Wednesday, March 13, 2024

What To Know About Diabetes

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Fact No : Diabetes Is Not Caused Just By Eating Too Much Sugar

Health check: What to know about diabetes

A diet full of soda, sugary foods and processed foods does increase your risk for obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other diseases, but eating too much sugar is not the main cause of diabetes. The link between sugary foods and diabetes is not as simple as you might think.

Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, occurs when your body is not responsive to the amount of insulin it produces. Over time, your body isnt able to make enough insulin to maintain normal blood glucose levels. The main risk factors for this type of diabetes are being obese or overweight, or having a family history of diabetes. However, eating large amounts of sugar indirectly raises your diabetes risk by leading to weight gain and increased body fat.

Type 2 diabetes is typically managed with one or more of these methods:

  • Diet
  • Exercise
  • Oral medications, injectable medications and/or insulin

Very often, people are first diagnosed with prediabetes. This means they are at high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that usually develops in children or teenagers. The pancreas can’t make insulin, and this lack of insulin means glucose stays in the blood and can’t get into the body’s cells where it is needed for energy. A family history of diabetes can play a role in Type 1 diabetes development. Although people with Type 1 diabetes still need to be careful about how much sugar they eat, sugar does not cause Type 1 diabetes.

What’s A Friend To Do

Get informed. Get the facts and get beyond the myths and misinformation by talking to your friend, your doctor, or relatives you know who have diabetes and by finding credible sources of information online.

Recognize that diabetes is not “weird” or the end of the world. Diabetes is a serious condition, but millions of people have it and still lead full, active lives. If your friend is having trouble accepting his or her diabetes, try to be supportive and understanding. You also can help your friend find out whether there are local support groups, camps, or after-school clubs for teens with diabetes. The American Diabetes Association has an online message board for teens with diabetes.

Encourage healthy habits. Your friend will have an easier time with blood sugar control by being active and limiting intake of foods that have a lot of extra sugar, like sugary soft drinks. Why not make healthy living a team effort? Cook and eat healthy meals together, walk or exercise together, and generally encourage each other to make healthy choices. Many people with type 2 diabetes have to watch their weight, so having a friend who supports their efforts to shed extra pounds can really help!

Help, but try not to nag. Be careful not to lecture or play a parental role when it comes to your friend’s eating or taking care of diabetes. No one likes being told what to do and sometimes it can sound a lot like blame.

What Laws Protect Me From Discrimination At Work

Both federal and state laws offer protection from workplace discrimination.

The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to private employers, labor unions, and employment agencies with 15 or more employees, and to state and local government.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 generally covers employees who work for the executive branch of the federal government, or for any employer that receives federal money.

The Congressional Accountability Act covers employees of Congress and most legislative branch agencies.

All states have their own anti-discrimination laws and agencies responsible for enforcing those laws. Some state anti-discrimination laws provide more comprehensive protection than do the federal laws.

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What Is Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic illness that occurs when the body has difficulty regulating its blood sugar. Your body creates blood sugar by digesting the food you eat into sugar which is then transported through the bloodstream to be used for energy and stored in your cells for later use. Your pancreas produces an important hormone called insulin that helps your cells absorb and store glucose.

In individuals with type 2 diabetes, their cells have increasing resistance to insulin, making it difficult for cells to absorb glucose and thus leading to high levels of blood sugar. This is not to be confused with type 1 diabetes, which is from the body unable to produce enough insulin, resulting in high blood sugar. Contrary to popular belief, type 2 diabetes is not caused by eating too much sugar, but has more to do with how we process glucose in our body. That being said, our body is able to quickly absorb and convert simple carbohydrates which can result in a spike in blood sugar compared to complex carbohydrates and protein which are absorbed more slowly.

Diabetes Is A Leading Cause Of Death In The World

8 Diabetes facts you did not know about

While diabetesand the complications of itis the number 7 cause of death in the United States, it has a much higher mortality rate in the rest of the world. This is especially true in middle- to low-income countries, as these countries are often unable to access proper treatment for this condition.

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Symptoms Of Type 1 Diabetes

You might notice:

  • Unplanned weight loss. If your body can’t get energy from your food, it will start burning muscle and fat for energy instead. You may lose weight even though you haven’t changed how you eat. See which foods are high in trans fatty acids.
  • Nausea and vomiting. When your body resorts to burning fat, it makes ketones. These can build up in your blood to dangerous levels, a possibly life-threatening condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. Ketones can make you feel sick to your stomach.

How Is Diabetes Treated

Treatments for diabetes depend on your type of diabetes, how well controlled your blood glucose level is and your other existing health conditions.

