What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a metabolic condition in which the patient exhibits high levels of glucose levels in the blood. This can be a result of insufficient insulin production, the body does not respond properly to insulin production, or a combination of the two. Insulin is a hormone that allows our cells to absorb glucose, so a defect in the action of insulin will cause an accumulation of glucose in the blood. The cells will then turn to fat cells in order to obtain the energy they are lacking from glucose, resulting in weight loss, blurred vision, lethargy, nausea, and other symptoms.
There are three types of diabetes: Type I, Type II, and Gestational Diabetes. In Type I Diabetes, the body does not produce insulin and the patient must take insulin injections for the remainder of their life. In Type II Diabetes, the body doesn’t make properly functioning insulin or the body does not respond properly to insulin. This is and acquired and progressive form of diabetes and can often be reversed by weight loss and healthy diet. Gestational Diabetes is characterized as high glucose levels found in pregnant women, and can be regulated by diet and exercise in 80% of cases.
How does oxidative stress affect diabetes?
More and more studies are being performed to show that oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of all types of diabetes. The metabolic abnormality of diabetes causes the body’s cells to generate a larger imbalance of oxidative species than found in a healthy cell. These radical oxygen species, or ROS, that are produced from the metabolic dysfunction are known to disrupt other metabolic pathways that decreases angiogenesis (healthy blood cell growth), increases inflammation, and inactivates anti-atherosclerosis (cardiovascular disease) enzymes.
In conjugation with an increase in ROS, diabetes weakens the body’s antioxidant defense mechanism. Balancing the free radicals that are produced in excess by diabetes with antioxidants can help to diminish side effects, complications, and pathogenesis of the disease.
OptiHealth Product’s OPCXtra can give you a powerful blend of antioxidants to help combat the build up of ROS produced by diabetes!
