or properly use it.According to World Health Organization the diabetic population is likely to increase up to 300 million or more by the year 2025.Currently available therapies for diabetes include insulin and various oral antidiabetic agents such as sulfonylureas, biguanides and glinides. Many of them have a number of serious adverse effects; therefore, the search for more effective and safer hypoglycemic agents is one of the important areas of investigation. Aldose reductases, a key enzyme in the polyol pathway catalyze the reduction of glucose to sorbitol. Accumulation of sorbitol in the body causes various complications including cataract, neuropathy and nephropathy.The hypoglycemic effect of several plants used as antidiabetic remedies has been confirmed, and the mechanisms of hypoglycemic activity of these plants are being studied. Natural products having antidiabetic potential which acts through either insulinomimetic or secretagogues properties are reviewed here. This review also focuses on the role of traditional therapeutic and natural medicines from traditional medicinal plants for diabetes. Traditional medicines from readily available medicinal plants offer great potential for the discovery of new antidiabetic drugs.

Recently, some medicinal plants have been reported to be useful in diabetes worldwide and have been used empirically in antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic remedies. Antihyperglycemic activity of the plants is mainly due to their ability to restore the function of pancreatic tissues by causing an increase in insulin output or inhibit the intestinal absorption of glucose or to the facilitation of metabolites in insulin dependent processes. More than 400 plant species having hypoglycemic activity have been available in literature, however, searching for new antidiabetic drugs from natural plants is still attractive because they contain substances which demonstrate alternative and safe effects on diabetes mellitus. Most of plants contain glycosides, alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, carotenoids, etc., that are frequently implicated as having antidiabetic effect.

Medicinal plants used to treat diabetes 2.

Plants have always been a very good source of drugs and many of the currently available drugs have been derived directly or indirectly from them. The ethnobotanical information suggests that about 800 plants may possess anti-diabetic potential, among all of them Momordica charantia, Pterocarpus marsupium, andTrigonella foenum greacum have been reported to be beneficial for treatment of type 2 diabetes.Several such herbs have shown anti-diabetic activity when evaluated using different type of experimental techniques. Wide arrays of plant derived active principles representing different type of biological activity, among these alkaloids, glycosides, galactomannan gun, polysaccharides, peptidoglycans, hypoglycans, guanidine, steroids, carbohydrates, glycopeptides, terpenoids, amino acids and inorganic ions have demonstrated activity including treatment of diabetes.

Diabetes is a disorder of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism caused due to insufficient production of insulin or due to its inhibitory action, which can be considered as a major cause of high economic loss which can in turn impede the development of nations.. Before there were drugs from drug companies, natural cures were used and they can still be used today. There are many herbs with strong anti-diabetic properties. Herbal treatments for diabetes have been used in patients with insulin dependent and non-insulin dependent diabetes, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy etc. The families of plants with the most potent hypoglycaemic effects include Leguminoseae, Lamiaceae, Liliaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Asteraceae, Moraceae, Rosaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Araliaceae. The most commonly studied species are: Opuntia streptacantha,Trigonella foenum graecum, Momordica charantia, Ficus bengalensis, Polygala senega and Gymnema sylvestre. In the experiments, oral glucose tolerance test, streptozotocin and alloxan-induced diabetic mouse or rat were most commonly used model for the screening of antidiabetic drugs. Numerous mechanisms of actions have been proposed for plant extracts. Some hypothesis relates to their effects on the activity of pancreatic beta cells, increase in the inhibitory effect against insulinase enzyme, increase of the insulin sensitivity or the insulin-like activity of the plant extracts. Other mechanisms may also be involved such as increase of peripheral utilization of glucose, increase of synthesis of hepatic glycogen or decrease of glycogenolysis, inhibition of intestinal glucose absorption, reduction of glycaemic index of carbohydrates and reduction of the effect of glutathione.

Some flavonoids and polyphenols, as well as sugar derivatives, are found to be effective due to some other extrapancreatic mechanisms. In this review so many number of plants are included which have shown antidiabetic action through relese of insulin and some extra pancreatic mechanisms.Plants such as Allium cepa, Clerodendron phlomoides, Cinnamomum tamala, Coccinia indica, Enicostemma littorale, Ficus bengalensis, Gymnema sylvestre leaves, Momordica charantia, Pterocarpus marsupium and Syzygium cumini have a great antidiabetic potential,which have already been subjected to the clinical trial are included in the list, whereas some marketed herbal formulations (diasulin, pancreatic tonic 180 cp, chakrapani, diabecon, bitter gourd powder, dia-car, diabetes-daily care, gurmar powder, epinsulin, diabecure, syndrex, diabetawhich) which have been proved for its antidiabetic activity.

