Your body can’t properly handle and utilise the glucose from your food if you have diabetes. There are various forms of diabetes, each with its causes, but they are all characterised by an excess of glucose in the blood. Insulin and/or medicines are used as treatments.
Adopting a healthy lifestyle can help prevent some types of diabetes. In this article, we will learn about the diabetes reversal program and understand how we can prevent our sugar levels from getting serious.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a long-term medical illness that has an impact on how your body uses food as fuel. You end up with an excess of sugar or glucose in your bloodstream because your body can’t transport it from your bloodstream into your cells.
The 2020 National Diabetes Statistics Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 34.2 billion people in India have diabetes. This amounts to ~25% of the total population. However, not everyone has the same type of diabetes, which is why understanding the many forms is crucial.
What Are The Types of Diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and prediabetes are the four main kinds of diabetes.
Prompt diagnosis is essential for all four, as is adherence to your diabetes treatment plan. Since high blood sugar levels can damage your blood vessels over time and increase your risk of acquiring certain health issues, some of which are life-threatening, it’s crucial to start treatment as soon as you are diagnosed and to adhere to it religiously.
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes, which was formerly referred to as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is substantially less prevalent than Type 2. According to the CDC, Type 1 diabetes affects between 5% and 10% of adults with diabetes. People who have a close relative with Type 1 diabetes are more vulnerable.
When you have Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas either doesn’t create any insulin at all or produces very little of it, which is insufficient to allow the bloodstream’s sugar to enter your cells and be used as fuel. Your blood sugar levels are excessively high as a result.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) states that Type 1 diabetes symptoms might include:
- Unusual thirst
- Frequent urination
- High fatigue
- Unusual hunger
- Blurry vision
- Weight loss
You should see a doctor as soon as you or your child exhibit any diabetes symptoms. A doctor can check your blood sugar levels and possibly perform a test to look for autoantibodies that are typical of Type 1 diabetes sufferers to start the diagnosing process.
Once you’ve been diagnosed, you’ll need to regularly check your blood sugar levels and ketones, and you’ll start taking insulin as part of your therapy to keep your blood sugar levels within a safe range. You can take insulin as an injection or as part of an insulin pump. An extremely serious problem known as diabetic ketoacidosis can arise when your body lacks enough insulin to transport sugar from your bloodstream into your cells. Additionally, keep an eye out for hypoglycemia or low blood sugar symptoms.
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes accounts for the great majority of cases. The 34 billion Indians who have diabetes have Type 2 in 90-95 percent of cases.
Like Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes affects how well your body moves sugar into your cells, but this time, it’s not because your pancreas has stopped generating insulin. The insulin that is still being produced by your pancreas cannot be properly utilised by your cells because they are not sensitive to it.
Overweight, sedentary lifestyle, age 45+, family history of Type 2 diabetes, and smoking history all increase the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes in people. In addition to those who have the polycystic ovarian syndrome, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure, certain racial and ethnic groups are also more vulnerable.
An A1C test, which calculates your average blood sugar levels over the previous three months as a percentage, is commonly used to identify type 2 diabetes. Below 5.7% would be a normal value. The figure would need to be 6.5% or above to be considered Type 2 diabetes.
The signs and symptoms are comparable to those of Type 1 diabetes. The onset of Type 2 diabetes is typically gradual and the symptoms are less pronounced than those of Type 1 diabetes (DRI). Due to these factors, a lot of people erroneously ignore the warning indications. Additionally, they can believe that the symptoms are indications of other illnesses, such as age, excessive work, or hot weather. You may experience complications from Type 2 diabetes that are comparable to those from Type 1 diabetes over time.
Gestational diabetes
Gestational diabetes is a condition that affects pregnant women, as you may guess from the name. Pregnant women who have excessively high blood sugar levels may develop this disease. Gestational diabetes affects between 2% and 10% of all pregnancies each year.
Between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy, a screening test is customary: An oral glucose tolerance test will be performed on a woman to determine her blood sugar levels.
After being told they have gestational diabetes, many pregnant women—but not all—will require insulin injections for the course of their pregnancies. Many women’s blood sugar levels will return to normal following the delivery of their babies. However, they will still require some postpartum follow-up monitoring, and they may need to be watchful for longer than that as Type 2 diabetes develops in half of all pregnant women with gestational diabetes.
Prediabetes
Type 2 diabetes may develop from prediabetes. When you are diagnosed with prediabetes, it implies your blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not yet high enough to meet the criteria for Type 2 diabetes. Your levels would range between 5.7% and 6.4% on an A1C test.
Men are more likely than women to have it. Sadly, up to 84% of people with prediabetes are ignorant that they have it. As a result, you may be uninformed that you have prediabetes. The risk is that you won’t take action to stop it before it develops into Type 2 diabetes.
The problems are mute. Therefore, the patient is not receiving any physical punishment to indicate that their behaviour is inappropriate. You might want to discuss with your healthcare practitioner having your blood sugar levels examined annually because you might not be aware that you have prediabetes, especially if you have any risk factors.
What Type Of Diabetes Can Be Controlled?
Some, but not all, of the risk factors for the four forms of diabetes are under your control. However, talk to your healthcare professional about your risk for diabetes if you have any of these risk factors. These actions, together with glucose management, can be helpful:
- Maintain a nutritious eating plan that gives you the nutrition you require without raising your blood sugar levels. Frequently, this entails limiting carbohydrates. To get assistance with meal preparation, speak with a licenced dietician.
- Keep your weight within a healthy range. If you’re overweight, decreasing just 5%–10% of your body weight will help you lower your insulin resistance and improve your blood sugar levels. You should eat fewer portions.
- Be important to educate yourself on serving sizes and tips, such as the fact that a 3 oz. amount of meat is roughly the size of your hand. It’s easy to eat too much without even realising it.
- Move and walk frequently throughout the day. Exercise will increase your body’s sensitivity to insulin. So, instead of using the elevator, use the stairs, or get up and move around while on the phone.
- Spend at least 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. Once you get there, you can use this to shed a few pounds and keep them off. Additionally, exercise reduces your risk of developing diabetes-related conditions like heart disease and nerve damage.
What Are The Ways To Prevent Diabetes?
Today, a variety of computerised diabetes gadgets are available to aid users in better controlling their blood sugar levels as efforts to find a cure for diabetes continue. Continuous glucose monitors, intelligent insulin pens, CGM-insulin pumps, and even mobile apps are examples of technological advancements.
Oxyjon – Diabetes App is a comprehensive diabetes management tool that may be used to treat both Type 2 and Type 1 diabetes. Oxyjon is a web-based tool and a mobile application that provides patients with customised treatment and improves their results while lowering health costs. This app can be used by people suffering from Pre-diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, and Type 1 diabetes.
