Affinity Health: Can Quitting Smoking Reverse Diabetes?
Affinity Health, a leading provider of high-quality healthcare, explains how quitting smoking is critical for reducing problems that lead to diabetics.
What are the Dangers of Diabetes?
Diabetes is a long-term disease that impairs the body’s capacity to metabolise glucose. The International Diabetes Federation reports that about 4.5 million South Africans are diabetic. This represents type 1 and type 2 Diabetes.
Diabetes affected roughly one in every ten people worldwide in 2014. The World Health Organization predicts that it will be the sixth greatest cause of death by 2030.
If left untreated, Diabetes can cause nerve damage. It’s also known to cause amputations, blindness, heart problems, and strokes. If you have diabetes, smoking can make your illness much worse. If you smoke, you are 30% to 40% more likely to get type 2 diabetes than if you don’t. The more you smoke, the greater the risk.
How Quitting Smoking can Improve Diabetes
New research reveals that quitting smoking type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. They may experience a transitory decrease in their glycaemic control that can continue up to three years.
The National Institute for Health Research’s School for Primary Care Research funded this study. Its purpose was to look at health changes in 10,692 adult smokers with type 2 diabetes mellitus over 6 years.
The study discovered that blood glucose levels increased by 2.3mmol/mol (0.21 percent). This change was present in the 29 percent of participants who quit and stayed abstinent for one year. In short, glycaemic control deteriorated slightly before gradually recovering.
55 percent of those who continued smoking during the trial showed a more gradual increase in blood glucose levels.
Quit Smoking For Good
Regardless of how long or how much you’ve smoked, quitting will help you get healthier. When you stop smoking, your body begins to recover itself:
- Your pulse rate and blood pressure will decline in 20 minutes.
- Carbon monoxide (a harmful chemical emitted by cigarette smoking) levels in your blood return to normal around 12 hours.
- Your circulation and lung function will improve in two to three months.
- In a year, your chance of developing heart disease is cut in half compared to someone who still smokes.
“Quitting smoking also improves your body’s usage of insulin. This relaxes your blood sugar levels,” says Murray Hewlett, CEO of Affinity Health.
“Don’t give up if you can’t quit on the first try. And don’t be too hard on yourself if you make a mistake. It may take many attempts before you are completely smoke-free. You don’t even have to do it alone. Enlist the help of friends and family or speak to your healthcare provider for advice on how to kick the habit.”
Diabetes Management Programme
You can manage your diabetes by closely monitoring medication. You can also consider other treatments to decrease the incidence of secondary diseases.
The Affinity Health Diabetic Management Programme helps members manage their diabetes condition. The programme gives members tools to track and manage their condition. For more information, click here.
About Affinity Health
Affinity Health is South Africa’s leading provider of health insurance, offering you a range of options at affordable rates including access to the widest national provider network. We understand the importance of having medical insurance that meets your needs, your budget, and your lifestyle. Our range of healthcare products is designed to protect you and your family when it matters the most. We strive to give our clients peace of mind and the highest standard of service at all times. For more information, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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