Diabetes, Blood Pressure deadly cocktail

The survey was carried out in Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam by a city pharmaceutical company to understand the exact prevalence of the disease in both the states. Consultant endocrinologist Dr K.D. Modi at Care Hospitals said, “Diabetes is the gateway to kidney ailments, tuberculosis, hypertension and also many other diseases. In the survey we found that 43 per cent of the patients suffered from diabetes and 24 per cent of them suffered from both diabetes and hypertension. Thirty-five per cent of diabetics had kidney ailments and they were not aware of it.” Of the 1,900 patients, 74 per cent were found to suffer from uncontrolled blood sugar levels and most of them were not aware of it.

Dr Rabinder Nath Mehrotra, endocrinologist at Apollo Hospitals, said, “Simple sugars like glucose, fructose and sucrose give a sweet taste to food. But all three of them provide calories in equal amounts for every gram consumed. Studies have shown that excessive consumption of sweetened beverages, in which these sweeteners are used, lead to a higher risk of diabetes than foods with the same calorie count.”

Dr G. Mandula said, "Consumption of sweetened beverages over the years has led to the onset of diabetes. But it also depends on how much of it is consumed and what foods or fruits are replaced. There has been a growing consensus that sugar-sweetened drinks, both natural and artificial, must be reduced.”