Author(s): Disha Bindra and Dr. Manju

Abstract:
The term diabetes mellitus was derived from the Greek words meaning passing through and sweet as honey (diabetes= flow through meh = honey). It is a chronic metabolic disorder with a strong hereditary basis, associated with high blood glucose. Basically it is caused by the deficient secretion of insulin by pancreatic cells. The two main types of diabetes classified by WHO are Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) or Type 1 and Non- Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM) or Type 2. About ninety per cent of diabetics belong to Type -2 (Raghuram, 1999). Conventional treatment of diabetes mellitus is through insulin and oral glycemic drugs. However, this treatment may lead to micro- vascular and neurological complications. Insulin has also been reported to increase cholesterol synthesis and secretion of very low density lipoprotein which is not desirable for human health (Subbulakshmi and Naik. 2003). Persons with diabetes mellitus follow a regulation of diet, as it is a sheet anchor of treatment and a useful supplement for insulin therapy in younger subjects. Several well – designed studies have shown that life style changes together with proper diet and physical exercise is essential to prevent Type- 2 Diabetes Mellitus (Yasumitsu et al., 2002). Hence, in the earlier stages diabetes should not be neglected and proper diet therapy should be adopted (Dilawari et al., 2004).