LAGOS – Worried by increasing cases of deadly diseases among Nigerians, a cinical dietician, Dr Jane [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]Eleodi, on Tuesday urged Nigerians to imbibe healthy lifestyles.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, Eleodi maintaining a healthy lifestyle would help to keep to diabetes and other non-communicable diseases at bay.
“He said: “Diabetes is a deteriorating ailment that has to do with insulin resistance and insufficient production of insulin.
“ It is an endocrine disorder that comes up when the insulin which is supposed to control the blood sugar in the body is either not producing enough or there is insulin resistance.
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“ It does not usually show any visible sign and so people do not take it very serious.”
Eleodi said diabetes could lead to complications such as blindness, impotence, diabetic foot rot or gangrene, diabetic nephropathy, kidney damage and fluctuating or high blood pressure.
According to her, many Nigerians are living with and dying from complications arising from diabetes.
“Type 1 is called juvenile onset diabetes, people are born with it. It is an auto immune disease whereby the pancreas that houses the islets of Langerhans which produces the insulin is faulty.
“This type is basically controlled with insulin. Since the body is producing little or no insulin, artificial insulin has to be injected into the body in order to help in the control of the glucose.”
Eleodi said that Type 2 diabetes was a disorder that came mostly as a result of age and lifestyle.
She explained:“Type 2 diabetes comes as a result of age and poor lifestyle habits such as excessive alcohol intake, sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise and bad diet.
“ It can also be as a result of long-term drug intake which destroys the organs that produce insulin.
“Being overweight can also lead to diabetes. Those that have a lot of fat, especially in the abdomen are at risk.
“Because even when the body is producing enough insulin, if the fat does not allow insulin to get to the site of action, the blood sugar continues to rise, and the person develops diabetes.”
The clinical dietician said most fatalities that arose from diabetes were as a result of poor management and treatment as well as lifestyle and poor eating habits.
According to her, the management of diabetes also requires a total diet plan for people with the condition.
“Diabetes, especially the Type 2 is a complete diet disorder. To manage it, experts have to investigate the amount of insulin that is being produced by the system.
“When the quantity of insulin is ascertained, then, the amount of glucose that will go into the person’s blood stream is determined.
“ When we talk about glucose, it is not just about the sugar. Foods like rice, beans, yam, cassava and corn are all sugar.
“They are carbohydrates at polysaccharides level and eventually break down to monosaccharide, which is the glucose in the blood.
“We recommend that people with diabetes eat their normal meal, but the quantity and quality is what counts. So, based on the patient’s personal health status, these will be calculated,’’ she said.
Eleodi advised people to do more exercise frequently and stop taking empty calories such as carbonated soft drinks and fast foods as they would only increase the blood sugar level without adding any nutrient to the body.
She advised that excessive intake of alcohol should be reduced, warning that it could make the human system to become hyper- acidic thereby damaging the pancreas. (NAN)
VIV/GOK/DA