What is Diabetes, and How Can I Prevent or Manage It?
Diabetes is an incredibly common condition in the United States. In 2017, the CDC reported that over 100 million Americans were either diabetic or prediabetic. But, what does this mean? We hear about diabetes and the different types of diabetes all the time, but for some, it’s just words that Wilford Brimley used to pronounce kind of funny in commercials. While those commercials did become something of a meme online, diabetes should be taken seriously. It can majorly affect your life, if you’re not careful.
Today, we’re going to look into what diabetes is, what to watch for, and ways you can prevent or limit the impact diabetes can have on you. If you feel that you may be at risk of developing diabetes or that you have the condition, please discuss your options with your primary care physician.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic condition that is defined by how your body is able to utilize food for energy. Generally, it comes down to how much insulin your body produces or uses, which in turn influences your blood sugar levels. Insulin is the hormone that signals your body to use sugar for energy. If you have diabetes, your body either doesn’t produce insulin or doesn’t use the insulin you have as well as it should. When you don’t create or use insulin correctly, your body can’t tell your cells to use the sugar for energy, causing a buildup of sugar in the blood. This is why we determine diabetes by measuring your blood sugar levels. Over time, this can lead to many health complications.
Type 1 Diabetes
There are three prominent types of diabetes that we should discuss. First is type 1 diabetes, which was previously known as juvenile diabetes due to its prevalence in youths and young adults. However, it can develop at any age. Type 1 diabetes can be an autoimmune disease where the body attacks the pancreas (which creates insulin), causing it to cease making insulin (or enough insulin). It could also be caused by genetics or exposure to viruses or other environmental factors leading to the pancreas to produce little or no insulin.
Type 2 Diabetes
The most common form of diabetes is type 2 diabetes, which is caused by your body’s cells developing insulin resistance. As your cells require more and more insulin, your pancreas can’t keep up, leading to increased blood sugar levels.
Gestational Diabetes
The third type of diabetes is called gestational diabetes. This refers to women who develop diabetes during pregnancy through a change in hormones leading to insulin resistance. Their bodies can’t make enough insulin during pregnancy. This type of diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born.
Prediabetes
Finally, there’s a fourth distinction that’s worth knowing. Prediabetes is the state of having raised blood sugar levels but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Symptoms and Related Health Complications
Many people who are diabetic or prediabetic aren’t aware they are, which makes regular checkups like a Medicare Wellness Visit important. There are some symptoms worth noting for diabetes (often more intense in type 1 than in type 2). Some symptoms of diabetes may present as increased hunger and thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, irritability, blurred vision, or frequent sores or infections.
Diabetes can lead to a host of serious conditions like vision loss or heart disease.
If not managed, diabetes can lead to a host of serious conditions, such as vision loss through cataracts, glaucoma, or diabetic retinopathy. Sometimes, diabetes can also lead to cardiovascular disease and other heart conditions, since the condition can damage your cardiovascular system over time. Another common complication with diabetes is kidney disease. These are only a few of the related conditions for diabetes, many of which are serious. This is why prevention or management of diabetes is so important.
How to Prevent Diabetes
Currently, there is no cure for diabetes, though it can go into remission. Since it’s presently incurable, we’re left with either preventing or managing the condition. Of the three, type 2 diabetes is the most common but possibly the most preventable. Risks of developing the condition are often linked to family history and age (which you can’t do much about), a sedentary lifestyle, and obesity.
Making smart lifestyle choices can significantly improve your chances of avoiding diabetes down the road.
That’s why making smart lifestyle choices can significantly improve your chances of avoiding diabetes down the road. Losing weight and regular exercise are chief among these changes, but so is finding a healthy diet. If you smoke, you should also quit, since people who smoke are 30 to 40 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people who don’t smoke. You may also want to cut back on drinking alcohol, though you may not have to completely cut it out.
How to Manage Diabetes
If you do have diabetes, management becomes your focus. For people with type 1 diabetes, your doctor may suggest you begin receiving insulin treatments to ensure your body has enough of the hormone to regulate blood sugar. There’s also the possibility that you may take diabetes medication to help manage your blood sugar.
