Info About Diabetes

How to lower blood sugar is both easy and difficult. It’s easy because the steps aren’t complicated at all. It’s hard because it means changing our way of life.

How we think about food. And exercise.

Still, here are three easy ways to lower blood glucose and escape the ravages that high blood sugar causes to your body.

You’re Not Alone

First, remember that if you have type 2 diabetes, you are not alone. There are millions of people out there who already have this disease. And people have it in different degrees as well. Some people are just slightly over the edge, while others suffer from brittle diabetes (i.e. uncontrolled diabetes).

You have plenty of company. Some famous people with diabetes include Halle Berry, Larry King, Mary Tyler Moore and Nick Jonas, to name four. Diabetes strikes people of all races, nations and ages.

Lowering Blood Glucose to a Safe Range

First, what is a safe range? Generally this means lowering it to between 4.5 to 6.5 mg/dl. When do you get this reading? When you wake up in the morning is about the best time for this particular reading, because it’s your fasting blood sugar level (assuming you didn’t stage a midnight raid on the fridge a few hours before).

So let’s get to what you are waiting for — three ways for how to lower blood sugar and even reverse type 2 diabetes.

Your Diet

Well, you knew it was coming. Diet is the first and most important step you can take to get your blood lower in excess sugar. Ignoring your diet is probably a good part of why you have type 2 diabetes. What’s the secret here? If you guess eating plenty of fresh veggies, lean proteins and healthy fats, you guessed right.

A healthy diet is a means to prevent and cure diabetes type 2. But you have to want to make the change.

Get Exercise

You knew this was coming, too. While it’s best to get in at least 30 minutes a day, realistically that’s not possible for everyone starting out. So start with 10 minutes a day and increase it over the course of a few weeks until you reach that 30-minute mark.

The higher your current level of blood glucose, the more you need to make exercise a daily affair. Straight out, exercise helps to regulate blood sugar.

Go Easy on the Carbs

It’s actually part of your diet, but many diabetics don’t think about the carbohydrates in “healthy” foods, like fresh fruits and whole grains. yes, you need these as part of a healthy lifestyle, but fruits and grains both contain sugar and sugar-like substances.

So now you know how to lower blood sugar:  watch your diet, go easy on the carbs and get regular exercise.  Diabetes can be overcome, but you have to take the first steps.

Planning a diet for type 2 diabetes doesn’t have to be hard. But if you’ve just been diagnosed with diabetes type two, it can seem overwhelming. What are some steps for figuring out a diabetes diet plan you can live with? Here is some info about a diabetes control diet and you.

The “Stay Away From” Foods for Diabetics

First, you need to know the foods to stay away from when you have type 2 diabetes, and yes, they are probably some of your favorites. Some foods to really stay away from include:

Sugary sweets: cakes, pies, candy, cookies. This group is pretty self-explanatory.

Fruit Juice: most juices are sweetened with HFCS (high fructose corns syrup) and basically act like straight sugar for your body.

“The Whites”: this group contains white flour, white rice, white potatoes and anything made with these products. Pasta is also part of this group (even though technically it isn’t really white in color).

Sauces and Condiments: Ketchup, BBQ sauce, sweet pickles, relish — you get the idea — contain too much sugar.

These all send your blood sugar soaring, which is definitely not a good thing.

The “Know the Ingredients” Group

Some foods seem like they should be good for you, like low-fat and fat-free foods. But wait: what exactly is in these foods?

Take a look at the labels sometime, and you’ll note that in most cases, the fat has been replaced with sugar! Whoops, that is not a good thing for anyone with diabetes type 2. Read your labels carefully; know what’s being substituted. But as a general guideline, anything in a bag, box or jar should be viewed with caution. I know, that’s probably most foods in your cabinets.

Planning a Diet for Type 2 Diabetes With Good Foods

Yes, there are good foods out there for a diabetic to eat. And as you’ve probably guessed, it’s mainly in the lines of healthy foods. Fresh veggies, some fresh fruits. Lean meats, poultry and fish. Whole grains. Some dairy (although you’ll need to keep an eye on the amount of sugar in these, too).

