What you need to know about Diabetes.
There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 & Type 2. Type 1 is a disease that destroys the cells in your pancreas that insulin. Type 2 is a disease in which your body is resistant to insulin; you still produce it, but in insufficient amounts or your body is resistant to it and cannot use it properly. The good news is - diabetes is manageable.
Why is insulin important?
Cells in the body break down glucose (from food) in order to provide energy for physical activity, growth, and repair, the hormone insulin is responsible for regulating glucose levels in the blood. Abnormally high levels of glucose can damage small and large blood vessels, leading to diabetic blindness, kidney disease, amputation of limbs, stroke and heart disease.
What is pre-diabetes?
People have pre-diabetes when their blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but do not fall into the diabetic range. Pre-diabetes means you are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes and more susceptible to heart disease.
Rx for Health
Many people with diabetes can manage their disease by focusing on nutrition and exercise. Overtime, a decline in pancreatic function may require additional treatment. The good news is... recent advances in medication can have a positive impact. All diabetes medicines sold in the US are members of five classes of drugs that work in different ways to lower blood glucose levels. Because these drugs act in different ways to lower blood glucose levels, they may be prescribed individually or as a combination of pills.
Making Healthy Food Choices
Calorie for calorie, sugar raises blood glucose about the same amount as other carbohydrates. "Modest amounts of sugar are okay, if part of an overall healthy diet," notes endocrinologist Lisa Porter, MD. "Diabetics should avoid any food that raises your look sugar quickly or has a high glycemic index."
Healthy eating includes eating a wide variety of foods including vegetables, whole grains, fruits, non-fat diary products, beans and lean meats, along with poultry and fish. There is no one perfect food so including a variety of different foods and watching portion sizes is vital component to a healthy diet.
Do the 2-Step: Eating Right & Exercising
Managing pre-diabetes requires lifestyle changes… namely eating a wide variety of nutritious food and increasing physician activity. According to Lisa Porter, MD, endocrinologist, it's the combination of diet and exercise that makes a difference. One with out the other is not nearly as effective. You need both steps.
Doctors cannot diagnose diabetes on the basis of one single test. Instead, they will perform two or more glucose tests before confirming your diagnosis. The most common tests to measure glucose are the fasting plasma glucose test, the random blood sugar test, and the oral glucose tolerance test. Before people develop type 2 diabetes, they almost always have 'pre-diabetes' - blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Blood glucose levels are higher after eating.
In the US, 41 million people ages 40 to 74 suffer from pre-diabetes. Recent research has show that some long-term damage to the body, especially the heart and circulatory system, may already be occurring during pre-diabetes.
Diagnosing Diabetes
To determine if you have diabetes, your doctors will test your blood sugar levels. The results of these test and other clinical findings will be used to decide if you have diabetes and what type.
Glucose Results
Fasting / After Eating
Normal 70 - 100 / dL below 140
Pre-diabetes 100-0126/ dL 140-0200
Diabetes over 126 / over 100
The Good News Is
Research has also shown that if you take action to manage your blood glucose when you have pre-diabetes, you can delay or prevent Type 2 diabetes from developing.
