Demystifying Diabetes

Diabetes is a name for describing a metabolic condition causing a higher than normal levels of blood sugar. Diabetes impairs the body’s ability to produce or respond to insulin causing an abnormal metabolism of the carbohydrates. It also causes elevation of glucose levels in the blood.Different reasons contribute to an increase in blood glucose thus diabetes is of various types and intensity.

Demystifying Diabetes Manifestation

Most of the food that we consume turns into sugar or glucose for the body to use for energy.The pancreas is an internal body organ near the stomach makes insulin, a hormone that helps glucose to enter the body cells.The body of a person with diabetes either does not make enough insulin or cannot use the insulin optimally as it happens with health beings.

Both conditions cause a buildup of sugars in the blood. What the sugar builds up is dangerous thus requires interventions to manage the blood sugar. Failing to manage diabetes can cause serious health complications including blindness, heart disease, kidney failure and infection of the legs leading to lower extremity amputations.

Demystifying Diabetes Types

Diabetes can be one of these two major types:

Type 1 diabetes

This type of diabetes develops in children or young adults. It destroys pancreatic cells stopping production of insulin. It is also termed as insulin-dependent requires treatment with insulin.

Symptoms

Episodes of low blood sugar are frequent and occur suddenly. This type of diabetes cannot be prevented.

Type 2 diabetes

This is a non-insulin dependent diabetes with prevalence in people older than 45 years especially those who are overweight. Those who have type 2 diabetes cannot produce adequate insulin to allow entry of glucose into the cells thus causing sugar to build up in the bloodstream.

Symptoms

Type 2 diabetes take time to notice as the symptoms develop gradually although it is necessary to go for regular check-ups and get doctor's advice if you have early warning assigns. It is not unusual for people to not to have any symptoms until diagnosis.

You can prevent or delay Type 2 Diabetes that occurs in adulthood through living healthy a lifestyle by maintaining safe weight, eating a balanced diet and working out regularly.

The common thing about the two types of diabetes is that they both increase the risk of developing other serious health complications. Monitoring and managing the disease helps in preventing complications, but diabetes still is a leading cause of kidney failure and blindness. They are also one of the critical risk factors for a foot or leg amputations, stroke and heart disease.

Demystifying Diabetes-Like Conditions

Other conditions with signs like those of type 2 diabetes are:

Prediabetes

Prediabetes is a state in which the blood sugar is higher than usual but not to the level of classification as a Type 2 diabetes. All the other symptoms of diabetes are present except for blood sugar.

Gestational diabetes

Occurs in pregnant women who develop high blood sugar during pregnancy, but they never had diabetes. It starts when the body is unable to make and use all the insulin it requires for pregnancy. Because of the gestational nature, it does not harm the baby or cause defects unless in the instance of or poor control or failing to treat. Failing to act makes the baby pancreases to produce extra insulin to eliminate blood glucose. The baby may also store excess fat because it gets more than necessary energy to develop and grow.

Regular visits to a physician for a checkup of blood sugar is essential in preventing the occurrent of Type 2 diabetes. The good thing is that if you have prediabetes or gestational diabetes can stop its development of Type 2 diabetes by healthy eating, reducing and maintaining a healthy weight.

Those who already have diabetes can control effects by exercising, taking a healthy diet, tablets and getting injections to maintain blood sugar levels within a safe range.