I know, it may be hard to get your mind around a diabetic diet at first. But it is essential to your health. It’s a case where you may want to consult with a dietician who has a lot of experience with diabetics, to help you plan out your diet for type 2 diabetes.

A diabetes control diet is essential for managing this disease.  But thankfully, it’s easier than you think!

Other Resources for You

If you’d like some additional reading on planning a diet for type 2 diabetes, here are some more links for your.

• The Diabetic Diet from Wikipedia
• Preventing hyperglycemia with a diabetic diet.

Hyperglycemia.  It’s the other side of the condition most people have heard of, called hypoglycemia (aka low blood sugar).  Left uncontrolled, it can have disasterous results.

OK, I’m betting that everyone has had bouts of hyperglycemia — it’s what happens when you’ve had too much in the way of sugary foods (a “sugar high”).  Then a few hours later comes the flip side; the dreaded sugar crash.

Today’s guest speaker is Delynda Lardone.  In her post, she’ll be discussing what exactly is hyperglycemia and why it’s important for anyone with diabetes to eat a proper diabetic diet.  Let’s hear what Delynda has to say.

Hyperglycemia and Diabetes

Diabetics constantly have to watch their blood sugar levels to make sure they are consistent, and make sure that they are in their target range. Often times though, diabetics do not maintain a healthy diabetic diet and wind up eating foods that result in higher sugar levels.  This can spell t-r-o-u-b-l-e for your body.

If diabetics (or anyone, actually) maintain a blood sugar level that is high for a long time, this can result in a condition that is called hyperglycemia.  If left untreated, this can lead to some very serious health problems.  So, it’s extremely important to understand the causes that make your blood sugar levels rise in order to avoid these factors.

What is Hyperglycemia?

Hyperglycemia is a medical term that simply means a person who has too much sugar in their system. A high blood sugar level happens when your body either cannot make insulin, or it can’t respond well to the insulin that is produced.

Type 1 diabetics generally have a situation where the pancreas doen’t make any or enough insulin.  Type 2 diabetics can’t fully utilize the insulin that is produced. 

How our bodies process the sugar is the key to and and all diabetic conditions. The sugar first enters our bodies through the groceries we eat and makes its way into our blood stream.  It’s an important reason to read labels and know what you’re putting into your body!

Once the food is eaten, the pancreas starts producing and releasing the insulin that is needed so it can carry that sugar into our cells to create energy.  Simple enought, right?

This same process happens in diabetics but with one main difference. If they consume too many foods that contain sugar, the excess sugar will remain in the bloodstream as the body will only use what it needs. This excess sugar will then start building up in the blood which results in hyperglycemia.

The Effects of Hyperglycemia

Letting the sugar build up in your blood for a long period of time can cause great damage to your body, damage that can be irreversible.  Now I don’t mean to scare you, but you do need to know about this.

It can first start causing damage to your blood vessels that supplies blood to vital organs. This then can lead to an increased risk of heart diseases, strokes, kidney diseases, vision problems, and nerve damage.

Far too many diabetics don’t worry about hyperglycemia because they can’t see the effects at the moment. Diabetics will only see the damaging consequences after some years go by, when it may be too late to reverse.

Hyperglycemia is something everyone should be concerned about because it can have some long term effects.

About the Author:
Delynda Lardone supplies free information on how to reside with diabetes, including tips on how to keep your blood sugar level low, detailed reviews of the diabetic diets programs, and diabetic diet recipes which serves from 1 person to 6. To learn more information about hyperglycemia, please visit: diabetic diets.

Thoughts on Diabetes/Hyperglycemia

Thanks, Delynda, for that good information.  And you know, she’s right.  All of us need to consider what we put into our bodies, in the way of sugar.  I know I keep harping on this, but diabetes runs in my husband’s family and I’ve seen the effects on young and old alike.

