Diabetes – What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a serious disease that is affecting millions of people each year. It is caused because the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or use the insulin that it has effectively.
The good news is that it is curable and can be prevented or delayed with diet, exercise and medication. It is also important to know the symptoms, to determine whether you are suffering from a condition and seek treatment.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is an ongoing (long-lasting) disease that affects how your body converts food into energy. It happens when your pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or fails to properly use it.
Insulin is a hormone that assists your cells absorb and use sugar, which is called glucose. Type 2 diabetics don’t produce enough insulin or their bodies aren’t able to utilize it correctly.
In both forms of diabetes, blood sugar levels are too high in time. This can cause problems with your eyes, kidneys and feet. It could also cause damage to arteries in your heart and brain.
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is caused by an autoimmune reaction, which means that your immune system attacks the pancreatic cells that produce insulin and destroys them. The destruction can happen over many months or even years, eventually resulting in the absence of insulin completely.
Type 1 diabetics require insulin every day. They also need to monitor their blood sugar levels and adjust their the insulin, food and activity levels in order to keep their blood sugar within a healthy range.
Type 2 diabetes
If you suffer from type 2 diabetes, your body does not make insulin as it should. Insulin is a hormonal substance that aids in the movement of glucose (blood sugar) from your blood into your cells which can then be utilized to generate energy.
Type 2 diabetics should exercise and follow a healthy diet. They may also have to take medication to manage their blood sugar levels.
Women with diabetes are more likely to experience symptoms
Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects people from all races, ethnicities, and genders. Women are at higher risk than men.
Women with diabetes are more prone to experience complications, such as heart disease (the most common diabetes-related complication) and loss of vision.
One early warning sign of women with diabetes is a rise in thirst and urine, a condition known as polydipsia. This is due to diabetes causing excessive sugar to accumulate in the blood and your kidneys don’t have the capacity to get rid of it in a proper manner.
Diabetes in men Men: Symptoms
In diabetes, cells are unable to use blood sugar (glucose) for energy. This is typically because the pancreas is producing too little insulin.
This can lead to high blood glucose levels. Your body then attempts to reduce these levels by flushing excess glucose from your bloodstream via urine.
Diabetes patients are frequently thirsty, and need to drink lots of fluids.
Men can also lose weight because their bodies make use of muscles to generate energy, not fat. This is due to the fact that their blood sugar levels remain high for prolonged periods of time.
Diabetes diet
The development of a healthy diabetes diet is a crucial aspect of managing your condition. It can help you control blood sugar, manage your weight, and lower the risk of developing heart disease.
Include whole foods in your diet, including fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Also, low-fat dairy products and legumes are a good choice. It should be low in saturated fats and sugars as well as added sugars (unhealthy).
You might also be able to reduce the amount of sugar-sweetened beverages you consume. These drinks often have a lot of sugar in them that can cause elevated blood sugar levels.
Diabetes medications
Your doctor may recommend diabetic medications to help keep your blood glucose (blood sugar) levels within normal levels. These medications are often combined with changes in lifestyle, like physical activity and diet, to manage diabetes.
If your blood sugar is not being adequately controlled with one medication, you might require a second medication. Your doctor will assist you to select the best medication for your needs and preferences.
Newer medicines like glucagon-like receptor agonists for peptide-1 as well as sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors lower blood sugar levels, offer cardiovascular and kidney benefits, and reduce the risk of complications. They can also be beneficial for weight loss and are available in tablet and injectable forms.