Overcoming diabetes: Endocrine balance is key

Diabetes has become a major global health challenge. It is a chronic metabolic disease caused by insulin insufficiency or poor functioning in the body. The main groups are type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, pregnancy diabetes and special types of diabetes. The typical symptoms are “more than three”, i.e., drinking, eating, urinating and weight loss. Long periods of high blood sugar, like “silent killers”, cause silent damage to organs and systems such as the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves. It increases the vascular wall thickening, hardening and plaques, leading to a significant increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease; microvasculars that affect the retina, causing diabetes membranes to mutate and become blind in serious cases; and also damage to the filtration function of the kidney, or even develop into kidney failure. Diabetes incidence is closely related to genetic, obesity and adverse lifestyles. Genetic factors, such as long-term high-heat diets, lack of exercise and excessive stress, provide a “fertilized soil” for this “seed” and contribute to the “breeding” of diabetes. However, diabetes is not insurmountable. In terms of prevention, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is key. A rational diet that reduces intake of high sugar, fat and salty foods and increases intake of food fibres; that adheres to a modest exercise with a medium intensity of at least 150 minutes per week, such as walking, jogging, etc.; and that learns to release pressure and maintain a good mind. In the case of diabetics, integrated management such as dietary control, exercise, drug treatment, blood sugar monitoring and health education can also effectively control blood sugar levels and slow the development of complications and enjoy life as normal people.