subject: Diabetes - Do Not Become A Statistic! [print this page] Currently, diabetes is the fastest growing epidemic in the United States. The main reason is the increase on the dependence on fast food for sustenance and other unhealthy eating habits and an increase in sedentary lifestyles. Do not become a statistic and know the diabetes facts in order to arm yourself against this debilitating disease that can be overcome or managed successfully.
Diabetes is often referred to as the silent killer because the symptoms develop gradually or not at all. No single event can cause someone to realize that they have diabetes.
Important Facts (from the centers for Disease Control)
1. More than 11 million Americans have diabetes and another 7 million are undiagnosed and therefore do not seek help until it is too late. Do not become part of the 7 million. Get tested today!
2. A fifth of all deaths in the United States are diabetes related. Over 200,000 sufferers die every year.
3. It is becoming more prevalent in the United States and diagnosis rates continue to skyrocket.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a blood sugar disease. Diabetics either cannot produce insulin or the body rejects the insulin produced for no reason at all. Insulin is a crucial hormone that converts sugars or starches or glucose into energy that the body requires to function properly and efficiently.
When the body is unable to convert these sugars or starches into energy, they build up and are released by the body through normal digestion processes. This lack of conversion of glucose into energy leads to diabetes or sugar diabetes complications because glucose passes through the body without being converted.
Type 1
With this type, the body does not produce any insulin so the body has not way of converting glucose into energy. This usually starts in early childhood and sufferers require daily injections of insulin in order to survive.
Type 2
With this type of diabetes, the body does produce insulin but for whatever reason, the body simply ignores or rejects the insulin.
The levels of blood sugars in the body are determined by the amount of glucose present in the blood stream. Low blood sugar leads to diabetes complications such as nerve and blood vessel damage leading to blindness, kidney and heart disease, infections, limb amputations and other unpleasant complications.
Some of the symptoms of diabetes are as follows;
i. excessive thirst,
ii. extreme hunger,
iii. unexplained weight loss,
iv. poor circulation,
v. needing to urinate frequently,
vi. changes in eyesight that are sudden,
vii. fatigue during the day,
viii. difficulty sleeping,
ix. dry or itchy skin,
x. bruises that heal very slowly,
xi. numbness or tingling in the hands or feet.
One key factor to remember is that type 2 diabetes may in some cases not produce any symptoms.
It is very important to get tested for diabetes and ensure that if you do have the disease, you make lifestyle changes to enable you to manage diabetes or even cure it. Do not become a statistic.
