Mercury drug helps fight diabetes
LANI, 48, consumes three 330-ml bottles of water from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily. She also needs to eat biscuits, or any food in between before taking lunch by 1 p.m. or later.
When she visited her doctor, she found out her blood sugar is more than 8 percent, which is more than 1 percent higher than the 6.5-percent average. Lani, unknowingly, is suffering from Type 2 diabetes, according to doctors.
Medical doctor Mia Fojas, president of Philippine Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, revealed that there are millions of Filipinos who ignore similar symptoms, which is one of
“In 2013, there were 5.2 percent of adult population who were suffering from this disease but in 2017, the number increased to pandesal 7.1 percent,” Fojas told reporters during a recent press conference on diabetes by Mercury Drug Diabetes Care.
If 30 percent of the Philippine population of 102 million is aged 35 and above, the 7.1 percent equates to more than 5 million affected by the disease.
The doctor said people suffering from severe thirstiness, frequent urination ( at least thrice every hour), weight loss and are always hungry should immediately consult a doctor to have their sugar levels tested.
Fojas said diabetes is a condition where the pancreas doesn’t perform, making insulin well.
“It should not lead to blindness, amputation, kidney malfunction and heart attack if those showing signs will immediately see a doctor to have their sugar levels tested,” she said.
Fojas warned that people have various levels of immunity from the disease because there are those who can sustain it for 20 years before serious complications appear, while some can be resistant to it for two to three years before more complications set in.
What is more surprising is the age of those who get the disease has been going down from what used to be late 40s in the 1990s it unable to use
“Diabetes is a family affair and it gets complicated because of lifestyle and food most people eat,” said Yolanda Robles, president of Philippine Pharmacists Association.
She said this as the disease runs in the blood, literally, for any family member and can go as far as the fourth generation.
Filipinos at great risk
Robles said that being Filipino alone is already a risk factor for diabetes because their belief, which originated as early as the Spaniards’ rule, that “the bigger you are, the richer you are” still lingers today.
“We don’t want our neighbors to see us getting lean because it may lead them to conclude we’re getting poorer,” she said.
Such belief makes many Filipinos eat more. Eating the Filipino way, according to Robles, is not good because of the high carbohydrate consumption.
Robles also said many people now go to fast food chains or convenience stores to buy food. Unknown to them, the foods bought from these stores contain chemicals and are one of the triggering factors in getting high sugar levels.
Robles said the best way to stay away from diabetes is to consume the traditional food that Filipinos ate long before the Spaniards arrived or root crops such as kamote, balinghoy and gabi.
“Boil them. Eat these as often as you can so your pancreas will be very healthy,” the top pharmacist said.
Combined with a healthy lifestyle such as walking for two kilometers a day or any activity that can lead to perspiration plus the consumption of traditional food can reduce the risk of diabetes, she said.
Mercury Drug to the rescue
Mercury Drug is helping Filipinos detect diabetes early by putting up 10 Diabetes Centers in preparation for the World Diabetes Day on November.
By next year, the drug store chain will try its best to roll out the centers in all its branches nationwide.
Three highly-trained pharmacists at the centers can tell those who tested with high sugar level how to manage the disease, including the medicines and procedures needed to control the progress of the diabetes, said Martin Gumayan, vice president for operations of Mercury Drug.
“There is still hope for patients with diabetes if detected early. We’re here to help them in a simple way,” Gumayan said.
Fojas said those who are already undergoing dialysis should not lose hope because the procedure can be stopped if the pancreas becomes healthy again and able to produce insulin.
“When you experience severe thirstiness or frequent urination, don’t wait for years to suffer go see a doctor to check your status,” she said.