What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition in which your blood glucose, often known as blood sugar, is excessively high. Your primary energy source is blood glucose, which originates from the foods you eat. Insulin, a hormone generated by the pancreas, helps glucose enter your cells and energy. However, sometimes your body doesn't produce enough—or any—insulin, or it doesn't use it effectively. Glucose is thus trapped in your bloodstream, unable to reach your cells.
If you have too much glucose in your blood, it might lead to long-term health issues. Even though there is no cure for diabetes, you can take steps to manage it and stay healthy.
Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are long-term diabetic conditions. Prediabetes and gestational diabetes are two reversible diabetes diseases. You have prediabetes when your blood sugar levels are higher than average but not high enough to be categorized as diabetes. And, unless adequate actions are taken to prevent progression, prediabetes is frequently the forerunner to diabetes. Gestational diabetes develops throughout pregnancy, although it may disappear once the baby is born.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, which is positioned behind the stomach. Your pancreas secretes insulin into your bloodstream. Insulin is the "key" that allows glucose to enter your body's cells through a "door" in the cell wall. Glucose is the "fuel" or energy that tissues and organs require to function correctly.
If you have diabetes, you should:
- Your pancreas produces no or insufficient insulin, or your pancreas produces insulin, but your body's cells do not respond to it and are unable to use it as it should be.
- If glucose cannot enter your body's cells, it remains in your bloodstream, raising your blood glucose level.
How Common is Diabetes?
Diabetes affects around 422 million people globally, most of whom live in low- and middle-income countries, and diabetes is directly responsible for 1.5 million fatalities per year. Over the last few decades, both the number of cases and the prevalence of diabetes have significantly increased.
Diabetes is expected to affect 9.3% of the global population (463 million people) in 2019, rising to 10.2% (578 million) by 2030 and 10.9 percent (700 million) by 2045. Urban areas (10.8 percent) have a higher frequency than rural areas (7.2 percent), while high-income countries (10.4 percent) have a higher incidence than low-income countries (4.0 percent ). One-half of people with diabetes (50.1%) are unaware that they have the disease. Impaired glucose tolerance is anticipated to affect 7.5 percent (374 million) of the global population in 2019, rising to 8.0 percent (454 million) by 2030 and 8.6 percent (548 million) by 2045.
Symptoms of Diabetes
Diabetes symptoms include increased thirst and urination, fatigue, unexplained weight loss, and blurred eyesight. Many people are unaware that they have diabetes since they have no symptoms. A variety of factors causes diabetes. Depending on how high your blood sugar is, the severity of diabetic symptoms varies. Some individuals, especially those with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, may have no signs or symptoms at all. Type 1 diabetes symptoms occur more soon and are more severe.
Some of the signs and symptoms of type 1 and type 2 diabetes are listed below.
- Thirst increases
- Urination regularly
- Hunger to the point of death
- Weight loss that isn't explained
- Ketones in the urine (ketones are a result of muscle and fat breakdown that occurs when there isn't enough insulin available)
- Fatigue sIrritability
- Vision is hazy
- Healing sores that take a long time
Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes
Nausea, vomiting, and stomach cramps are common symptoms of type 1 diabetes. Symptoms of type 1 diabetes can appear in as little as a few weeks or months, and they can be severe. Type 1 diabetes usually begins in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood, but it can strike at any age. Symptoms can appear suddenly over a few weeks or months. Symptoms first appear whether you're a youngster, a teen, or a young adult. Nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, yeast infections, or urinary tract infections are other symptoms.
Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes can take years to appear. As a result, some folks are entirely oblivious to any signs. Type 2 diabetes typically strikes adults, but it increasingly affects adolescents and teenagers. Because symptoms might be difficult to detect, knowing the risk factors for type 2 diabetes is crucial. If you have any of these symptoms, make an appointment with your doctor. You could not have any symptoms, or you might miss them because they build slowly over time. Although symptoms commonly appear in adults, prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes are rising in people of all ages.
Symptoms of Gestational Diabetes
Symptoms of gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) are frequently absent. If you're expecting a child, your doctor should test you for gestational diabetes between weeks 24 and 28. You can make modifications to protect your health and the health of your baby if necessary. Symptoms are usually undetectable. Your doctor will test you for gestational diabetes between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy.
What Are the Different Types of Diabetes?
Type 1 Diabetes
An autoimmune disease in which your body attacks itself. In this condition, the insulin-producing cells in your pancreas are destroyed. Up to ten percent of diabetic patients have type 1 diabetes. Children and young adults are the most typically affected (but can develop at any age). It was previously known as "juvenile" diabetes. Type 1 diabetics must take insulin daily. Because of this, it's also known as insulin-dependent diabetes. Type 1 diabetes has no known cure. Because type 1 diabetics can not produce insulin, it must be injected into their bodies daily.
