The Truth of Diabetes
If I eat too much sugar will I get diabetes? Can people with diabetes eat sugar? Is diabetes contagious? All of these and more are myths related to the disease. Since November is National Diabetes Month this is the perfect time to discuss the risk factors of diabetes and weed out myths that people believe cause diabetes. In short, diabetes is a disease where the body does not produce or properly use insulin, which is the hormone that allows glucose to enter and fuel the cells of the body. Glucose is essentially a person’s blood sugar.
First, it may be helpful to understand the different types of diabetes. There are four major types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes and pre-diabetes. Now, none of these types of diabetes are caused by eating too much sugar nor are these diseases contagious.
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Type 1 diabetes results from the body’s failure to produce insulin.
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Type 2 diabetes results from an insulin resistance (where the body does not properly use the insulin it makes) often paired with a deficiency of insulin in the body. Most Americans diagnosed with diabetes have this type.
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Gestational diabetes occurs in pregnant women who have never had diabetes before and develop high glucose levels during pregnancy.
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Pre-diabetes results when a person’s blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be considered Type 2 diabetes. There are 41 million Americans with pre-diabetes adding to the nearly 18.2 million who have diabetes.
It is important to note that diabetes often goes undetected because many of its symptoms seem harmless. Recent studies indicate that the early detection of diabetes symptoms and subsequent treatment can in fact decrease the chance of developing complications. Some diabetes symptoms include: frequent urination, excessive thirst, extreme hunger, unusual weight loss, increased fatigue, irritability and blurry vision. If you have one or more of these symptoms, see your doctor right away. Keeping your weight in control (or losing weight if you are overweight), staying active most days of the week and eating low fat meals high in fruits, vegetables and whole grain foods are easy ways to keep your risk for type 2 diabetes low.
For questions or to find out more, contact Physician Associates at (407) 306-7650.
Source: American Diabetes Association |
