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What is Diabetes?

Having diabetes, your body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or is unable to use it as well as it needs to.

Diabetes is a chronic (long-term) health condition that impacts how your body converts food into energy.

Your body breaks up a lot of the food you eat into sugars (glucose) and disperses it into your bloodstream. As your blood sugar rises, it alerts your pancreas to disperse insulin. Insulin works as a trigger to allow the blood glucose into your body’s cells to utilize as energy.

When there is insufficient insulin or cells quit reacting to insulin, a lot of blood sugar stays in your bloodstream. After a while, that can cause significant health issues, like heart disease, kidney disease, and loss of vision.

There is not a cure for diabetes, yet, however losing weight, eating nutritious food, and staying active really helps. Other things you can do that help:

  • Take medicine as prescribed.
  • Acquire diabetes self-care support and education.
  • Schedule and keep healthcare appointments.

Types of Diabetes

There are 3 major types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes when pregnant).

Type 1 Diabetes

T1D is believed to be caused by an autoimmune response (the body attacking itself erroneously). This response stops your body from making insulin. Around five to ten percent of the individuals that have diabetes have type 1. T1D can be diagnosed at any age, and symptoms usually develop fast. If you have T1D, you’ll need to take insulin every day to keep living. Presently, no one knows how to impede this type of diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes

Having T2D, your body doesn’t utilize insulin accordingly and is unable to keep blood sugar at healthy levels. Around ninety to ninety-five percent of the individuals with diabetes have type 2. It emerges over many years and is typically diagnosed in adults (but more frequent in children, teens, and younger adults). You might overlook any symptoms, so it’s vital to have your blood sugar tested should you be at risk. Type 2 diabetes can be hampered or hindered with healthy lifestyle changes, like:

  • Watching your weight.
  • Eating healthy meals.
  • Staying active.

Gestational Diabetes

This type of diabetes appears in pregnant women that have never experienced diabetes. When you have this type of diabetes, your baby might be at greater risk for health issues. Gestational diabetes typically goes away following your baby being born. Nevertheless, it increases your chance for type 2 diabetes as you get older. Your baby is more likely to be obese as a child or teen and develop type 2 diabetes as they get older.

Prediabetes

In the US, around ninety-eight million adults—more than one in three—have pre-diabetes. More than eight in ten are unaware they have it. With pre-diabetes, blood sugar levels are greater than normal, but not great enough for type 2 diabetes determination. Pre-diabetes heightens your risk for type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. However, there’s wonderful news. If you have pre-diabetes, a CDC-recognized lifestyle change program can help you take healthy steps to reverse it.

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