Hyperglycemia — high blood sugar — is a silent disease.  We’re so used to our “sugar highs” and then “sugar slumps” that we don’t pay attentionto how that wild swing effects our body.  I’m afraid it is a “pay me now or pay me later” type deal.  Paying now is paying attention to your diet and exercise.  Paying later is having to deal with the damage it causes your body.  Think about it.

Other Reading

Here are some additional resources and reading that you may find interesting.

• Wikipedia on hyperglycemia
• Early symptoms of adult diabetes

Oh, how we love to snack, munch, graze and otherwise eat!  We skip breakfast and snack on a bagel and cream cheese mid-morning.  Our lunch is cut short by work, so we need an afternoon pick-me-up treat.  Then there’s the after-dinner munching in front of the TV.  Help!

But did you know that snacking can be good for you?  And you guessed it — it depends on what exactly we’re snacking on!  Today, Mr. Joel Riley will be discussing the snacking dilemma with us.

One, Two, Three — Here Come the Snacks!

It’s two hours before lunch and your stomach begins to growl like a hungry lion. You look around to see if anybody heard it and how embarassing!  No use hiding it, everybody knows you’re starving.  But don’t feel too bad, as it’s something we have all gone through.

Anyway, what do you usually reach for when your stomach starts to growl? More than likely it’s one of the quick choices that everyone makes - you grab for the bag of chips, the candy bar or even those jelly filled donuts. These items will fill your stomach but they’ll also fill your thighs, abdomen and stomach with fat!

And if you’re diabetic or have insulin-resistance, just imagine what these kinds of foods do to your blood sugar — can you say “skyrocket”?

Tame the Snacking Beast

Rest assured, those aren’t the only foods that can satisfy your hunger. There are healthier choices out there that will fill up your stomach but not make you gain a few extra pounds.  Or send your blood sugar on a roller-coaster ride.

Here are some better food options you can try reaching for instead:

• There is nothing worse than your 104 pound co-worker who stops at the bakery on her way to work and brings in two dozen fresh donuts. It’s cruel and should be company policy that if somebody is dieting, it is against the rules to do such a thing. Never fear; fruits are there to save the day. Trust me; I’m a huge fan of fruits; they’ve never let me down yet.
• Candy bars are nice ways to take a bite out of your hunger, but they are full of calories and sugar. If you’re on a limited caloric intake each day, a candy bar will eat up most of those allotted calories. Instead of biting a candy bar, how about trying some of those low-fat, high-protein snack bars? You’ll satisfy your hunger, stick to your diet and give your body some needed nutrients as well.
• What about those jelly-filled donuts or other popular pastries? Instead, consider some sugar free Fig Newton’s. They don’t have as much fat as the pastries and they can satisfy your fruit craving that you may be suffering from when you’re craving the jelly-filled donuts.

There are many more options out there to reach for the next time your stomach is grumbling and causing all eyes to be on you. Take healthy snacks along with you so that you can stay satisfied at any time of day.

About the Author:
Download our excellent “Weight Loss Insider” free report at Natural Weight Loss Insider! Or check out our reviews on the top 7 Weight Loss Programs.

Thanks, Joel, for those ideas on taming the snacking beast.  I mentioned that snacking could actually be beneficial for type 2 diabetes by maintaining the blood sugar.  Instead of your blood sugar rising and falling so much between meals, healthy snacks encourage the right amount of glucose in the blood.

As Joel mentioned, try veggies, protein and a limited amount of fruit (if you’re sugar-sensitive).  There are many healthier alternatives these days.  And by the way, didn’t you love Joel’s mention about how it should be against company rules for people to bring in sweets when others are dieting (or otherwise shouldn’t eat them)?

Additional Reading and Resources

If you’d like to consider more about snacking and eating in general, you can check out the following for more information.

• Beating sugar cravings - a review.
• Diabetes.org - snacks can lead to obesity (no surprise there, unless the right snacks are selected).

