So How Many Diabetes Types Are There?
There are a few different
diabetes types, some more common than the others. The most uncommon type
is Diabetes Insipidus. This is caused by kidneys that cannot conserve
enough water to perform their main function of filtering the blood through the
kidneys to remove waste products. This condition is caused when there is
either a lack of the antidiuretic hormone (AHD) or the kidneys cannot respond
properly to this hormone. The main symptoms are extreme thirst and
excessive urination.
The main diabetes types that people are aware of are:
- Type 1 - commonly called Insulin
Dependent or Juvenile Diabetes
- Type 2 - commonly called
Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes
- Gestational - this diabetes type is
Pregnancy-related
- Pre-Diabetes - when blood glucose is higher
than normal, but lower than in the diabetic range
Type 1 Diabetes
This is an auto-immune disease
that causes the body to attack its own tissues, in this case, the
insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and destroys them so that the body
no longer produces insulin. The body will die without insulin, so anyone
contracting Type 1 Diabetes must take insulin shots everyday to survive.
This diabetes type is more commonly found in children, but it can happen at any age.
Scientists are not sure what
causes Type 1 Diabetes, but they assume it is a virus that triggers an
auto-immune condition where the body attacks itself. When Type 1 Diabetes
strikes, it usually happens very quickly and the person will develop symptoms
over a short period of time and will have to have insulin quickly or they could
fall into a life-threatening diabetic coma. Scientists estimate that it affects approximately 5 to 10% of all diabetes types.
Type 2 Diabetes
Ninety to ninety-five percent
of the people with diabetes have Type 2. This is by far the most
common diabetes type. It usually develops slowly over many
years and is caused mainly by insulin resistance, which means the body still
produces insulin but does not use it efficiently. There are certain risk
factors associated with Type 2, which are as follows:
-
Family history of diabetes
-
Previously having gestational
diabetes
-
Being overweight or obese
-
Sedentary lifestyle
-
Being over age 40 (although
increasingly younger people, even children, are being diagnosed)
The main signs and symptoms of
Type 2 diabetes are:
-
frequent urination,
particularly overnight
-
dry
mouth
-
increased
/ excessive thirst,
-
increased
urination, particularly at night,
-
fatigue
-
increased hunger
-
irritability or mood change
-
tingling or numbness in hands or feet
-
food
cravings (especially for refined carbohydrate sweets) and
-
blurry
vision.
Gestational Diabetes
This type of diabetes occurs only
during pregnancy. Approximately 20 to 50% of women who develop it will often develop Type 2. Of course, this diabetes
type is very dangerous to the health of both the mother and the child and must
be monitored very carefully by a physician throughout the entire pregnancy.
Having said that, if the diabetes condition is controlled than there should be
no danger to either the mother or the child.
Pre-Diabetes
This is becoming more common as
obesity levels increase. Pre-diabetes is diagnosed when your blood glucose
levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered diabetic.
This is often diagnosed by administering a glucose tolerance test. If a
person finds out they are pre-diabetic early enough to control their blood sugar
levels through diet and if they are able to lose weight through healthy
nutrition and exercise, then they need never develop diabetes. This is a
very serious warning sign which should not be ignored. (This condition is
sometimes called Insulin Resistance or Impaired Glucose Tolerance.)
So now that you know the
different Diabetes Types, why is it important to manage these conditions?
No matter which of these
diabetes types you have, it is very important to manage Diabetes because over
time high blood glucose levels and high insulin levels are very damaging to the
body. The following is just a short list of the health problems caused by high
glucose levels and high insulin levels:
-
high
blood pressure,
-
high cholesterol,
-
blood vessel blockage in the heart,
-
blood vessel blockage in the brain (stroke),
-
blood vessel blockage to the legs (which may lead to amputation of limbs),
-
kidney damage,
-
nerve damage (which also may lead to amputation of limbs) and
-
eye damage (retinopathy), which leads to blindness.
As a matter of fact, people
don't actually die of the disease "diabetes", they die of complications caused
by diabetes, which in fact is even more dangerous because there are so many
different health problems caused by this disease.
As you can see, managing these
different types of diabetes is very important for your health.
So, How Do You Do This?...
If you think you are at an
increased risk of developing Diabetes, there are many things you can do to
prevent this from happening. And they are all centred around changing your
lifestyle to include a healthy diet and exercise. But there is a bit more to it
than just eating healthy. You can eat a healthy diet and still be inadvertently
increasing your chances of developing insulin resistance and diabetes.
How?
Because there are certain foods
that trigger unstable blood sugar levels, even if they are healthy. It is
important to know which foods stabilise blood sugar levels, decrease food
cravings and improve your health.
The "Stop Food Cravings!" Liver
Detox Diet Program, coupled with the "Diet Free ... At
Last!" Program will teach you everything you need to know to prevent insulin
resistance and diabetes, or to manage your diabetic condition...
This program will teach you which foods to eat to help you to manage these different diabetes types! Click here to learn more...
Click here to return to Home Page...
|