Cultural and Disease essay

In the current essay I would like to consider Diabetes mellitus and explore the social and cultural of the decease on the example of Mongoloid race. To begin with, it should be noted that Diabetes mellitus ”“ is a group of endocrine diseases developing as a result of absolute or relative (a violation of interaction with target cells) lack the hormone insulin, causing hyperglycemia develops – a persistent increase in blood glucose. The disease is characterized by chronicity and a violation of all types of metabolism: carbohydrate, fat, protein, mineral and water-salt.

As a rule, food contains different types of carbohydrates. Some, such as glucose, are composed with one six-membered heterocyclic ring and the carbohydrate are absorbed in the intestine unchanged. Others, such as sucrose (disaccharide) or starch (polysaccharide) consisting of two or more linked five-membered or six-membered heterocycles. It can be said that these substances are split under the action of various enzymes of the gastrointestinal tract to the molecules of glucose and other simple sugars and, ultimately, also soaked in blood. In addition, simple molecules like fructose interact with glucose in the blood and, as a result, convert into glucose. Thus, glucose is the main carbohydrate of blood and body, which belongs to an exclusive role in the metabolism of the human body: it is a basic and universal source of energy for the entire body. Many organs and tissues (e.g. brain) use only glucose as an energy source, according to Joseph Graves (2009).

It is essential to note that the major role in the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism of the body plays the hormone of the pancreas – insulin. It is a protein synthesized in the β-cells of islets of langerhans (accumulation of endocrine cells in pancreatic tissue) and is intended to stimulate processing of glucose by cells. Almost all tissues and organs (e.g. liver, muscle, and adipose tissue) are able to process glucose only with the presence of insulin and can be named as insulin dependent. In turn, other tissues and organs, such as brain, do not need insulin to process glucose, and therefore are called non-insulin dependent.



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