If you are an Indian, living in a city, leading a slightly unhealthy life and having at least a relative with Diabetes, you have a good chance of suffering from Diabetes. If this seems bleak, the statistics are even bleaker. India has 40 million people suffering from diabetes today; by 2035 this number will grow to 250 million. So knowing about Diabetes will help you to prevent or at least cope with it.
How does Diabetes happen?
Food we eat is converted into the simplest form of sugar that is glucose, which directly enters the bloodstream. This glucose needs to reach the cells to be converted into energy. Insulin – a hormone produced in the pancreas, is responsible to move the glucose from the blood stream to the cells. Generally as we eat food, proper amount of insulin is produced so that glucose reaches the cell. But when a person suffers from diabetes, the body does not produce the appropriate amount of insulin and glucose starts building up in the blood and even passing with the urine. Thus a constant increase in glucose level in the blood is called Diabetes mellitus.
What are the indicative signs that one has Diabetes?
Some of the symptoms of Diabetes are:
Increased fatigue, excessive thirst, Frequent Urination, Increased hunger, Sudden Weight Loss, Blurry Vision, Irritability, Frequent Skin or Urinary Tract Infection, Poor Wound healing.
What are the types of Diabetes one can suffer?
The common ones are type 1 and type 2. 90% of the cases of diabetes are of type 2. Growing urbanization coupled with an inactive lifestyle and increasing stress has led to the exponential growth in cases of Diabetes.
Pre-diabetes:
Pre- Diabetes occurs when the Blood glucose level is higher than normal range but lower than Diabetic range. People with Pre-diabetes have their fasting blood sugar level between 101 mg/dL and 126 mg/dL or and their blood sugar level 2 hours after a glucose tolerance test is between 140 mg/dL and 200 mg/dL.
Pre- diabetes or IGT (Impaired Glucose Tolerance) also called as occurs years before diabetes; it should be taken as a clear warning. There are no apparent symptoms for IGT only a blood glucose test can determine it.
