Smoking and Diabetes
Don't Do It !
No one should smoke, but smoking and diabetes do not mix. Why? The nicotine in cigarette smoke causes large and small blood vessels to harden and narrow. This results in reduced blood flow to the areas of the body supplied by those vessels. Diabetics are already at risk for this type of reduced blood flow. Cigarettes further increase the risk. When the blood supply is cut off to any area of the body, the nerves, cells and tissues eventually die. This is what happens in
diabetic neuropathy,
a complication in which the nerves do not function properly. Often this affects the feet and can require amputation.
Smoking and Your Body
If the eyes are involved, the condition is referred to as
diabetic retinopathy
The blood vessels in the retina, a part of the inner eye that gathers light, are particularly tiny and fragile. When oxygen is cut off, because of narrowing blood vessels, the body’s response is to create new blood vessels. Those are even more fragile. They can easily rupture. Blood clouds the vision and destroys the retina. Eventually this can lead to blindness.Smoking and diabetes do not mix, because smoking is bad for the heart. Diabetics have an increased risk of heart disease. According to the National Cancer Institute, smoking causes heart disease. Nicotine raises blood pressure. When blood pressure is high, the heart must work harder.
High Blood pressure
also contributes to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is involved in type II diabetes. It is one of the reasons that blood sugar levels are difficult to control. The cells of the body fail to recognize insulin in the bloodstream. So, they do not accept glucose. This causes blood sugar levels to rise. Diabetics should make every effort to improve insulin sensitivity. There are nutritional supplements that can help with that. New studies concerning smoking and diabetes indicate that diabetic smokers have an increased risk of degenerative diseases that affect the brain. They are more likely to suffer from age-related dementia and Alzheimer’s. Smokers and diabetics have a greater risk of stroke, which obviously has a negative effect on brain function.
Quit smoking or quit living
When you add up all of the health problems that smoking and diabetes can contribute to or cause, you come up with a long list of life threatening diseases including cancer,
kidney failure,
liver failure, heart failure and coma. Other complications include
erectile dysfunction,
pain in the joints, lost sensation in the toes and fingers and many others.Diabetes can be managed with diet, exercise, nutritional therapy, lifestyle changes and medication. If you are a diabetic and you smoke, you need to quit. Quitting has major and immediate positive effects on your health. You will feel better, look better and you will reduce your risk of dying within the next 15 years. I know as I was a pack-a-day smoker. There are many online resources for smoking cessation. You can talk to your doctor about the many stop-smoking aids that are available today. Just remember that smoking and diabetes can be killers. Don’t let the cigarettes destroy your health.
Return from Smoking and DIabetes
to Your-Healthy-Diabetic-Life
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