Diabetes and the Effects on the Human Body In the United States of America, fast food has become such a big deal. There are fast food restaurants everywhere now. Each way you look, there’s a McDonald’s here or a Wendy’s there and they’re building them quicker because Americans have become lazier and lazier. Fast food can be the blame for most of our health problems. Since the rate for fast food has went up, so has the rate of obesity, non-communicable diseases/disorders and even death. The numerous issues of unhealthy eating and living are leading to many life-threatening diseases/disorders, one in particular is diabetes. More and more people are diagnosed each day with diabetes. In 2012, 29.1 million Americans, or 9.3% of the population, …show more content…
Glucose is a sugar that is an important energy source in living organisms, more like the “fuel” to keep the body going. High levels of glucose comes from the body not being able to produce enough insulin from the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone that keeps the blood level moderate. No one has found a cure for diabetes just yet but there are plenty of ways to lower your risk or stay alive and healthy. Although diabetes is a disorder, it can also lead to other factors such as kidney failure, heart attack, or even death. Living with diabetes, a person has to focus on maintaining healthy living including eating all the right foods, exercising more often, and most importantly controlling their blood sugar …show more content…
Many people who are living with diabetes are completely clueless that have anything because they do not suffer from any common symptoms. I recently interviewed Ms. Evelyn Stanciel (grandmother who has diabetes) and she stated “No two humans have the same kind of symptoms or suffer from the same kind of diabetes” (Stanciel 2014). I found this shocking because I thought the total opposite. Classic symptoms, such as abnormal thirst, frequent urination, and unexplained weight loss, indicate immediate need for testing (InfoBase Learning 2014). The American Diabetes Association recommends that in the absence of symptoms, routine screening and testing for type II diabetes be considered every three years for adults, starting at age 45, especially for those with a body-mass index of at least 25. People who have a body- mass index over 25 should have more frequent test to check for diabetes. Tests used for diagnosis include a simple blood test performed after fasting for at least eight hours (fasting plasma glucose, or FPG) or are done at any time regardless of eating anything (InfoBase Learning, 2014). Another test is
Diabetes is a common disease, which can be a serious life-long illness caused by high level of glucose in the blood. This condition is when the body cannot produce insulin or lack of insulin production from the beta cells
In the 21 century, people are suffering from all kinds of diseases and over 85% of them are caused by, an unhealthy, diet. In the United States, 25% of Americans eat fast food every day, which can cause heart disease, hypertension and diabetes, starting with overweight. McDonalds, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, and Burger King are very popular, fast food restaurant selling their burgers and fries in the airport, street shop, next to Wal-Mart and college.
In the article “Don’t Blame the Eater,” by David Zinczenko he argues that it is not always the consumer's fault that they consume food that is bad for them. Zinczenko tells a story of how when he was growing up he practically lived off of fast food. His parents were divorced. His father was always trying to get his life together and his mother worked very long hours. Due to this he didn't have many other options besides McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell or Pizza Hut. Zinczenko shows how fast food restaurants are more available than healthier options. He writes “Drive down any thoroughfare in America, and I guarantee you'll see one of our country's more than 13,000 McDonald's restaurants. Now, drive back up the block and try to find someplace to buy a grapefruit.” Today Type 2 diabetes makes up at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes in the United States. This is a shocking increase
Diabetes is a disease that causes an abnormally high level of sugar, or glucose, to build up in the blood. Glucose comes from food we consume and also from our liver and muscles. Blood delivers glucose to all the
Diabetes is a life long medical condition that is due to the body not producing enough insulin to control the sugars that are in the body.
There are three types of diabetes: type 1diabetes and type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. All three are chronic conditions that "affect how the body uses blood glucose" or blood sugar. The body needs glucose because it is "an important source of energy for the cells that make up an individual 's muscles and tissues" Individuals with diabetes have too much glucose in their blood, which will inevitably lead to serious problems with a person 's health. Since every cell, tissue, and muscle needs glucose to function properly, it is important for a person who shows signs and symptoms of diabetes to see a doctor
Diabetic foot problems are extremely common. It is the leading cause of non-traumatic amputation in America. Diabetes affects the circulation and the nerve endings in the feet. Blood flow is limited if vessels supplying blood to the feet are damaged. If they become completely blocked, this can lead to gangrene where the tissue dies from a lack of blood flow. With damaged nerves, an person may experience numbness, tingling, or burning in their feet. If permanent damage happens, all sensation could be lost. This increases the risk for
Diabetes is a chronic condition that results in high sugar levels in the body; it occurs when the body can’t produce insulin or utilize it as it’s required. Insulin is a hormone that enables the body to use the glucose or sugars from the food consumed. A lot of people have glucose levels above the usual range, although not high enough to be termed as diabetes, this is known as pre-diabetes and the risk of developing full-blown diabetes is high. It’s vital for the condition to be diagnosed early enough because it worsens when medical intervention isn’t sought. There are two types of diabetes namely:
Diabetes or as doctors would refer by as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has a high blood glucose level (above 110 mg/dL) because insulin production is inadequate, the body’s cells do not respond properly to insulin or even both. Diabetes mellitus is also a contributing factor of development of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, renal failure, blindness, and stroke as individuals’ age.
