By: Juan Fernando González G.

Diabetes has been known since before the beginning of the Christian era, and it seems that one of the most distant references corresponds to a manuscript discovered in Egypt (15th century BC) in which the characteristic symptoms of the disease are described.

Ancient Greek physicians, considered the fathers of Medicine, defined diabetes as a “cold and wet disease in which flesh and muscles merge to become urine.” In fact, the term diabetes, which is Greek for siphon, accurately describes one of the clearest signs of this metabolic disorder: exaggerated urine output.

It took a long time for Thomas Willis, an expert in anatomy, to make an accurate description of the disease (in 1679). This researcher owes the name of diabetes mellitus, due to the sweet taste of urine (honey flavor) characteristic of the disorder.

Present and future

The 2018 National Nutrition and Health Survey (ENSANUT) indicates that 10.3 percent of the Mexican population older than 20 years (8.6 million people) are diagnosed with diabetes, a considerable increase in relation to 2012, when there were 6.4 million sick.

Here are some data for reflection:

-Women suffer more from the disease: 9.7% in 2012, against 11.4% in 2018. Men: 8.6%, in 2012, against 9.1% in 2018.
-In both statistical exercises (2012 and 2018) it was concluded that decreased vision is the greatest complication of people with diabetes in Mexico.
-Campeche, Tamaulipas, Hidalgo, Mexico City and Nuevo León are the entities with the highest number of patients in the entire country.
-The International Diabetes Federation estimates that almost five million Mexicans suffer from the disease, but they do not know it.
-Approximately 70% of lower limb amputations worldwide are related to this condition.

The solution, in our hands

As is well known, there are risk factors that can trigger a generalized imbalance in our body. In the case of Mexico, it is very common for diabetic patients to also have hypertension, obesity and high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, a dangerous combination known as metabolic syndrome.

If you realize that you are on the verge of disease (prediabetes), do not be upset, since this does not mean that you are doomed to suffer from this disease. Of course, it will be an invitation to adopt a healthy diet and a daily exercise routine, measures that have been shown to be highly efficient in lowering blood sugar levels.

For their part, those who have been diagnosed with diabetes will have to understand that they will be able to live for many years, and live well, if they disciplinedly comply with the medical treatment prescribed. Fortunately today, there are many tools to “keep disease at bay”, including some naturally occurring substances contained in various homeopathic medicines that have been shown to be effective in regulating blood glucose levels.

References:
-National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT) 2018. Ministry of Health (SS), National Institute of Public Health (INSP), National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
Sánchez Rivero, Germán. History of diabetes. Gac med bol [online]. 2007, vol.30, n.2, pp. 74-78.
-Mexican Federation of Diabetes, A.C.
-Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/es-es
-García de Alba-García JE, Salcedo-Rocha AL, Milke-Najar ME, Alonso-Reynoso C, García de Alba-Verduzco JE. Considerations on the medical knowledge inherited in Mexico from the 19th century: the case of diabetes mellitus. Rev Med Inst Mex Seg Soc 2017; 55 (4): 520-531.