If you think that you are prone to diabetes, the first thing that you need to know is to understand what diabetes can do to your health, the symptoms involved, and treatment options.
Experts say that diabetes is a chronic disease, which develops in people who have an inability to use the sugar in food to be processed properly into energy. Diabetes develops when the unprocessed glucose remains in a diabetic’s bloodstream for too long of a period of time. This amount of glucose that remains causes potential harm to a diabetic’s other vital organs such as the eyes, kidneys, heart, and even the nerves.
After researching and carefully considering diabetes and how this disease develops, the next step is to discern between the kinds of diabetes commonly diagnosed and acknowledged by experts and physicians.
Today, there are three main types of diabetes:
- Type 1 diabetes
- Type 2 diabetes
- Gestational diabetes
Familiarizing yourself with what they are and what differentiates each one will anyone who is prone to diabetes to center in on attempting to manage their condition – through either conventional or all-natural means.
WHAT TYPE MIGHT YOU BE?
Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is considered the least diagnosed form of diabetes. Experts believe that it is an autoimmune disease which makes the immune system – which fights infections – shut down, thus, harming cells found in the pancreas – responsible for producing insulin. For people who are prone to diabetes, insulin is extremely important in the breaking down of food once it is digested.
People who suffer from type 1 diabetes have an inability to produce insulin; therefore, their bodies are easily and quickly damaged by the accumulating glucose in the body. Since they need insulin to get by, people who are suffering from this type of diabetes need a regular supply of insulin 24/7.
Children and young adults are prone to this type of diabetes, but it is known to occur at any age and can even be a result of an illness. Type 1 diabetes sufferers exhibit characteristics such as frequent, sudden thirst, lack of bladder control, and drastic weight loss.
Next is Type 2 diabetes, which is also known as non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and adult-onset diabetes. What makes it different from type 1 diabetes is that the person suffering from this has the ability to make insulin, but the amount produced in not nearly enough for the body to use it properly.
Type 2 diabetes is considered the common type of diabetes, usually developing in people over 40 years of age. People who are prone to this type of diabetes are usually overweight or obese, and those that have made bad lifestyle choices. Because it is a progressive disease, type 2 diabetes can also lead to more severe complications, such as diseases including the heart, the kidney, the eyes through blindness, and amputation or loss of limbs. People who suffer from type 2 diabetes are also characterized by sudden, frequent thirst, frequent urination, and rapid loss of weight usually. These symptoms generally manifest themselves within a span of a few weeks.
The last type is called gestational diabetes, which develops during pregnancy.
Normally, this type of diabetes ends after giving birth, but there are also some cases in some women that develop this type of diabetes as they age. Gestational diabetes, though it is common among pregnant women, should be monitored because there is a big risk of it leading to type 2 diabetes.