Category Archives: Diabetes

Diabetes and Obesity – Does Obesity and Family History Guarantee Diabetes?

Posted on by

These days, diabetes and obesity is remarkably common.  More and more people are finding themselves with less time to eat and are instead relying on fast food and quick meals.  In addition, people are finding themselves with less time to exercise and are leading sedentary lifestyles.  Together, these two criteria often result in diabetes and obesity.  Many obese patients question their chances of developing diabetes, and the next few paragraphs are designed to explain the risks.

Obesity is one of the biggest factors in developing diabetes. Diabetes and obesity are many times synonyms.  When you are obese, your body has a hard time properly metabolizing foods and sugars, which can cause you to become immune to or stop producing insulin.  This will result in uncontrolled levels of sugar in the blood, which increases your chance of coma, heart attack, stroke, and even death.

The second biggest factor in the development of diabetes is a family history.  If your family has a history of diabetes and obesity, you are much more likely to develop the condition.  Diabetics requires a genetic predisposition as well as an environmental factor such as obesity to occur.  If you have both of these things, then your risk to become a diabetic is much greater. Diabetes and obesity together with a family link is the most devastating trio that can be together.

It is important for you to realize that while a family history and obesity do not mean that diabetes will definitely happen to you, the chances are exponentially greater.  For this reason, taking steps to prevent the diabetic disease is one of the best decisions you can make.  Making changes to your diet and losing at least five to ten percent of your body weight will make a large impact, as will adding a moderate exercise regimen.  Your health is important, and taking steps to prevent diabetes is much easier than treating it.

Be a diabetic is a lifelong condition with many dangerous complications.  When you are obese, your risk of heart attack and stroke is even greater.  By taking steps before the disease develops, you can not only reduce your chances of becoming diabetic, but improve your overall health as well.

Your health is very important.  Diabetes risks are much greater in people with both a family history and obesity or a sedentary lifestyle.  If you believe you might be at risk to become a diabetic, talk with your doctor to find out what you can do to prevent the disease.  Your doctor will recommend dietary changes and can even help you find healthier foods that you still enjoy.  With the right help, preventing diabetes and obesity does not have to be hard, and if you get family or friends involved, it can even be fun.

Diabetes – Where Is My Insulin?

Posted on by

Millions of people around the world are inflicted by diabetes mellitus, or more commonly called diabetes. You may be suffering from this chronic disease without even knowing you have it. Even though it an incurable disease, you can lead a long, normal healthy life if the disease is properly controlled by following the proper treatment method.

Causes Of Diabetes

Diabetes is the result of failure of your pancreas to produce insulin. Insulin is necessary to help glucose enter into the cells of your body where it is used to release energy. When insulin is not available or is not functioning like what it’s supposed to be, glucose will not be able to penetrate into the cells. It will remain in your blood and when the blood glucose level is too high it will result in a condition called diabetes.

A pre-diabetes condition is a situation where the blood glucose level is higher than normal, but below the level where it would be classified as diabetes. If both this condition is left untreated, it will lead to other health problems such as renal failure, blindness, heart disease and even liver failure. Persons diagnosed with this condition should get immediate medical attention to avoid further complications because it can be managed quite easily by the patient himself.

Diabetes can be generally classified into 3 categories, i.e. Type 1, Type 2 and Gestational. Type 1 is generally suffered by children or young adults. The most common form of this disease is Type 2 which is experience by most adults and older people. Gestation diabetes is when a pregnant woman experiences a high blood glucose level although prior to her pregnancy, she does not have this condition. This condition may also disappear after she delivers her child.

Is Diabetes An Inherited Disease?

The answer is not too clear. Statistics have shown that 10 percent of children suffering from Type 1 have a close relative with this type of disease. Scientist and medical researchers have recently identified that when a muted gene (SUMO-4) is present, the risk of getting Type 1 in children increases. However for Type 2, the role of genetics is unclear.

Symptoms of Diabetes

Most people do not know they are suffering from this disease because the symptoms can be quite obscure without actually screening for it. Some of the symptoms of diabetes include the following:

* frequent urination especially at night

* feeling thirsty and hungry frequently

* blurred vision

* losing weight without trying

* feeling tired or fatigue easily

* bruises and cuts which are difficult to heal

* numbness or tingling sensation in your hands and feet

* gum, skin or bladder infection that keeps coming back

Some of these symptoms are too obscure and leads to delayed diagnosis of this disease. Some patients do not even show these symptoms. When in doubt, consult your family doctor and have the screening process done.

Conclusion

Diabetes is a serious disease that affects many people. More than 6 million Americans do not know they are suffering from Type 2 diabetes. As a precaution, persons above the age of 45 should undergo screening, especially if you are overweight. If it is confirmed that you have this disease, do not feel as if your life is ending soon. Get medical attention fast and you will lead a long normal life.