What Diabetes Is and Isn't 

Type 1 diabetes is the type of diabetes where the body is unable to produce any of the insulin it needs to function. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease; that is, the body is turning on itself. With Type 1 diabetes, it does this by destroying the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Once these cells are destroyed, the body can no longer produce insulin. Persons with Type 1 diabetes have to take insulin daily for the rest of their lives.

Type 1 diabetes used to be known as juvenile diabetes because it is found most frequently in children and young adults.

Type 2 diabetes

This was formerly referred to as adult-onset diabetes, but even children can have type 2 diabetes.  With this type of diabetes, the body produces some insulin, but not as much as it needs to regulate sugar levels.

Gestational diabetes

This type of diabetes only affects pregnant women, hence, the name. It normally occurs late in a pregnancy and results from the hormonal changes taking place.

Risk factors for diabetes

One of the risk factors for type 2 diabetes is being overweight. Overweight people can delay the onset of the disease or even prevent it by losing weight.  For women, having gestational diabetes is a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes. People over the age of forty-five should be tested for diabetes annually.

Symptoms of diabetes

The main signs of diabetes include, but are not limited to, the following:

Increased thirst and hunger
Increasing need to urinate and increased quantity of urine produced
Blurry vision
Minor cuts and scratches take longer to heal than usual
Losing weight without any apparent reason
Being constantly tired

Treatment of diabetes

Typical treatment for diabetes includes:

medication (primarily insulin)
controlling and lowering your blood pressure
lowering your cholesterol levels (especially LDL)
exercising
losing weight

Changing lifestyle habits can be hard, but it is necessary if you get a diagnosis of diabetes. Being told that you have diabetes does not mean that your life is over, so take heart. What it means is that you must now pay attention to what you eat and increase your level of physical activity.