Diabetes

Diabetes is an abnormality of the body’s blood sugar.  Broadly speaking, there are two types of diabetes.  Insulin dependent diabetes, whereby patients require regular Insulin as their body lacks this hormone.  The second, more common type in the elderly and overweight individuals is Non-Insulin dependent diabetes.  In these patients they often have high Insulin levels but their tissues are resistant to the Insulin.  It is these types of patients that appear to be on the increase, mostly related to the increasing incidence of obesity, and this remains a very high risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease. 

Whilst Insulin resistant diabetes at present is not curable, I believe in many people with Non-Insulin dependant diabetes that this is potentially a reversible condition, in other words curable.  Non-Insulin dependant diabetes, or glucose intolerance, often forms part of what we call a Metabolic Syndrome which is usually associated with being over weight, particularly with an increased abdominal girth, and it is this that leads to the Insulin resistance.  Therefore, by normalizing ones weight with exercise and diet, often the Metabolic abnormality and glucose intolerance will normalize.  This is perhaps the area where exercise and weight reduction will have the biggest benefit.