An Explanation of Diabetes

If you think that you are prone to diabetes, the first thing that you need to know is to understand what is the illness all about. Experts say that diabetes is a chronic disease, which develop among people who have the inability to utilize the glucose in their food to be used as energy. The illness develops when the accumulated glucose stays in the person’s bloodstream for a long time. Over a period of time, this amount of glucose, can bring potential harm to the person’s other organs such as the eyes, kidneys, heart, and even the nerves themselves.

After having sufficient knowledge about it and how the disease develops, the next step is to know what kind of diabetes that are known and acknowledged by experts and physicians. Today, there are three major types of diabetes including “Type 1 diabetes,” “Type 2 diabetes,” and “Gestational diabetes.” Knowing what they are and what sets each one apart from one other will help people who are prone to diabetes where to focus in trying to manage their condition.

What type are you?

Type 1diabetes otherwise known as “juvenile diabetes” or “insulin-dependent diabetes,” is considered as the least common type of diabetes there is. Experts say that it is an auto-immune disease that makes the body’s immune system—which serves as a shield against infection—gone not of working order, thus, savaging the cells located in the pancreas which is responsible for producing insulin. For people—especially those who are prone to diabetes—insulin is very important in breaking down the food once eaten.

People who suffer from type 1 diabetes has the inability to make insulin, thus, their body’s are easily damaged by the accumulate glucose in the body. Since they need insulin to get by, people who are suffering from this type of diabetes need a regular supply of insulin 24/7. Children and young adults are prone to this type of diabetes but this occur at any age or can be a result of an illness. Type 1diabetes sufferers exhibit characteristics such as onset thirst, often urination, and drastic weight loss. Next is the type 2 diabetes, which is also known as “non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus” and “adult-onset diabetes”. What sets it apart from the type 1diabetes is that the person suffering from this has the ability to make insulin it’s just that the amount produced in not enough for the body to use it efficiently.

This type is considered as the common type of diabetes, which usually develops among people who are more than 40 years of age. People who are prone to this type of diabetes are usually those who are overweight or obese and those that have sedentary lifestyle. Being a progressive disease, type 2 diabetes can also lead to more severe complications like diseases including the heart, the kidney, the eyes through blindness and amputation or loss of limbs. People who suffer from type 2 diabetes are also characterized by slow or onset thirstiness, repeated urination, and loss of weight usually develops is a span of weeks to weeks.

The last type is called “gestational diabetes” which develops during pregnancy. Normally, this type of diabetes ends after giving birth but there are also those cases in some women that develop this type diabetes as they get older. Gestational diabetes, though it is common among pregnant women, should be monitored because there’s a big chance of leading to type 2 diabetes.

How To Effectively Avoid Diabetes

Before panic gets in the way, people who are prone to diabetes should familiarize themselves with the disease. This is to avoid negative thoughts entering their heads and so they can think clearly what to do. Having extensive knowledge about the condition cannot only help people to think clearly but can also provide them with whatever options at hand.

If you think that you have greater chances of having diabetes, it is best to know what it is, what are its types, the symptoms to look for, how can it be diagnosed, and the treatments available for you. Knowing all these can help you cope up with the disease and can also help you effectively manage or avoid it.

Veering away from diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic illness, which tends to be more complicated and more severe as time goes by. This is why it is very important not only to people who are prone to it but to everyone to take note of the things that can help them veer away from the condition.

Just like in any condition or illness, veering away from diabetes involves the development of healthy habits. Experts say that those people who have decided to practice healthy habits have lower risks of getting the disease even if they are prone to it. All they need to do is to make changes in their lifestyle including:

1. Diet. As the saying goes, “what you eat is what you are.” If you eat healthy foods and have well balanced meals, then you are healthier than those who don’t do it. Experts advise people who are prone to diabetes that if they don’t want to develop this disease they should eat lots of fruits and vegetables especially those that are non-starchy ones like green beans, broccoli, carrots, or spinach. If you are at risk for diabetes, you should whole grain foods such as brown rice and whole-wheat pasta not processed grain products should be your main option. Also take more meals that has fish, leans meats, calorie-free drinks, and the like.