In this post we’ll look at some of the foods that diabetics can eat, and information about them.  Foods that might seem healthy might not exactly be that way!  And foods that are commonly thought of as “no way!” may not be off-limits.

Today we have Mr. Max Peykar, who has graciously provided the information about the facts on foods that diabetics can eat.  Max…you’re on!

Type 1 Diabetes Versus Type 2

Type I diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes, most often shows up in children, but it’s no longer believed to be affecting just them.  Also called insulin-dependent diabetes, it’s an autoimmune disease.  It’s caused by damaged insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.   Once these beta cells are damaged, they produce little or no insulin.

In comparison, type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder, where the body is insulin resistant or deficient.  The pancreas may be producing enough insulin for a normal diet, but when the diet is overloaded with sugar, it gets “tired”.  Common foods recommended in a diabetic diet include fibrous, sugar-free and sometimes fat-free varieties.

While people who do not take care of their health are at an increased risk for diabetes, the disease is often hereditary. Even if you have diabetes in your family, if you eat right and exercise regularly, you can avoid the onset.

Once you do have diabetes, though, you may have to be on medication that causes the insulin level in your body to stay within the normal range.  However, the first preference doctors show is for another sort of treatment - making sure that you control your diet and eat according to a carefully thought out preparation.

Keep this in mind; eating right is a whole lot cheaper than taking prescription medication!  And that only becomes more telling as you get older.

Diabetes, Exercise and Food

You also have to make sure that you stay active - some kind of activity that you enjoy, whether it is walking, or dancing, or jogging - should be taken up and stuck to, for at least half an hour each day. You should also make sure that your diet is designed with healthy alternatives to your regular eating habits, and avoids things like sweets, high-fat foods and alcohol.

A typical diabetes type 2 eating plan should include fibrous carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals and plenty of water.  Whole grains, wholemeal bread and oats are excellent examples for fibrous carbohydrates. Meanwhile, the best proteins should come from lean meat, poultry, fish, legumes, nuts and seeds.

Vitamins and minerals can be found in abundance in leafy green vegetables. Such food items can be consumed in any amount and throughout the whole day.  Fruits are part of foods that diabetics can eat, but in moderation; they are naturally sugary.

And don’t forget…drink those eight glasses of water a day!  You need to keep your body well hydrated, with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Creams and sauces should generally be avoided while preparing diabetic foods — they raise the blood sugar too fast. Barbecue, teriyaki and sweet and sour sauces should also be avoided for the same reason.  True, there are diabetic versions of these foods in the grocery stores these days, so if you must have them, stick with the diabetic version.

Eggs, red meat, mayonnaise, cheese, butter and fizzy drinks can be harmful for a diabetic. Among the other foods diabetics can eat are anything that includes unsaturated fats and prepared in an unsweetened way.

There’s no constant or strict diabetic diet; it varies from person to person.  But it’s your responsibility to eat healthy and keep exercising. By talking to a nutritionist or doctor, a varied and nutritious long-term diet can be followed by replacing existing food items with healthy alternatives.

Thanks so much, Max, for that informative article!  And he raises some good points.  For example, have you considered that sodas, diet or not, really don’t have a place in a diabetic’s diet?  I know, diet sodas originally stemmed from diabetics who wanted to drink them.  But it doesn’t mean they are good for us!

If you’re overweight to begin with, it very likely means you have an unhealthy relationship with food.  Add in diabetes type 2 and you have a recipe for heart-breaking consequences.

Other Resouces You Might Like

If you’re up for more reading on diabetes, here are a few ideas for your enjoyment.

• Diabetes diet books
• From Obesity Today, another list of foods

Today I have Clare Innes for my guest author, and she’s going to tell us more about the reasons to lose weight.  Take it away, Clare!

How Overweight Effects Our Bodies

We all know that losing weight isn’t easy, but hopefully, by the end of this article, you will have a better idea of just how far reaching the effects of obesity can be on your entire body and internal systems.

