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Articles » Health-&-Fitness » Diabetes >> View Article
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| Understanding Diabetes And Can We Prevent It? |
By:
Carol Bell |
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Sufferers with diabetes have a condition that creates a problem with how their body produces energy for food. Almost all the food we eat, once digested, is converted into glucose. Diabetes causes problems with the distribution of glucose in the bloodstream. If this glucose remains in the blood and is not absorbed in to the body as it needs to, abnormally high levels of blood glucose or high blood sugar levels as it is also known as, occur.
Information in this article is regarding the two major types of the condition. Mainly affecting children and young adults, type 1 or juvenile onset diabetes occurs when insulin production stops completely,daily injections of insulin are needed if the diabetic patient does not want to die. Insulin works like a catalyst, enabling the glucose produced by food to be absorbed by the cells and used as energy. Type 2 is also called adult onset or non-insulin dependent diabetes,this can be controlled by diet but is caused by problems with the insulin production or its function.
To stay alive we need energy, something which is supplied in abundance by everyday foods like various pastas, bread, potatoes, rice and fruit for instance. Excess glucose in the bloodstream has many dangers for the body and can cause heart disease, kidney problems and blindness, not to mention amputations as well. However, it is possible to manage diabetes by maintaining a strict health regime,some of these conditions can be slowed down while others can even be stopped. It is possible to live a relatively normal life provided you stick to the plan laid out by your doctor,this includes watching your blood sugar levels, blood fat and cholesterol in addition to quitting smoking.
Stable weight is also a requirement that will help ensure your blood pressure is maintained at a health level. Once you have been diagnosed with diabetes, you will have it for life,in America there are more than five and a half million recognized sufferers. The frightening thing is that it is estimated that at least the same number of people has this condition but just don't know it yet,around 600,000 US citizens contract this condition each year so you can see the problem is serious. The number of Americans who have diabetes and die each year is approximately 320,000 but only 34,000 die as a direct result of having the condition. |
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