Like all complicated matters there are certain misunderstandings regarding Diabetes.

Today I want to dispel some myths regarding diabetes.

Here is a list of the questions that I will be discussing:

Can get diabetes from someone else?

Eating too much sugar causes diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is mild diabetes

People with diabetes eventually go blind

It’s not safe to drive if you have diabetes

People with diabetes can’t play sport

People with diabetes are more likely to get colds and other illnesses

People with diabetes can’t eat sweets or chocolate

People with diabetes shouldn’t eat bananas or grapes

People with diabetes should eat special diabetic foods

Now for some serious myth bashing…

Can get diabetes from someone else?

Although we don’t know exactly why some people get diabetes, we know that diabetes is not contagious – You cannot get it from others. There is a chance that a person whose parents or brothers and sisters have diabetes might get diabetes, particularly Type 2 diabetes. But lifestyle factors also play a part.

Eating too much sugar causes diabetes

Eating sugar does not cause diabetes. Diabetes is caused by a combination of inherited and lifestyle factors. However, eating a diet high in fat and sugar can cause you to become overweight. Being overweight increases your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, so if you have a history of diabetes in your family, a healthy diet and regular exercise are recommended to control your weight.

Type 2 diabetes is mild diabetes

There is no such thing as mild or borderline diabetes. All diabetes is equally serious, and if not properly controlled can lead to serious complications.

People with diabetes eventually go blind

Although diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in people of working age, research has proved you can reduce your chances of developing diabetes complications – such as damage to your eyes – if you:

• Control your blood pressure and glucose levels

• Keep active

• Maintain your ideal body weight

• Give up smoking

It’s not safe to drive if you have diabetes

Providing you are responsible and have good control of your diabetes, research shows that people with diabetes are no less safe on the roads than anyone else. Nevertheless, the myth that people with diabetes are not safe persists

People with diabetes can’t play sport

Pakistan’s famous all-rounder Wasim Akram has diabetes; many other people with diabetes take part in active sports. People with diabetes are encouraged to exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. Keeping active can help avoid complications associated with diabetes, such as heart disease. There may be some considerations to take into account with your diabetes before taking up a new exercise regime – talk to your doctor for more information.

People with diabetes are more likely to get colds and other illnesses

No. You are no more likely to get a cold or another illness if you’ve got diabetes. However, people with diabetes are advised to get flu vaccinations. This is because any infection interferes with your blood glucose control, putting you at risk of high blood glucose levels and, for those with Type 1 diabetes, an increased risk of ketoacidosis.

People with diabetes can’t eat sweets or chocolate

Sweets and chocolate can be eaten by people with diabetes just like the rest of us, if eaten as part of a healthy diet. Remember that confectionery foods tend to be higher in fat and calories too so for this reason they should be limited especially if you’re trying to lose weight.

People with diabetes shouldn’t eat bananas or grapes

All fruit and vegetables are extremely good for you. Eating more can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, some cancers and some gut problems. You should aim to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. This also helps to improve the overall balance of the diet. Eating a variety of different fruit and vegetables ensure you get the maximum benefit.

People with diabetes should eat special diabetic foods

Diabetic versions of foods offer no special benefit. They still raise blood glucose levels, contain just as much fat and calories, are usually more expensive and can also have a laxative effect. The healthy diet for people with diabetes is the same as that recommended for everyone – low in fat, salt and sugar, with meals including starchy foods like bread and pasta and plenty of fruit and vegetables.

This article will explain what you need to know about Diabetes before you or someone you know are unpleasantly surprised.

Diabetes affects around 16 million Americans and about 800,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.

A diagnosis of diabetes is made if your blood glucose reading is 126 mg/dl or higher. People with Type I Diabetes are subject to episodes in which blood glucose levels are very high (hyperglycemia) and very low (hypoglycemia). There are two primary reasons for Diabetes, 1) A prolonged diet high in carbohydrates and 2) Improper and under nourishment. Today, most people with diabetes are only treating the symptoms and not getting to the root of the problem. The prevalence of diabetes has been steadily increasing world over. Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal.

Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas that is needed to convert sugar and starches into energy needed for daily activity. Type 1 Diabetes is also called Insulin Dependent Diabetes. Insulin is a very important hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy-the energy we need for daily life. Diabetes is a disease that develops over time, and your health care provider can help you find out whether you are likely to become a diabetic. Diabetes does not care who you are, if testing is painful or if you are tired. Type 2 diabetes is sometimes referred to as mature onset diabetes.

Type II diabetes, in the past, was relegated to the adult population. This form of diabetes is mainly found in children. Smoking is another important risk factor. Among men who smoke, the risk of developing diabetes is doubled. Of the many types of Diabetes, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational. diabetes and pre-diabetes are the most common. Before the discovery of insulin, type 1 diabetes was fatal. Doing the right things to take care of diabetes can also help to take care of your heart as well. Most Type 2 diabetics don’t have symptoms because the onset. Typically, this type of diabetes will occur during the last three months of the pregnancy , but may potentially occur before that time.

Of the many types of Diabetes, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational. Diabetes and pre-diabetes are the most common.

Twenty to fifty percent may develop Type 2 diabetes later in life. Children of mothers with gestational diabetes are more at risk for obesity and developing diabetes as teens or adults. It is quite possible to live and eat quite nicely with diabetes if you stick to your plan. The most important thing about dieting with diabetes is that you never lose sight of how crucial it is to do so. Through losing weight, getting the right amount of exercise and controlling your diet, you can manage. Juvenile Onset diabetes is another major form of diabetes that affects many children. The challenge with pre-diabetes is the fact that the condition doesn’t like to reveal itself with noticeable symptoms.

The experience teaches that a mere elimination of symptoms is short-lived, as the underlying causes will soon give birth to new symptoms. Diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes. One of the main causes is overweight. There are a number of causes which give rise to diabetes.

Recently more children are being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. The aim with the treatment of both types of Diabetes is to have blood glucose levels, blood pressure and cholesterol levels as near to average as is possible.

You can prevent or at the very least delay onset of type II diabetes with proper nutrition and exercise.

The thought of getting a disease such as diabetes can be worrisome, it helps to be aware of what diabetes symptoms are and be able to recognize them early enough to get the help you will need to get the disease under control.

For people who are heavily dependent on medicines, exercise cannot replace drugs but it does contribute to normalizing the glucose metabolism.

There have been reports of women diabetics who experienced a decline in sexual activities due to the lack of sensation.

And most diabetics develop heart disease. Research has repeatedly shown that regular physical activity helps reduce the likelihood of having a heart attack or a stroke, aids in weight loss, and improves mood.

It is a very serious disorder, sometimes fatal and is the leading cause of death in Western society because of its damage to the cardiovascular system.

With exercise, weight loss and a healthy diet, pre-diabetic people can and have managed to bring down their glucose levels and have escaped the threat of an insulin-dependent life.

The cause of diabetes is somewhat a mystery, although both family history and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.

Ketoacidosis is most often seen in Type I diabetics, individuals whose pancreas does not produce enough insulin to allow their cells to take in glucose for metabolism (also the most common form of childhood diabetes).

It should come as no surprise that one of the major causes for the increase in diabetes is due to the obesity problem.

If proper treatment and medication is not administered, at times aggressively, it can lead to fatal complications .

In our days diabetes becomes a big problem even when patients are given insulin and stay on strict diets.

Doctors have always asked themselves why some people develop diabetes and some not, and so, by studying, they have discovered that there are some factors that interfere with the installation of diabetes.

As many studies have shown that an increase in UCP2 function has an important role in pathogenesis of diabetes, this genipin with its inhibitor action on UCP2, represents a solution for improving beta cell function in type 2 diabetes.

At the time that the body does not produce as much as necessary insulin to break down sugar in the blood stream the body has diabetes. One can get diabetic if he does not eat properly or does not think about of the body.

Nevertheless, genetics play a big role in diabetes as well. Any type Diabetes can have an effect on several parts of the body causing serious health problems. It can cause blindness, amputation of legs, or feet.

The three type Diabetes:

1. Type 1 Diabetes.

2. Type 2 Diabetes.

3. Gestational Diabetes.

The three-type-diabetes, cause blood sugar levels to turn into higher than normal. Nevertheless, they cause it in different ways. Type 1 is rare than the second type.

Most of diabetics nationwide suffer from type 2, which happens at the time that the body becomes incapable to process insulin properly. Over 95% of diabetics are type 2, which is insulin-resistant.

Type 1 – Juvenile Type Diabetes

In view of the fact that, Type 1 diabetes most often occurs in kids and young adults it is called also juvenile diabetes. This type diabetes has an effect on 5% of all diabetics.

This type diabetes happens at the time that the body’s immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. As the body cannot turn blood sugar, or glucose, into energy – either since it does not produce a sufficient amount insulin or does not use it suitably – diabetes will outcome. In the past, it was common that Type 1, the Juvenile Type Diabetes, only happens in children but recent research shows that it also can develop in adults.

This type-diabetes is treatable. Medicine, work out and severe diabetes diet will be needed to maintain health.

Adult-Type Diabetes – Diabetes Type 2

Some people develop a Diabetes Type – called secondary diabetes, Diabetes Type 2 This type diabetes is similar to type 1 diabetes, though adult-type diabetes – Diabetes Type 2 happens, as the body is unable to act in response to insulin ordinarily .

The beta cells are not destroyed by the immune system however by several other factors, such as cystic fibrosis or pancreatic surgery.

Constructing people with type 1 diabetes, nearly everyone people with type 2 diabetes can produce insulin, but not enough to meet the body’s needs.

Type Diabetes: Diabetes Gestational

Higher maternal women ages are to be expected to have the type diabetes-Diabetes Gestational. Other imperative issues that cause diabetes: fatness and family history of Type 2 Diabetes.

