Guide to Type 2 Diabetes

Have you recently been more fatigued and hungry than usual, while developing infections at an alarming rate? Do those infections take longer time to heal, causing unplanned weight loss or blurred vision? Most importantly, do you have darker skin patches surrounded by normal skin tone, especially on your neck or armpits regions?

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If the abovementioned scenario is true in your case, chances are, you are suffering from Type 2 diabetes along with other 23.1 million U.S residents. Reported cases also include lesser known symptoms of the disease, such as an erectile dysfunction, a lack of sexual arousal, vaginal dryness and frequent yeast infections in women as well as an itchy skin. Night times can get particularly frustrating, with vivid dreams dominating your sleep and often cause you to sweat profusely.

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What exactly is Type 2 Diabetes?

It is a chronic condition caused by insulin resistance in your body. Insulin is a hormone in human body responsible for taking care of your blood sugar levels; it basically converts blood sugar into energy for the use of body cells. Inactivity of the hormone causes glucose levels in your blood to rise above normal, which is thereby responsible for the above mentioned symptoms. In most severe cases, Type 2 Diabetes can even lead to death.

What causes Type 2 Diabetes?

Usually it’s a combination of various factors that trigger the disease after which it becomes difficult to control, which is why you need to handle the elements which cause the disease extra carefully. For this you should make sure you have a thorough understanding about them.

Disease triggering elements include:

• Genes

Any sort of mutation in the genes which control the production of glucose, production as well as release of insulin hormone and the way glucose levels are sensed in your body, can increase the risk of you contracting Type 2 diabetes. The risk of mutations is highest, that is almost 50 percent, according to American Diabetes Association, if both your parents have diabetes.

• Obesity

According to WebMD, 95% of cases with Type 2 diabetes were overweight and did not exercise regularly causing their metabolism to slow down leading to a sedentary lifestyle. This type of behaviour stresses the cells inside your body, which start developing resistance towards insulin and hence your body sugar level increases.

• Age

About,

• 25% Americans above the age of 60,
• 17% Americans between the ages 45-64,
• And 4% between 18-24,

Suffer from diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes was once thought to be an “adult onset” disease, and was almost nonexistent in children. However, recent studies show that the disease is starting to become more common in younger people.

• Pre-diabetes

It’s a condition whereby the blood glucose level of a person is not normal, yet not high enough to have diabetes.

According to research, 84 million people suffer from pre diabetes which leads to 1.5 million new cases annually.

• Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

It is a disease related to ovarian malfunctioning which causes insulin resistance in women and hence leads to insanely high blood sugar levels.

• Gender

Men are more likely to suffer from Type 2 Diabetes than women.

How to treat Type 2 Diabetes?

• Decrease your carbohydrates consumption, and increase intake of fibres, whole grain and vegetables.
• Monitor your blood sugar level regularly and consult a doctor if you detect unusual blood sugar activity.
• 30 minutes of exercise regularly is essential to get that extra sugar in control.
• Taking prescribed medicines on time. Some of the medicines usually prescribed are Metformin, Meglitinides, sulfonylyreas and DPP-4 inhibitors.

In this much mechanized world, a sedentary lifestyle is being promoted more often than necessary which is responsible for most of the diseases humans today are suffering from. Diseases like Type 2 diabetes can however be prevented if such a lifestyle is discouraged from an early age.