Here you can see a number of different ways that being overweight can affect your body; weight loss helps to prevent the following diseases:

• heart disease
• high blood pressure
• strokes

Straight away you have a three reasons to lose weight!

Risk of Heart Attacks and Strokes

It’s a scientific fact that heart disease and strokes are one of the primary reasons for disability and death in both men and women.  This is especially true in the UK and the USA. People who are overweight have an increased risk of high levels of cholesterol in their blood stream as well as something called triglycerides (also known as blood fat).

Angina, one particularly common type of heart disease, can cause chest pains as well as a decrease in the oxygen pumped to the heart. This illness can keep you on medication for the rest of your life, once it has taken hold. Even breathing itself can become distressing and debilitating.

Unfortunately, you may have problems that you are unaware of, and sudden death from stroke or heart attack can strike without warning.

It is a fact that you can decrease the chances of you having or developing heart disease or a stroke simply by decreasing your weight by a mere five to ten percent. As a bonus, your heart function would also improve, as would your blood pressure. Your cholesterol and triglyceride count would decrease, possibly lengthening your life-span by YEARS.

Weight Loss Helps Prevent Diabetes Type Two

Diabetes is a very common illness nowadays, but nevertheless, it a serious one that can put your life in jeopardy. The way that you lead your life can become hugely affected because the complications that result from having it are numerous and far reaching and can cause problems throughout your entire body.

If you already suffer from diabetes type 2, try to lose some weight and get a little general exercise on a regular basis as this will help your body to control its blood sugar levels. Do continue with any medication that you already take though, and discuss your personal situation with your doctor or healthcare provider.

Try a daily walk or jog which will get your cardiovascular system working. That will exercise your heart and lungs as well as burn off calories to lose some excess weight.

Lowering Your Cancer Risk

There are a number of female cancers that are more prevalent if you are overweight. Cancers such as breast, ovary, uterus, colon and gallbladder have all been shown by scientists to be much more common if you are carrying a fair amount of extra weight.

Men who are overweight are more likely to get cancer of the prostate, rectum and colon.

Sleep Apnea and Being Overweight

Sleep apnea is a condition where you can temporarily stop breathing during the night and then continue to snore heavily. The condition can cause drowsiness or sleepiness during the day and, because of being overweight, can eventually result in heart failure. Shedding those excess pounds can help in eliminating this problem too.

Help the Pain from Osteoarthritis

The joints in your body cannot function forever, and if you are overweight then you are putting far too great a load on them. Your lower back, hips and knees all take up the strain of extra weight and increase the likelihood of having very painful osteoarthritis in the future. If you are already suffering, try to lose some weight now and you will soon see that your pain level is improving.

You know deep down that there are many good reasons to lose weight. Whatever your age, it’s never too late to start a new way of living.

 
Thanks, Claire, for those great reasons for losing weight!  And it’s something we all have to think about ourselves.  If we’re already overweight, it’s time to consider losing those extra pounds.  If you’re fighting the middle-age spread (no matter what your age), it’s something to guard against.

When it comes to diabetes type 2 and being overweight, we really do need to be vigilant.  Diabetes is scary for the day-by-day degeneration of our eyesight and nervous system; we may not notice a problem until it’s too late.  So keep these reasons to lose weight in mind the next time th refrigerator calls to you!

More For Your Reading Enjoyment

As always, here are another couple of posts and sites that you might find interesting in your quest to lose weight.

• Do your have them?  Check the symptoms of adult diabetes.
• What about some losing weight motivation?

So, what are some of the early symptoms of adult diabetes, also known as diabetes type two?  Do you have them…or are you at risk?  In this post, let’s check out some of the signs and symptoms of adult diabetes.

My guest author today is The Alternate Medic, who has some great information on where diabetes can come from (is it genetic or merely lifestyle), who’s prone to diabetes and finally some warning signs.  Take it away!

Diabetes:  Is it Genetic?

Diabetes can be genetic in origin, that is it can be traced in the genes of certain families. If you have a family history of diabetes, then you need to be careful and extra vigilant in recognizing the early symptoms of diabetes. Being able to catch the early symptoms of diabetes can determine whether your diabetes is severe or manageable with just medications and a strict diet.

Who’s at Risk for Diabetes Type Two?

Some races are more prone to diabetes compared to others. Who’se at risk?  Well, it affects those who have traces of Native American, African American, Latino and Pacific Islander heritage.  For whatever reason (not quite yet determined) these races are prone to diabetes.

Other factors are an individual’s weight, lifestyle and age; these are among the factors that can trigger diabetes in an individual. A family history of diabetes is usually the reason why people always have check ups to see if their body is functioning as it should be.  Diabetes type two is a scary disease, for the damage it ultimately does to your body and mind.

Several Early Symptoms Of Adult Diabetes

The early symptoms of diabetes are as follows:

• blurry vision
• numbness in the legs
• excessive thirst
• frequent urination (kind of a side effect of the thirst)
• increased feeling of fatigue
• irritability
• extreme hunger
• sudden weight loss, despite increased appetite

These early symptoms of diabetes need to be recognized as soon as possible before the individual goes from pre-diabetes stage to full diabetes.

Other early symptoms of diabetes type 2 are frequent skin infections or yeast infections.  Since yeast prefers to grow on sugar, it is understandable that these will occur on a person who is secreting basically sweet urine and sweat.

The early symptoms of diabetes are warning lights that help you to know that you may have diabetes type two. It’s important to be vigilant and observant regarding changes in our bodily functions and lifestyle.

If You Suspect You Have Diabetes Symptoms…

If you suspect you are experiencing early symptoms of diabetes, go to your medical practitioner to have a blood test done, including your blood sugar readings (fasting and after eating). It will also help to discover if you have any other underlying diseases that can be associated with adult diabetes.

Diabetic guidelines aren’t as easy to describe as you might first thing.  Certainly it’s “eating right” and “getting enough exercise”.  But what do those terms mean?  What’s “right” and “enough”?

Exercise and Diabetes

Does the “E Word” (exercise) make you want to cringe?  A lot of people can relate to that, including you and me.  But exercise and diabetes go together hand in glove.

So why is exercise important to diabetic guidelines for controlling this disease?  Let’s think about it for a minute.

When you exercise, your muscles need fuel, right?  What they use is glucose — also known as sugar.  By pulling glucose into the muscles, you’re regulating the excess sugar swimming around in your blood.  Make sense?

Ok, so you know the why — now the how as in “how much”?  Diabetic guidelines say at least 30 minutes five times a week is what’s needed to help regulate your blood sugar.  Now do you see why diabetes and exercise go together.

And by the way, if you can’t manage 30 minutes 5 times a week, start where you can and build up your time.

There you go — diabetes, exercise, blood sugar and you.

Diabetic Guidelines and Eating

Eat right.  What does that mean?  Well, avoiding sugar and sweets is the first thing most people think about.  But there are other foods just as likely to send a person with diabetes into a tailspin.

Any food that quickly raises your body’s blood sugar is a food to stay away from, or at least be cautious of, in your everyday diet.  What are some of these goods?

• Fruit juices, especially sweetened juices.
• White bread, white sugar, white rice, white potatoes, regular pasta.
• Rice cakes, bagels, pretzels.
• Cakes, cookies, sodas, ice cream, candy.
• Sugary fruits like pineapple and watermelon

Surprised at the fruit juice?  Don’t be.  It’s the fiber in fruit that slows down the rise in blood glucose, and processed juices just don’t have any worth mentioning.

 Naturally items like veggies, whole-grain fiber and lean protein show up on the menu.  But guess what — so do healthy fats like olive oil and omega 3 oils found in cold-water fish like salmon.

Additional Reading

Here are some other posts and pages from this site, as well as outside resources you might enjoy.