6 ways to keep blood sugar level normal:

Diabetes is a disease which is spreading like the fire of jungle due to our modern sedentary lifestyle. If we call it a 'silent killer' it would not be wrong as it causes several other health complications. The surprising fact is that nearly 25 per cent diabetes type 2 patients do not even realise that they are diabetic.if you frequently get your blood sugar level checked and notice an increase in its level, you are at higher risk of geting diabetes.

There are some diets and exercises that help to keep the blood sugar level at healthy level. Fruit and vegetables and fish are very effective in controlling blood sugar level. According to various Tibbi researches, food that can minimise the risk of diabetes by 21 per cent include fish, nuts, fruit ad vegetables and jau (barley)and bajra (pearl millet) and olive oil. Consumption of chicken and fish is highly recommended whilst red meat, butter and sweets should be taken occasionally and in moderation. These food keep the blood sugar level healthy whilst olive oil minimises the risk of swollenness.

Use grapes and berries:

The fiber, present in grapes and berries, is very beneficial in controlling blood sugar level. According to a British research, pulished in Nature medical journal, berries and grapes have an impact on blood sugar level similar to what weight loss has. Do not skip breakfast:

If you tend to skip your breakfast, you are more likely to get diabetes type 2. Breakfast keeps the blood sugar level normal for the rest of the day. According to a research by the Minnesota University of the US, dalia or such other food is better for breakfast. A breakfast laden with fats is as bad as no breakfast at all. It can disturb the blood sugar level and so should be avoided.

Exercise:

By remaining physically active and fit, you can minimise the risk of diabetes by one third compared to those who do not exercise and live a sedentary life. During exercise or physical exertion, your body consumes more glucose instead of blood, and hence it keeps insulin at healthy level.

Avoid prolonged sitings:

Taking a frequent break from work is recommended. After every 20 minutes of siting, take a 2-minute break and walk a bit to boost your blood flow. It helps to cut diabetes risk. According to a latest British Tibbi research, taking a frequent break after siting for 20 minutes helps to stop blood sugar level from crossing the high mark after a meal.

Check your medicines:

Medications used to control asthma, high blood pressure and cholesterol can spike up the blood sugar level. In such cases, consult your doctor so that he can prescribe you medicines which do not disturb your blood sugar level.

Unani Treatment for Insulin and non- Insulin patients. Unani medicines are side-effects free ------

We have 3-4 drug combinations for Diabetes patient, efficacious for Diabetes and its associated complications such as frequent urination, itching, fatigue, sexual weakness etc, gangrene, prophylactic treatment for hereditary diabetes.

The 4 drug combinations and its actions are:-

1) HOODIAB (A) - Decreases Triglyceride in the patient thus safeguards from Heart related problems and High BP.

2) HOODIAB (B)- Increases the Serum Insulin in the patient thus brings the glycosylated hemoglobin in the excellent range of 6-7 % thus decreases the Blood Sugar level to normal range.

3) HOODIAB (C)- Enhance the functions of liver and kidney. Restores the Sexual Debility and enormously enhance the sexual vigor and vitality in Diabetic patients.

4) HOODIAB (D)- Meant only for the patient undergoing the Insulin injection.

Actions of the drugs in totality:

1) Effective galactagogue, leads to pituitary or hypothalamus activity.

2) Bitters, stimulates gently endocrine glands thus effective in lowering blood sugar.

3) Raise levels of glucose and ATP in the cell, thus maintain energy levels.

5) Restores energy and vitality and ward off tiredness & fatigue ness due to sexual weakness.

6) Prophylactic, works to avoid the various long-term complications.

7) Heart and vascular tonics, appropriate for long-term use. You can evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment by undergoing the current blood test pertaining to the below mentioned test and repeating it after every month.

1) Blood Testing both Fasting & PP

2) Serum Insulin for PP, in order to know the metabolism

3) Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c)

4) Lipid Profile

Feel free to write to us for any further queries.

For Consultation click here