Symptoms

Diabetes, or Diabetes Mellitus to give it its proper medical name, is a disorder of assimilation. When the pancreases become inactive or atrophied and cease to produce insulin, the body is unable to convert the sugar into energy for the muscles. Its chief symptoms are weakness and loss of weight, great thirst and increase in the amount of urine passed. There is sometimes voracious appetite but the patient. Gradually becomes more and more emaciated. Owing to poor vitality of the tissues, various skin eruptions like boils and carbuncles appear. There may be itching in the groins and eczema. A serious complication could be gangrene of the skin of the feet, beginning with the toes. A curious phenomenon is that the younger the patient, the more rapid is the course of the disease.

Allopathy depends mostly on administration of insulin to, dissolve the sugar in the blood and forbidding starchy and sugary foods to the patients modern science has not been able to pinpoint the real cause of the disease: what is available is only generalizations such as, obese persons are more susceptible to the disease, it attacks males more than females, or that it runs in the families etc.

Treatment

As in cases of other diseases, naturopathy recommends a diet and no drugs. The main purpose is to help the body to assimilate the sugar into the system and that can be achieved by a special diet. I would recommend about one kg of curd made from cow's milk and various types of gourds without salt. The greener the vegetables, the most beneficial it would be. Sour fruits like tomatoes, oranges, pineapple, rose apple (jamun), scolanum (makoy) could also be taken with advantage. The patient can also take one or two chappaties made of flour, which has not been passed through sieve. The person suffering from diabetes must take long walks (preferably ten kilometers) daily. Remember that the disease strikes generally those who lead a sedan try life, and are used to a rich diet.

Cereals, sugar and preparations should not be taken for some time. The other method of treating the disease is by fasting for a couple of days and then eating sour fruit only for a week during which green vegetables may also be alternated with the fruits. Curd made from cow's milk must form and inevitable part of the every meal. If the curd is not available, about 50 grammes of germinated gram may be taken with every meal. After about a fortnight of this regimen, the patient can take bread made of whole flour.

Diabetics must take physical exercise as that helps to utilize the blood sugar. Walking, preferably jugging is the best exercise I can recommend. Hipbath recommended by kunhe is extremely beneficial in the case of diabetes, particularly for patients suffering from constipation. For a leathery skin most diabetes develops, the best exercise is vigorous rubbing of the skin with a rough towel for fifteen minutes before a bath with cold water.

Allopaths while recommending a sugar face-free diet to the diabetic prescribes a high protein diet like fish, eggs, meat and lentils leading to an imbalance in his food. Advising patients to take saccharine instead of sugar, the allopaths expose them to the danger of slow poisoning. The harmful effects of saccharine have recently been observed.

The diabetic must also try to remain cheerful and keep his poise. There are some asanas recommended by yoga specialists which ave proved helpful in dealing with the disease.