Cross-Cultural Comparison: Diabetes in America Today

Cross-Cultural Comparison
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Cross-Cultural Comparison
Diabetes is considered as one of the leading killers in America today. According to this article by the Mayo Clinic Staff (2015) (/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/diabetes-treatment/art-20044084?pg=1), insulin is widely used to manage diabetes. In most cases, diabetes is caused by the shortage of insulin in the body. The main function of insulin is to ensure that the amount of sugar in the bloodstream in the blood is within a normal range. After the intake of food, carbohydrates are broken down into sugar and enter the bloodstream in the form of glucose, a sugar that acts as a major source of energy. Ordinarily, the pancreas responds by producing insulin, which gives sugar room to enter the tissues. However, if the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, then an individual is likely to develop diabetes. The insulin therapy which is recommended in this article is ideal in managing diabetes as it replaces the insulin that the pancreas is unable to produce.
While the American Food and Drug Administration details insulin therapy as one of the mechanisms for dealing with diabetes complications, the Dakota people believe that the tubers of some wild plants are capable of dealing with the disease. This belief causes them to reject any other form of treatment in favor of the traditional way of life. The Dakota people have continued to reject any kind of treatment despite the proof that diabetes is a leading killer within this ethnic group (Mengel, Holleman, & Field, 2007).
According to contemporary medicine, bigness and blindness are some of the symptoms of advanced diabetes. In the Dakota community however, bigness is seen as a sign of being healthy and not diabetes. On the other hand, while diabetes is seen as a lifestyle disease, the Dak...