Since diabetes is a long term condition, it may be worth finding a DSMES program near you.
You should also regularly test your blood sugar levels. Since diabetes is a long term condition, it may be worth finding a Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) program near you. You should also work closely with your doctor to develop a diabetes management plan so you can monitor and control the condition.
● ● ●
While diabetes is very common, and is certainly a serious condition, there’s a silver lining that we can grasp. It’s possible to manage the condition without it becoming a massive detriment to your quality of life. With that in mind, by working with your doctor and educating yourself, you can keep yourself healthier, and you can keep diabetes from causing you serious illnesses. Better yet, you may even prevent this disease!
Featured Blogs
- Learning to Ski
- The Stories Behind Classic Christmas Carols
- 4 More Tips to Make Christmas Tree Hunt Less Stressful
- Why Do We Celebrate That? Other Festive Holidays
- A Senior Guide to Boston
- A Senior Guide to Edinburgh
- How Does Medicare Cover Osteoporosis?
- What are Ulcers?
- Medicare's Coverage of Parkinson's Disease
- What is a Cognitive Screening?
- Spooky Spots for Halloween 2023
- 4 Ways to Keep Trick-or-Treating Safe
- 10 Classic Horror Books for Halloween
- Here's What Medicare Costs in 2024
- 10 Safety Rules for Seniors Who Enjoy Hunting
- Medicareful Living is Changing Its Name — Here's Why
- CMS Releases 2024 Medicare Advantage and Part D Costs
- Can You Keep Your Medicare Plan Each Year?
- A Senior Guide to Lucerne
- Is Expensive Cookware Worth It?
- The Drug Prices Medicare Can Directly Negotiate
- Does Medicare Ever Cover Cosmetic Surgery?
- A Senior Guide to Barcelona
- How Does COBRA Work with Medicare?
- Different Ways Medicare Can Cover Drug Costs
- Medicareful Living is Changing Its Name — Here's Why
- CMS Releases 2024 Medicare Advantage and Part D Costs
- Can You Keep Your Medicare Plan Each Year?
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to Lucerne
- Is Expensive Cookware Worth It?
- The Drug Prices Medicare Can Directly Negotiate
- Does Medicare Ever Cover Cosmetic Surgery?
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to Barcelona
- How Does COBRA Work with Medicare?
- Different Ways Medicare Can Cover Drug Costs
- All About Enrolling in Social Security
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to the Madrid
- Does Medicare Cover Open-Heart Surgery?
- Exercise Tips for Summer
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to Lisbon
- Hosting a Safe Summer Barbecue
- Senior Summer Barbecue Tips
- Does Medicare Cover Biopsies?
- 5 Foods to Avoid if You Have High Blood Pressure
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to the Finger Lakes
- Does Medicare Cover Endoscopies?
- Ways Seniors Can Recover from a Workout
- Is Chocolate Healthy for You?
- Understanding Adult ADHD
- How Does Medicare Cover Hypertension?
- The Symptoms and Treatment of Parkinson's Disease
- How to Determine What Temperature to Use When Cooking
- Eating Healthy on a Budget
- Keeping Fit on Vacation
- Is Your Tonsillectomy Covered by Medicare?
- Tips for the Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Kitchen First Aid Tips
- What Does FDA-Approved Mean?
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Guide to New York City
- How to Caramelize Onions
- Why Do We Celebrate That? April Fools’ Day
- Medicare and Powers of Attorney
- The Essential Role of Eggs in Cooking
- What are Different Types of Complementary
and Alternative Medicine? - Tips for Remembering to Take Your Medicine
- What is Medicare Part E?
- Building Your Basic At-Home Senior Gym
- How to Make Stovetop Popcorn
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to New Orleans
- How to Navigate & Read Academic Articles
- Phytonutrients: What Plant Color Says About Nutrition
- How to Prevent or Reduce Inflammation
- Osteoporosis: Risk Factors, Signs, and Treatment
- How to Make Homemade Pretzels
- Researching Your Ancestry and Family Tree
- How Medicare and Social Security Work Together
- What is Nordic Walking?
