How Diabetes Affects Men
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A person may very well think that the disease, diabetes, affects every diabetic the same way. This statement could not be farther from the truth at all; diabetes affects every individual differently. Things that can affect diabetes differ greatly depending upon age, race, gender, weight, lifestyle, activity level, diet, and family history.Based on the report published by Circulation in 2006, men are more prone to having diabetes. Moreover, men tend to be unaware of the diabetes symptoms and this increases the chance for complications to develop. Complications that developed because diabetes was not diagnosed and treated early may be the cause of modification of a certain lifestyle. Early stages of complications in males may be visual problems, kidney failures, damages in nerves, cardiovascular and heart-related problems, legs, feet and hand amputation and impotence.
One possible reason why males do not follow lifestyle modification is that they possess the manly or macho image. Unfortunately, these changes are necessary to control level of their blood sugar. Being unable to do this aggravates the risk factors for complications. For unknown reasons, men are still said to be two or three times more prone to have amputation. Moreover, they are also more likely to end up blind more rapidly than females.
Diet plays a very big role in staying healthy much more to those who were diagnosed with diabetes. This is the very first thing diabetic patients have to remember. However, this is also one part of lifestyle changes that males fail to follow. Men tend to stick to their usual diet such as foods that are very high in cholesterol and unsaturated fats, junk foods and others that are proven not to be healthy for the body. It is very rare that men will order vegetables and salads from the restaurant most especially when they are going out with group of males.
One more thing that males find so hard to do is to stop from drinking alcohol. Alcohol serves as body pollutant. The liver is very much sensitive to alcohol and as much as possible it wants to get rid of the alcohol right away. Moreover, once alcohol is present, the liver does not function properly most especially in the production of glucose. When this happens, the level of blood sugar decreases and this can be very dangerous and harmful for the body. According to the American Diabetes Association, it is okay to drink alcohol however; it should not be taken with an empty stomach. This way, the lowering of blood sugar is guarded and monitored. It would be best to drink only after eating.
One of the hardest to stop is smoking. Although several lessons and information about how smoking harms the body and about how a person will benefit from quitting, men still do not care. People diagnosed with diabetes are said to be more prone to different types of heart and cardiovascular disease. In worse cases, these are often the cause of death of these people. Cigarettes contain substances that can make the blood pressure rise as well as the level of blood sugar. When this happens, it will be very difficult to control the diabetes from getting severe. Moreover, smoking may damage the blood vessels and continuous occurrence of this may lead to foot ulcers, foot and leg infections and atherosclerosis. People smoking are also very sensitive to infections that may cause colds and respiratory diseases.
Males are also considered to be very stubborn most especially in checking their blood sugar level. This is extremely bad for diabetic patients. As much as possible, they should monitor their blood pressure because rising and falling of blood sugar level is not good for patients suffering from diabetes.
Let us face a simple fact; men are stubborn and bull-headed! They do not want to appear weak, so they will not go to their physician when symptoms of diabetes arise. This ends up in them having diabetes for a longer period of time before treatments are initiated, which then results in complications such as blindness, heart attack, kidney disease, and amputation. All of which could have been easily avoided, if men had simply just went to their physician on a more regular basis, or opened up and discussed possible problems that they may be experiencing.
