Don’t Allow Diabetes To Let You Down

Diabetes is a chronic condition in which blood sugar (also called glucose) accumulates in your blood. The full name of the disease, diabetes mellitus, literally means “honey diabetes.” Since the time of ancient Greece, people have noticed a sweet or honeyed smell in the urine of those affected by the disease.

There is no cure for diabetes. However, diabetes can be controlled. Controlling diabetes means keeping your blood sugar at levels that are the same as—or close to—those of a person who does not have diabetes.

There are two primary kinds of diabetes, and the cause of your elevated blood sugar depends on which kind of diabetes you have.

                                                             TYPE-1 DIABETES

Type 1 diabetes used to be called “juvenile diabetes” because it normally occurs in people under the age of 30. If you have type-1 diabetes, your pancreas no longer produces insulin, a vital hormone that helps your body turn sugar into energy. Without this essential hormone, the sugar in your system accumulates in your blood. Type 1 diabetes is considered to be an “auto-immune” disease. It occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the pancreas and destroys its ability to make insulin.

Although family history plays a role in the development of type 1 diabetes, 90 percent of the people who get it have no family history of the disease at all. No one knows for sure why it strikes some people and not others. People with type 1 diabetes have to take insulin to control their blood sugar. Consultation with Diabetologists in West Delhi is particularly helpful because of their expertise in diagnosing diabetic patients.

                                                           TYPE-2 DIABETES

Type 2 diabetes used to be called “adult onset” because it normally occurs in people over the age of 30.

Type 2 diabetes is more likely if you have a family history of diabetes. It is closely related to excess weight and a lack of physical activity. African-Americans, Latinos, Pacific Islanders, Asians, and Native Americans are all at high risk for type 2 diabetes.

Although type 2 diabetes normally strikes people over the age of 30, it is on the rise among children. Diabetologists think this is directly related to a lack of physical activity and the increase in obesity among the young.

If you have type 2 diabetes, your pancreas still makes insulin. But it may not make enough, or your body may have become resistant to it. The first line of treatment for type 2 diabetes is exercise and weight loss—many people can control their blood sugar levels with exercise and diet alone. There are also oral medications that can be used to treat the disease.

Type-2 diabetes tends to be progressive and a substantial number of people with type 2 diabetes ultimately need to take insulin to control their blood sugar.