Diabetes is caused by a disorder in which a person’s body has a problem in the way food used for energy and growth is digested. Glucose from the food we eat is the body’s primary source of energy. As glucose is the fuel our body needs to survive it is imperative that it is able to be transported by the blood without any problems, something which diabetes stops. Because the natural distribution method employed by the body is faulty, glucose levels rise which can cause serious health problems.
Information in this article is regarding the two major types of the condition. Juvenile onset diabetes is called type one and usually, but not always, affects children and young adults and is where the body’s production of insulin has ceased; this means insulin must be given to the diabetic on a daily basis for them to live. The purpose of insulin is to regulate the amount of glucose in our blood. Type two affects adults and is sometimes called late onset diabetes; the body is still producing insulin but there is a problem with its production or use, but fortunately this type can be treated with a special diet.
To stay alive we need energy, something which is supplied in abundance by everyday foods like various pastas, bread, potatoes, rice and fruit for instance. High blood glucose levels over a long period of time can cause blindness, heart disease, kidney problems, and amputations.
However, it is possible to manage diabetes by maintaining a strict health regime; some of these conditions can be slowed down while others can even be stopped. Care of your condition relies on you maintaining certain aspects and any prescribed medication must be taken routinely; it is very important that you don’t smoke and maintain your blood glucose levels, cholesterol and other blood fats within your target range.
Apart from this, your blood pressure and weight should not go above the limits your doctor advised. Diabetes is a life long condition if you are unlucky enough to contract it; in America there are more than five and a half million recognized sufferers. However, the disease remains undiagnosed in about the same number; over 600,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Official figures show that diabetes causes the death of over thirty four thousand people in America every year but deaths from citizens that have the condition but do not die directly from it is about 320,000.