Understanding The History Of Diabetes


The history of diabetes goes a long way. The earliest recorded history of diabetes goes back as early as the 3rd dynasty of the Egyptians. As early as the 1st century A.D., the physician Hesy-Ra already mentioned frequent urination as a system of this disease. Arateus, also a physician at that time described the disease as the melting down of the human flesh and limbs into urine. As the years passed, there were many other ancient physicians who diagnosed the disease by tasting the urine of the person who is afflicted with diabetes. The urine of the person who has diabetes is said to be sweet-tasting that the word mellitus which is Greek word for honey was later on added to the term diabetes.

In the recorded history of diabetes as an illness, the discovery of insulin as a form of treatment was considered as the biggest breakthrough. In the early 1920s, scientists who have been studying the disease found out that that insulin can help people who are suffering from this disease. Insulin then became the cornerstone of diabetes treatment all over the world. However, at that time, there was no standards for using insulin in treating diabetes that it was up to the doctors to determine how much to give to their patients. The varying does given by physicians became the cause for concerns of the medical sector that they strive to provide controls on the use of insulin. The standard insulin injections were introduced in the 1940s to make sure that people who are suffering from this disease is given uniform treatment.

Insulin And Diet

According to written history of diabetes, before the discovery of insulin as a form treatment for the disease, physicians rely heavily on giving the patient a sugarless diet. By removing too much sugar in the diet of the person in favor of more healthy types of foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains, physicians were able to control the symptoms of the disease. However, the history of diabetes tells us that the discovery of insulin led several physicians to ignore the traditional dietary restrictions on people with diabetes and rely on the insulin to do the entire job. Unfortunately, it was later on discovered that insulin alone may not be able to control the amount of sugar in the blood of the patient. This discovery led those physicians to combine proper diet and exercise into the insulin regimen to help control the disease. At present, the combination of diet, exercise and insulin treatment is still being used to help patients fight off diabetes.