Normal Blood Sugar Levels and Diabetes

Type-2 Diabetes is a disease that involves the circulation of higher than normal blood sugar levels in the body and according to the American Diabetes Association affects about 24 million people in the United States. Quite different from Type-1 diabetes, a less common form of diabetes that usually develops in children and young adults, it is often termed a lifestyle disease, meaning that the way of life adopted by many people contributes to the onset of the condition as the body reacts to an imperfect diet and a sedentary way of life. Type-2 diabetes is being diagnosed at an increasing rate in America and it is forecast to more than double in the next 25 years. It is most frequently diagnosed in the age group 45 to 65 years and especially in people who are long-time overweight.

The complications of elevated blood sugars
It has long been recognized that the most serious health complications of diabetes are heart disease, kidney disease, eye disease leading to blindness, and lower limb amputation, recent research now reveals the cancer and Parkinson’s disease to also be more prevalent among the diabetic population.

The significant increase in the incidence of diabetes and the need to treat the serious health complications that often accompany the disease, will create an almost overwhelming cost burden to the American health care system. The health complications are frequently the result of poor management and control of the blood sugar levels that characterize the disease. However, the standard treatment of dietary modification and the addition of exercise to a daily routine have been shown to be effective in controlling blood sugar levels to within a range currently deemed as acceptable, and by so doing, the risks of developing other complications are minimized. For more on this topic, check out Prevention is the Answer, a recent article posted to this website.

Important: Anyone with diabetes must be treated by a doctor
There are no exceptions, the doctor will advise and recommend an appropriate plan of action and, where necessary, will prescribe medications. Also, in many instances, the services of a dietitian and other health-care professionals will be made available. However, much of the day-to-day management and the monitoring of type-2 diabetes is the responsibility of the individual patient and that in itself is a special challenge, often requiring lifestyle modification such as the adoption of a diabetic friendly diet plan and a daily exercise routine .

Diabetes, no cure but it can be controlled
People with diabetes who are able to properly manage and control their diabetic condition can look forward to and enjoy a normal and healthy life, other than their continued attention to their diabetes. Most people with diabetes are overweight, as are a large number of the American population, and an objective of diabetes treatment is to achieve a steady weight-loss until a healthy weight level is reached and then, from that time on, to maintain weight at that healthy level. Additional treatment, that may entail the use of prescription drugs, is required to deal with the failed systems in the body that would normally control and manage the fluctuating blood sugars. Most often those are related to the production of insulin by the body or the resistance to insulin by the cells of the body, or a combination of both of those factors.

Insulin is a hormone that is normally produced by an organ in the body called the pancreas and in the case of diabetes the production of insulin is diminished and sometimes ceases. The insulin has an essential role in enabling the take-up of the blood sugar, called glucose, by the body’s cells and sometimes this process becomes impaired when the cells become resistant to the actions of insulin.

While the primary goal in the treatment of type-2 diabetes is to minimize the elevation of blood glucose, it is important that it be achieved without causing abnormally low levels in the blood. The cells of the body need a source of glucose at all times. Also, there is a condition of low blood sugars called hypoglycemia that should be avoided.

In conclusion
Type-2 diabetes, if not brought under control, poses many serious health problems that can develop because of the damage done, over time, to the body’s tissues and organs by the excess sugar that circulates in the blood. The quality of life is diminished and lifespan is shortened and yet much of the damage can be avoided by following the lifestyle modifications mentioned above.

A question for you:
The American Diabetes Association reports that there are several million Americans who have diabetes and are not aware of that fact. Do you wonder whether you could be one of them? It is recommended that anyone who is overweight and in the age group mentioned above, 45 to 65 years, who has not had a medical checkup for many years should now consider seeing a doctor, a simple blood test enables a diagnosis. Meanwhile additional information can be found at: Stop Diabetes Once and For All.

Go to List of Topics for this website

 

 

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »