We have all heard the word diabetes but all too often we don’t know exactly what that means. We know it has to do with our body and somehow sugar is involved, probably too much sugar. According to the CDC,
“Diabetes is a chronic (long lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy.
Your body breaks down most of the food you eat into sugar (glucose) and releases it into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin acts like a key to let the blood sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy.”
So yes, diabetes does have to do with your body and sugar. “With diabetes your body doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use it as well as it should. When there isn’t enough insulin or cells stop responding to insulin, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream. Over time, that can cause serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease.”
In summary, diabetes happens when there is too much sugar in your blood and that sugar gets circulated around causing damage to your body. Luckily for most people, your body can regulate the amount of sugar in your blood regardless of how much sugar you eat. Your pancreas acts like a thermostat regulating the AC in your car or home, with diabetes its like a manual AC that you have to regulate on your own. There are plenty of tools modern medicine can provide to help, but nothing works as well as your body as it was designed.
At Wheels of Giving, our goal is to provide you with this information as early as possible so that you can take any and all necessary steps to prevent type 2 diabetes.
But aren’t some people born with diabetes? Yes, that is true. There are three different types of diabetes- Per the CDC-
- Type 1 Diabetes- “Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake). This reaction stops your body from making insulin. Approximately 5-10% of the people who have diabetes have type 1. Type 1 diabetes can be diagnosed at any age, and symptoms often develop quickly. If you have type 1 diabetes, you’ll need to take insulin every day to survive. Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes.”
- Type 2 Diabetes- “With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well and can’t keep blood sugar at normal levels. About 90-95% of people with diabetes have type 2. It develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adults (but more and more in children, teens, and young adults). You may not notice any symptoms, so it’s important to get your blood sugar tested if you’re at risk. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed with healthy lifestyle changes, such as:”
- Losing weight.
- Eating healthy food.
- Being active.
- Gestational Diabetes- Gestational diabetes develops in pregnant women who have never had diabetes. If you have gestational diabetes, your baby could be at higher risk for health problems. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after your baby is born. However, it increases your risk for type 2 diabetes later in life. Your baby is more likely to have obesity as a child or teen and develop type 2 diabetes later in life.
The last aspect of the basics of diabetes is Pre- Diabetes. I am sure most of you have heard some pretty funny jokes about this. The thought is that you are either diabetic or not. How can someone be pre diabetic and someone else not? Turns out the medical world has discovered a medical condition that is not normal but is also not diabetic. Its an obvious warning sign that things are not “right” but also things aren’t wrong either. Thus the term Pre- Diabetes. Per the CDC- “In the United States, about 98 million adults—more than 1 in 3—have prediabetes. More than 8 in 10 of them don’t know they have it. With prediabetes, blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Prediabetes raises your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. But there’s good news. If you have prediabetes, a CDC-recognized lifestyle change program can help you take healthy steps to reverse it.”
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