What is Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by high levels of glucose in the blood, commonly known as blood sugar.

It occurs when the body is unable to produce enough insulin or use insulin properly, to transport glucose into the various body cells. Accordingly, glucose levels start increasing in the blood.

This is because insulin is the hormone responsible for transporting glucose into the cells, in order to be used as a source of energy and nutrition.

Diabetes can lead to several health complications especially for the eye, kidney, nerves, as well as can cause heart diseases.

High blood sugar is also called hyperglycemia. Over time, hyperglycemia can impair the body and lead to organ failure and tissue damage. Possible complications involve damaging the body’s blood vessels, which might lead to a stroke or heart attack. It also leads to eye, kidney, feet, and nerve problems.

About 34.2 million people or 10.5% of the U.S. population have diabetes, and the disease affects 1 in 4 people over the age of 65.  Type II diabetes makes up about 90-95 percent of diabetes cases in adults.

Diabetes Types

There are two main types of diabetes:

- Diabetes Type 1: Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disorder where the body produces little or no insulin. Without insulin, glucose cannot be transported to the cells that need it. Consequently, glucose levels in the blood will rise.

- Diabetes Type 2: Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes. In this form of diabetes, the pancreas produces insulin. However, the body is unable to use it properly because of insulin resistance.

A person with prediabetes has a blood sugar level higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetic because there are no clear symptoms.

Accordingly, a person may not be aware that he or she is prediabetic unless they test for it. Type 2 diabetes occurs when insulin secretion continues to decrease, and insulin resistance keeps increasing.

- Gestational diabetes: this type of diabetes can develop in women during pregnancy, even if they didn't have diabetes earlier. This can happen because of overweight gained during pregnancy, lack of exercise, or other health reasons. 

Diabetes Causes

Diabetes does not have one common cause. The causes of the disease differ depending on the individual and type of diabetes. They also depend on genetics, health, and environmental factors.

The causes of diabetes are covered below:

Type 1 Diabetes Causes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. Normally, the immune system is the body’s defense system to fight infections or any substance that is perceived as a possible threat by the body. However, a dysfunction in the immune system causes the immune system to damage or destroy the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and reduce insulin production.

The body needs insulin to move blood sugar into the cells, and because of the lack of insulin, glucose will remain high in the blood. As a result, the body cells will receive less nutrition and have less energy to function properly.

Type 2 Diabetes Causes

Below is a list of the main causes specific to Type 2 diabetes:

-Insulin resistance: this occurs when the pancreas secretes insulin, but the body does not respond properly and move glucose into the cells for energy. At first, the pancreas produces more insulin to overcome the body’s resistance to it. Eventually, because of the lack of nutrition, the body cells start to deteriorate. This causes the body to reduce the production of insulin, leaving too much glucose in the blood.  Insulin resistance is a precursor to prediabetes.

-Inflammation: when there’s excessive inflammation in the body, inflammatory chemicals called cytokines circulate in the blood to reach the body’s various organs, including the pancreas.

Inflammation damages the pancreas’ insulin-secreting cells by triggering stress in their mitochondria, causing changes in gene expression regulation. These changes result in lower insulin secretion and even the death of insulin-secreting cells. Higher levels of inflammation increase insulin resistance which elevates blood sugar levels, and eventually resulting in type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes Risk Factors

Several factors can increase the risk and worsen the effects of diabetes. Below is a list of the ones most often at play.

Type 1 Diabetes: Risk Factors

- Genetics: the role of genetics in the development of diabetes is not fully understood. However, genetics play a role in determining how likely the person is to develop diabetes.  According to the American Diabetes Association, statistics reveal that the risk of developing diabetes increases when a parent or a sibling has diabetes.

- Medical disorders: some medical conditions such as cystic fibrosis and hemochromatosis, can destroy the pancreas resulting in a higher risk of developing diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes: Risk Factors

- Being overweight or obese: excessive calorie intake and lack of physical activity initially lead to fat accumulation in the subcutaneous tissue which increases insulin resistance. Eventually, fat starts piling up in other organs such as the liver, pancreas, and muscles, hence causing the dysfunction of insulin-secreting cells.

Diabetes Symptoms

The symptoms of diabetes differ depending on how fast blood sugar increases. For instance, type 1 diabetes develops quickly, and its symptoms are obvious.

Meanwhile, type 2 diabetes develops over many years, and its symptoms can go unnoticed for a long time. In fact, people with type 2 diabetes may not know they have it until they have complications.