What is diabetes you might ask? It’s a lifelong disease that affects how your body handles glucose, a kind of sugar, in your blood. It means the blood sugar or blood glucose is too high. If your body doesn’t make enough insulin, or insulin doesn’t work the way it should, glucose can’t get into your cells. Instead, glucose stays in your blood. Glucose comes from the food you eat. Your blood carries glucose to all the cells in your body. These cells use glucose for energy. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas. Insulin enters the blood and is what is important to open the body cells so glucose can enter it.
Normally, the sugars and carbohydrates a person eats breaks down into a special compound called glucose. Glucose fuels the cells in the body. In order to take in the glucose and use it for energy, the cells need insulin, a hormone, in the bloodstream. With diabetes mellitus, either the body doesn't make enough insulin or it can't use the insulin it does produce. Since the cells can't take in the glucose, it builds up in the blood. High levels of blood glucose can damage blood vessels in the many organs and the nervous system. That's why diabetes, when left untreated, can eventually cause many illnesses such as heart disease, strokes, kidney disease, blindness, and nerve damage. The treatments can be found in drugs which are injected into the bloodstream as a form of insulin, which gives the body the ability to use the stored energy from the food a person ate. The long term prognosis is that injections will need to be taken for the rest of a person’s life in order to cause
The effects diabetes has on the body is similar between all three discussed above but I like to provide some more information of what effects it can have. “If the diabetics pancreas produces little to no insulin the body will use alternate hormones to turn fat into energy and can create high levels of toxic chemicals.” Diabetic ketoacidosis is a condition cause by the high levels of toxic chemicals. Having diabetes can cause a diabetic to have be thirsty a lot, have excessive urination, and feel fatigue a lot. A diabetic breath can have a sweet scent that is cause by the elevated levels of ketone bodies in the blood. If diabetes is not treated it can lead to loss of consciousness and death. High blood glucose levels can cause gastroparesis.
In America, fast food has become such an easy way to eat meals without the hassle. With everyone in the working class working long days and hours, fast food is so convenient and inexpensive. Along with the popularity of fast food continuing to rise, so are diabetes and obesity. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, 30.3 million people in the United States had diabetes in 2015. More than one-third of U.S. adults have obesity (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). Some fast food companies have tried to make their food healthier, as their products have been a concern to the public health industry. Diabetes and obesity have led to many other health concerns, such as high blood pressure, cancer in different areas of the body, heart disease, and potentially even death. With so many American’s having diet and weight related issues, many hospital visits are the result. As profit is the concern of most food companies, it’s hard to trust them when it comes to the concern of American people.
America more than one third of adults is over obese. According to the world health organization in the 2013 United States was ranked #2 fattest country (Adking). Many Americans are in such of a hurry to do errands instead of cooking homemade meals. Therefore many Americans eat fast food because it is cheap and made almost instantaneously. However, eating fast food can cause negative consequence to a person’s health physically and mentally. Fast food has high amount of salt and sugar, which can lead high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity. Ironically, people know fast foods are unhealthy for the body and causes major health risk, but they still contribute to eating the food fast food make. Staying healthy can be a tough achievement, but it
Fast food is shoved into our conscious every day. McDonald’s, Domino’s, Wendy’s, Burger King; no matter where we turn, we are smothered. These foods are presented to us as quick solutions to our daily-accelerated life styles that demand speed and functionality. Fast food is considered acceptable in moderation, but it becomes a problem when it is the only form of nutrition a person intakes. With the U.S. Population doubling its obesity rate, this means that people are not only becoming significantly oversized but also increasingly close to disease. Obesity risks with it a number of diseases: hypertension, osteoarthritis, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea and respiratory problems as well as cancer.