What"s The Difference Between Type One & Type Two Diabetes?

Diabetes is a worldwide issue and an epidemic but when I say diabetes what am I talking about? Type one diabetes is not and has never been an epidemic because it’s a condition which has a strong genetic component. It’s through a combination of genetic and environmental factors that come together to bring about type one diabetes. Type two diabetes is our epidemic as it’s directly influenced by you and your lifestyle choices. It rose to prominence with obesity (as this is one of the biggest risk factors) and it has become one of the largest causes of death for obese people worldwide.

 

The main difference between type one and type two diabetes is in their causes. Type one is caused when your own body kills off your beta cells in an autoimmune reaction. Without the beta cells you cannot naturally produce insulin and as such you need to have regular injections of the hormone to survive. Type two is caused when you body becomes steadily more resistant to the effects of insulin, this allows your blood sugar to rise. You don’t generally need insulin injections with type two diabetes but in severe cases of the disease it may prove necessary.

 

The most important difference between the two main types of diabetes is that type two is avoidable. If you catch it in its pre-diabetes stage before it becomes permanent you can make some lifestyle changes and avoid the disease altogether. Type one diabetics aren’t nearly as lucky. Their disease gets diagnosed early on in life and leaves them with the chore of managing it for the rest of their lives. Most get used to it and it doesn’t become a huge issue. The important thing to remember is that we’re all capable of contracting type two but very few of us will ever experience type one.

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What"s The Difference Between Type One & Type Two Diabetes?

Categories: difference, type one diabetes, Type Two Diabetes

The Management Of Type Two Diabetes

Type two diabetes is a condition which is sweeping the globe. The largest risk factor for it is obesity, which makes sense as the world is currently suffering an obesity epidemic. Processed food is readily available, cheap and easy to cook. This food, when consumed daily for weeks on end does terrible things to your health and piles on the pounds like nothing else. Where being fat was once a badge of affluence it’s now much more likely for those less well-off to get bigger as they can’t afford to eat fresh unprocessed food. India has a massive issue with obesity and the poor in the USA have that same problem.

Beyond actually suffering a coronary arrest there’s very little obesity can throw at you which is worse than type two diabetes. The condition is chronic so if you do contract it you’re going to be stuck with it for the rest of your life.

As you get large your body builds up a resistance to insulin which is the hormone that transfers blood-sugar into energy which is used by all the cells in the body. As less and less of this blood-sugar is used, its levels build up in the bloodstream. This has the dual effect of damaging the smallest blood-vessels in the body and causing the kidneys to work over time to filter your kidneys. Overworking your kidneys eventually damages them beyond repair and micro-vascular damage can lead to blindness, amputation and ultimately death.

Studies have recently been completed into the use of health workers in the treatment of type two diabetes. They help patients learn to manage the condition and as such help prevent diabetes related deaths. Time and again this has been shown to be effective. The fact is that with so many people suffering from type two diabetes it’s difficult to get everyone educated on the disease. With access to this knowledge people could learn to manage and then live with their condition!

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The Management Of Type Two Diabetes

Categories: management, obesity, Type Two Diabetes

Pre-diabetes and How to Avoid Type Two

Diabetes is a complicated condition which people are prone to oversimplifying. People who’ve never suffered from it or who haven’t had a family member or loved one suffer from it often misconstrue it as one major condition when it actual fact it’s four. Two major forms and two minor and rarely spoken of forms. These are of course types one and two, gestational and double diabetes.

It’s a common misconception that all forms of diabetes are due to the body’s lack of insulin and as such all diabetics require insulin injections to live healthy lives. Only type one diabetics and some far gone and extreme cases of type two require regular insulin and it’s actually very rare for a type two to requite injections of the hormone. Type two can be managed effectively through lifestyle changes and careful blood-sugar level monitoring and providing it’s kept under control it never need escalate to the point where insulin injections are required.

Type two is actually an insulin resistance in the body which slowly worsens to the point where it’s seen as a form of diabetes. It can be prevented if caught early and if the patient is willing to alter their lifestyle. Pre-diabetes is the name given to those who’re on the way to contracting type two diabetes but who aren’t there yet, as I say, these people can still prevent their impending disease with some changes in diet and exercise routines.

Diabetes is a fairly complicated set of conditions and can be difficult to comprehend, especially for those who don’t suffer from it themselves. By learning about the condition and taking some healthy steps towards a better way of living you can help to ensure you continue to live your life diabetes-free and never have to know anything more about the disease than how to not get it!

Pre-diabetes and How to Avoid Type Two

Categories: Advice, Pre-Diabetes, Type Two Diabetes