subject: How Smoking Exacerbates Diabetes [print this page] Smoking, without a doubt, is an unhealthy lifestyle addiction. It has been found that individuals that smoke increase the probability of contracting cardiovascular health issues. When the smoker develops diabetes, the more health issues occur later on in life.
Recent studies recently show that smoking increases the risk of developing diabetes, particularly Type 2 diabetes compared to non-smokers. This is because with smoking, the body becomes tolerant to the effectivity insulin. This tolerance allows blood glucose levels to increase, leading to full-blown diabetes. The development though does not happen overnight, but oftentimes, smokers find out they have diabetes too late.
When one inhales a puff from a lit cigarette, there are at least 500 substances that enter the body. The most active ones are nicotine, carbon oxide and pitch. Nicotine stimulates the sympathetic nervous system through the narrowing of skin vessels and expansion of muscle vessels resulting in palpitations. When this occurs, there is insufficient blood flow because of the changing sizes of the blood vessels leading to inadequate inflow of oxygen to the heart. When this proves too much, there is an increased risk of contracting a myocardium ischemia or heart attack.
The nicotine also increases the level of fatty acids in the blood and increases the adhesive ability of thrombocytes. This means fat in the blood sticks to the platelet, letting lesser amounts of oxygen to adhere and be carried throughout the body. This also increases the viscosity of blood, increases the formation of atherosclerotic plaque and blood clots in the circulatory system.
Diabetes also has a similar effect on the blood. The increased glucose levels in the blood also inhibit the ability of platelets to carry oxygen to the tissues. The lack of insulin lets the blood become more viscous, making for thicker blood and increased risk of blood clot formation. Without oxygen and the inability to metabolize blood glucose, cells begin to wither and die. When a large number of cells die in a particular organ, distress occurs leading to improper functioning or even shutdown. Because of the pervasiveness of the effect of diabetes, complications can result to major medical issues to the individual.
These two done together would only result in faster development of complications in the individual. Smoking and diabetes results in greater risks to the body, as the blood is unable to provide much needed oxygen to cells and organs. These two can be avoided to keep healthy in the long run.
