Diabetes: The sweet disease

CEBU, Philippines – Diabetes is a health condition in which the affected person has high blood sugar levels, either because of inadequate insulin production by the body or because the body's cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both. Diabetics typically experience frequent urination and become increasingly thirsty and hungry.

The website www.medicalnewstoday.com identifies and explains three types of diabetes:

Type 1 Diabetes. In this type, the body does not produce insulin. Diabetics with this type are often insulin dependent. It is alternately called juvenile diabetes or early-onset diabetes. This particular type usually develops before the person reaches age 40, mostly in early adulthood or teenage years.

Type 1 diabetes accounts for approximately 10 percent of all diabetes cases. Once diagnosed, Type 1 diabetes patients need to take insulin injections for the rest of their life. Just as importantly, they must carry out regular blood tests in order to ensure proper blood-glucose levels at all times. Furthermore, they must follow a special diet.

Type 2 Diabetes. Here, the body does not produce enough insulin for proper functioning, or the cells in the body do not react to insulin, called insulin resistance. On a worldwide scale, approximately 90 percent of all diabetes cases are Type 2.

Type 2 diabetes symptoms may be controlled by losing weight, following a healthy diet, doing plenty of exercise, and consistent monitoring of blood sugar levels. However, this type of diabetes is typically a progressive disease - it gradually gets worse - and the patient will probably end up having to take insulin, usually in tablet form.

Overweight and obese people have a much higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes compared to those with a healthy body weight. Those with a lot of visceral fat, also known as central obesity, belly fat or abdominal obesity, are especially at risk. Being overweight or obese causes the body to release chemicals that can destabilize the body's cardiovascular and metabolic systems.

Factors like being overweight, physically inactive and eating the wrong foods all contribute to the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Drinking just one can of regular softdrink per day can raise the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 22 percent, according to a study. The impact of sugary softdrinks on diabetes risk is believed to be a direct one, rather than simply an influence on body weight.

The risk of developing Type 2 diabetes is also greater as the person gets older. Experts are not completely sure why, but say that as people age they tend to put on weight and become less physically active. Those with a close relative who had had Type 2 diabetes also have a higher risk of developing the disease.

Gestational Diabetes. This type affects women during pregnancy. Some of them get to have very high levels of glucose in their blood, and their bodies are unable to produce enough insulin to transport all of the glucose into the cells, resulting in progressively rising levels of blood sugar.

Diagnosis of gestational diabetes is made during pregnancy. The majority of the patients with this type of diabetes will be able to control their diabetes with exercise and diet. Between 10 to 20 percent of them will need to take some kind of blood-glucose-controlling medications. If undiagnosed or uncontrolled, gestational diabetes can raise the risk of complications during childbirth. The baby may be bigger than normal.

Scientists from the National Institutes of Health and Harvard University found that women whose diets before becoming pregnant were high in animal fat and cholesterol had a higher risk for gestational diabetes.

All types of diabetes are treatable. Diabetes type 1 lasts a lifetime; there is no known cure for it but it can be managed. Type 2 diabetes usually lasts a lifetime too; however, type 2 diabetics are able to get rid of their symptoms - even without medication - through a combination of exercise, diet and body weight control. The key, thus, is proper attention and care to oneself, especially once diagnosed of the disease.

And there is hope for Type 2 diabetics. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in the U.S. have showed that gastric bypass surgery can reverse Type 2 diabetes in a high proportion of patients. Within three to five years, however, the disease recurs in approximately 21 percent of them. Yessica Ramos, MD., explained, "The recurrence rate was mainly influenced by a longstanding history of Type 2 diabetes before the surgery. This suggests that early surgical intervention in the obese, diabetic population will improve the durability of remission of Type 2 diabetes."