Diabetes Causes and Prevention

Diabetes Causes and Prevention

Different Types/Different Causes of Diabetes
There are three main types of diabetes -type-1, type-2, and gestational. Type-1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease and most often affects children and young adults. An autoimmune disease is one in which the body ability to fight infections is decreased causing the body to attack its own cells. In type-1 diabetes, the body often attacks the beta cells in the pancreas -the cells that produce insulin in the body. The main diabetes causes of type-1 diabetes are:

Infections with specific bacteria or viruses
Food-borne chemical toxins
Cows milk -an unidentified component in cow milk can trigger an autoimmune reaction in the body. Young infants who are given cow milk have a higher risk of contracting type-1 diabetes.

The main diabetes causes of type-2 diabetes are:
Increasing age
Obesity
Physical inactivity
Poor diet
The main diabetes causes of gestational diabetes are:
Hormones produced during pregnancy blocking actions of insulin
Mother body can't produce enough insulin

Common Causes of Diabetes
There are some common diabetes causes that include genetic causes as well as environmental causes. The risk of diabetes is higher if there is a family history of diabetes. Environmental factors that can lead to the onset of diabetes include poor diet, lack of exercise, obesity, and stress. Diabetes is a disease that can be prevented -or controlled once a diagnosis has been made.


Prevention and Control in Diabetes
While the symptoms of diabetes are not life threatening, diabetes can lead to other more serious diseases and illnesses. People who have been diagnosed with diabetes are at a higher risk of diseases and illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, neuropathy and nerve damage, foot conditions, and blindness. It is extremely important to control your diabetes in order to avoid the onset of these more serious and sometimes life-threatening illnesses.

There are medications that can be used in the control of diabetes, as well as many natural remedies. However, the single most important aspect of a diabetic management plan is a healthy diet and exercise. A healthy diet should consist of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, carbohydrates in healthy portions, Omega-3 fatty acids, proteins in healthy portions, and fiber. A healthy diet not only helps your overall health, but also can be a major factor in offsetting the symptoms of diabetes. The longer you can prevent the symptoms of diabetes, the longer you can decrease the risks of more serious illnesses associated with diabetes.

A regular exercise routine is also an important factor in the prevention and management of diabetes. All parts of your body are designed to work together in order to sustain life. By keeping your muscles toned and your blood flowing correctly, you can help your body to fight off infections and your body will be able to help in managing the symptoms of many illnesses. Strong muscles in the abdomen are essential for helping your digestive system work normally.

A Long, Healthy Life
It is possible to live a long, healthy life. You can help ensure that your body will work properly for a long time by beginning a healthy diet and routing exercise program early in life. The old saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" has real meaning. By choosing to live a healthy lifestyle, you are choosing to consciously help your body fight of the symptoms of many illnesses and diseases. And, while some diseases are hereditary, such as diabetes, and you may still be at risk, by choosing to maintain a healthy lifestyle, you are helping your body become prepared to delay the onset of symptoms and to control the symptoms once they appear.

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Diabetes Control and Test

Diabetes Control and Test

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a defect in the body's ability to convert glucose to energy. It is caused due to insufficient production of glucose by the pancreas. In diabetes patients, the production of glucose is impaired.

What are the symptoms of Diabetes?

Patients with Type-1 diabetes usually develop symptoms over a short period of time, and the condition is often diagnosed in an emergency setting.

Symptoms of type 1 diabetes:

Increased thirst
Fatigue
Nausea
Increased urination
Weight loss in spite of increased appetite
Vomiting

However, because Type-2 diabetes develops slowly, some people with high blood sugar experience no symptoms at all.

Symptoms of type 2 diabetes:
Increased thirst
Impotence in men
Increased appetite
Increased urination
Blurred vision
Fatigue
Slow-healing infections

How to diagnose diabetes?
The diagnosis of diabetes is made by a simple blood test measuring blood glucose level. Usually blood glucose level tests are repeated on a subsequent day to confirm the diagnosis. Your health care team may also request that you have a glucose tolerance test. If two hours after taking the glucose drink your glucose level is 200 or above, you will be diagnosed as having diabetes.

How can I control diabetes?
Gather all the information about diabetes, its symptoms and causes

Check your blood glucose level regularly
If find any symptom of diabetes, visit your health care team for diagnosis of diabetes
Ask your health care team about how to check blood glucose level at home
Stop smoking
Exercise daily
Follow a healthy meal plan
Check your vision at regular intervals, If found blurred visit your health care team
Check your feet regularly for checking the occurrence of diabetes
If you are diabetic, monitor you diabetes regularly
Follow instructions of health care team strictly
Avoid sweet ingredients, use sugar free food

Can diabetes be cured?
As yet, there is no treatment for either type of diabetes, although there are many ways of keeping diabetes in control. Studies have shown that good control of blood glucose (blood sugar) is the key to avoid diabetic complications later.

