| Dr. Sasha Israeli - Specialist in family medicine, obesity and diabetes treatment
Senior physician at Ziv Medical Center, Maccabi and Leumit Health Services.
Director of the Obesity Clinic, Complex Diabetes Clinic and Gestational Diabetes Unit at Ziv Medical Center.
Diabetologist at Maccabi and Leumit in the northern region.
Graduated from the Department of Family Medicine at Ben Gurion University, 2003.
Family physician in the southern periphery, in the towns and diaspora in the Bedouin sector, and then in the north in the towns of the Galilee and the Golan until 2020.
Diabetologist since 2010.
CME in the field of gestational diabetes at the "Mother and Fetus" clinic at Beilinson Medical Center - 2021.
Awarded the title of "Mother of the Profession" in the field of diabetes by the Scientific Council of Israel - 2022.
Studies in obesity medicine at Tel Aviv University and Beilinson Medical Center - 2024.
As a diabetes and obesity physician, she advocates the principles of PRECISE MEDICINE:
Personalization of drug therapy combined with lifestyle changes, modern and advanced technologies (continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps), pregnancy preparation, treatment and support for women with pre-gestational and gestational diabetes.
Diabetes - a metabolic disease characterized by high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood.
Caused by a problem in the production of the hormone insulin, its action or a combination of the two. Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas and its function is to transport sugar from the blood to the body's cells, where it serves as a source of energy. There are several main types of diabetes:
- Type 1 diabetes: Caused by the destruction of the pancreatic cells that produce insulin. More common at a young age but can certainly also develop at advanced ages, even in the third age.
- Type 2 diabetes: Usually develops in old age and is caused by the body's cells' resistance to insulin or a decrease in its production. Related to lifestyle, such as an unbalanced diet and obesity. In recent decades, this type of diabetes has also been encountered more often in young people, and even children.
- Gestational diabetes: Appears during pregnancy and is caused by insulin resistance that occurs due to hormonal changes.
- Monogenic diabetes: A rare type caused by a genetic mutation that affects the function of the pancreas.
Obesity disease, or obesity
A chronic medical condition characterized by excess accumulation of body fat. Defined by body composition index (muscle mass and fat), body measurements (weight, height, waist and hip circumference). Obesity is considered a chronic inflammatory disease, a major risk factor for the development of many diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, fatty liver disease, sleep apnea, and even certain types of cancer. In addition, can affect mental health and cause depression and anxiety. The causes of obesity are diverse and include genetic and hormonal factors. For example: a high-calorie diet, an absorptive environment (producing obesity) with an abundance of processed, high-carbohydrate/fat/salt foods, lack of physical activity , insufficient sleep, mental stress, and a genetic predisposition can contribute to the development of the disease. Today, there is an understanding of the complex mechanism of appetite regulation, consideration of body composition and metabolic rate that vary from person to person, and an understanding that this is a biological problem and not a behavioral failure. Today, obesity is recognized as a global epidemic and in Israel in particular, and its treatment includes a combination of a balanced diet, physical activity, psychological support, and sometimes also medication or bariatric surgery/endobariatric operations.