Sunday, September 12, 2010

Diabetes - What is Diabetes and How Many Types Are There?

Diabetes is a pretty common disease with abnormally high levels of glucose in the bloodstream. Perhaps more than any other disease, it is strongly associated with western culture and diet.

The pancreas produces insulin and insulin is used to lower blood glucose levels. If the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, your body will develop diabetes. Not enough insulin in the body causes diabetes. The body cannot absorb or make full use of some of the food that we eat, especially the carbohydrates or sugars or starches.

The pancreas does not make enough insulin available to burn these foods as energy or store them for future use. The starches and sugars increase the blood sugar content. The sugar now passes through the kidneys and into the urine. The symptoms of diabetes are caused by the loss of carbohydrate energy, leading to an illness which can be fatal if not treated properly.

There are two types of Diabetes; these are Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes. Whatever diabetes type, it represents an abnormal rise of glucose in a person's blood. This anomaly is due to the insufficient level of insulin or maybe a misuse of it. If it is not treated appropriately, this disease can be the origin of many serious complications (cardiac disease, amputations, blindness, and impotence).

Glucose brings energy to different parts of the human body. Insulin plays a major role to stabilize the glucose in the blood after physical effort or after a meal. This is a complex regulating system.

For a normal person, glycemia levels oscillate at between 0,5 and 1,5 gram per liter of blood. Glycemia is the sugar rate in the blood, and the average value is 1 gram per liter (5,5 mmol/l). It varies between 1 and 1,4 gram/l two hours after a meal. It varies between 0.8 and 1.26 gram/liter in the morning.

According the World Health Organization, there is a diabetes problem when glycemia levels are higher in the morning or equal to 1.26 gram/liter. Hypoglycemia corresponds to a glycemia lower that 0.46 gram/liter.

diabetes blood test graphicSelf monitoring services allow the use of capillary glycemia testing to be made. A puncture is made on a finger to measure it. The drop of blood obtained is deposited on a strip and it is immediately readable by a reader that can be stored in the patient's pocket.

The glycourie is the sugar rate in the urine. It is necessary to know its value because when the sugar reaches 1.6 gram/liter, sugar has passed into the urine.


Diabetes is a chronic disease and the diabetic person has it for life. The person has to take ultimate responsibility for his condition, though he should be well supported by his doctor. If diabetes is not properly cared for, it can lead to complications which results in premature death, amputations, cardiovascular risks and blindness.

Type 1 diabetes which is insulin-dependents is also known as "thin" diabetes because one of its first symptoms is weight loss. It is also the main type to affect younger people. It is always treated by insulin; (it accounts for about 10% of the cases). It is the more severe diabetes and is usually treated with a special diet, exercise and a weight loss plan before insulin is added.

Type 2 diabetes is usually the non insulin-dependent cases, also described as "fatty" diabetes or diabetes of maturity (around fifty for people who are overweight). It counts for about 90% of cases and it is first treated by a special diet, exercise and weight loss. If the results are unsuccessful, oral medication may be added. And if this treatment fails as well, then insulin is considered. It is a less severe diabetes and is usually treated with a Hemoglobin glycoside is an indicator of a balance in diabetes. It estimates the glycemia for two previous months and indicates the long term risks and complications.

insulin injection graphic

Diabetes can result from a combination of genetic and environmental factors working together. With an unbelievable growth in the number of patients suffering from diabetes, the experts speak today about diabetic epidemics.

In 1998, there were over 140 million diabetics in the world. It was estimated that by 2025 the number would raise to 300 million.

Over two million adolescents are in the prediabetes stage largely because of being overweight. Glucose levels are high but not high enough to be considered diabetes. Teens usually develop this between the ages of 12 and 19.

Gestational diabetes is developed by pregnant women but will normally disappear after the birth of their baby. It will usually need treatment for the mother to stabilize the blood glucose levels. This will decrease the chance of complications to the baby.

Onset juvenile diabetes is a well-known form of diabetes that affects many of our nation’s children.

It is considered the onset of Type 1 diabetes and is found early in childhood. If your child is experiencing even a few of the symptoms of diabetes, it’s important that you have them checked by your doctor. For more information on Onset Juvenile Diabetes, the web site for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. This site has valuable information.

Diabetes is the most treatable disease in the world, but it is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. Doctors believe that diabetes can be controlled or even stopped by controlling your weight, exercising regularly, watching your diet, and medication.

If someone in your family has diabetes, it’s important to be tested for the disease. Having a blood glucose test regularly will help control the onset of diabetes.

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