• Diabetes Diet Books
• Mayo Clinic on Diabetes and Exercise
• Brittle Diabetes

Brittle diabetes isn’t a term heard all that often, thank goodness, as it’s a terrible condition.  But what exactly is it; what happens to cause it?  Can it be cured?  Is it fatal?  Let’s talk about it.

Brittle Diabetes and the Body

This is a kind of type 1 diabetes.  Information isn’t always certain as to why it’s caused.  However, it results in huge swings in blood sugar; it is also sometimes referred to as “labile diabetes”.  Another very apt term is “unstable diabetes”.

If you think about something being brittle, you think it’s easily cracked or broken.  A person suffering from brittle diabetes has a very tenuous hold on their blood sugar.  It often roller-coasters between extra high (hyperglycemia) and terribly low (hypoglycemia). 

As with all type 1 diabetics, insulin is required to help control this disease.  It’s a tightrope not easily walked, and this type of diabetic must constantly be vigilant as to what goes in his or her body.  Even tiny changes in diet or exercise can set off a wild blood sugar swing.  A brittle diabetic can do everything right but still suffer from too high or too low glucose levels.

When Does it Occur?

Brittle diabetes can unfortunately occur at just about any point in our lives.  It can be caused by gastrointestinal absorption problems, possibly including bypass surgery.

Something called gastroperesis, which is delayed stomach emptying is also thought to contribute to brittle diabetes.

Finally, insulin absorption problems, drug interactions and hormonal malfunction can also result in type 1 diabetes becoming brittle.

Other Resources

Other posts and resources you might like to read include:

• About Diabetes Types
• Brittle Diabetes Mellitus in the Elderly
• Brittle Diabetes Mellitus, Boulder Medical Center

What are the diabetes types?  You’ve probably heard something about type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but what does it all mean.  And what the heck is Syndrome X?

In this post, we’ll talk about the different diabetes types and if you might fall into one of them.

Diabetes Type 1:  Early Onset

This type is often called juvenile diabetes due to that it normally shows up in childhood or teen years.  A person with type 1 is virtually always insulin-dependent.  

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease.  The body’s immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells of the pancreas.  The pancreas then produces little or no insulin, causing the blood sugar to run rampant.  Left unchecked, diabetes type 1 results in death.

Diabetes type 1 can also less commonly be caused by an injury or disease (such as cancer) of the pancreas.

Diabetes Type 2:  Adult Onset

Sometimes also called late onset diabetes, this is what we’re facing when we overload our body with sugar.  Our pancreas can’t keep up with the amounts of sugar that course through our bloodstream, and finally decided to not even try.

Adult onset diabetes can most times be controlled through eating right and getting even a modest amount of exercise.  It can even be cured by avoiding the foods that cause your body to trip up.

But here’s the scary part:  the term “adult onset” is becoming a less-accurate term, as more and more teens and even young children are being diagnosed with this disease. 

Pre-Diabetes:  Syndrome X

There is some argument these days  when it comes to diabetes types:  is Syndrome X really an early form of diabetes?  Is it even diabetes at all?  (I’ll go more into Syndrome X in another post.)

Considering that extreme sensitivity to sugar and sugar-like foods play a huge part of this condition, and that blood sugar is directly affected, my vote is yes — this is an early form of diabetes, which can easily and rapidly develop into the real thing — type 2.

The good news is that with a little planning, Syndrome X can be cured, and when it does away, the spectre of diabetes type 2 retreats into the shadows (where it belongs).

The Last of the Diabetes Types:  Gestational Diabetes

This is a female-only condition, brought about by the stress of pregancy on a woman’s body.  This is thought of as a type 2 condition, brought about by the hormone swings and stress of pregnancy.

Something to note:  women who have gestational diabetes when pregnant are at an increased risk of developing a full case of diabetes type two later in life.

Other Reading

Other posts and related reading you might enjoy includes:

• Diabetes Diet Books
• Wikipedia:  Diabetes Mellitus