Diabetes

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a common disorder, found in both kids and adults alike. In this lifestyle disorder, the blood glucose levels of a person increase rapidly. Glucose is the primary source of energy and insulin helps in producing energy from the glucose. When the body reduces or stops producing insulin, then the glucose received from the food does not come into contact with the cells, resulting in less energy.

There are three major types of diabetes: Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational diabetes. In Type 1 diabetes, the body stops producing insulin and the body makes use of the cells in the pancreas to produce insulin. The Type 1 diabetes is commonly found in young adults, and it is necessary to consume insulin externally.

The Type 2 diabetes is different from the Type 1. In this type, the body does produce insulin but cannot make use of it. This type of diabetes is most common in older people but can be diagnosed at any age. Due to this reason, Type 2 diabetes is the most common of them all.

The third one is Gestational diabetes. This type of diabetes is only found in pregnant women. In the majority of the cases, the disorder goes away after the baby is born. However, in some cases, it could persist and convert into Type 2 diabetes.

Other uncommon types of diabetes are: cystic fibrosis diabetes and monogenic diabetes.

What are the Main Causes of Diabetes?

The primary cause of Type 1 diabetes is the immunity system. When the immune system becomes weak and impacts the pancreas cells, which are responsible for the production of insulin, it results in Type 1 diabetes. In addition, the Type 1 diabetes could also be triggered by environmental causes. For instance, an external virus could cause the disease. Type 1 diabetes can also be passed on by the parents to their children; hence, Type 1 is genetically influenced.

When it comes to Type 2 diabetes, then there are multiple reasons that leads to this disorder. The most common reason is poor lifestyle choices. The probability of being diagnosed with Type 2 is higher when the person is either obese or overweight. Moreover, lack of physical activities could also increase the chances of this disorder.  Another reason is insulin resistance in the body. In this case, the body is unable to produce sufficient insulin that helps in converting the glucose into energy, resulting in high glucose levels in the blood.

A woman’s body undergoes a lot of hormonal changes during pregnancy. Studies have suggested that these hormonal changes could be the reason for gestational diabetes. If the cause of this diabetes is hormonal changes, then it will go away with the time. However, if it is not cured, then its reasons could be insulin resistance or a family history of diabetes.

What all Body Needs to Face in Diabetes?

The person diagnosed with diabetes needs to face numerous things which could be considered as the signs the body gives to let the people know about the disorder. These signs are:

●       fatigue

●       blurred vision

●       sudden weight loss

●       enhanced hunger

●       frequent thirst and urination

●       too many unhealed sores

How Can Diabetes be controlled with Lifestyle Changes?

Since diabetes is a disorder, not a disease, there is no ‘cure’ as such. Dedicated and disciplined lifestyle changes can help the person to control diabetes.

Here are some of the things that you should adopt in your lifestyle that will help you in reducing the signs of diabetes.

#1 Eat Healthy
As mentioned above, obese and overweight people are vulnerable to diabetes. Considering this factor, eating habits play a significant role in diabetes. People who have any type of diabetes should remember that they should only eat sufficient amount of food. Excessive eating could increase the amount of glucose in the blood resulting in high blood sugar levels.
#2 Smoking
True, smoking causes lung cancer but it also triggers diabetes. Uncontrolled diabetes could cause numerous other conditions like heart diseases, kidney diseases, and nerve damage. Smoking will weaken your body and increase the chances of getting diagnosed with diabetes. The best thing to do is stop smoking as soon as possible and ask people about the ways of quitting.
#3 Regular Exercise
The best way to stay fit and healthy is by doing exercise. Not only it will help you in enhancing muscle endurance, but will also assist you in battling diabetes. All you have to do is exercise regularly for 30 minutes so that you could burn all the extra calories. It will help you in controlling your weight and the body’s blood sugar levels as well.
#4 Regular Checkups
Even though diabetes cannot be treated, it could be controlled. It is best to regularly check blood sugar levels to monitor diabetes level. In addition to blood sugar levels, you need to keep in mind that you monitor the blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well.

Endnote

Diabetes is one of the commonest health disorders in humans. More than 300 million people have diabetes worldwide, and nearly half of them are unaware of it.  This was the complete guide to the causes, symptoms and the practices that you should follow in any type of diabetes. Controlling diabetes is all about improving your lifestyle.