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Diabetes is a condition that you can have for years and not know
you have it. If someone in your family has diabetes, if you are
ethnically pre-disposed or if any of the other risk factors apply to
you, make sure you get tested at least once a year and catch it
before it starts doing serious damage to your body.
Diabetes is a condition in which your body does not produce
enough, if any, insulin or cannot use the insulin it does produce.
The hormone insulin is produced in the pancreas and is used by cells
in the conversion of sugar to energy for growth.
Type 1 diabetes, formerly known as juvenile or childhood
diabetes, is a disease of the autoimmune system and the etiology is
unknown. It does seem to be brought on in connection with some
viruses or infections, but research is ongoing. The immune system
starts to attack the cells in the pancreas that manufacture insulin
and eventually destroys them all.
People with type 1 diabetes have to self-monitor their blood
glucose levels and need injections of insulin to survive. While the
process is easier today with the advent of insulin pumps and better
glucose monitors, it is still hard on the young people who it
affects.
Type 2 diabetes is a point of major concern for the worldwide
health community. The rate of diagnoses is going up in almost every
country and diabetes is growing at pandemic rates. People with type
2 diabetes are still producing insulin, but their bodies are no
longer able to use it. Although there is no cure for diabetes, there
are ways to manage the condition and some patients can avoid oral
medications or insulin injections altogether.
The first step in controlling your diabetes is adding exercise to
your weekly routine. Exercise and a change in eating habits are the
2 most effective ways to achieve and maintain normal blood glucose
levels. Your doctor or health care professional will send you to a
dietician or diabetes specialist to work on a plan that you can
start applying to your life immediately.
No bland diets, no restrictive lists; just good healthy meal
plans that can keep you from the serious complications that can go
along with diabetes. And they will insist that you step up the
activity in your life; even exercising 3-4 times a week can make a
substantial difference.
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