Being diagnosed with diabetes needs to be taken seriously because having such disease entails lifelong care and treatment. Diabetes is a condition where one’s blood glucose levels are too high and not in the normal state. There are two kinds of diabetes; type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes is when the body does not make insulin while type 2 is when the body does not make and use of insulin properly.
Insulin is a hormone in the body and without this, glucose will stay in the blood which will not be helpful for someone with diabetes.
In the long run, if diabetes is not treated and the amount of glucose level continues to rise in one’s blood, it can cause other serious problems. It can affect other parts of the body such that of the eyes. One example of eye complication caused by diabetes is Diabetic Retinopathy.
What is Diabetic Retinopathy?
Diabetic Retinopathy is a condition wherein the retina of the eye is being damaged due to excessive sugar in the body. In this kind of complication, the retinal tissue swells which results in blurred vision and if not given the proper attention it can eventually lead to total blindness.
To avoid such complication, people with diabetes should give their disease proper attention and they should also maintain a proper and healthy lifestyle such that of their food intake.
Based on a study conducted in Spain, enough omega 3 intake for adults with diabetes may reduce the risk of incurring diabetic retinopathy.It was suggested that diabetic people must follow a Mediterranean diet with at least two servings of fatty fish per week.
The findings were proven to be true after conducting a research called PREDIMED last 2003-2009.
During the research duration, about 3, 600 adults aged 55-80 participated in the study and out of those participants 3/4 of them achieved the guidelines of the American Heart Association of omega 3 fatty acid intake levels of 500 mg per day.
After six years, a follow up study was made and results showed by JAMA ophthalmology showed that people who were meeting the proper omega -3 fatty acid intake then were 48 percent less likely to be diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy.
Omega 3 could be obtain by eating fatty fish such that of salmon, shrimp and light canned tuna. However Aleix Sala-Vila, one of the researchers, said that there is no guarantee of same results when it comes to omega-3 supplements intake.
Nevertheless, this study proved that people with diabetes should take care of themselves because having such disease should not be neglected. Also, it this study showed that even the small changes in one’s diet could bring so much health benefits.
As a doctor from the Rigshospitalet-Glostrup and University of Copenhagen in Denmark said, “Diet modification is a cornerstone of diabetes care,”
