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The Danger of Diabetes
By Sarah Henry, Caring.com
Type 2 diabetes is one of two main kinds of diabetes and is the most common form of the disease. The other kind is known as type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes have a specific genetic makeup that causes their bodies to attack some of their own cells — insulin-producing cells, in fact — which makes it an autoimmune disease. Those who suffer from type 1 diabetes usually develop severe symptoms over a short time and require regular insulin injections or infusions through a pump. This disorder is generally diagnosed in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood, which is why it was formerly known as juvenile-onset diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes strikes when a person’s body loses the ability to produce or properly use the hormone that regulates blood sugar. Type 2 diabetes accounts for nearly 95 percent of all diabetes cases. It’s often, but not always, diagnosed in people over age 40, hence its former moniker, adult-onset diabetes. (It also used to be known as non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, but this term is considered outdated as well.)
What makes type 2 diabetes so dangerous?
Type 2 diabetes strikes when a person’s body loses the ability to produce or properly use the hormone insulin. The result is too much sugar in the blood.
Insulin is like a key that unlocks the door to cells, so that glucose — a simple sugar and the primary energy source that fuels the body — can enter. Without insulin, cells starve and blood glucose stays in the bloodstream, exceeding the normal levels of between 80 and 110 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL).
In the short term, blood glucose levels that are either very high or very low can lead to serious medical problems, even emergencies. The person in your care could become unconscious and go into a diabetic coma, called diabetic ketoacidosis, if his blood sugar numbers skyrocket. High blood sugar is known as hyperglycemia. He can also lose consciousness if his numbers plummet to dangerously low levels, a condition called hypoglycemia.
In the long term, too much sugar in a person’s blood can damage nearly every organ in the body. People with diabetes also appear to be at increased risk for a host of other ailments, including Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, heart disease, and stroke.
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6 comments
add your comment »I have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. My friend who has the same condition keeps her blood glucose under control with no medication using Dr. Bernstein's method as described in his book "Diabetes solution" - very low or now carbohydrates in her diet. I believe all diabetics should read that enlightening book.
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a good source for info on diabetes starts with www.knowthecause.com where you will find the book 'The Fungus Link to Diabetes' and other very enlightening stuff about your health!
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My B.G. are often higher when I wake up in the morning. At times 8. (144.
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My mother and my brother have had diabetes, and my blood sugar used to drop sharply at 2 or 3 am, waking me up feeling horrid and very confused. Once I figured out that this was due to very low blood sugar, I researched this (as I cannot afford a medical doctor appointment to discuss things). I found the original book on Glycemic Index written by Dr. Jennie Brand-Miller and some co-researchers where these professors and medical people from Australia had fed people various foods and tested the resulting blood sugar from those foods. Nobody else had simply tested the effects of various carbohydrates, fats and proteins on blood sugar before-and they show that what you eat has a huge impact on blood sugar, particularly for people with sensitive bodies. Now I avoid white potatoes, fig newtons and graham crackers (some of the "high glycemic index" foods) unless I also eat cinnamon or vinegar or nutmeg or stevia that will stabilize blood sugar. This has improved my life (and my husband's life) hugely, and I expect this action to delay or maybe even eliminate the onset of diabetes for me. I hope that this can help anyone else who might need it! Best wishes to us all.
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Type II diabetes is rampant in my family and has been for several generations. My own case is particularly delicate and I inject two kinds of insulin four times a day. I am now experiencing many of the complications and cannot overstress the importance of working with an endochronologist, a diabetes educator, and a dietician. I am now learning how to use a pump as I have been denied a liver transplant. What I can give thanks for is that all of these resources are available, that the American Diabetes Foundation is strong in its advocacy, and that there are things that I can and must do to "own" my diabetes and bring it to some degree of control. Thanks for the post!
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ok, thanks x
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