Forty-two years ago is as fresh as today to Mrs Grace, popularly called ‘Mama Oniminerals’ of Iga Iduganran community, Lagos Island in Lagos State. The 55-year-old soft drink vendor recalls the tragedy of that year in her mother’s family with dense gloominess. She made the sad commentary using scary imagery of losses.
It was Sunday, May 30, 1976. Mrs Grace and her mother (name not given) wept uncontrollably as their guardian and godmother, Mrs Nimotallahi Aduki, breathed her last. It was a horrifying experience for mother and child who had just lost the woman who cared for them and provided all their needs. To them, it was as if the world had come to an end as the possibility and hope of sustenance looked blurry. Mrs Grace explained that the death of Mrs Aduki had spelt doom for them more than anyone else.
The sexagenarian was down for several months as she battled a minor injury on one of her toes. The sore festered unrelentingly despite the series of medications and treatments (both orthodox and traditional) that were administered on it. The woman succumbed to death on the fateful Sunday in the raining season of that year, leaving her family in deep sorrow. The deceased had just lost a battle with diabetes that was discovered long after it had eaten deep into her fabric.
Mrs Grace said: “Mama Aduki was my aunt, being an elder sister to my grandmother. We had nothing, so my mother and I lived with her until she died of diabetes on May 30, 1976. At that time, I was in Primary One. Her death was a big loss to me and my mother because she was the one taking care of us. I did not know what killed her until many years after. It was diabetes. She had a painful sore that defied all treatments on her toe. Her pain was serious and long.”
But that was not the end of agony for Mrs Grace. Her father, a Lagosian, died in a gripping circumstance 22 years after Mrs Aduki’s passage due to diabetes. Like Mrs Aduki’s case, trouble started for the man (name not given) after sustaining what started as a minor injury on one of his big toes. He died 10 years later, leaving Grace and her mother in misery.
She said: “Like Mama, my father died of diabetes. He had sore on one of his big toes. A doctor confirmed to him that he had diabetes. The doctor was his saving grace. At a point, his leg was to be amputated but the doctor gave a prescription and, like magic, the condition of the leg improved. He survived it but died 10 years later. Perhaps he could have lived longer if he had heeded the doctor’s advice to quit drinking.”
The circle of diabetes-induced trauma appeared to have been completed for Mrs Grace when her mother died of diabetes in November 2011. The hapless lady said she watched helplessly as her mother agonised to death in a battle with diabetes. And four years after her mother’s death at the hands of diabetes, Mrs Grace was also diagnosed with the disease at the Lagos Island General Hospital, Marina, in February 2014. She, however, expressed shock over the confirmation, saying she did not betray any sign of diabetes.
She said she noticed that her feet were swollen sometime in February. Six years earlier, she had complained of blurry vision. After being examined at the hospital, the doctors confirmed that she had diabetes. She was admitted after being given first aid treatment. Grace recalled in an interview with Saturday Tribune: “I was given a clean bill of health two months before my legs became swollen. I had a diabetes test at Lagos Island Clinic at Iga Iduganran, bearing in mind my parents’ cases and that of my aunt. It was as a result of my condition that I relocated to Osogbo, Osun State, for medical care at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital. Since I started getting treatment there, my health has improved.”
Mrs Grace is a soft drink vendor. She confirmed that as a result of her line of trade, she usually took carbonated drinks before being confirmed diabetic. After relocating to Osogbo, she said she changed her line of business to selling daily needs. “I must have abused intake of soft drink when I was in the business. Now I am very conscious of what I eat and I abstain from taking carbonated drinks in order to guard against worsening my health because I always remember the circumstance that led to the death of my mother, her guardian and my father.
“I want to advice that we should be aware that excessive intake of sugar is inimical to our health whether we are old or young. It is good to ensure that one does not abuse consumption of sugar whether diabetes is hereditary or not in one’s family. I advise that those who have diabetes should go for treatment so that their status can be confirmed and controlled.”
A retired secondary school teacher in Osogbo, Mrs Mary Oyeniyi, 66, heard about diabetes for the first time 26 years ago before the creation of Osun State. Although she could not ascertain the cause of her father’s death, she said she was unaware of any case of diabetes in her family. She got to know that she was diabetic during a medical checkup at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital. She said: “When I was sick, I came to Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, for a checkup barely five years ago. At that time, I was managing hypertension. In the process, I was diagnosed with diabetes. I noticed that my eyes were hitching and tears were streaming down from them. A drug was prescribed for me and I felt better after I started taking the medication. At the hospital, I was counselled on the type and quantity of food to take in order not to put pressure on my pancreas. I was also advised on fruit and vegetable intake.
“I advise our people, both young and old, to have regular medical checkup in order to determine their health status so that they can have timely medical intervention. I want to advise parents against giving large quantity of sweet and sugar to their children in the name of civilisation. It is now common every morning that parents stack their children’s lunchboxes with junks like biscuits, sweet and other snacks, which are not really healthy.”
