Diabetes is more of a metabolic disorder typically characterized by higher blood sugar levels. The most common diabetes symptoms are increased levels of thirst and the urge to urinate frequently. Diabetes should never be left unrecognized or untreated. On leaving the condition untreated, fatal diseases may arise. Serious complications may include stroke, cardiovascular diseases, foot ulcer or even damaged eyesight. This medical condition may occur due to two of the following reasons:
- First: the pancreas is not being able to produce insulin
- Second: the body isn’t really responding to insulins
Diabetes symptoms might not be very difficult to recognize. We just need to be a bit more careful than usual.
The three major types of diabetes mellitus are:
- Type-1 diabetes: In this case, the pancreas fails to produce insulin owing to the loss of important beta cells. The loss of important beta cells results from autoimmune responses. The major cause of autoimmune responses is still unknown.
- Type-2 diabetes: Here, the body develops insulin resistance. In this very condition, our bodies fail to give a proper response to insulin. The advanced sign of type-2 diabetes is the lack of insulin production. Excessive weight gain only catalyzes this condition. Also, inactivity is another reason why type-2 diabetes occurs.
- Gestational diabetes: This condition mainly occurs in pregnant ladies. It’s not necessary that such women had a history of diabetes or increased blood sugar level.
Statistics
A couple of years back, an estimated 400 million people were afflicted with this medical condition globally. 9 percent of the adult population was carrying this disease in the year 2017. With the passage of time, we may only an upward rising curve. Diabetes more than doubles the chances of death. In the year 2017, approximately 5 million people died due to this condition. The healing of this condition can be very expensive.
Who are the ones to develop type-2 diabetes?
People above the age of 40 have the likelihood to develop type-2 diabetes. Also, those with a pre-existing family history have higher chances of developing this medical condition. Be very careful if you’re physically inactive! You have the maximum likelihood of developing type-2 diabetes. One in every four develops type-2 diabetes above the age of sixty-five. If you’re afflicted with pre-diabetes, chances are you could very well develop type-2 diabetes.
Pre-diabetes – you still have chances to prevent type-2 diabetes symptoms
In pre-diabetes, our blood sugar level remains higher than usual. The sugar level, in this case, isn’t that high to be regarded as type-2 diabetes. An estimated 80 million adults in the United States get afflicted with pre-diabetes every year. What’s more striking is that a majority of them never knew that they had pre-diabetes.
The bright side is, even with the slightest hint of pre-diabetes, one can very well prevent type-2 diabetes. The only thing you need to do is to make certain changes in the ways of life. On making proper lifestyle changes, one can very well delay type-2 diabetes symptoms. This, in turn, will save you from a hundred serious health hazards, to say the least.
What could be the cause of pre-diabetes?
If you are afflicted with prediabetes, it usually means that your body is not at all responding to natural insulin levels. On trying to produce more insulin, the pancreas sends confused signals. It fails to keep up with the necessary pace. As the blood sugar levels rise, the backdrop for type-2 diabetes is all set.
Certain signs of prediabetes
This condition shows no clear symptoms until type-2 diabetes shows up. Talk to an expert medical practitioner to know more about prediabetes. The risk factors may include:
- Being above the age of 40
- Being obese
- Having a pre-existing family history of type-2 diabetes
- Leading a sedentary lifestyle
- Gaining pregnancy weight
- Developing a condition called polycystic ovarian disease
Ethnicity and race are also important factors to consider. Asian-Americans develop this condition more often. The reason behind this development is totally unclear. Prediabetes could very well be genetic or hereditary in nature.
How could we prevent prediabetes?
If you’re afflicted with prediabetes, losing weight is very important. By doing so, you can prevent any further chances of developing type-2 diabetes. One should focus on making lifestyle changes that last long. Eating healthy becomes a prerequisite for being diagnosed with prediabetes. Also, find out how you could manage important issues such as stress. Remain motivated and disciplined throughout. Try having a discussion with people having similar issues. This will help you to stay very realistic. Now that we know, we are doing this to prevent type-2 diabetes, it’s rather crucial to managing prediabetes.
Recognizing the signs and symptoms of diabetes
Diabetes often seems very harmless on the surface. But, the reality is actually otherwise. Jotted below are the major signs of diabetes mellitus:
- Frequent thirst: You might just feel the urge of drinking more water suddenly. This is primarily because the body tissues feel dehydrated. When sugar levels rise, the body tries to derive more fluid from body tissues to dilate sugar levels in the blood. This very process dehydrates the body and prompts us to drink water.
- The urge to urinate frequently: Drinking water also drives us to urinate very frequently. Drinking fluids only compounds the issue. The system often eliminates excess glucose through the passage of urine.
- Extreme hunger: The body suddenly stops getting energy. Glucose stops entering the system abruptly. The body thus starts showing hunger flags and we tend to eat like a glutton.
- Weight loss: An unexplained weight loss can often be associated with diabetes mellitus.
- Fatigue: If you’re afflicted with diabetes you might feel the inability to transform glucose into energy. This may cause fatigue or extreme exhaustion, at times.
- Blurred vision: A high sugar level may lead to a blurred vision. This condition may normalize after sugar levels come in control. This generally happens to people with chronic diabetes symptoms. If you have diabetes mellitus, your wounds and infections will definitely take longer than usual to heal.
Causes of diabetes mellitus
To understand this serious medical condition, let us first shed some light on how glucose works inside our system.
The working of insulin
Insulin is secreted by a gland called pancreas.
- After processing insulin, our pancreas directly sends it to the bloodstream.
- As the insulin starts to circulate inside the system, blood sugar enters our bodies.
