<<<>>> Diabetes, also referred to as diabetes mellitus, is described as a
lifelong disease that indicates that there is something wrong with your
body’s metabolism. What usually happens when we eat food is that this is
turned into glucose or blood sugar and this becomes responsible for
giving us energy. For the glucose to be used by our body, it has to get
into our cells with the help of the hormone insulin. If you have
diabetes, your pancreas does not produce enough insulin or your body’s
cells do not react correctly to the insulin. The glucose then does not
get turned into energy and is thus released via urine.
Three types of diabetes exist: type 1 diabetes,
type 2 diabetes, and gestational
diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is also called insulin-dependent diabetes and is a
situation where no insulin is produced by the body. Because you are
insulin-dependent, you need to take regular insulin-injections, go
through regular blood tests, and adhere to a special diet. Type 2
diabetes, the more common type found all over the world, is where the
body does not produce enough insulin or the cells are insulin resistant.
This is typically connected to old age, overweight and obese people,
those who have a family history of diabetes or who have a previous
history of gestational diabetes, and being physically inactive, to name a
few. Type 2 diabetes, however, will progress and get worse to the point
where the affected person will need to take insulin. When diabetes is
diagnosed during pregnancy, this is considered gestational diabetes. The
usual symptoms may not be present but this is typically caused by
pregnancy hormones or shortage of insulin.
Diabetes, although not contagious, afflicts both genders, adults,
children, and certain ethnicities. It is also one of the leading causes
of death and disability. Certain complications also arise when you have
diabetes like blindness, heart and blood vessel diseases, stroke, kidney
failure, amputations, and nerve damage. Pregnant women who are
diagnosed with gestational diabetes can also have complicated
pregnancies and can have babies with birth defects. Among the symptoms
to watch out for are: frequent urination, disproportionate thirst,
intense hunger, weight gain, unusual weight loss, increased fatigue,
irritability, blurred vision, cuts and bruises not healing properly or
quickly, more skin and/or yeast infections, itchy skin, gums are red
and/or swollen or gums pull away from teeth, frequent gum
disease/infection, erectile dysfunction among men, and numbness or
tingling, especially in your feet and hands. Learn how to safely prevent
diabetes here at
http://www.ehow.com/how_2048513_prevent-diabetes.html.
