Diabetes, a word we hear very often these days. Almost 1 in 11 person in this world is Diabetic as per WHO. According to the Lancet study, India is among the top 3 countries who have the highest number of diabetics. And 1.5 millions people dies in the world due to this illness.
With this disease spreading rapidly in the world, there are still some people not knowing enough about it. I grew up with myths that “taking excess sugar causes Diabetes Mellitus” or “it is a aging disease.” My myths busted when this chronic illness made its way towards my family. My mother and father both got Type 2 Diabetes in 2010, when they were in their early 40s. It was then when we learnt more about this persistent ailment.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes Mellitus commonly known as Diabetes simply means high sugar level in the body. Sugar level rises when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot use produced insulin effectively. There is no clear cause of Diabetes but there are certain reasons that may lead to Diabetes. Some of which are family history, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol level, being overweight, unhealthy lifestyle, etc. There are many types of diabetes but I’m going to talk about 2 Major types of Diabetes which we see nowadays.
Major types of diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes:
In Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus , the insulin-producing cells of Pancreas are damaged which is why little or no insulin is produced. In this case, the diabetic needs to inject insulin to manage sugar level. This is also known as insulin-dependent diabetes. This is more common is children and teenager. Some reasons for this type is susceptibility genes, some viruses or Autoantigen.
Type 2 Diabetes:
Type 2 Diabetes is the most common type in the world. In this type, the Pancreas either does not produce enough insulin or the body does not use insulin properly. This is a lifestyle disorder. People who are over-weight, obese, physically inactive or who has high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels are at risk. This particular type is common in the age group of 40 – 70 years.
Diabetes Mellitus treatment involve managing of sugar level with the help of medicines, lifestyle and diet changes in this case. Sometimes, insulin injections may also be needed. Since this a lifestyle disorder, one can easily prevent this by achieving a healthy lifestyle. Having a balanced diet and physically active life can keep you safe from this life-long ailment.
Apart these two major types of diabetes, we also see other diabetic conditions which include Gestational Diabetes. This is a temporary condition which is seen in pregnant women. Women’s sugar level rises during pregnancy which then need to be maintained with the help of medicines, diet and exercise.
There is also a condition known as Pre-diabetes where a person’s sugar level is higher than normal but not high enough to be considered as a Diabetic. This condition can be easily reversed with simple lifestyle changes.
If you are a diabetic, it is important to see a Diabetes Specialist and continue with the treatment. Maintaining sugar level is important as high sugar leads to many severe ailments like Stroke, Heart Attack, blindness, etc.
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Informative post,.. Thank you,..
That was much detailed post on diabetes.
Thanks for reading 😊
Thank you for a detailed post. Was informative indeed.
xoxo – Chaicy
Style.. A Pastiche!
Thanks Chaicy
Detailed and informative post.