Basically understanding of diabetes

What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a number of diseases that involve problems with the hormone insulin. Normally, the pancreas, an organ behind the stomach, releases insulin to help the body store and use the sugar and fat from the food we take in. Diabetes occurs when one of the following happens:

√ When the pancreas does not produce insulin
√ When the pancreas produces very little insulin
√ When the body does not respond appropriately to insulin, a condition called "insulin resistance".

Diabetes is a lifelong disease. People with diabetes need to control their disease to stay healthy.

The role of insulin in diabetes
To understand why insulin is important in diabetes, it helps to know more about how the body uses food for energy.  Our body is made up of millions of cells. To make energy, these cells need food in a very simple form. When food is introduced into the body, most of it is broken down into a simple sugar called "glucose". Then, the glucose is transported by the bloodstream to the body's cells, where it can be used to provide some of the energy your body needs for daily activities.

The amount of glucose in the blood is tightly regulated by the hormone insulin. Insulin is always being released in small amounts by the pancreas. When the amount of glucose in the blood rises to a certain level, the pancreas release more insulin to push more glucose into the cells. This causes the glucose levels in your blood to drop.

To keep your blood glucose levels from getting too low (hypoglycemia or low blood sugar), your body signals you to eat and releases some glucose from storage kept in the liver.

People with diabetes either don't make insulin or their body's cells are resistant to insulin, leading to high levels of sugar circulating in the blood, called simply high blood sugar. By definition, diabetes is having a blood glucose level of 126 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or more after an overnight fast.

Types of diabetes
1. PrediabetesIn adults when blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as a disease,  this is called prediabetes, or impaired glucose tolerance. People with prediabetes often have no symptoms, but it’s almost always there before a person develops type 2 diabetes. However, complications normally associated with diabetes, such as heart disease, can begin even when a person has only prediabetes.

2. Type 1 diabetesType 1 diabetes occurs because the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, or called beta cells, are destroyed by the immune system. People with type 1 diabetes produce no insulin and must use insulin injections to control their blood sugar.

3. Type 2 diabetesUnlike people with type 1 diabetes, people with type 2 diabetes produce insulin. However, the insulin their pancreas secretes is either not enough or the body is resistant to the insulin. When there isn't enough insulin or the insulin is not used as it should be, glucose can't get into the body's cells.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. While most of these cases are preventable, it remains for adults the leading cause of diabetes-related complications such as blindness, non-traumatic amputations, and chronic kidney failure requiring dialysis.

Type 2 diabetes usually occurs in people over the age of 40 who are overweight, but it can also occur in people who are not overweight. Today, this disease has begun to appear more in children due to obesity. Some people can manage type 2 diabetes by controlling their weight, watching their diet, and exercising regularly.

4. Gestational diabetesGestational diabetes is triggered by pregnancy. Hormone changes during pregnancy can affect insulin's ability to work properly. The condition occurs in up to 9% of all.

Pregnant women who have an increased risk of developing gestational diabetes are those who are over 25 years old, are above their normal body weight before pregnancy, have a family history of diabetes. Screening for gestational diabetes is performed during pregnancy. Left raw, gestational diabetes increases the risk of complications to both the mother and their unborn child. Usually, blood sugar levels return to normal within six weeks of childbirth. However, women who have had gestational diabetes have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

What Are the Symptoms of Diabetes?
1. Type 1 diabetes often has symptoms that come on suddenly and can be severe, including:
- Increased thirst
- Increased hunger (especially after eating)
- Dry mouth
- Frequent urination
- Unexplained weight loss, even though you are eating and feel hungry
Fatigue (weak, tired feeling)
- Blurred vision
- Labored, heavy breathing like Kussmaul respirations
- Loss of consciousness, it is rare

2. Type 2 diabetes can also have the symptoms listed above. Most often, there are no symptoms or very gradual development of the above symptoms. Other symptoms may include:
- Slow-healing sores or cuts
- Itching of the skin, it's usually in the vaginal or groin area
- Yeast infections
- Recent weight gain
- Numbness or tingling of the hands and feet
- Impotence or erectile dysfunction

3. Gestational diabetes, there are often no symptoms. Or you might notice:
- More thirst
- More urination
- More hunger
- Blurred vision
Pregnancy makes most women have to urinate more often and feel hungrier, so these symptoms don’t always mean you have gestational diabetes. But it is important to get tested, because high blood sugar can cause problems for both you and your baby. 

How Is Diabetes Treated?
There's no cure for diabetes, but it can be managed and controlled. The goals of managing diabetes are to:

1. Keep your blood sugar levels as near to normal as possible by balancing food intake with medication and activity.

2. Maintain your blood cholesterol and triglyceride (lipid) levels as near their normal ranges as possible by avoiding added sugars and processed starches and by reducing saturated fat and cholesterol.

3. Control your blood pressure. Your blood pressure should not go over 130/80.

4. Slow or possibly prevent the development of diabetes-related health problems.

You hold the key to managing your diabetes by:

1. Planning what you eat and following a balanced meal plan

2. Exercising regularly

3. Taking medicine, if prescribed, and closely following the guidelines on how and when to take it

4. Monitoring your blood sugar and blood pressure levels at home

5. Keeping your appointments with your health care providers and having laboratory tests as ordered by your doctor

Remember: What you do at home every day affects your blood sugar more than what your doctor can do every few months during your checkups.

Compiled and penned by Crocus Media