The Brew House

The rate of diabetes is on the increase and has been for years not just in the West but in numerous countries is other parts of the world too. This has been linked to the increasing rate of obesity which in turn has been linked to various factors.

There are several suggestions why the number of obese people is increasing, the most common of which are raised prosperity, deskbound jobs, sedentary lifestyle (far too much TV); poor diet (far too much junk food) and food additives.

A sedentary job and lifestyle ultimately often leads to a deficiency of exercise and a poor diet is normally the result of not being able to cook either because of a lack of time or ability. Junk food fills the gap.

Therefore, two of the main causes of of diabetes in later life are poor diet and lack of exercise, which can frequently be distilled to one major cause: lethargy. Can't be bothered to cook or learn how to and would rather watch a film than go for a stroll.

This is not every diabetic's reason for being ill, obviously. There are also genetic dispositions and organ failures, but Type II diabetes is associated with obesity which is reaching epidemic proportions.

However, despite the high numbers of diabetics, there is also a pre-diabetic state. This pre-diabetic state is when the blood- sugar levels are greater than standard, but are not life-threatening. This again is most prevalent in the overweight.

A person in the pre-diabetic state will not notice anything, because a physician has to do check ups to determine the condition. People are able go for years and even decades in this condition with no apparent damage.

However, elevated blood-sugar levels do have damaging side effects. If you are in this condition, it is crucial to rebalance the condition of your blood in order to reduce your chances of becoming diabetic. The condition of having too much sugar or glucose in the blood is known as 'hyperglycaemia'.

Some of the most common indications of hyperglycaemia are: kidney damage; intestinal worries; poor circulation in the extremities (so especially the feet), which may produce sensations of tingling or coldness and vision damage (especially cataracts).

The problem for many people is that you have to work closely with your physician to bring your blood- sugar levels back under control. For those who live in remote areas or have little money this can become a big problem.

There are self-testing kits and medication for those who are able and willing to use them and they are much more preferable than having to inject with insulin everyday if you let the situation get too far out of hand. Being pre-diabetic is a loud call to action.

Exercise and a good diet of home-cooked food is the combination that will go a long way to improving the state of your blood. It is vital to consume slow-burning foodstuffs like (meat and) vegetables rather than fast-burning sugary foodstuffs and it is necessary to remove the surplus sugar in your blood, if your internal organs cannot regulate it, by burning it off, which is best achieved by physical activity.