Before Mr Ayodele Adeyemo was diagnosed with diabetes, he was a heavy drinker. Like Oyeniyi, Adeyemo said he had heard of diabetes for a long time before being diagnosed in 2003. Having become aware of his health condition, he explained that he immediately stopped taking alcohol. He, however, said that did not stop him from keeping old friends. “I started reducing the volume of alcohol that I drank per day. Before long, I stopped drinking altogether. Life is so precious one has to take care of it. It does not mean that one will not die but one has to ensure that one lives without pain or with minimal pain.
“I must have been living with diabetes for a long time before I realised it. My job was very rigorous, so when I was tired, I always took energy drink. One day, I came to LAUTECH Teaching Hospital to lodge a complaint about my health. The doctor was curious and he asked me to go for a test. In 2004, it was confirmed that I had diabetes,” he said.
On how he felt when told that he had diabetes, Adeyemo said: “William Shakespeare said nothing is good or bad. Your thinking makes it so. Something can be complex or simple, depending on how you take it. Diabetes can be very complicated if attention is not paid to instructions but it could be safer if you take it as a new lifestyle. Some people drink so much because it is a lifestyle for them. By the time one is diagnosed with diabetes it is advisable to begin a new lifestyle. Someone who is diagnosed with diabetes cannot be casual again; you have to be cautious of what you take and do. But if you continue to eat and drink just anything, you are living to death.
“The World Diabetes Day is a good opportunity to sensitise the public on the need to screen people to confirm their status. Everybody should have information about diabetes because it is very important to know your health status at a certain age. By so doing, you would have solved a lot of health issues that can embarrass you in future.
A consultant endocrinologist with LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Dr Kemi Yusuf, described diabetes as a chronic disease whose prevalence rate is astounding. According to her, available record shows that about 425 million people are living with diabetes globally.
She said: “This explains why we are creating awareness about this. November 14 marking the birthday of the researcher that discovered insulin in 1921 is set apart as the World Diabetes Day to educate the people.
“Members of the public should be aware of the disease and risk factors. We have different types of diabetes and Type 2 is very common. Over 90 percent of those who are down with diabetes have Type 2 Diabetes. One of the risk factors of diabetes is obesity and the other is heredity or genetic disposition. In the research we carried out at LAUTECH, we found out that more women have diabetes.
“The food we eat also accounts for occurrence of diabetes. If you take too much of fatty foods or weight-promoting diets, over time it may lead to obesity. People with sedentary lifestyle can also be prone to it. If you are not exercising or not engaging in enough physical activities that will make them burn the calorie intake, it is risky. People should watch their weight, what they eat and engage more in exercise. We want to screen women who had babies with much weight at birth to be sure that they are free from gestational diabetes. Pre-existing diabetes is different from the diabetes which is picked up in pregnancy. In such a case, there is increased risk of having diabetes eventuality and as such, it is advisable that women with gestational diabetes screen for diabetes occasionally. If care is taken, the person may not progress into full-blown diabetes.”
She said while adequate percussion is required, not all those with gestational diabetes later have full-blown diabetes. She warned that a lot of people, especially those that are predisposed to having diabetes, may eventually have full-blown diabetes if they live unguarded lifestyles by not exercising, not screening, overeating and eating of junks or heavy foods.
Apart from long-term consequences, if not well controlled, physicians say diabetes may cause blindness, kidney failure and limb amputation. The World Health Organisation (WHO) noted that over the past decade, the prevalence of diabetes rose faster in low and middle-income economies than in high-income countries. In 2014, it put people living with diabetes at 25 million in sub-Saharan Africa from four million in 1980. In 2015, diabetes was adjudged the sixth leading cause of death in lower and middle income countries.
According to the International Diabetes Federation, an estimated two-third of people with diabetes in Africa are undiagnosed. The 2016 WHO survey indicates that of the 54.49 million people in South Africa, the prevalence of diabetes is 9.8 percent while of the 182 million people in Nigeria, 4.3 percent is diabetic. The Democratic Republic of Congo which came next to Nigeria with population density of 77.30 million people at the period under review had 4.3 percent of its national population living with diabetes.
An endocrinologist at the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Dr Oluwamuyiwa Oluwatoke, while speaking on the prevalence and pattern of diabetes among patients at the hospital, said: “Diabetes is common worldwide. Blood sugar is dangerous if untreated. It is preventable. About 30 years ago in Nigeria, available record shows that about three people out of 100 had diabetes. But today, about eight or nine out of 100 people have it. A research carried out at the male and female wards of the teaching hospital shows that between April and September 2018, diabetes was more prevalent in female patients than male.
“In June and July, diabetes ranked higher than other diseases in the hospital. Findings by the hospital show that one out of two people are aware that they have diabetes while half of the number is unaware. In male ward within six months, stroke and mental related cases are highest while in females ward, diabetes is highest.”
