Second Women's Clinic

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 255, 20 September 1988, Page 7

Second Women's Clinic

A second w e 1 1 women's clinic is to be held on Monday, September 26 at the Community Health Rooms in Raetihi. These clinics are focused on educating women about their health needs, and offer free health screening tests. The Blood Glucose Test which is offered, is a screening test for Diabetes Mellitus. This is a condition in which the body does not supply enough effective insulin. Insulin is a chemical substance, or hormone, which is released into the blood stream from the pancreas gland located in the abdomen. Insulin regulates the rate body cells u s e sugar. This sugar is in turn used by the cells to supply the energy to keep the b o d y ' s machinery running. Much of the food you eat is Converted into sugar. All of the carbohydrates, about 50 per cent of the protcin and 10 per cent of the fats. If more sugar is available than is needed for immediate use it is stored for future use in the liver and muscle tissue and as fat. Whenever thcre is an insufficient supply of effective insulin the cells cannot use sugar

and the liver and muscles cannot store it. The food eaten is still converted to sugar and as you add to the already present sugar in the blood, the blood sugar rises above a normal level - this rise can be detected with the simple blood glucose test.

Other symptoms of diabetes can include thirst, wcakness and tiredness, loss o f weight, and skin infections. Diabetes is a chronic condition. At the present time there is n o cure, but it can be controlled by simple rules

of diet medical management. It is estimated that three to four per cent of our population has diabetes, although only about half of these people know they have it. Diabetes is more common among the middle-aged and elderly.