Diabetes is broadly of two types, namely diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus. When we talk of diabetes, we normally mean the former, that is, diabetes mellitus because it is one of those obstinate a1\d otherwise incurable diseases.
Every moment, whether we are doing something or we are at rest, whether we are awake or we are asleep, whether we are worried and anxious or in a state of mental stress, the tissues in our body are undergoing changes and cells are getting destroyed. To make up this loss, we have to provide our body with lots of food, drink, air and sunlight.
Our food can be divided into four categories, namely, carbohydrates, fat, proteins and vitamins including minerals. Water, of course, is very essential for the maintenance of the body. Of all these, it is the carbohydrates which give energy. If the process of using up this energy giving substance is disturbed to be prevented, then diabetes is caused. As a result of this disturbance carbohydrates which are turned into sugar in the digestive system accumulate in the blood and then pass out through the urine. Normally these carbohydrates are used up as energy and the surplus is stored in the body as fat. Instead, here it is excreted through the urine.
Modern medicine has made phenomenal progress in the treatment of several diseases. Yet, scientists are unable to find a successful and sure-cure therapy against certain diseases. Most of the diseases caused by bacteria, germs, parasites, and such like have been overpowered. But metabolic diseases such as diabetes include the efforts made by scientists. So far, only palliative therapies have been discovered for them.
Several anti-diabetic drugs have been discovered; some are administered as injections and others are taken orally. The duration of their effect varies, but the duration of all of them is short-lived. Once the effect of the medicine wears out, the patient gets back the original complaints. Diabetic patients become resistant to one or the other type of anti-diabetic drugs. Even among those who are not resistant, at times the blood sugar remains normal and there is not a trace of sugar in the urine, but the diabetic process in the body continues inasmuch as the changes in the blood vessels, the retina and the nerves continue unabated. The patient ultimately succumbs to either the complications of these diabetic changes or to the reactions or adverse effects of the anti-diabetic drugs. It is therefore essential to can not only control diabetes successfully, but also cure it for ever.