Diabetes can be defined as having too much blood glucose or sugar.
Normal glucose levels are good, because a body needs glucose to create energy, but when there is too much glucose it has adverse effects on the body.
What Causes Diabetes? When you eat, your body converts food to glucose.
Blood transports the glucose to cells in your body.
In order to successfully carry out its mission, glucose must have insulin to reach the cells.
Insulin is produced in the pancreas.
If your insulin levels are off, the pancreas can't release enough insulin, and glucose is unable to reach your cells.
When this happens, blood glucose levels become have and diabetes is diagnosed.
What Can Happen If I Have Diabetes If your diabetes is not treated, serious side-effects can occur including blindness, stroke, kidney failure, heart disease, nerve damage and amputation.
If diabetes occurs during a woman's pregnancy, there can be complications for the mother and birth defects for the baby.
Are There Different Types of Diabetes? There are three types of diabetes.
Type 1 is usually diagnosed in young adults and children and lasts a lifetime.
With Type 1 diabetes, your body cannot make insulin so insulin must be taken every day in the form of a shot or by using an insulin pump.
Exercising regularly, eating the right food and controlling cholesterol levels and blood pressure are important ways to help stay healthy with Type 1 Diabetes.
Some people also take one aspirin daily.
The most common diabetes is Type 2.
It occurs in nine out of ten people who suffer from diabetes.
Type 2 can occur at any age.
With this type, your body produces insulin, but the glucose is not able to get to your cells.
Most people with Type 2 diabetes take medication, exercise, eat healthy foods, and control blood pressure and cholesterol.
Some people take an aspirin daily.
With Type 2 diabetes, your body tends to produce less insulin as time passes, and many patients have to take more medication or start injections of insulin as time passes.
Pregnant women sometimes experience Gestational diabetes.
It happens to approximately one in twenty women, because hormones prevent insulin from reaching cells.
When this happens, the body starts making more insulin, but it might not be enough.
When pregnancy is over, Gestational diabetes usually disappears.
Later on, however, a woman who had Gestational diabetes could develop Type 2 diabetes later on.
What Causes Diabetes? No one knows why causes Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.
Some researchers believe it is caused by genetic factors, while others feel it might be brought on by environmental issues.
Type 2 diabetes is often associated with obesity or excess weight.
Gestational diabetes is known to be caused by hormones and weight gain during pregnancy.
Although these are healthy factors during a pregnancy, there are cases when a pregnant woman can't get the level of insulin necessary to nourish cells.
Can I Get Diabetes? Anyone can get diabetes.
No one knows why people get Type 1.
Risk factors for Type 2 include people over 45, obesity, family history of diabetes, ethnic background, birth weight baby of more than nine pounds, diabetes during pregnancy, high blood pressure and/or cholesterol level, lack of exercise, other health conditions related to the use of insulin and history of stroke or heart attack.
What Are The Symptoms of Diabetes? Symptoms of diabetes include frequent urination, thirst, weight loss, tingling in limbs, tiredness, sores that won't heal, blurred vision and frequent infection.
These symptoms, although somewhat generic, should be addressed with your physician if you have them.
Normal glucose levels are good, because a body needs glucose to create energy, but when there is too much glucose it has adverse effects on the body.
What Causes Diabetes? When you eat, your body converts food to glucose.
Blood transports the glucose to cells in your body.
In order to successfully carry out its mission, glucose must have insulin to reach the cells.
Insulin is produced in the pancreas.
If your insulin levels are off, the pancreas can't release enough insulin, and glucose is unable to reach your cells.
When this happens, blood glucose levels become have and diabetes is diagnosed.
What Can Happen If I Have Diabetes If your diabetes is not treated, serious side-effects can occur including blindness, stroke, kidney failure, heart disease, nerve damage and amputation.
If diabetes occurs during a woman's pregnancy, there can be complications for the mother and birth defects for the baby.
Are There Different Types of Diabetes? There are three types of diabetes.
Type 1 is usually diagnosed in young adults and children and lasts a lifetime.
With Type 1 diabetes, your body cannot make insulin so insulin must be taken every day in the form of a shot or by using an insulin pump.
Exercising regularly, eating the right food and controlling cholesterol levels and blood pressure are important ways to help stay healthy with Type 1 Diabetes.
Some people also take one aspirin daily.
The most common diabetes is Type 2.
It occurs in nine out of ten people who suffer from diabetes.
Type 2 can occur at any age.
With this type, your body produces insulin, but the glucose is not able to get to your cells.
Most people with Type 2 diabetes take medication, exercise, eat healthy foods, and control blood pressure and cholesterol.
Some people take an aspirin daily.
With Type 2 diabetes, your body tends to produce less insulin as time passes, and many patients have to take more medication or start injections of insulin as time passes.
Pregnant women sometimes experience Gestational diabetes.
It happens to approximately one in twenty women, because hormones prevent insulin from reaching cells.
When this happens, the body starts making more insulin, but it might not be enough.
When pregnancy is over, Gestational diabetes usually disappears.
Later on, however, a woman who had Gestational diabetes could develop Type 2 diabetes later on.
What Causes Diabetes? No one knows why causes Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.
Some researchers believe it is caused by genetic factors, while others feel it might be brought on by environmental issues.
Type 2 diabetes is often associated with obesity or excess weight.
Gestational diabetes is known to be caused by hormones and weight gain during pregnancy.
Although these are healthy factors during a pregnancy, there are cases when a pregnant woman can't get the level of insulin necessary to nourish cells.
Can I Get Diabetes? Anyone can get diabetes.
No one knows why people get Type 1.
Risk factors for Type 2 include people over 45, obesity, family history of diabetes, ethnic background, birth weight baby of more than nine pounds, diabetes during pregnancy, high blood pressure and/or cholesterol level, lack of exercise, other health conditions related to the use of insulin and history of stroke or heart attack.
What Are The Symptoms of Diabetes? Symptoms of diabetes include frequent urination, thirst, weight loss, tingling in limbs, tiredness, sores that won't heal, blurred vision and frequent infection.
These symptoms, although somewhat generic, should be addressed with your physician if you have them.
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