Info On Diabetes

If you want some important info on diabetes, then you’re going to want to read this article.

Diabetes is a condition that deals with the amount of sugar in the blood.  It’s a serious disease and becoming more and more serious as more people suffer health concerns from becoming obese.

The two main types of diabetes …

You hear about Type 1 and Type 2.  What’s the difference?

To begin, diabetes occurs when the body doesn’t use or produce insulin.  Insulin is a hormone that regulates sugar in the blood.  This sugar is called glucose.  You get it from the foods you eat, namely carbohydrates.

Insulin is produced by the pancreas.  This hormone recognizes high levels of sugar in the blood and sends the glucose to different locations to be used as fuel or stored by the body.  It is an important hormone that is missed by the body if it is not present.

Type 1 Diabetes

This type of diabetes is more common in children and teenagers.  It has been termed juvenile onset diabetes or simply, juvenile diabetes.  With Type 1 diabetes, the body doesn’t produce insulin or, it only produces insulin in small quantities.  These small amounts are not enough to deal with the levels of glucose in the blood.

(Remember, insulin drives the storage of nutrients like glucose into either the muscles or into fat stores)

A child may be more prone to this type of diabetes if a close family member has also had the condition.  Men are more likely to get this but many women also have it.  Children with diabetes have certain symptoms that you might notice, which often include being thirsty all the time, fatigue, and weight loss.  A urinalysis should be able to tell if diabetes is the problem.  In the presence of an insulin deficiency, the body uses fat to fuel its cellular metabolism.  This is called ketoacidosis and brings a new set of symptoms like nausea and vomiting to accompany the other symptoms that may be present.

Someone who suffers from Type 1 diabetes needs insulin injections daily.  How much depends on the physician examining the child.  Constant monitoring of blood sugar lets you know if more insulin is needed.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes occurs later in life.  It is linked to environmental factors like ethnic background, family history and lifestyle.  The body produces insulin but has developed a resistance to it.  The level of glucose in the blood keeps rising and even more insulin is produced.  If it is not enough, glucose levels in the blood can damage organs.  This is termed non-insulin dependent diabetes.

Those at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes include people with high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, high intake of fatty foods, high sugar intake, obesity, excess alcohol consumption, to name a few.

People who develop Type 2 diabetes have similar symptoms to those with Type 1 diabetes.  Also, with Type 2 diabetes, blood sugar can rise high enough to cause increased urination, dehydration and eventually kidney failure.

How To Prevent or Even Cure Diabetes

The best treatment is diet, exercise and blood sugar management.  Losing weight and eating healthily can eliminate the diabetic conditions in some.  Others will need insulin if their insulin levels are still too low.

Type 2 diabetes can be controlled with diet. Intermittent Fasting is especially useful in this respect. Here’s a story of a guy who claims IF helped him cure his type 2 diabetes: http://shurie.com/lee/writing_defeat_diabetes.htm

Diabetes is definitely a serious condition and it’s becoming more and more prevalent. The best thing to do is know this basic info on diabetes and to keep yourself healthy — an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!