- Now, what insulin does is – it lowers the sugar level in our blood.
- As sugar levels drop, insulin secretion also starts to lower inside our system.
What role does glucose play?
Glucose is the simplest form of sugar inside our system. It makes for the primary source of our energy requirement Glucose can be derived from two major sources – our food and the liver. Sugar gets absorbed in the blood; it then enters taking the assistance of insulin. If you have not eaten for some time, the liver will break down glycogen particles into glucose. This keeps the glucose factor within a very normal range, to be specific.
What causes type-1 diabetes?
Exact causes of type-1 diabetes aren’t yet known. A weak immune function gives way to type-1 diabetes. This finding has been backed by several scientists. Sometimes our immune system fails to fight viruses or harmful bacteria. These foreign bodies attack the pancreas which fails to keep up with the required pace. Now the pancreas has little insulin. Hence, it fails to deliver glucose to the tissues. As a result, we may experience an unusual sugar build-up inside the blood.
Both environmental settings and genetic factors may give way to type-1 diabetes. Weight gain is never an issue in type-1 diabetes.
What causes type-2 diabetes?
In the case of type-2 diabetes, our system becomes insulin resistant. The pancreas is often unable to produce more insulin so as to overcome the resistance. Also, the sugar isn’t properly transported to the tissues. Instead, it forms a build-up in our bloodstream. This very condition causes type-2 diabetes. It has often been found out that not everyone afflicted with type-2 diabetes is overweight.
What causes gestational diabetes symptoms?
During a woman’s gestation period, an organ called placenta secretes hormones to sustain a pregnancy. These hormones, in turn, make women insulin resistant.
Generally, the pancreas does extra work to overcome insulin resistance. But the pancreas sometimes fails to maintain the required pace. For this reason, too little glycogen travel through and a lot stays in the blood. This results in a condition called gestational diabetes.
Type-1 diabetes risk factors
- Family history- Risks tend to enhance if any of your siblings or a family member had type-1 diabetes.
- Environmental setting- Exposure to certain viral diseases may set the backdrop for type-1 diabetes.
- Weak immune- if antibodies remain present inside the system, you have the likelihood of developing diabetes symptoms.
Type-2 diabetes risk factors
- Weight issues: If you’re overweight you could develop type-2 diabetes.
- Inactivity: This puts you at a greater risk of developing diabetes symptoms. Being active can help you a great deal in this matter. Exercise uses glucose and makes body tissues insulin-sensitive.
- Ethnicity: The reason is very unclear but people of certain races are more likely to develop type-2 diabetes Americans of Asian origin are the ones who develop diabetes very easily.
- Age: Risks are directly proportional to your age. This is because, as you start aging, you become inactive easily. On the flip side, type-2 diabetes can occur to adolescent children or even infants.
- PCOD: Women with this condition have higher risks of developing type-2 diabetes.
- High BP: Higher systolic and diastolic pressures can very well lead to type-2 diabetes.
- High cholesterol: High cholesterol levels lead to type-2 diabetes. Talk to a medical practitioner to know more about your cholesterol level. Take concrete steps to keep the cholesterol level in check.
Gestational diabetes risk factors
- Age: Women as old as 25 are at risk.
- Family history: You’re at risk if you had a previous pregnancy. If you delivered an overweight child, you’re at risk. Also, if you ever had a stillbirth, you could be at risk.
Diabetes complications
- Cardiovascular diseases: Diabetes acts as a catalyst for several cardiovascular diseases. The diseases include – chest pain, stroke, and narrowing arteries. If you have diabetes, you have the likelihood of getting strokes.
- Neuropathy: Excessive sugar build-up can injure wall of the blood vessels. This causes numbness, a burning sensation or even tingling. The tingling initiates at the toes. Gradually, it spreads in the upward direction.
- Kidney damage: Diabetes often affects our kidneys in major ways. In severe cases, the damage could be irreversible. In advanced stages, one may require a transplant or even dialysis.
- Eye damage: Diabetes may lead to potential eye diseases. These include partial blindness, glaucoma or cataract.
- Skin conditions: This medical condition makes us susceptible to fungal and bacterial infections.
- Hearing problems: Hearing impairment becomes rampant in people afflicted with diabetes symptoms.
Certain ways to prevent diabetes mellitus
- Cut down on sugary pieces of stuff: We must cut down on sugary stuff in an attempt to prevent a sugar build-up in the bloodstream. If you sense the slightest discomfort, it is better to avoid sugary things. The discomfort may include a tingling sensation in the toes. If you continue to consume sugary stuffs, the condition may only intensify.
- Work out: Only 30 minutes of regular exercise can save you from this serious health disorder. Act now, before the symptoms of diabetes start to show up.
- Make water your best friend: Beverages with preservatives make you vulnerable to this condition. So, it is advisable that you drink water more often. This might just cut down the risks of diabetes.
- Quit smoking: A diabetic condition may only intensify if you do not quit smoking. So, quit now and prevent diabetes.
- Go for low-carb diets: Following a keto diet can help prevent early signs of diabetes. A keto-diet also keeps the insulin levels in check.
- Eat more fibers: A fiber-rich diet keeps our sugar levels in checks.
- Stay away from junk: Processed foods often remain salt and sugar-loaded. So, if you’re keen on preventing diabetes, better stay away from junk.
- Include natural herbs in your dietary regimen: Include herbs like coriander, mint, and basil in your daily meals.
Conclusion
Diabetes is more of a lifestyle disease. Take small yet concrete steps to manage this medical condition. Thorough research on the disease can help you a great deal.
