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As recently as 5 or 10 years ago, when someone referred to their
diabetes, chances are it would be called sugar diabetes and for
some, they might just say they had a touch of the sugar, or they had
sugar. The health care profession has a better understanding and
presentation of diabetes now; they no longer suggest that sugar is a
contributing factor to the condition and they no longer suggest
restrictive diets that eliminate sugar completely.
There are three types of diabetes: type 1, which is often called
juvenile diabetes or early onset diabetes. This form of diabetes is
a suppression of the immune system that results in no insulin being
produced by the islet cells of the pancreas. Almost all cases of
type 1 diabetes are diagnosed before puberty. People with this type
diabetes need insulin injections.
Gestational diabetes is another one of the 3 types of diabetes.
Women who are pregnant may develop this form of diabetes that is
usually treated with diet and sometimes medication. Although
gestational goes away after pregnancy, women who have had
gestational diabetes become at-risk for type 2 diabetes later in
life.
Type 2 diabetes is the form of diabetes that was once called
sugar diabetes. Along with genetics, obesity is one of the factors
in developing this condition.
Because the patients were often overweight, eating too much sugar
got blamed for the disease. We know now that it is the inability of
the body to use the insulin it does produce to process the sugar
that results in excess glucose being passed as waste in the urine.
In addition to body weight and genetics, other factors that add to
the risk of having diabetes are age, exercise habits and, for women,
the weight of the babies you gave birth to is a factor. Babies over
9 pounds add to your risk.
Sugar diabetes, or what we now call type 2 diabetes, is a serious
worldwide health epidemic. Since the symptoms can be hard to spot in
some people, health officials are trying to raise awareness to stop
the disease in its early stages when it can be treated and managed
with diet and exercise.
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