Over 37 million Americans suffer from diabetes, more commonly referred to as diabetes mellitus, a chronic condition that affects approximately one in every ten people. High blood sugar levels, also known as blood glucose levels, are its primary characteristic. But what exactly is glucose and why is too much of it bad for your bloodstream? Chemical reactions in your body break down food, primarily carbohydrates, into sugars or glucose during digestion. Sugar is an essential source of energy for your body’s cells. However, a substance known as insulin, which is produced naturally by your pancreas, is necessary for those cells to gain access to this essential fuel source.
What is Prediabetes?
Pre-diabetes is a condition that is often, but not always, a precursor to full-blown diabetes, as the name suggests. If you have been diagnosed with prediabetes, this is a warning sign that you should control your blood sugar levels by making changes to your lifestyle and possibly taking medication to stop it from turning into diabetes.
A blood test that measures hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) is another method for diagnosing prediabetes. This test does not require fasting and can be taken at any time during the day. It shows how your blood sugar has been over the past three months on average. A normal value is less than 5.7%.A reading between 5.7% and 6.4% indicates prediabetes, while a reading of 6.5 percent or higher indicates diabetes.
What are diabetes’s symptoms?
Because diabetes symptoms typically do not manifest until the disease has progressed, it is essential to schedule regular wellness visits with your primary care physician that include lab work. You will be able to manage the disease more effectively the earlier it is discovered.
A group of symptoms that include frequent urination and excessive thirst is one of the primary indicators of diabetes. This occurs as a result of the kidneys’ need to secrete the additional glucose into the urine. As a result, in addition to releasing glucose, the kidneys must also release a significant amount of water. You become so thirsty because you lose so much fluid, becoming dehydrated.
What recognizes type 1 diabetes from type 2 diabetes?
The key link between insulin and blood sugar is the same for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Additionally, both types are diagnosed using the same criteria. However, the reasons behind each event vary.
Food is broken down into its fundamental components during digestion. The breakdown of carbohydrates results in the formation of simple sugars, primarily glucose. For the cells in the body, glucose is an extremely important source of energy. In order to supply the cells with energy, glucose must enter the cells from the blood.
The pancreas releases the hormone insulin into the bloodstream, which instructs the body’s cells to absorb glucose. The pancreas normally makes more insulin when blood glucose levels rise, like after a meal.
Type 1 diabetes:
When the pancreas’ insulin-producing cells are destroyed, type 1 diabetes develops. The patient receives little or no insulin as a result. Sugar does not enter cells but instead builds up in the bloodstream without insulin. This means that the body is unable to convert this glucose into energy. Additionally, the blood’s high glucose levels damage the body’s tissues and lead to excessive urination and dehydration.
Autoimmune diabetes is type 1 diabetes. This indicates that it begins when the immune system of the body attacks cells. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system destroys beta cells in the pancreas that make insulin. When your body’s cells resist the normal action of insulin, which is to bring glucose from the blood inside the cells,
Type 2 diabetes:
You get type 2 diabetes. The term for this condition is insulin resistance. Consequently, glucose levels in the blood begin to rise.
The pancreas “sees” the rising blood glucose level in people with insulin resistance. In response, the pancreas produces more insulin to maintain normal blood sugar levels. The body’s insulin resistance worsens over time. The pancreas responds by producing more and more insulin. You may be able to lower your risk of foot and eye problems thanks to this. The pancreas finally experiences “exhaustion. “It is unable to meet the increasing demand for insulin. It excretes. Consequently, blood glucose levels begin to rise.
Could Diabetes at any point Be Forestalled?
Diabetes type 1 cannot be avoided. However, type 2 diabetes can be avoided even if it runs in your family.
You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you have “pre-diabetes” (blood glucose levels between 100 and 125 mg/dL) or if a close relative, particularly a parent or sibling, has the disease. By staying at your ideal weight, you can help prevent type 2 diabetes.
practicing routinely — like a lively stroll of 1-2 miles shortly — no less than five times each week, regardless of whether that outcome in you accomplishing an optimal weight. This is because, even if you don’t lose weight, regular exercise reduces to insulin resistance.
Eating a nutritious diet:
Undergoing medication. For people who have pre-diabetes, the medication metformin (Glucophage) provides some additional protection.
If you already have type 2 insulin, the following actions can still delay or prevent complications.
Keep control of your glucose:
Bring down your gamble of heart-related inconveniences. Manage other risk factors for atherosclerosis aggressively, such as:
Obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides, smoking, and high blood pressure and cholesterol levels you may be able to lower your risk of foot and eye problems thanks to this.
Impact on health:
Over time, diabetes can harm the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. A heart attack or stroke occurs twice to three times more frequently in adults with diabetes. Foot neuropathy, also known as nerve damage, can lead to foot ulcers, infection, and eventually amputation of limbs. Long haul harm to the retina’s small veins prompts diabetic retinopathy, which is a significant reason for visual impairment. Close to 1 million people are outwardly disabled due to diabetes . Consequently, blood glucose levels begin to rise. Kidney disappointment is every now and again welcomed on by insulin. A number of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, are more likely to result in negative outcomes in people with diabetes.