- Food Questions You've Been Embarrassed to Ask
- How Medicare Changed for 2023 and Beyond
- Tips for Using a Microwave
- How to Clean Your Ears Safely
- Skiing as a Healthy Hobby for Seniors
- 3 More Great Places to Celebrate New Year's Eve
- Why Do We Celebrate That? More New Year's Eve Traditions
- Panettone, the Italian Christmas Dessert
- A Simple Homemade Gingerbread Recipe
- How to Make Christmas Decorating Jollier
- The Science of Winter Weight Gain
- Seasonal Picks: 3 Foods You Should Try This Winter
- 5 Tips to Make Getting Your Christmas Tree Stress-Free
- Show-Stopping Potato Side Dishes for Thanksgiving
- Dishes to Impress Your Friends: Boeuf Bourguignon
- Holiday Travel Tips to Reduce Stress
- Does Medicare Cover Pain Management?
- Is Hunting a Healthy Senior Hobby?
- Ways You Can Get More Politically Involved
- What are Medicare's Lifetime Reserve Days?
- Spooky Spots for Seniors Halloween 2022
- How to Make Soul Cakes for Halloween
- Jack O' Lantern Carving Tips for Halloween
- Easy Ways to Peel a Potato
- 2023 Social Security COLA Largest in Decades
- Exercise Tips for Autumn
- How to Make Candy Apples at Home
- Why are Medicare Insurance Sales Calls Recorded?
- Here's What Medicare Costs in 2023
- CMS Updates Medicare Enrollment Rules for 2023
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to London
- Does Medicare Cover Insomnia Treatment?
- Healthy and Easy Homemade Dog Treats
- The FDA Finalizes Ruling to Increase Access to Hearing Aids
- What the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Means for Medicare
- Tips to Make Flying and Airports Less Stressful
- CMS Projects Lower 2023 Part D Average Costs
- The 15 Golden Rules of Airplane Etiquette
- How Often Should You Shower?
- What are Medicare Pilot Programs?
- How to Care for Your Cast Iron Cookware
- Confronting a Loved One About Hurtful Behavior
- What Does Creditable Coverage Mean for Medicare?
- Using Za'atar in Your Cooking
- Dealing with Canceled Flights
- Protecting Your Vacation from Flight Disruptions
- Do Pre-Existing Conditions Affect Medicare Coverage?
- Which is Better: A Bath or Shower?
- Are Weight Loss Medications Healthy?
- Healthy Strategies for Anger Management
- The Health Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- The Difference Between Common Cooking Papers and Foils
- What are Medicare I-SNPs?
- Identifying Toxic Relationships in Your Life
- Healthy Ways to Spice Up Your Water
- All About Medicare Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans
- Medicareful Travels: A Senior Guide to All-Inclusive Resorts
- Does Medicare Cover Occupational Therapy?
- Lower 2023 Medicare Part B Premium Could Be on the Way
- Which is Better: Natural or Artificial Sweeteners?
- Tips for Vacationing with Pets
- Is It Better to Work Out Harder or Longer?
- Tips for Traveling with Your Pet
- Are Medicare Part B Giveback Plans Worth It?
- Introducing the Medicareful Living Family Cookbook!
- Medicare Coverage for Treatment of PTSD
- The Causes and Treatments of Nasal Congestion
- Dishes to Impress Your Friends: Spring Rolls
- Medicare Freezes Late Enrollment Penalties for Qualifying Enrollees
- What is a 5-Star Medicare Plan?
- What is PTSD?
- What is Inflammation?
- What is Medicare's Secondary Payer Program?
- What You Should Know When Buying Cast Iron Cookware
- What Does MACRA Mean for You?
- What to Do If You Receive a Terminal Diagnosis
- Dishes to Impress Your Friends: Homemade Lobster Ravioli
- Reading and Understanding Your Blood Pressure
- How to Be a Snowbird in Retirement (18 Questions to Ask!)