Diabetes – What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a serious illness that affects millions of people each year. It is caused when the body does not produce enough insulin or cannot use the insulin that it does have effectively.
Exercise, diet and medication can help prevent or delay the disease. It is also crucial to know the symptoms, to determine whether you have a problem and seek treatment.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body transforms food into energy. It happens when your pancreas isn’t producing enough insulin or isn’t able to use it correctly.
Insulin is the hormone that aids your body absorb and use glucose, also known as sugar. Type 2 diabetics aren’t producing enough insulin or their bodies cannot use it effectively.
The blood sugar levels increase as time passes in both types of diabetes. This can lead to issues with your eyes, kidneys and feet. It can also cause damage to your brain and heart arteries.
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease, meaning that the body’s immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells within the pancreas. This destruction can happen over many years or months until it eventually leads to an inability to produce insulin.
Insulin is needed by people who suffer from type 1 diabetes each day. They must also monitor their blood sugar levels and adjust their insulin, food and activity levels in order to keep their blood sugar within an acceptable range.
Type 2 diabetes
If you have type 2, your body is not using insulin as it should. Insulin is a hormone that helps your cells get blood sugar (glucose) out of your blood and into your cells, where it can be used to create energy.
Type 2 diabetes sufferers have to manage their condition with a healthy diet and regular exercise. They also may need to take medicine to control their blood sugar levels.
Women with diabetes are afflicted with symptoms
Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects people of all races as well as ethnic groups as well as ages and genders. Women are at higher risk than men.
Women who suffer from diabetes are more likely to suffer from complications, like heart disease (the most common complication associated with diabetes) and loss of vision.
One of the early warning signs of diabetes in women is a rise in thirst and urinary frequency, also known as polydipsia. This is due to diabetes causing excess sugar to build up in the blood, and the kidneys aren’t able filter it out properly.
Symptoms of diabetes in men
In diabetes, cells are unable to use blood sugar (glucose) for energy. This is usually because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin.
This leads to elevated blood sugar levels. Your body then tries to lower these levels by flushing out the excess glucose from your bloodstream via urine.
People who have diabetes often are thirsty and have to drink large amounts of fluids, as much as four liters daily.
Men also may shed weight as their bodies utilize muscles to generate energy, not fat. This is due to the fact that their blood sugar levels stay high for long periods of time.
Diabetes diet
The development of a healthy diabetes diet is a vital aspect of managing your diabetes. It can help you control blood sugar levels, manage weight and decrease the risk factors for heart diseases.
Your diet should comprise plenty of whole food items, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and low-fat dairy. It should be free of saturated fats and sugars as well as added sugars (unhealthy).
You may also want to limit the amount of drinks that contain sugar you consume. These drinks often have high levels of sugar in them which can result in high blood sugar levels.
Diabetes medication
Your doctor might recommend diabetes medication to keep your blood glucose (blood sugar) levels in an acceptable range. These drugs are often paired with changes to your lifestyle, such as eating habits and physical activity to manage diabetes.
If your blood sugar is not being adequately controlled with one medicine, you may need to take a different medication. Your doctor will assist you to select the most appropriate medication for your needs and preferences.
Newer medications, such as sodium-glucose-cotransporter-2 inhibitors and glucagon like antagonists of the peptide-1 receptor, reduce blood sugar and offer benefits for the kidneys and cardiovascular system, as well as reducing the risk of developing complications. They also help with weight loss, and come in both tablet and injection forms.