What you need to know about diabetes

What is Diabetes

Symptoms

Causes of Diabetes

Prevention of Diabetes

Types of Diabetes

Myths About Diabetes

Cornerstones of Diabetes

Complications

WHAT IS DIABETES

Diabetes is when you have too much sugar in your blood.  Your pancreas has beta cells.  The job of the beta cells is to produce insulin (a hormone).  Insulin’s job is to keep your sugar level normal.  A problem with your beta cells creates a problem and there is not enough insulin and this causes your blood sugar to rise. 

SYMPTOMS

• Extreme thirst
• Frequent urination
• Weight-Loss
• Tiredness
• General aches and pains
• Skin problems
• Slow healing of cuts and wounds
• Frequent infections
• Poor vision
• Pins and needles
• Dizziness and loss of balance

The cause of diabetes has not yet been discovered.  A family history of diabetes could play a role.  Bad lifestyle can also cause diabetes.  

PREVENTION OF DIABETES

The best way of preventing diabetes is to live a healthy lifestyle.  This means that you should watch your weight, eat healthy, drink a lot of water and exercise frequently.   

TYPES OF DIABETES There are various types of diabetes.   

Type 1 diabetes: Type 1 diabetes happens when the beta cells in your pancreas stop working.  A person with type 1 diabetes takes insulin injections or uses an insulin pump.   

Type 2 diabetes: Type 2 diabetes happens when the beta cells still produces insulin but not enough.  A person with type 2 diabetes takes tablets which helps his/her beta cells to work better.  Type 2 diabetes can also be treated with only a good diet.  

Gestational diabetes: Gestational diabetes or better known as pregnancy diabetes can develop when a non diabetic lady has high blood sugar levels during her pregnancy.  This is usually treated with insulin.  Pregnancy diabetes can disappear after the baby has been born but there is a possibility that the mom can remain a diabetic after the baby’s birth.  

MYTHS ABOUT DIABETES

• There are many myths about diabetes.  One is that sugar causes diabetes.  This is untrue.  If you use a lot of sugar in your diet you will become overweight and this will cause diabetes. 
• Many diabetics believe that brown sugar is suitable to use and that normal white cane sugar is a no no.  This is incorrect.  Brown sugar is still sugar, only the colour is different.
• When a person with diabetes injects you have very bad diabetes.  This is completely wrong.  You don’t get something like good and bad diabetes.  If you have diabetes you have full blown diabetes.  The only difference is that the ways of treatment differs – insulin or tablets. 
• If someone takes more than one injection they have very bad diabetes.  Wrong again.  The more injections someone takes, the better they can duplicate their body’s normal insulin production. 

• Follow a good healthy balanced way of eating (there is no such thing as a special diabetic diet)
• Exercise regularly
• Take you medication as prescribed by your doctor
• Test your blood sugar often 

COMPLICATIONS

As with any other chronic health condition you will develop problems if you don’t take care of yourself.  A too high sugar level can cause many problems.  Can you imagine how your poor body suffers by having too much sugar in your blood stream?  If your blood stream has too much sugar it becomes like thick syrup.  Now your poor heart hast to work extra hard to pump syrup through your body.  This causes so many problems. 

Damage to your small blood vessels in your body:

• Eye problems (Diabetes Retinopathy) & Blindness
• Kidney problems (Diabetes Nephropathy) & Kidney Failure
• Circulation problems (Diabetic Neuropathy) & Amputations
• Impotence and other sexual problems 

Damage to your large blood vessels in your body:

• Heart problems, strokes