Some patients receive injections into soft tissue, such as the stomach, arm, or buttocks, several times a day. Others use insulin pumps. Insulin pumps use a tiny tube to provide a constant insulin dose to the body.
Because blood sugar levels can fluctuate rapidly, blood sugar testing is essential for managing type 1 diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes
This type occurs when your body either does not produce enough insulin or when your body's cells do not respond to insulin appropriately. Diabetes mellitus is the most frequent form of the disease. Type 2 diabetes affects up to 95% of people with diabetes. It mainly affects persons in their forties and fifties. Type 2 diabetes is also known as adult-onset diabetes or insulin-resistant diabetes. It was probably referred to as "having a touch of sugar" by your parents or grandparents.
Type 2 diabetes may be controlled and even cured with proper diet and exercise, but many patients require additional assistance. For example, your doctor may prescribe drugs to help your body use insulin more effectively if lifestyle modifications aren't enough.
Blood sugar monitoring is also an essential element of type 2 diabetes care. It's the only way to know if you're on track to fulfill your goals. Your doctor may advise you to test your blood sugar more regularly or less frequently. On the other hand, your doctor may suggest insulin injections if your blood sugar levels are too high.
Prediabetes - This is the period before the onset of Type 2 diabetes. Your blood glucose levels are higher than usual but not high enough for Type 2 diabetes to be diagnosed.
Gestational Diabetes
Some women develop this kind throughout their pregnancy. Gestational diabetes typically disappears following the birth of a child. If you have gestational diabetes, though, you're more likely to acquire Type 2 diabetes later in life.
Causes of Diabetes
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone produced by a gland below and beneath the stomach (pancreas). Insulin is released into the circulation by the pancreas.
Insulin circulates throughout your body, allowing sugar to enter your cells. Insulin is a hormone that reduces the quantity of sugar in your blood. The amount of insulin secreted by your pancreas decreases as your blood sugar level declines.
The Role of Glucose
The cells that make up muscles and other tissues use glucose, a sugar, as an energy source. Food and your liver are the two primary sources of glucose. Sugar is taken into the circulation and penetrates cells with the aid of insulin. As a result, the liver both stores and produces glucose. Your liver breaks down stored glycogen into glucose to maintain an average glucose level when your glucose levels are low, such as when you haven't eaten in a while.
Causes of Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes has an unknown etiology. What is known is that your immune system, which is generally responsible for fighting dangerous germs and viruses, assaults and destroys your pancreas' insulin-producing cells. You will have very little or no insulin as a result of this. As a result, sugar builds up in your circulation instead of delivered to your cells.
Type 1 diabetes is assumed to be caused by a mix of genetic predisposition and environmental factors. However, the exact nature of those variables is unknown. Weight isn't thought to play a role in type 1 diabetes.
Causes of Type 2 Diabetes and Prediabetes
Your cells become resistant to the action of insulin in prediabetes — which can develop into type 2 diabetes — and type 2 diabetes. To overcome this resistance, your pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin. As a result, sugar accumulates up in your circulation instead of going into your cells, needed for energy.
It's unclear why this happens, while genetic and environmental variables are thought to have a role in developing type 2 diabetes. For example, although being overweight is significantly connected to type 2 diabetes, not everyone who has the disease is obese.
Causes of Gestational Diabetes
The placenta generates hormones to keep your pregnancy going during pregnancy. Insulin resistance is increased in your cells as a result of these chemicals. Your pancreas react to overcome this resistance. They generate enough additional insulin. However, your pancreas can't always keep up. When this happens, too little glucose enters your cells while too much remains in your blood, causing gestational diabetes.
Risk Factors of Diabetes
The etiology of type 1 diabetes is thought to be an immune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake). The risk factors for type 1 diabetes are distinct from prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you have a family history of diabetes, are overweight, or over age 45. Physical inactivity, race, and specific health problems also affect your chances of developing type 2 diabetes. A history of gestational diabetes is a risk factor for women.
Type 1 Diabetes
Although the specific origin of type 1 diabetes is unknown, the following variables may indicate a higher risk:
History of the family: If a parent or sibling has type 1 diabetes, you're at a higher risk.
Environmental considerations are paramount - Exposure to a viral disease, for example, is likely to play a role in type 1 diabetes.
The presence of immune system cells that are harmful (autoantibodies). The existence of diabetic autoantibodies is sometimes examined in family members of persons with type 1 diabetes. You have a higher chance of acquiring type 1 diabetes if you have these autoantibodies. However, not everyone with these autoantibodies goes on to acquire diabetes.
Age - Type 1 diabetes can strike anyone at any age, but it is more common in children, teenagers, and young adults.
Geography: Type 1 diabetes is more common in Finland and Sweden.
Type 2 Diabetes
Researchers aren't sure why some people get prediabetes and type 2 diabetes while others don't. Certain circumstances, however, clearly enhance the risk, including:
- As you grow more fatty tissue, your cells become more insulin resistant.
