Diabetes is referred to as a condition which results in abnormally high levels of sugar in your blood. It is usually a sign of disordered metabolism, among which is a combination of hereditary and environment factors.
Diabetes develops when the production of insulin diminishes or when it starts to resist its effects. These factors lead to high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), which result to excessive urine production, blurred vision, unexplained weight loss, among others—all of which cause diabetes. The key to manage diabetes is to control your blood sugar.
Types of Diabetes
In type 1 diabetes or juvenile diabetes, the body is unable to produce insulin. This disease usually affects children. Since the body can’t make insulin, the immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas by mistake. The pancreas is responsible for making and releasing insulin. When these cells die, the person’s blood sugar rises. Type 1 diabetes is treated with insulin shots.
Type 2 diabetes is the more common type of diabetes. In this type, the insulin that the body makes is not enough that the cells can’t use it. This is referred to as insulin resistance. Over time, elevated levels of blood sugar build up in the bloodstream. Another type is the gestational diabetes, which affects pregnant women and prediabetes and insulin resistance.
Symptoms
The most common signs of diabetes include frequent urination, increased thirst and fluid intake, increased appetite, unusual weight gain or loss, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, frequent vaginal infections in women, yeast infections in men, dry mouth, slow-healing wounds, and itching skin(groin or vaginal area).
For type 2 diabetes, other symptoms include unexplained weight loss, blurred vision, headaches and loss of consciousness. Symptoms for type 2 diabetes usually develop much slowly or sometimes even none at all compared to type 1 diabetes. As soon as you experience any of these symptoms, consult your doctor right away.
Treatment
There are several ways to treat diabetes. Among them include insulin treatment, oral diabetes medications, alternative medicine, and complementary treatments.
Depending on the type of insulin your body needs, insulin is classified as rapid-acting, short-acting, intermediate-acting, long-acting and pre-mixed. Your doctor will determine the type of insulin needed to treat diabetes.
Oral diabetes medications include diabetes pills which help control blood sugar levels. These drugs include sulfonylureas (metformin), thiazolidinediones (actos and avandia), alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, meglitinides, dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors (januvia), and combination therapy (metaglip, avandamet). Meanwhile, gestational diabetes is treated by a reasonable diet and exercise plan.
Diabetes food guide is available on food medicine