2. Weight issues. A person’s weight is also a big factor for people who are prone to diabetes. Experts say that people who are overweight have greater risk for suffering from the disease because they can develop high resistance against insulin. If they don’t have enough supply of insulin because of too much weight—responsible for making cells resistant to glucose—they can eventually develop diabetes.

3. Regular exercise. Many experts believe that people who have regular set of exercise and workout have lesser possibility of developing diabetes this is because it keeps a person fit and away from being obese. People who are at risk with diabetes should take into consideration implementing amongst themselves a routine that involves regular exercise at least once a week. It doesn’t have to be a regular set that could be boring or would take so much of your time such as walk, jogging, swimming, cycling, doing household chores, or hobbies that involve lots of physical movements such as gardening.

4. Eliminate vices. Smoking and drinking alcohol are also among the factors that increase the risk of developing diabetes. This is crucial especially to those who have high risk for type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes because the toxins that enter the body make it harder for immune system to cope up.

Complications of Diabetes

Just like in any other illnesses, the first thing that people need is to be informed and educated about the disease that may be prone to. In case of diabetes, extensive knowledge about this can help people who are already suffering from it to cope up and manage and can also help those who don’t have it yet to be more careful and to avoid the illness.

But, aside from having extensive knowledge on the disease such as its causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, it also pays to know if there would be related complications. This is to prepare one’s self—emotionally, physically, and emotionally—about the possibilities of coping not just with diabetes but other complications related to it as well.

There are certain factors that affect people to be prone to diabetes such as age, heredity and ethnicity. But regardless of the risk factors, the related complications would just be the same. The following are just some of the complications of diabetes that people who are prone to it must pay attention to:

1. HEART DISEASE AND STROKE. Experts say that people who have diabetes have greater risks to having coronary heart diseases and to stroke compared to those who don’t have them. In fact, these complications are the lead causes of death among diabetics all over the world. People suffering from diabetes are prone to heart diseases and stroke because the fatty deposits brought by drastic changes in the body can block the arteries and leads to heart attack. Because of lesser amount of insulin in the body compared to regular people, diabetics have higher incidence of blood clotting and can also lead to high blood pressure or hypertension.

2. DIABETIC KIDNEY DISEASE. Among people with diabetes, kidney failure is the most common complication because the blood-filtering units of the kidneys are being damaged. Once the kidney has been damaged, important proteins are being along with urine and eventually, the kidneys won’t be able to remove the waste products present in the blood anymore. The good thing is, not all diabetics experience End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESRD) which can be life threatening. To avoid this complication, you must stop smoking cigarettes and always keep the blood pressure under control at all times.

3. DIABETIC EYE DISEASE. This refers to the group of eye problems that diabetics—people with diabetes—may have as a result of the chronic disease. In worst cases, this set of eye related problems such as diabetic retinopathy, damaged vessels of the eye’s retina, cataract, cloudiness in the lens of the eyes, glaucoma, and increased fluid pressure inside the eye that is damaging to optic nerve. All of these, when not treated immediately and now monitored properly can lead to total loss of vision loss or blindness.

4. DIABETIC NEUROPATHY. Those people who are into smoking, drinking, and those who have poor control with glucose are more prone to developing neuropathy compared to those diabetics who are not into these vices and bad habits.

5. GASTROPARESIS. This disorder involves the stomach as a result of prolonged emptying. Studies show that around 20 to 30 percent of diabetics suffering from “type 1 diabetes” are more prone to this diabetes complication because it severely damages the “vagus nerve” which is responsible for keeping the food moving through person’s the digestive tract. Although it is also diagnosed among those who have “type 2 diabetes” the cases are comparatively lower.