What are the treatment options to cure diabetes?

Diabetes is incurable. The only option is to prevent ourselves from diabetes or to keep diabetes under control.

Is diabetes a hereditary disease?
You are at higher risk of Type 2 diabetes if you have a parent, brother or sister with diabetes.


Complications of Diabetes
If you have diabetes, you are much more likely to have a risk of stroke, heart disease, or a heart attack. In fact, 2 out of 3 people with diabetes die from stroke or heart disease. There are three conditions that make people with diabetes vulnerable to foot problems. These are vascular disease and foot deformities. About 30 percent of patients with Type 1 diabetes and 10 to 40 percent of those with Type 2 diabetes eventually will suffer from kidney failure. Diabetes also may cause damage to nerves in your body.

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Diabetes And The Long Term Dangers

Diabetes And The Long Term Dangers

Diabetes has hidden dangers that begin before diagnosis and continue to worsen if certain steps 

are not taken to prevent the complications that are the true, "killers" in terms of diabetes.

Statistics show that there are around 18 million diabetics in America, both Type 1 and Type 2. It is amazing how many people, diabetics included, who have no idea what dangers a diabetic faces over their lifetime. A diabetic, all things being equal, lives almost 10 years less than their non-diabetic counterpart on average.

Why do diabetics life shorter life spans than non-diabetics? The answer is both simple and complicated. Simple in explaining in general terms, complicated in the medical sense. Without traveling the complicated route in this article, I will try to give a simple, straight forward answer to the above question. Diabetics live shorter lives than non-diabetics because of diabetic complications.

What Are Diabetic Complications?
Diabetic complications are chronic medical conditions that begin to affect the body of the diabetic. These complications are brought about mostly by a condition the medical community had named, "Advanced Glycation End products" which is simply, "excess sugar" saturating the inside of the cells of the body. This condition also called AGE for short includes coronary artery disease, vascular disease, blindness, kidney disease, retinopathy (blindness) and loss of feeling in the hands and the feet (peripheral neuropathy) among others.

Diabetes in the early stages does not produce symptoms. Unless found during a routine medical exam, it is possible for a diabetic to remain undiagnosed for years. It is during these years that the beginnings of diabetic complications can gain a foothold due excess sugar in the cells (AGE). The statistics show there is the possibility of as many as over 5 million people going about their normal lives while having undiagnosed diabetes.

Are Diabetic Complications A Certainty?
While the current consensus is that the formula for diabetic complications Diabetes + Time = Complications. What this means is there is a much higher potential of a diabetic becoming diagnosed with one or more diabetic complications over time. This is partly due to how well the individual monitors and controls his/her blood sugar.

Drastic rises and falls of blood sugar can be hard on the body and the excess sugar present in the cells create havoc on the different nerves within the body as well as the capillaries, veins, and arteries. The evidence to date show that excellent control of blood sugar and an active lifestyle goes a very long way in preventing and/or slowing down the onset of diabetic complications.

The Different Types Of Diabete

There are two types of diabetes - Type One and Type Two. Type One attacks children and young adults and is characterized by the pancreas failing to produce insulin which is a hormone that breaks down sugars and starches while converting them into energy. Type Two occurs usually later in an adult's life and is characterized by the pancreas being unable to produce enough insulin due to several factors, obesity being one of them.


Around 10 percent of diabetics are Type One while the other 90 percent are Type Two. The major difference between the two being that Type One diabetics are completely dependent on insulin and take daily injections while the Type Two's have both those who require insulin shots while others can rely on oral medication and/or changes in diet and exercise.

The Risk Factors Surrounding Diabetes
There are several risk factors that can push a pre-diabetic into full blown diabetes.
1) being overweight.
2) family history of diabetes,
3) lack of adequate exercise.
4) history of gestational diabetes (occurs during pregnancy and usually disappears after delivery).
5) certain ethnic groups

People over 45 years of age and has one or several of the risk factors mentioned above should be screened for diabetes each year, preferably during an annual medical exam. It has been shown that people with these risk factors comprise the majority of diagnosed cases of diabetes each year.

What Tests Help Diagnose Diabetes Cases?

There are two, main tests used for determining whether or not a person has a glucose intolerance:

1) Fasting Plasma Glucose Test

2) Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

Both of these tests can determine glucose intolerance which is where blood sugar is higher than what is considered normal. This is not always an indication of diabetes however.

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