  • Type 1 diabetes: If you have this type, you must take insulin every day. Your pancreas no longer makes insulin.
  • Type 2 diabetes: If you have this type, your treatments can include medications , insulin and lifestyle changes such as losing weight, making healthy food choices and being more physically active.
  • Prediabetes: If you have prediabetes, the goal is to keep you from progressing to diabetes. Treatments are focused on treatable risk factors, such as losing weight by eating a healthy diet and exercising . Many of the strategies used to prevent diabetes are the same as those recommended to treat diabetes .
  • Gestational diabetes: If you have this type and your glucose level is not too high, your initial treatment might be modifying your diet and getting regular exercise. If the target goal is still not met or your glucose level is very high, your healthcare team may start medication or insulin.

Oral medications and insulin work in one of these ways to treat your diabetes:

  • Stimulates your pancreas to make and release more insulin.
  • Slows down the release of glucose from your liver .
  • Blocks the breakdown of carbohydrates in your stomach or intestines so that your tissues are more sensitive to insulin.
  • Helps rid your body of glucose through increased urination.

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How Do I Check My Blood Glucose Level Why Is This Important

Checking your blood glucose level is important because the results help guide decisions about what to eat, your physical activity and any needed medication and insulin adjustments or additions.

The most common way to check your blood glucose level is with a blood glucose meter. With this test, you prick the side of your finger, apply the drop of blood to a test strip, insert the strip into the meter and the meter will show your glucose level at that moment in time. Your healthcare provider will tell you how often youll need to check your glucose level.

What Oral Medications Are Approved To Treat Diabetes

What you need to know about diabetes

Over 40 medications have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of diabetes. Its beyond the scope of this article to review all of these drugs. Instead, well briefly review the main drug classes available, how they work and present the names of a few drugs in each class. Your healthcare team will decide if medication is right for you. If so, theyll decide which specific drug are best to treat your diabetes.

Diabetes medication drug classes include:

Many oral diabetes medications may be used in combination or with insulin to achieve the best blood glucose control. Some of the above medications are available as a combination of two medicines in a single pill. Others are available as injectable medications, for example, the GLP-1 agonist semaglutide and lixisenatide .

Always take your medicine exactly as your healthcare prescribes it. Discuss your specific questions and concerns with them.

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What Is Continuous Glucose Monitoring

Advancements in technology have given us another way to monitor glucose levels. Continuous glucose monitoring uses a tiny sensor inserted under your skin. You don’t need to prick your finger. Instead, the sensor measures your glucose and can display results anytime during the day or night. Ask your healthcare provider about continuous glucose monitors to see if this is an option for you.

What Are The Types Of Diabetes

Dr. Lenore Coleman: So in diabetes, there are two types theres type one, and theres type two diabetes.With type one diabetes the hormone called insulin which is created by your pancreas just stops being produced and coming out. You just become insulin deficient. That insulin is what gets the blood sugar when you consume your food, it gets that those carbohydrates and the sugar thats produced out of the blood and inside the cells of the brain and the heart and your legs and your muscles, all the cells throughout your body for those cells to work efficiently, it needs glucose. It needs the sugar from the foods that we eat. Type one, patients have to actually inject insulin because their body doesnt have any. In type two diabetes your body has plenty of insulin.

In fact, your pancreas is working overtime, producing insulin. You have something that we call hyperinsulinemia high circulating levels of insulin. Thats bad because what insulin does is store fat. So when you see people that have diabetes and you wonder why theyre so overweight, its because they usually have a lot of circulating insulin in their body, but that insulin doesnt work correctly. So it doesnt open up the doors to your cells to let that sugar out of the blood inside the cell. Type two patients tend to have to usually take oral medication initially to help that pancreas and their body becomes more sensitive to the insulin that they have.

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What Are The Other Types Of Diabetes

Gestational diabetes

Diabetes can occur temporarily during pregnancy, and reports suggest that it occurs in 2% to 10% of all pregnancies. Significant hormonal changes during pregnancy can lead to blood sugar elevation in genetically predisposed individuals. Blood sugar elevation during pregnancy is called gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes usually resolves once the baby is born. However, 35% to 60% of women with gestational diabetes will eventually develop type 2 diabetes over the next 10 to 20 years, especially in those who require insulin during pregnancy and those who remain overweight after their delivery. Women with gestational diabetes are usually asked to undergo an oral glucose tolerance test about six weeks after giving birth to determine if their diabetes has persisted beyond the pregnancy, or if any evidence is present that may be a clue to a risk for developing diabetes.

Secondary diabetes

“Secondary” diabetes refers to elevated blood sugar levels from another medical condition. Secondary diabetes may develop when the pancreatic tissue responsible for the production of insulin is destroyed by disease, such as chronic pancreatitis , trauma, or surgical removal of the pancreas.

