Diabetes and Your Feet
Shannon Youn, DCh
Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by elevated levels of glucose or sugar in the blood due a lack of insulin, insufficient levels of insulin, or increase in insulin resistance in the body. Insulin is required so that the body can absorb sugar from the blood and use it as an energy source; without it, the body will be left with high levels of sugar remaining the bloodstream. Consequently, chronically elevated blood sugar levels can lead to long term, sometimes debilitating complications, including blood vessel damage, neuropathy, and a compromised immune system.