A senior registrar and cardiologist at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Dr Sanjo Adebiyi, who spoke on signs and risks of diabetes, noted that: “Many people are unaware that they are living with diabetes. One of the signs of diabetes is frequent urination. Some people get to know that they have diabetes only when they have complications. Diabetes can affect one’s vision. Hypertension can induce blood sugar. About seven out of 10 people with diabetes have hypertension. Kidney may have been affected in a situation where the urine of a diabetic person is foamy. Diabetes can lead to erectile dysfunction. Also, at chronic stage, a patient living with diabetes may not be able to feel any pain in some parts of the body.”
Dr Yusuf, however, stated that a large percentage of people living with diabetes can still live a normal life if well managed. She explained that: “It is good to have early screening, regular checks, abstain from self-medication. Whether you have diabetes or not, seek knowledge. Those living with the disease need to control it by taking healthy diets, through regular and moderate exercise, abstinence from smoking and drinking. When you take treatment regularly and glucose is controlled, the frequency of urination is reduced. If medication is abused, it can cause brain damage. We have diabetes patients that won gold medal at Olympic. Follow-up is essential for diabetes. Diabetes is not death sentence. It requires comprehensive medical review.”
Sweet options for people with diabetes
One of the most challenging types of food for people with diabetes to find is dessert. Doctors will generally encourage people with diabetes to avoid sugars and carbohydrates. However, by making some simple nutritional changes, it is possible for people with diabetes to enjoy desserts.
Desserts can be full of sugar and other simple carbohydrates, and they often offer minimal or no nutritional value.
In this article, learn about some general tips and suggestions for sweets and desserts for people with diabetes.
Tricks, tips, and alternatives
A person with diabetes can still enjoy something sweet, but they may need to plan to help avoid unnecessary spikes in blood sugar.
Even a person without diabetes could benefit from following some of the suggestions below.
Eat smaller portions
Desserts are best in moderation. People with diabetes do not necessarily need to skip dessert entirely, but they can opt for a smaller portion of dessert.
When eating out, asking for a smaller slice of cake or pie or sharing dessert with a friend can help limit portion sizes.
When eating at home, cutting baked goods into smaller pieces can help avoid overeating.
Swap carbohydrates
An easy way to allow room for a small serving of dessert is skipping a starchy vegetable, roll, or other carbohydrates at mealtime.
By not eating a carbohydrate serving during the main meal, people can help avoid spiking their blood sugar levels by eating a dessert shortly after.
People should only use this trick occasionally, however. This is because most starches in a meal, such as potatoes, are likely to be more nutritious than dessert.
Have homemade dessert
By making desserts at home, a person can control exactly what goes into the dessert.
They can swap out ingredients, such as regular sugar for artificial sweetener, use a whole-grain flour, or use applesauce instead of butter to make the dessert fit into their diet plan.
Also, packaged sweets and desserts often contain a variety of unhealthful additives.
Eat dark chocolate
Dark chocolate with no added sugar may benefit people with type 2 diabetes.
Chocolate offers several potential health benefits, including helping control blood sugar levels. A study paper revealed that chocolate could have some benefits for managing type 2 diabetes.
However, the authors warn that many manufacturers add copious amounts of sugar, which can be bad for people with diabetes.
So, consuming dark chocolate in moderation can be a healthful choice. Dark chocolate is also very rich, making it easy to satisfy a craving without eating very much of it.
Eat fruit and fruit salads
Fruits are high in sugar, but they also offer a range of nutrients, including vitamins and fiber. In fact, the American Diabetes Association recommend using fruit or fruit salads as a way to satisfy cravings for sweets.
However, people with diabetes should opt for fresh, frozen, or fruit canned in water over fruit salads canned in sugary syrups.
Try sugar-free gelatins and puddings
Gelatins and puddings are popular dessert items. Unlike fruits, these dessert options offer no nutritional value.
However, people can eat a small portion of sugar-free pudding or gelatin as a low-carb dessert without interfering with their blood sugar levels.
Use artificial sweeteners instead of sugar
Some people believe that artificial sweeteners can cause adverse health effects. However, most research does not support this.
Switching out some or all sugar with artificial sweeteners may help minimize the chances of experiencing a blood sugar spike.
Recipes
Coconut pudding is a dessert suitable for people with diabetes.
To make a simple dessert, a person can sprinkle fresh or frozen fruit with artificial sweetener. To make a fruit salad, mix together:
There are many diabetes-friendly dessert recipes available online that a person can work into a diabetic meal plan, including:
Other diet tips
People with diabetes should follow the dietary recommendations of their family doctor. However, some general tips to manage blood sugar levels include:
In addition to proper diet, a person should also maintain an active lifestyle by engaging in both aerobic and weight-training activities.
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