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• Director of the Clinical Research
  Center for Diabetes Mellitus,
  Saiseikai Central Hospital

Diabetes Mellitus is a state of chronic hyperglycemia caused by insufficient insulin action. Insulin is a hormone that reduces blood sugar. It controls the blood sugar level so that the level does not rise after a meal. However, if insulin is lacking or doesn't work well, glucose isn't taken into cells and accumulates in the blood. If blood sugar level stays high, it affects blood vessels and peripheral nerves.

There are two main types of diabetes: Type 1 and type 2. Most Japanese people are afflicted by type 2 diabetes, which is associated with overeating, lack of exercise, fatness, stress, etc.

Studies have found that Japanese people have a tendency to get type 2 diabetes compared to Europeans and North Americans.

• Receiving medical checkup periodically
• Abnormal thirst
• Drinking large quantities of water. Excessive urination.
• Easily fatigued. Feeling sluggish.
• Losing weight although eating normally.
• Reduction in sex drive.

In the summer of 2003, Shogo Kariyazaki felt very thirsty for an unknown reason. While wondering if something was wrong with him, a sensation of feeling extremely heavy took over his whole body. He felt reluctant going up stairs because climbing the stairs felt like he was climbing steep mountain paths.

"I was starting to worry that there might be something wrong with me."

After noticing a red rash on his belly, he went to see a dermatologist first. The doctor recommended that he should take a blood test.

After seeing the result, the doctor informed him: "If you aren't hospitalized immediately, you might lose your eyesight and amputate both of your both legs." Kariyazaki felt as if he had lost hope.

Shogo Kariyazaki was born in Tokyo in 1958. He runs Kariyazaki Shogo Flower and Bouquet School.
A multi-talented entertainer, Akihiro Miwa, described Kariyazaki as the artist "who has hands that create beauty."
Every autumn, he held two exhibitions, his annual solo exhibition called "The World of Flower Artist, Shogo Kariyazaki" and "Kariyazaki Shogo Flower and Bouquet School Exhibition", at Hyakudan Kaidan (one hundred stairs that are preserved as a tangible cultural property) at a wedding banquet hall, Meguro Gajoen. He also has been working actively in foreign countries and acquired an international reputation with his talent for flower decoration at the Shanghai Expo, the flower installation works at Rome Film Festival in Italy, and a solo exhibition at Petit Palais in Paris, France.
His most recent published book, Jibun no sekai wo mochinasai ―Sukinakoto ga anata wo tsuyokusuru (You Should Have Your Own World ―Things You Like To Do Will Make You Strong, published by PHP Kenkyusho) is now on sale. He is also the author of many other books.