Understanding Diabetes – What is Diabetes?

 Diabetes is caused due to an increased level of Blood Sugar or Glucose  in the blood stream, which in turn can be caused by a number of different factors, most primarily, the role of the hormone insulin in the body

There are three major types of diabetes

• Type I Diabetes, in which the body is unable to produce the required amount of the hormone insulin. It is a rare form of diabetes and is prevalent in less than 10% of people with diabetes, mainly with children.
• Type II Diabetes, which is the most common type of diabetes, in which the body cells show resistance to the insulin hormone. Type II diabetes is also known as Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM). It is the most prevalent form of diabetes accounting for almost 90% of the total number of people with diabetes.
• Gestational Diabetes is another type of diabetes which is exclusively found in pregnant women. This is a much rarer form of diabetes.

There is also another condition known as Prediabetes which is often diagnosed in individuals. In this condition, the glucose levels in the blood prove to be higher than normal, but the levels are not high enough for the condition to be classified under Type II Diabetes.

While Type I and Type II Diabetes prove to be chronic and long lasting conditions, both gestational diabetes and prediabetes are reversible conditions which can be treated completely by following adequate remedies and methods of treatment.

Type I Diabetes occurs when body’s own immune system destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. This results in complete deficiency of insulin. It is suspected that heredity and genes have a major role to play in an individual encountering Type I Diabetes as it is passed on from one generation to another. It may also be triggered by environmental factors like diet, viruses, and some specific toxins.

In Type II Diabetes, either the body produces insufficient amounts of the hormone insulin, or the body develops a resistance to the action of insulin. This results in the body cells being unable to effectively use up glucose, consequently leading to an increased concentration of sugar in the blood stream. While this is the most common type of diabetes in individuals, the actual causes of Type II Diabetes are yet to be known. The disorder is most commonly found in elderly and obese people. Various factors that may trigger Type II Diabetes include dietary habits, lifestyle and genetic susceptibility.

The number of adults living with diabetes has nearly quadrupled to 422 million over 35 years, the WHO warned Wednesday April 06,2016, adding the world is facing an "unrelenting march" of the disease which now affects nearly one in 11 people.

A major new report by World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the diabetes cases have risen to 422 million in 2014 from 108 million in 1980, 314 million more.

High blood sugar levels are a major killer - linked to 3.7 million deaths around the world each year, the report said.

How you can get tested?
1  Oral glucose tolerance test
This test is done after having 75gm of glucose in 200ml of water two hours after fasting. Results below 140 mg/dl are considered healthy, 140-199 mg/dl pre-diabetic and more than 200 mg/dl - diabetic.
2 Glycerated haemoglobin test
It measures the patient’s average blood sugar over the past three months. 6-7% is categorised as healthy but for people over 65 years with complications such as heart disease, the reading should be 7.5%.


Lowering the risk of diabetes
1 Stay active and walk 10,000 steps every day.
2 Avoid eating processed food.
3 Cut back on sugar simple carbs such as refined flour.
4 Maintain a healthy weight
5 Lose belly fat
6 Get six to seven hours of sleep daily.
7 Get blood sugar levels tested at the age of 30 if your immediate family (mother, father, brother or sister) have diabetes.