Hormonal disturbances

Medications

Certain medications may worsen diabetes control, or “unmask” latent diabetes. This is seen most commonly when steroid medications are taken and also with medications used in the treatment of HIV infection .

What Is A ‘qualified Person With A Disability’

Everything you need to know about Diabetes  Doc+

In order to be protected by federal anti-discrimination laws, a worker must show that he or she is a “qualified individual with a disability.”

The first step is establishing that the worker has a disability, “a record of” a disability, or is “regarded as having” a disability.

A disability is defined in these laws as a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Diabetes is a disability because it substantially limits major life activities such as the functioning of the endocrine system, among others.

In addition, you must establish that you are qualified for the job in question.

A qualified worker is one who satisfies the skill, experience, education, and other job-related requirements of the position, and whoif given reasonable accommodationcan perform the essential functions of that position.

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Can I Have A Normal Life With Diabetes

Yes, you can live a normal life. Remember, many successful athletes and members of all professions have type 1 diabetes. You can stay healthy if you control your diabetes. Only you have the power to control it.

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How Does Diabetes Lead To Amputation

Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to poor blood flow . Without oxygen and nutrients , you are more prone to the development of cuts and sores that can lead to infections that cant fully heal. Areas of your body that are farthest away from your heart are more likely to experience the effects of poor blood flow. So areas of your body like your toes, feet, legs and fingers are more likely to be amputated if infection develops and healing is poor.

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Early Signs Of Diabetes

Both types of diabetes have some of the same telltale warning signs.

  • Hunger and fatigue. Your body converts the food you eat into glucose that your cells use for energy. But your cells need insulin to take in glucose. If your body doesn’t make enough or any insulin, or if your cells resist the insulin your body makes, the glucose can’t get into them and you have no energy. This can make you hungrier and more tired than usual.
  • Peeing more often and being thirstier. The average person usually has to pee between four and seven times in 24 hours, but people with diabetes may go a lot more. Why? Normally, your body reabsorbs glucose as it passes through your kidneys. But when diabetes pushes your blood sugar up, your kidneys may not be able to bring it all back in. This causes the body to make more urine, and that takes fluids. The result: You’ll have to go more often. You might pee out more, too. Because you’re peeing so much, you can get very thirsty. When you drink more, you’ll also pee more.
  • Dry mouth and itchy skin. Because your body is using fluids to make pee, there’s less moisture for other things. You could get dehydrated, and your mouth may feel dry. Dry skin can make you itchy.
  • Blurred vision. Changing fluid levels in your body could make the lenses in your eyes swell up. They change shape and canââ¬â¢t focus.

All You Need To Know About Diabetes

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Diabetes An insight

Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy.

Most of the food you eat is broken down into sugar and released into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin acts like a key to let the blood sugar into your bodys cells for use as energy. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disorder recognized by high blood sugar. It occurs either because of lack of insulin or because of the presence of factors that oppose the action of insulin.

Types of Diabetes

Type I diabetes: A disorder in which the body makes little or no insulin at all because of Beta cell destruction. It is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction . Symptoms of type 1 diabetes often develop quickly. Its usually diagnosed in children, teens, and young adults. Insulin shots are needed daily for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes.

Gestational diabetes develops in pregnant women who have never had diabetes.It is important to diagnose and treat gestational diabetes because it severely affects the foetus. Gestational diabetes signals that a person has a higher chance of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life, particularly if the individual is overweight / obese.

Your baby is more likely to have obesity as a child or teen, and more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life too.

Recognize the symptoms of diabetes

  • 2-3 sugar cubes

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Everything You Need To Know About Diabetes

Diabetes types

Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar. The hormone insulin moves sugar from the blood into your cells to be stored or used for energy. With diabetes, your body either doesnt make enough insulin or cant effectively use the insulin it does make.

Untreated high blood sugar from diabetes can damage your nerves, eyes, kidneys, and other organs.

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There are a few different types of diabetes:

  • Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. The immune system attacks and destroys cells in the pancreas, where insulin is made. Its unclear what causes this attack. About 10 percent of people with diabetes have this type.
  • Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body becomes resistant to insulin, and sugar builds up in your blood.
  • Prediabetes occurs when your blood sugar is higher than normal, but its not high enough for a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.
  • Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar during pregnancy. Insulin-blocking hormones produced by the placenta cause this type of diabetes.

A rare condition called diabetes insipidus is not related to diabetes mellitus, although it has a similar name. Its a different condition in which your kidneys remove too much fluid from your body.

Each type of diabetes has unique symptoms, causes, and treatments. Learn more about how these types differ from one another.

General symptoms

The general symptoms of diabetes include:

  • increased hunger

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