A national research reveals that at the childbirth, approximately 4% of all pregnancies are more often than not complicated due to diabetes. Mothers diagnosed with diabetes for a long time, have fewer odds of transferring diabetes onto born babies.

Research found that the baby might develop diabetes after birth at anytime later in life.

In addition, having diabetes increases a mother’s risks of the following:

1. Preeclampsia, high blood pressure that occurs while pregnancy.

2. Low glucose episodes, which can sometimes be deadly if not managed appropriately.

Luckily, these risks can be reduced by fine preparation and diabetes diet before conception, in addition to early prenatal care, exercise and punctual care at the time of delivery.

Types Of Diabetes

In medical parlance, this disease is known as “diabetes mellitus” – diabetes from the Greek word for siphon, to illustrate the excessive thirst and urination, which is characteristic of this condition, and mellitus from the Latin word for honey – as urine of a diabetic person contains sugar and is sweet.

Commonly, this disease is called diabetes.

There are many types of diabetes, but the three most common are:

« Type 1 diabetes

« Type 2 diabetes

« Gestational diabetes

1. Type 1 diabetes (also known as insulin dependent diabetes):

This is an autoimmune disease where the body’s own immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. The pancreas then produces little or no insulin. It can appear at any age, although mostly under 30 (very often in childhood or during teens), and is caused by environmental factors such as viruses, diet or people genetically predisposed. This type of diabetes, is also known as juvenile-onset diabetes.

It is not really known what causes type 1 diabetes and it is not caused by eating too much sugar or sweets.

Symptoms of type 1 diabetes usually develop over a short period, although beta cell destruction can begin much earlier. Common symptoms include increased thirst and urination, constant hunger, weight loss, blurred vision, and extreme weakness. If not timely diagnosed and treated with insulin, a person with type 1 diabetes can go into life-threatening diabetic coma, also known as diabetic ketoacidosis.

2. Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes):

This is the most common form of diabetes, affecting 85-90% of all diagnosed people. It is also known as late-onset diabetes, and is characterised by insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency.

Type 2 diabetes is genetic in origin, but other factors such as excess weight, sedentary lifestyle, high blood pressure, ethnicity and faulty diet are its major risk factors. Symptoms may not show up for many years, and by the time they crop up, considerable harm may have been done to the body.

In this condition, the pancreas is usually producing enough insulin, but for reasons unknown, the body cannot use the insulin effectively – termed as insulin resistance. As a result, glucose builds up in the blood and the body cannot make proficient use of its main source of energy.

The symptoms of type 2 diabetes develop gradually. Symptoms include weakness, nausea, frequent urination, excess thirst, weight loss, blurred vision, frequent infections, and slow healing of wounds. Some people may show no symptoms.

Type 2 diabetes is a progressive, lifetime condition; and over time, it may be difficult to keep the blood glucose level in the target range. However, good diabetes care and management can prevent or delay the onset of complications.

One can do this by:

« Eating healthy meals and snacks

« Following regular physical activity

« Taking diabetes medications (including insulin), if prescribed.

3. Gestational diabetes:

Gestational diabetes develops only during pregnancy. In most cases, all diabetic symptoms disappear following delivery. Women who have had gestational diabetes have a 20 to 50 % chance of developing type 2 diabetes within 5 to 10 years, especially if they were overweight before the pregnancy.

Gestational diabetes is not caused by a lack of insulin, but by blocking effects of other hormones (estrogen, cortisol, and human placental lactogen) on the insulin that is produced, a condition referred to as insulin resistance. Normally, the pancreas is able to make additional insulin to overcome insulin resistance. However, when the production of insulin is not enough to overcome the effect of the placental hormones, gestational diabetes results.

Carbohydrate intolerance is diagnosed during pregnancy through an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). While the carbohydrate intolerance usually returns to normal level after delivery, the mother has a significant risk of developing permanent diabetes later on; while the baby is more likely to develop obesity and impaired glucose tolerance and/or diabetes later in life.

Risk factors include a family history of diabetes, increasing maternal age, obesity and being a member of a ethnic group with a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The complications of gestational diabetes are usually manageable and preventable. The key to prevention is careful control of blood sugar levels as soon as the diagnosis of gestational diabetes is made.

Other types of diabetes -

4. Diabetes insipidus:

Diabetes insipidus is an uncommon condition, that occurs when the kidneys are unable to conserve water as they perform their function of filtering blood. The anti-diuretic hormone (ADH, also called vasopressin) controls the amount of water conserved. Diseases of the kidney (for example, polycystic kidney disease) and the effects of certain drugs may also cause nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.

The common symptoms are excessive ********* and extreme thirst.

5. Syndrome X:

Syndrome X, also known as the “metabolic syndrome” or “Insulin Resistance Syndrome”, is a condition that is linked to an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

It is characterised by abdominal obesity, elevated levels of triglycerides, low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels. Other symptoms include smoking, high fat and calorie diet, pre-diabetes or Type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome.

This is more common in older people than in younger people. In addition, women were more likely to have the syndrome than men.

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