Studies have shown that India ranks second after China in the global diabetes epidemic, with 77 million people with diabetes. Of these, 12.1 million are aged >65 years, which is estimated to increase to 27.5 million in the year 2045. There are two most common types of diabetes: Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes

With Type 1 diabetes, the body stops producing insulin as the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed. In this condition, a person must take insulin injections daily to regulate blood glucose levels.

Type 2 diabetes is a serious disease where your body may not respond to insulin, or the body makes insulin but not enough or does not use it well, and thus the sugar levels could go haywire. Thus, sugar steadily builds up in the blood, eventually leading to the blood vessels hardening, causing heart attacks, kidney failure, and stroke.

Long-term untreated diabetes affects the nerve, kidneys, heart, and eyes.

Nerve damage: Diabetes damages the nerves in the legs and arms. These cause numbness, pain, and tingling that start with the fingers and toes and spread along the legs. If this is left untreated, a person can lose all sense of feeling. Diabetic neuropathy is a family of progressive nerve disorders.

Kidney damage: Long-term uncontrolled blood sugar leads to kidney failure that requires dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Heart and blood vessels: For people with diabetes, who have high blood glucose cause blood vessels in the body to become damaged; when this happens, plaque can form in the blood vessels, making it difficult for the blood to flow.

Eye damage: Diabetes, if left untreated, can damage the retina of the eyes, which may lead to blindness.

Nutrients and vitamins:

Diabetic patients tend to have less nutrient absorption for vitamins like Vit C, D3, calcium, and Vit, herbs. Defective insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity cause metabolic disorders.

Ayurvedic Approach for Type 2 Diabetes

In Ayurveda, diabetes is described as ‘Madhumeha’. Diabetes mellitus is described as Vaat Pramehaand Diabetes insipidus is described as Kaph Prameha

According to Ayurveda, imbalances of kaph dosh, pitt dosh together with vaat dosh are the main cause of Madumeha. Vaat, kaph, and Pitt block the pathways connected to the mamsa (muscle) and meda (fat) tissues.

Eating too much, not exercising, being overweight—all these factors aggravate the vaat dosh of the body, where the body does not make enough insulin or does not use it well, and that leads to diabetes.

Ayurveda suggests Jamun and its seeds are highly effective herbs against diabetes. Known as jamboline and jambosine, the fruit seeds slow down the release of sugar into the bloodstream and increase insulin levels. Diabetes symptoms such as frequent urination and thrusting can be reduced with it since it converts starch into energy. In addition to reducing serum glucose levels and insulin resistance, the herb also reduces dyslipidemia and enhances the function of B cells. As a result, the herb rejuvenates the pancreatic cells at the cellular level.