Brief Look At What Is Diabetes?

When people ask, “What is diabetes?” they usually have are asking about one of three diabetes types that most people are familiar with. When a person takes a brief look at what is diabetes, they will find that these types of diabetes can be resolved with a change in lifestyle, while other require a life time of insulin medication or shots.

In the United States, about 5-10% of children and young adults are found to have Type 1 diabetes yearly. It is the result of an auto-immune disease. When the immune system attacks the beta cells that produce insulin in the pancreas and kills them, the pancreas can not produce insulin. This results in no insulin being produced for the body.

Most cases of Type 1 diabetes have a sudden onset of symptoms which include extreme thirst, frequent urination, extreme hunger, weight loss, blurred vision, and/or extreme fatigue. When there is no medical treatment for this condition it can result in diabetic ketoacidosis, or diabetic coma. This is a serious and life-threatening condition when it is not treated.

Over 95% of adults over thirty-five in the United States have Type 2 diabetes according to the National Institute of Health. 80% of these individuals are overweight. When a person has Type 2 diabetes their cells become resistant to insulin and do not get the glucose they need to be healthy.

The causes for this type of diabetes include some ethnicity’s, age, genetics, lack of exercise, high blood pressure, obesity, and high cholesterol. An individual that does not have a proper diet and exercise are susceptible to type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that unhealthy eating habits are the greatest cause for Type 2 diabetes.

People will develop the symptoms of this diabetes gradually over a long period of time. They will feel extreme fatigue, blurred vision, increased thirst and hunger, slow healing of wounds and sores, and frequent urination.

Most of the time if a person changes their lifestyle, loses weight, and begins to exercise, they will be able to resolve their Type 2 diabetes. In some cases people must continue medication for the diabetes, but this rarely occurs.

About three to eight percent of women in their 2nd trimester of pregnancy develop Gestational diabetes. The diabetes often does not have any symptoms and is resolved with the birth of the baby. When a woman is found to have gestational diabetes she will normally be instructed to begin a proper diet and exercise program to keep the diabetes in check during the pregnancy.

Women who have had gestational diabetes have about a 40% risk of developing Type 2 diabetes when they are older. Therefore, it is important that they maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout their lives. When a woman has gestation diabetes with a pregnancy, she will normally develop the diabetes with following pregnancies.

Outlook: Some diabetes statistics.