As seen by Western medicine diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.
Glucose, a source of energy, is produced by the body through the digestion of carbohydrate-rich foods. The body’s blood levels, known as “glycemia”, must be regulated to nourish tissues and prevent narrowing of the arteries, weight loss and fatigue – the characteristic symptoms of diabetes.
The pancreas regulates blood sugar levels through the hormone insulin. When blood levels exceed 1 gram of glucose per liter, this hormone triggers a storage mechanism in the liver. When the level begins to fall, glucose is released into the bloodstream.
All diabetes treatments in Western medicine aim to compensate for insulin deficiency in the case of so-called “insulin-dependent” diabetes (type 1 diabetes, which develops during youth), or to restore the capacity of the body’s cells to absorb glucose in response to the presence of insulin (in the case of type 2 diabetes, known as “non-insulin-dependent” and most often linked to lifestyle, weight and diet).