By Jim Morham
Diabetes, a disease that affects millions of people in the United States is analogous to a fire starting in a house. The fire fighter shows up. He is expecting from his report, to find a fire in one room. The fire that has started in one room of the house quickly spreads to the hallway, then the back room, then to a bed room. If the fire isn't contained quickly, there is a real possibility of losing the entire house.
Diabetes Is the Fire and the House Is Your Body
For those suffering from diabetes, like the fire, you must be on constant guard by attending to your blood sugar level. Diabetes is an insidious disease that left unchecked, will attack and destroy your body organs, cause coronary heart disease, and may even cause blindness through retinopathy.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Excessive blood glucose levels over time contribute to swelling and pressure to the blood vessels in the retina. As these vessels expand, much like a balloon with too much air in it, they start to bleed. This causes damage over time and can eventually lead to a damaged retina. This is not like getting chest pains; you don't get lots of warning, and the situation if not identified, can lead to permanent damage to the retina and ultimately blindness.
Is There a Way to Detect This Problem?
Every diabetic whether a type one or type two, should have an eye examination at least once a year. The damage caused to the retina starts the day you become diabetic. Because you may not see any change or feel any symptoms means nothing. The clock is ticking and you need to check with an ophthalmologist each year to monitor the change. Most specialists will tell you that if you are in tight control with blood sugars, with an A1C level of seven or below, you won't see any signs of damage till about year fifteen.
What Are the Treatment Options?
The best thing you can do is keep your blood sugars in tight control and don't gain a lot of weight. Every strain you put on your system, whether it's from out of control blood sugars, to excess weight, to high blood pressure, increases pressure on your entire system including the blood vessels in your eyes. Short of tight blood sugar control, laser surgery is also an option. Once the bleeding starts from blood vessels even this surgery is only a temporary solution.
Good News About Treatment With Omega 3 Fish Oil
New medical research from the Children's Hospital of Boston has found that a diet rich in Omega 3 fish oil has shown less abnormal blood vessel growth to the retina. This finding is in line with other medical studies promoting the anti-inflammatory effects of Omega 3 fish oil. The fatty acids found in fish oil have a direct impact on fighting inflammation in every part of the body including the eyes. The effect of rich Omega 3 fish oil is essentially like letting some of the air out of a balloon that is expanding to the point of bursting. It only stands to reason that this research corroborates earlier findings of the positive effects of fish oil on the arteries of the cardio vascular system. The same theory applies to blood vessels in the eye.
Conclusion
Now that we know that Omega 3 fish oil offers a defense against the potential damage to the retina due to diabetes, it's time to be proactive and protect your eye sight before trouble comes knocking.
Diabetes, a disease that affects millions of people in the United States is analogous to a fire starting in a house. The fire fighter shows up. He is expecting from his report, to find a fire in one room. The fire that has started in one room of the house quickly spreads to the hallway, then the back room, then to a bed room. If the fire isn't contained quickly, there is a real possibility of losing the entire house.
Diabetes Is the Fire and the House Is Your Body
For those suffering from diabetes, like the fire, you must be on constant guard by attending to your blood sugar level. Diabetes is an insidious disease that left unchecked, will attack and destroy your body organs, cause coronary heart disease, and may even cause blindness through retinopathy.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Excessive blood glucose levels over time contribute to swelling and pressure to the blood vessels in the retina. As these vessels expand, much like a balloon with too much air in it, they start to bleed. This causes damage over time and can eventually lead to a damaged retina. This is not like getting chest pains; you don't get lots of warning, and the situation if not identified, can lead to permanent damage to the retina and ultimately blindness.
Is There a Way to Detect This Problem?
Every diabetic whether a type one or type two, should have an eye examination at least once a year. The damage caused to the retina starts the day you become diabetic. Because you may not see any change or feel any symptoms means nothing. The clock is ticking and you need to check with an ophthalmologist each year to monitor the change. Most specialists will tell you that if you are in tight control with blood sugars, with an A1C level of seven or below, you won't see any signs of damage till about year fifteen.
What Are the Treatment Options?
The best thing you can do is keep your blood sugars in tight control and don't gain a lot of weight. Every strain you put on your system, whether it's from out of control blood sugars, to excess weight, to high blood pressure, increases pressure on your entire system including the blood vessels in your eyes. Short of tight blood sugar control, laser surgery is also an option. Once the bleeding starts from blood vessels even this surgery is only a temporary solution.
Good News About Treatment With Omega 3 Fish Oil
New medical research from the Children's Hospital of Boston has found that a diet rich in Omega 3 fish oil has shown less abnormal blood vessel growth to the retina. This finding is in line with other medical studies promoting the anti-inflammatory effects of Omega 3 fish oil. The fatty acids found in fish oil have a direct impact on fighting inflammation in every part of the body including the eyes. The effect of rich Omega 3 fish oil is essentially like letting some of the air out of a balloon that is expanding to the point of bursting. It only stands to reason that this research corroborates earlier findings of the positive effects of fish oil on the arteries of the cardio vascular system. The same theory applies to blood vessels in the eye.
Conclusion
Now that we know that Omega 3 fish oil offers a defense against the potential damage to the retina due to diabetes, it's time to be proactive and protect your eye sight before trouble comes knocking.
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