Diabetes is a serious metabolic disease that affects the way the body processes and uses blood glucose, or sugar. According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 23.6 million people in the United States have diabetes, and the number of cases is increasing. Diabetes increased 13.5 percent from 2005 to 2007. The good news is that diabetes is easily treatable through a combination of diet, exercise and medications. The first step in treating diabetes is understanding which type you have and the most effective ways to deal with it.
Types
Diabetes exists in two forms. Type I diabetes used to be called insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes because it primarily affected children before age 12 and required injecting insulin into the body for treatment. Type II diabetes used to be called non-insulin-dependent or adult onset diabetes because it did not require injecting insulin for treatment and typically affected those after the age of 45. The primary difference between the two types is their mechanisms. Type I diabetics do not produce enough insulin, a hormone made in the pancreas. Insulin is responsible for glucose uptake by the muscles and tissues. Type II diabetics generally make enough insulin, but their tissues are resistant to it. The result is the same in both types: Their muscles and tissues starve for sugar. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to kidney failure, nerve damage, coronary artery disease and loss of sight and limbs. The primary causes of Type II diabetes are obesity, family history, genetic predisposition, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, age, abnormal HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, a history of gestational diabetes and a history of impaired glucose tolerance.
Obesity
Obesity has been strongly linked to insulin resistance in Type II diabetics. While the body may produce an adequate amount of insulin to process blood glucose, the body's tissues cannot use the insulin that is available, so it produces more. As a result, blood glucose levels remain high, insulin levels are high and the tissues starve from a lack of fuel. Simply by reducing body fat, many diabetics can improve the outlook of their disease and reduce the amount of medication they take.
Family History and Genetic Predisposition
Type II diabetes is a family affair due to three inter-related risk factors. First is the genetic predisposition in diabetic families. While no single gene defines one's susceptibility for getting diabetes, family members may share a number of genes that increase the risk for others in the family. Second is food. Family members who live in the same household typically eat the same type of food. If the one cooking the meals cooks high-fat, high-calorie meals, chances are everyone in the house will eat them. Even children who leave the nest to attend college or live on their own continue to eat the same type of high-fat, high-cholesterol meals on their own. If parents set poor examples for physical activity, their children generally follow suit. Sedentary role models make it difficult for newly diagnosed diabetics to change their ways and get more physically active. In order to lower the familial risk for diabetes, the entire family unit has to practice healthier ways of living.
Ethnicity also plays a major role in one's risk for inheriting type II diabetes. African, Native, Asian and Hispanic Americans are at greater risk for contracting Type II diabetes than their Caucasian counterparts. Aging also plays a major role in getting Type II diabetes. Both men and women have a higher chance of contracting Type II diabetes after age 45. The risk increases even further after 65.
Sedentary Lifestyle
Pre-diabetics are at a greater risk to contract Type II diabetes if they lead a sedentary lifestyle. Inactivity causes insulin desensitivity. Even in the presence of insulin, if the cells of the body cannot use it, blood glucose levels will rise and produce secondary complications. One of the most effective means of lowering blood glucose in Type II diabetics is by exercising, which consumes blood glucose during the exercise period and enhances insulin sensitivity throughout the rest of the day. It is the easiest, least-expensive form of therapy with the fewest side effects. As an added benefit, exercising will also increase HDL cholesterol, which is the good type of cholesterol that carries away the bad LDL cholesterol before it has a chance to deposit inside coronary arteries.
Metabolic X Syndrome
If these risk factors for diabetes weren't bad enough, a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors called Metabolic X Syndrome not only increases your risk for Type II diabetes, but also heart disease and stroke. A number of conditions contribute to Metabolic X Syndrome: high blood pressure, high insulin levels, excess body fat around the midsection and high serum cholesterol. Any one of these risk factors do not constitute Metabolic X Syndrome, but together, they exacerbate the others and compound your risk for diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