- Inactivity. The lower your level of activity, the more serious your danger. The lower your activity level, the more serious your danger. Physical activity helps you lose weight by burning glucose for energy and making your cells more insulin sensitive.
History of the family: If a parent or sibling has type 2 diabetes, your risk increases.
Ethnicity or Race. However, it's unknown why particular groups of people, such as Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Asian Americans, are more vulnerable.
Age - As you become older, your risk increases. This could be because you tend to exercise less, lose muscle mass, and gain weight as you get older. However, type 2 diabetes is becoming more common in children, adolescents, and young adults.
High Blood Pressure: High blood pressure is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes when it exceeds 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).
Abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels: If you have low HDL levels or "good" cholesterol, you're more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Triglycerides are a form of fat that is transported in the bloodstream.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes can affect pregnant women. Some women are more vulnerable than others. The following are some of the risk factors for gestational diabetes:
Age - Women above the age of 25 are at a higher risk.
Personal or family history: If you have prediabetes, a precursor to type 2 diabetes, or if a close family member, such as a parent or sibling, has type 2 diabetes, your risk increases. If you experienced gestational diabetes during a prior pregnancy, delivered a giant baby, or had an unexplained stillbirth, you're at a higher risk.
Weight: Being overweight before conception raises your chances.
Ethnicity or race: Black, Hispanic, American Indian, or Asian American are more prone to develop gestational diabetes for unknown causes.
How to Prevent Diabetes?
If you have prediabetes, high blood sugar but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes, lifestyle adjustments can help you avoid or delay the beginning of the illness.
Making a few lifestyle adjustments now may help you avoid significant diabetes-related health consequences in the future, such as nerve, kidney, and heart damage. It's never too late to start anything new.
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Losing Some Extra Weight
Diabetes is less likely if you lose weight. For example, in one extensive research, people reduced their chance of acquiring diabetes by nearly 60% after decreasing around 7% of their body weight with exercise and dietary changes.
Set a weight-loss goal that is proportional to your current body weight. Talk to your doctor about setting realistic short-term goals, such as losing 1 to 2 pounds each week.
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Exercising Daily
For a total of at least 150 minutes per week, aim for 30 minutes or more of moderate to intense cardiovascular exercise on most days, such as brisk walking, swimming, biking, or running.
Resistance exercise at least twice a week enhances your strength, balance, and ability to stay active. Resistance training includes weightlifting, yoga, and callisthenics. To assist control blood sugar levels, long periods of inactivity, such as sitting at a computer, can be broken up. Instead, take a few minutes every 30 minutes to stand, move around, or perform some light exercise.
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Eating Healthy and Skipping Fats
Vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates are all found in plants. Carbohydrates contain sugars and starches, which provide energy to the body and fiber. Dietary fiber, also known as roughage or bulk, is the indigestible portion of plant foods that your body cannot digest or absorb. Fiber-rich meals help you lose weight and reduce your risk of diabetes. Consume a wide range of nutritious, fiber-rich foods.
Avoid "bad carbohydrates," which are heavy in sugar and low in fiber and nutrients, such as white bread and pastries, white flour pasta, fruit juices, and processed foods containing sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.
Foods heavy in fat provide a lot of calories and should be consumed in moderation. Your diet should include a range of foods high in unsaturated fats, sometimes known as "healthy fats," to aid weight loss and management.
Diagnosis of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes
The A1C test, also known as the glycated hemoglobin test, is the most popular approach to determine if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes. This blood test determines the average blood sugar level over 2 to 3 months. Your doctor may take a blood sample or a prick of your finger.
If your blood sugar levels have been high for several months, your A1C level will be higher. The test results are expressed as a percentage. When the A1C result is 6.5 percent or greater, diabetes is diagnosed. The A1C test isn't accurate in sickle cell anemia or the sickle cell trait. If you have this condition or feature, your doctor will need to utilize a different test.
Treatment for Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes type 1 has no known cure. In addition, insulin must be administered into the body daily for people with type 1 diabetes since they do not manufacture it. Some patients have injections into soft tissue like the stomach, arm, or buttocks multiple times a day. Others also use insulin pumps. Insulin pumps use a tiny tube to provide a constant insulin dose to the body. Because blood sugar levels fluctuate rapidly, monitoring blood sugar is essential for controlling type 1 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes can be controlled and even cured by following a healthy diet and exercising regularly, but many patients require additional assistance. If lifestyle modifications aren't enough, your doctor may prescribe insulin-sparing drugs. Blood sugar monitoring is also an essential element of type 2 diabetes care. It's the only way to know if you're on track to fulfill your goals.
Your doctor may advise you to test your blood sugar more regularly or less frequently. Your doctor may suggest insulin injections if your blood sugar levels are too high.
