The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-09-28


and blood. have taken insulin and
DR.. Clendening will answer
questions Of general interest
only, and then only through
his column.
the sugar is gone. Can stop
noWi"
The honest answer 10 both these
questions is-"No." They both
show an entire misconception Of
the nature of the disease diabetes.
Diabetes is q disturbance of starch
or sugar nutrition. Sugar is burned
in the body to furnish energy
muscular action and body heat,
just as gasoline is used in an en-
CINE. The substance which sparks
the sugar is insulin formed by GER
tain glands in the pancreas.
Diabetes is a disease of these
glands. When their secretion of in
sulin is deficient, sugar accumu-
lates in the blood, flows off in the
urine, just as choke accumulates
In your automobile when the spark
plugs are dirty. This can be treat
ed either by giving insulin artih-
cislly (sparking) or reducing the
Starches in the diet. The improve
ment, however, is only temporary.
The underlying condition still ex-
lists. The treatment has to be re-
newed daily indefinitely. The treat
ment though temporary is eff
fective. and diabetes is now one of
the easiest Of all the chronic dis
eases to control.
Advantage of Control
The advantage of using this =.
control is that if conscientiously
done the sugar tolerance Of any
diabetic gradually stages some de-
gree of a come back. To that ex-
tent We can speak of q cure, or
partial cure.
There are two general classes
OF diabetics-young and old. They
need different kinds of care be-
cause the young diabetic always
has severe case and requires in
sulin almost daily, while the older
diabetie has q more or less mild
case that can be controlled in most
instances by diet alone.
! 1t is in this latter class Of the
middle aged, or elderly, diabetic
that treatment is so gratifying
that it may be said they make q
partial recovery. They renew their
spark plugs. They are good exam
piles of the old saying Of DR.. Osler
that the way to live a long time Is
to acquire q chronic disease and
nurss it.
Report on Patients
have a recent report on 55 dia-
bette patients who under treat
ment improved SO much, on diet
alone, that they increased the abil-
ity of the body to utilize starches
and sugars almost TO normal.
In all cases the greatest i'm
provement occurred when weight
reduction was made. That was the
real first objective Of treatment. 1t
is easy to see why weight reduc-
ton should help diabetes. Ii q
mans insulin cells-spark plugs
can't produce enough sparkling to
burn sugar to furnish energy TO a
body which weighs 200 pounds,
they may be able TO do so when his
body weighs only $50 pounds. II
the diabetic can't replace his in
jured spark plugs he can reduce
the size Of the engine they have 10
service.
In performing this weight reduc-
ton the diet will necessarily be
low in starches and sugars and
thus perhaps by giving the insulin-
forming cells a rest you allow
them to stage a come back.
To this extent it may be said
that diabetes is at least partially
durable.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Mrs. F. F.:-My son three and
a half years old fails to recognize
colors. | have worked with him
for hours on end but he still mixes
them up. He is bright otherwise
and he tells me endlessly about
something that is pretty so don't
think he is color blind.
Answer: He probably IL color
blind nevertheless. 0aly males
have 1t. The color blind person
lives In . world Of beauty, even
though it is different from ours,
so may think something is pretty.
II is best to find out whether he
is color blind or not, because many
adjustments in life depend on it.
Any oeulist can tell you. Four
per cent Of all males are color
blind.