The medical term “diabetes” is one that is familiar to many people around the world. In fact, the chances are that you probably know someone or are related to someone with diabetes. Diabetes, known scientifically as diabetes mellitus, is a group of diseases that have to do with high blood sugar levels. According to the National Diabetes Statistics from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, it is estimated that there are over 23 million people in the United States that have diabetes. While a majority of these people (close to 18 million) have actually been diagnosed with diabetes, there is still a large number (over 5 million) who haven’t been diagnosed. The truth is that diabetes is a very serious disease that has the potential to cause numerous other medical conditions if left untreated. In this article, we will cover the basics of diabetes, including what it is, how it affects your body, what the symptoms are, and how it can be treated.
The basics of diabetes
As mentioned above, diabetes mellitus is a medical condition that is characterized by high blood sugar levels. There are two main ways in which your blood sugar levels may rise. First is when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, a hormone with the principal purpose of regulating the energy and glucose levels in the body. This first type of diabetes is typically referred to as type 1 diabetes. With the proper amount of insulin in your body, your muscles, fat tissue, and liver are able to take glucose from your blood and store it as glycogen in your muscles and liver. When you have type 1 diabetes, your body doesn’t produce enough insulin, which means that it doesn’t process your blood sugars as efficiently, leaving you with a high blood sugar level. Only a small portion, maybe 10%, of the people diagnosed with diabetes suffer from type 1 diabetes, but this is generally considered to be more dangerous and life-threatening than the other types of diabetes.
The second way that your blood sugar levels may rise is when your cells fail to respond to the insulin produced in your body. This condition is referred to as type 2 diabetes and it is generally regarded as the less dangerous form of diabetes as compared to type 1. In type 2 diabetes, your pancreas is still able to secrete insulin, but your body tissues resist the insulin in your body (otherwise known as insulin resistance). As a result your blood sugars aren’t metabolized properly, leaving high blood sugar levels. Because of the insulin resistance, the body tries to counterbalance the high blood sugar levels by producing more insulin, but the problem arises when the body is no longer able to produce enough insulin to cope with the body’s demands.
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus are among the most common diseases in the diabetes mellitus group, but there are also other forms of diabetes. Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy and although it usually goes away after delivery, this often leads to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes for the woman who gave birth. Pre-diabetes has been coined as “America’s largest healthcare epidemic”, and pre-diabetes is characterized by blood sugar levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Congenital diabetes has to do with genetic mutations or defects that result in insulin resistance, abnormal insulin action, or some other genetic condition that leads to high blood sugar levels. Steroid diabetes results from high doses of glucocorticoids, which can cause an imbalance in blood sugar metabolism. Other forms of diabetes mellitus include cystic fibrosis-related diabetes and various forms of monogenic diabetes. Each of these have different characteristics that make them unique from one another, but all of them have to do with high blood sugar levels.
Causes, signs, and symptoms
The descriptions above can give you a general idea of the various causes, signs and symptoms of diabetes mellitus. In general, each type of diabetes has a different cause, but there are also other factors that can be attributed to causing diabetes. The two biggest causes of diabetes are lifestyle and genetics. Some people are more susceptible to diabetes because of their genetic makeup. In relation to lifestyle, the biggest lifestyle factors that cause diabetes include a lack of exercise, a lack of moderation in food intake (most especially sugars), as well as a lack of moderation in smoking and drinking. Signs and symptoms can be difficult to spot, which is why it’s ideal to pay a visit to the doctor and get periodical checkups. Some of the tell-tale signs of diabetes include the following:
- Increased thirst (polydipsia)
- Frequent urination (polyuria)
- Increased hunger (polyphagia).
- Vision changes
- Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, rapid and deep breathing caused by metabolic dysregulation
Treatment of diabetes
Currently, all forms of diabetes can be managed, especially thanks to the availability of insulin treatments, but there are currently no cures for diabetes. The lack of a cure is what leads to the biggest difficulty that diabetes patients encounter: managing their diabetes. Proper management of diabetes often requires big lifestyle changes, including quitting smoking or drinking, regular exercise, proper diet, proper medication, maintaining a good body weight, and the use of specially designed products for diabetics (like diabetic socks and shoes).