PROMPT ATTENTION IN DIABETES CASES IS IMPORTANT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18640, 18 December 1928, Page 9

PROMPT ATTENTION IN DIABETES CASES IS IMPORTANT.

WARNING AGAINST TOO MUCH SUGAR. (Contributed by the Department of Health). i In order to live we need to give our bodies food, water. and certain salts. Foods are divided into three great classes:———(l) Fats. such as are found in cream, butter, nuts, and the fat of meat; . (2) Proteins, such as lean meat and eggs. (3) carbohydrates, including the starches and sugars which are cOntained largely in bread, vegetables. especially potatoes and fruits. \Vhen‘ these foods are taken into the body they are broken up by the digestive juices absorbed by the intestines, and carried by the blood to nourish all the tissues of the body Tissues are made of cells and each cell is like a tiny engine, which must be supplied with fuel and water in order to do its work. The protein which we eat keeps the cell engine in working order, the carbohydrate supplies the wood for the little engine. being easily burned into energy; and the fats we consume might stand for the coal of the engine since they only burn in the fire already kindled by the carbohydrates. In order that these engines may work smoothly they must be oiled with special oil which is supplied by a group of crgans in the body known as the glands -of internal secretion. If this oil is lacking, the wood and coal for the cell engine are not properly burned. and the full amount of energy contained in the food is not supplied to the body. This improper burning is known as disordered metabolism—when our body machin—ery gets out of order.

Signs and Causes. Diabetes, states an overseas health bulletin, is a disease of this kind. If the internal secretion of the pancreas, known as insulin, is deficient in amount, only a limited amount of carbohydrates can be burned. This means that if too much carbohydrates (sugar and starch) is eaten, it piles up in the body, giving rise to thirst. The result is that the patient drinks large amounts of water, even eight or ten quarts daily, and because of this, large amounts of urine, containing sugar, are passed. As the* body tissues are not properly nourished, there is constant hunger. Thus the three first symptoms of diabetes are thirst, hunger, and excessive urination. There is, in addition, loss of weight, strength and vigour. In children, bed-wetting is a common symptom. In older persons boils and carbuncles are a common occurrence. In aged people gangrene of the toes and feet may occur following a slight bruise or where there has been a corn.

Fat people are very much more liable to have diabetes than thin people. It is a common disease in overweight mid-dle-aged people. Consequently those who are inclined to get fat should restrict their diet and take exercise to prevent gain in weight. There is reason to believe that infections of the teeth, tonsils, appendix, or gall-bladder are at times the cause of diabetes, as is shown by the fact that in many cases when the centres of infection are removed, the symptoms of diabetes disappear. Prompt medical care of such conditions is very important. Consequent with the introduction of the insulin treatment for diabetes, the number of patients in public hospitals treated for this disease show high increases during the last few years. The “New Zealand Official Year Book” for 1928 records 162 deaths from diabetes and ten cases in which it was a contributory cause of death. The average amount of sugar used in New Zealand either as sugar or in the form of sweets is at least 21b a week for every individual. With the increased consumption of sugar there has been an increase in the number of cases of diabetes. This should be a warning against eating too much sugar, for, as stated above, an excess of sugar throws a strain on the gland which secretes insulin. This is a strong argument against excessive sweet-eating by child-

The discovery of insulin marked an epoch in the history of diabetes. Insulin, as has already been said, is manufactured by the pancreas. It can be obtained by making an extract of the pancreas of certain animals. Its proper use may therefore be expected to relieve all the usual symptoms of diabetes. It cannot, however, cure diabetes, because the patient's damaged pancreas is not returned to normal functional power. The purpose of insulin treatment is to improve the nutrition of patients with severe diabetes, and to add a safeguard against downward progress. Mild cases, which can be kept symptom-free on adequate diets do not ordinarily require insulin. Insulin does not offer a cure for diabetes or a license for carelessness. To guard against diabetes: Overweight should be redticed by limiting the diet and taking exercise, under the doctor’s direction: (2) the diet should be a wholesome balanced one, and sweets should only be eaten in strict moderation: (3) infections of teeth, tonsils, and other organs should be promptly treated and removed: (4) a periodic health examination by the family doctor, including an examination of the urine, will lead to early discovery, prompt treatment, and the prevention of serious illness.