KNOWING THE SIGNS OF DIABETES IS BENEFICIAL TO HUMAN

Diabetes is a chronic medical disorder in which the body either does not create insulin or does not use the insulin that it does make adequately. Diabetes patients are more likely to have problems such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, neuropathy, and renal disease. Diabetes has a death rate that is around twice that of persons who do not have the disease.

How diabetes Occurs? Diabetes develops when your body does not create enough insulin and/or does not use the insulin that it does make adequately. Insulin is a hormone that aids your body's conversion of glucose (sugar) into energy. Instead, glucose accumulates in the blood.

Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar levels are elevated but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Prediabetes frequently progresses to diabetes or is a precursor to glucose intolerance. Controlling your weight and consuming nutritious meals might postpone or prevent prediabetic symptoms from progressing to diabetes and the problems it causes if you have prediabetes.

Signs and Symptoms

Diabetes may cause the symptoms listed below. Contact your doctor if you observe any of the following:

Diabetes symptoms differ depending on how high your blood sugar is. Some people, particularly those with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, may not feel symptoms at all. Symptoms of type 1 diabetes tend to appear quickly and are more severe.

Some of the signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes are:

• Increased thirst
• Unexplained weight loss
• Frequent urination
• Extreme hunger
• Blurred vision
• Presence of ketones in the urine (ketones are a byproduct of the breakdown of muscle and fat that happens when there's not enough available insulin)
• Slow-healing sores
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Frequent infections, such as gums or skin infections and vaginal infections

What factors contribute to prediabetes?

Prediabetes occurs when your body's insulin does not perform as well as it should. Insulin aids your body's cells in using glucose from your blood. When your insulin isn't working properly, too much glucose accumulates in your blood. Higher than normal levels may suggest pre-diabetes. If the numbers rise sufficiently, you will develop type 2 diabetes. High blood sugar levels might harm your blood vessels and nerves. This increases your chances of developing heart disease, stroke, and other health issues.

If any of the following apply to you, you are at risk developing prediabetes:

• You're either overweight or obese.
• You have a diabetic parent, sibling or sister.
• You experienced gestational diabetes or had a kid who weighed more than 9 pounds at birth.
• You identify as African American, Native American, Latino, or Asian/Pacific Islander.
• You have high blood pressure (140/90 mm Hg or above).
• Your HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) level is too low (less than 40 mg/dL for men or 50 mg/dL for women), or your triglyceride level is greater than 250 mg/dL.
• You are a woman suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

How common is diabetes?

Some 34.2 million people of all ages – about 1 in 10 – have diabetes in the U.S. Some 7.3 million adults aged 18 and older (about 1 in 5) are unaware that they have diabetes (just under 3% of all U.S. adults). The number of people who are diagnosed with diabetes increases with age. More than 26% of adults age 65 and older (about 1 in 4) have diabetes.

Who gets diabetes? What are the risk factors?

Factors that increase your risk differ depending on the type of diabetes you ultimately develop.

Is it possible to prevent or avoid prediabetes?

Prediabetes and type 2 diabetes can be delayed, if not avoided. This is usually accomplished by decreasing weight if you are overweight, eating a healthy diet, and exercising on a regular basis. The longer you have prediabetes or diabetes, the more health issues you may have. Delaying the development of the disease, for example, can benefit your health.

Prevention

Simple lifestyle changes have been demonstrated to help prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. People should do the following to help prevent type 2 diabetes and its complications:

• achieve and maintain a healthy body weight;
• be physically active – doing at least 30 minutes of regular, moderate-intensity activity on most days. More activity is required for weight control;
• eat a healthy diet, avoiding sugar and saturated fats; and
• avoid tobacco use – smoking increases the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.