Diabetes is a condition that sadly affects more people than most of us know about. The International Diabetes Federation notes that this chronic disease occurs when the pancreas isn’t able to make insulin, or when it can’t make good use of the insulin that is being produced. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that lets glucose from food pass from the blood stream into cells to produce energy.
When our bodies no longer have the ability to produce insulin (or use it effectively), it leads to raised glucose levels in the blood (known as hyperglycaemia) that can, over the long term, be associated with damage to our bodies and the failure of different tissues and organs. Read about the different types of diabetes below, and prevention measures against type 2 diabetes (type 1 diabetes and gestational diabetes are not yet found to have preventative measures).
Type 1 diabetes
This can develop at any age, but is most frequently known to occur in children and adolescents. When you have this condition, the body produces very little to no insulin and that leads to needing daily insulin injections to maintain healthy blood glucose levels for them to be controlled.
Type 2 diabetes
A variant of diabetes known as ‘type 2 diabetes’ is more common in adults. In this instance, your body doesn’t make good use of the insulin that it has produced. While over time most people with type 2 diabetes might need medicine or insulin to keep their blood glucose levels controlled, it can be prevented or delayed by adjusting your lifestyle to one that includes increased physical activity (a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week) and a healthy diet (comprised of unsaturated fats, whole-grain instead of white varieties of bread, rice, and pasta, elimination of processed and red meat and sugar, as well as plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables).
Gestational diabetes
The third known type of diabetes is one that consists of high blood glucose during pregnancy and is unfortunately associated with complications that can occur to both the mother and child. This condition usually appears after pregnancy, however women and their children who are affected by this are at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes later on in life.
It is sad but important to know that we all need to take precautions about protecting our bodies as much as possible, especially when it comes to diabetes. Serious health problems can arise as a result of getting diabetes such as diseases that affect the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, nerves, eyes, and even our teeth. We take this opportunity to ask everyone to maintain a healthy lifestyle because your body will thank you for it.
We hope that this information can help and motivate you to take care of yourself. If you’d like to get in touch with us, please do so!
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