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What is Diabetes ?

By: Adrian Fletcher

It seems like diabetes is a word on many people's lips these days. It is one of the fastest growing diseases in the world such that the World Health Organization recently listed it as an epidemic. But what exactly is diabetes ? This article will explain what the disease is and the different types of diabetes.

A person with diabetes has a high level of sugar in their bloodstream. Their body cannot process the sugar or glucose in the blood. Sugar is the energy that keeps the body's cells alive. Without this energy the cells begin to starve.

A common belief that is largely unfounded is that consuming too much sugar will give you diabetes. This is not strictly true. Eating or drinking too much sugar will increase your calorific intake. This could lead to a gain in weight if a person did not exercise enough.

If this situation was not changed then the person could become overweight and eventually classified as obese. And many people with type 2 diabetes have a weight problem suggesting that they are linked in some way. Thus an obese person is at increased risk of getting type 2 diabetes than someone of their height and sex that was a normal weight.

Another common belief is that most people that have diabetes don't even know they have it. This is often the case because it is very hard to diagnose the disease without a fasting test. There are no symptoms that are unique to the disease and in some cases there are no symptoms at all.

A few of the more common symptoms are :

Excessive thirst (polydipsia).

Frequent urination (polyuria).

Having a unusually large appetite without any weight gain (weight loss is more likely).

Constantly tired.

Nausea and a general feeling of being ill.

Yeast infections in both sexes.

Blurred or double vision.

Male impotence.

One or more of these symptoms should convince you to visit your health care provider.

Your body may no longer make the hormone insulin that allows sugar to be converted to energy. This is known as type 1 diabetes.

Alternatively, you continue to produce insulin but the body resists the affects of the insulin. This is known as adult onset diabetes or type 2 diabetes. This can also happen when a woman is pregnant. She will have type 2 diabetes during the pregnancy and it will stop after the birth. This is called gestational diabetes.

There is still no cure for diabetes and it lasts for life. The best approach is ongoing treatment and regular monitoring of the disease. Treatment is relatively easy after a little adjustment of current lifestyles.

Treatment revolves around getting a well balanced diet and plenty of exercise. In the case of type 1 diabetes it also involves injecting insulin. For type 2 diabetics and gestational diabetes, medication may be necessary but not always. Monitoring the condition of the disease and regular check ups with your health care provider are also necessary. By adhering to the treatment plan set out for you, you can limit the impact that diabetes has on your life on a day to day basis and in the future.

Article Source: http://www.associatedigest.com

Get more on diabetes diet plans at www.diabeticdietsplan.com. The site deals with diets and eating healthy diabetes food and some common symptoms of diabetes.

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