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Almost everyone knows someone who has diabetes. An estimated 18.2 million people in the United States--6.3 percent of the population--have diabetes, a serious, lifelong condition. Diabetes affects the body's ability to use blood sugar for energy. The main types include type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. Diabetes insipidus, a rare disorder, is not related to diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes). Diabetes symptoms may include increased thirst and urination, blurred vision, and fatigue. Diabetes warning signs Increased hunger, unexplained weight loss, frequent urination—these red flags may indicate early symptoms if diabetes. Types Type 1 Diabetes In type 1 diabetes previouslt known as juvenile diabetes, the body’s immune system dystroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Symtoms of type 1 diabetes develop over a short period, although cell distruction can begin years earlier. Symptoms include increased thirst and unination, constant hunger, weight loss, blurred vision and extreme fatigue. If not diagnosed and treated with insulin, a person with type 1 diabetes can lapse into a life-threatening diabetic coma. Type 2 Diabetes Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes accounting for 90%-95% of people with diabetes. This form of diabetes is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, previous history of gestational diabetes, physical inactivity, and ethnicity. About 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. The symptoms of type 2 diabetes develop gradually. Their onset is not as sudden as in type 1 diabetes. Symptoms may include fatigue or nausea, frequent urination, unusual thirst, weight loss, blurred vision, frequent infections, and slow healing of wounds or sores. Some people have no symptoms. How can I prevent Diabetes? Because of the link between obesity and type 2 diabetes, you can do a great deal to reduce the chance of developing the disease by slimming down if you are overweight.
In fact, studies have shown that exercise and a healthy diet can prevent the development of type 2 diabetes in people with impaired glucose tolerance — a condition that often develops prior to full-blown type 2 diabetes. Medications have also been shown to provide similar benefit. Both diabetes drugs metformin and Precose have been shown to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes in people with this pre-diabetes condition.
In someone who already has diabetes, exercise and a nutritionally balanced diet can greatly limit the effects of both types 1 and 2 diabetes on your body.
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