Diabetes is a disease in which your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. Glucose comes from the foods you eat. With type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin. With type 2 diabetes, the more common type, your body does not make or use insulin well. The insulin stays in your blood without enough insulin.
Too much glucose in the blood can cause a severe problem of the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and even the heart. Having too much glucose is also one of the causes that leads many people to have strokes.
Pregnant women can also get diabetes, called gestational diabetes. Blood tests can show if a person is positive for having diabetes.
There are ways to prevent diabetes. In preventing type 2 diabetes, if you are at risk of having this disease. Most of these preventive measures are lifestyle changes that you need to make to ensure your health. So if you make these changes, you could benefit from other health matters as well.
One of the needed changes you must have is weight change. Most diabetic people are overweight or morbidly obese. You may prevent or delay diabetes by losing 5 to 10 percent of your current weight. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, your goal would be to lose 10 to 20 pounds.
The food you consume is also important as it depends on how much sugar you will have in your body. It is essential to reduce the calories you consume every day if you do not want to be one of the people living with diabetes. To do that, your diet should include smaller portions and less fat and sugar. Talk to a health provider about adjustments to your diet.
Exercise also helps in reducing weight and burning calories. Exercising also lowers your blood sugar levels. You can talk to your physician about which type of training can fit your needs well. However, exercising for at least thirty minutes, five days a week can help prevent diabetes. You can start slowly and work up to your goal.
Smoking is also one of the habits that you should never develop to increase your insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is one of the primary causes of type 2 diabetes. You should try to quit smoking as early as possible, not just only to prevent diabetes but to prevent other diseases that are lung and respiratory-related.
Talk to your health care provider to see whether there is anything else you can do to delay or prevent type 2 diabetes. If you are at high risk, your provider may suggest taking one of a few types of diabetes medicines. There are other measures that you should have in preventing diabetes.
Older people might need assistance from an Hourly Caregivers Old Saybrook CT once they are diagnosed with the disease. If you want to understand diabetes for a senior citizen, you can check this infographic from Euro-American Connections and Homecare.