Type 1 Diabetes: Symptoms

Some symptoms of type 1 diabetes might include:

- Mood changes

- Unplanned weight loss

- Frequent thirst

- Increased urination

- Increased hunger

- Tiredness and weakness

- Blurry vision

Type 2 Diabetes: Symptoms

Some symptoms of type 2 diabetes might include:

- Frequent thirst

- Weight loss

- Increased urination

- Increased hunger

- Blurry vision

- Tiredness and weakness

- Mood changes

- Areas of dark skin, particularly in the neck and armpits

- Sores that heal slowly

- Sore that recover slowly

- Frequent infections

- Difficulty concentrating

If the symptoms above are not treated, high blood sugar levels can damage the body. Hyperglycemia can even cause other serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease.

Diabetes Diagnosis

Doctors might use two blood tests to diagnose diabetes:

- A fasting plasma glucose test measures your blood glucose after you have gone at least 8 hours without eating. This test is used to detect diabetes or prediabetes.

- An oral glucose tolerance test measures your blood sugar five times over a period of three hours. First time, after fasting overnight for at least 8 hours (but not exceeding 16 hours), and then two hours after drinking a beverage containing glucose. This test can diagnose diabetes or prediabetes.

The fasting plasma glucose test is most reliable when done in the morning. If the fasting glucose level is between 100 to 125 mg/dL, it indicates a form of prediabetes. Hence, the person is more likely to develop type II diabetes but does not have it yet.

If you repeat the test on another day, but you have a fasting glucose level of 126 mg/dL or above, then you probably have diabetes.

Natural Treatments for Diabetes

There are many different natural solutions that can be used to treat and prevent diabetes. Click on natural treatments for diabetes to find a detailed list of all the natural solutions to reduce blood sugar, including various natural therapies, diet programs, alternative medicine, vitamins, supplements, herbal medicine, and home remedies. You can also go to www.aposbook.com to find all the natural treatments for any medical condition IN ONE CLICK.

Meanwhile, some of the natural solutions used to treat diabetes might include:

- Diets: given that excessive weight promotes insulin resistance, following a balanced diet reduces the accumulation of bad fats in the body’s organs. Several diets help regulate sugar levels in the blood and allow insulin to penetrate the organs more easily.

For instance, following low carb diets can reduce glucose levels in the body and help treat diabetes because carbohydrates are metabolized into glucose in the body, and consuming a lower amount of carbohydrates lowers the body’s blood glucose levels.

The ketogenic and Atkins diets are very low carbohydrates and high-fat diet plans that help reverse insulin resistance and diabetes. They could be used as alternative natural treatments for Type 2 diabetes because the foods they provide generate ketones from fat sources rather than glucose from carbohydrates. When ketones become the primary source of energy, they lower blood sugar levels because carbs are no longer metabolized into glucose.

- Herbs: Some herbs might help protect and repair insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas. They can also relieve symptoms and reduce the risk of complications. For example, aloe vera is a herb that might slow the progress of type 2 diabetes by protecting and repairing the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin.

Cinnamon is also another example of a herb that may lower the level of glucose in the body and increase insulin sensitivity which might slow the progress of type 2 diabetes.

- Supplements: many supplements can help control blood sugar levels, reduce resistance to insulin, and prevent diabetes-related complications. Several supplements have shown promising results in diabetes treatment. For example, Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA) reduces blood sugar levels and decreases insulin resistance. Magnesium may also improve insulin sensitivity in diabetic people, and a high magnesium diet may help diabetics.

Medical Treatment for Diabetes

Medicine could not find a cure for diabetes yet. Doctors can prescribe medications that can manage blood sugar levels but not reverse the condition. Some of these medications are:

- Oral glucose-lowering drugs: Some of these drugs include Metformin and Sulfonylureas that lower glucose production in the liver. This reduces glucose levels in the blood and may improve cell sensitivity to insulin.

- Insulin therapy: it acts as a replacement for the body’s insulin. People with type 1 diabetes are unable to secrete insulin, so they must inject themselves with insulin to control the levels of glucose in their bodies. Many people with type 2 diabetes also use insulin injections to manage their blood glucose levels.

Diabetes Prevention

Visit the Diabetes Prevention Center to check all the information on how to prevent diabetes and manage its symptoms, including the different recommendations to follow, lifestyle changes to make, and things to avoid.

These suggestions include many others:

- Monitor your parameters

- Check food labels

- Do regular physical exercise

-  Avoid sweeteners

- Avoid alcohol, etc...