All you need to know about Type Two Diabetes

Type2 diabetes:

Type2 diabetes causes blood sugar levels to rise higher than its normal levels. Type2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes. It is a chronic problem. If you have type2 diabetes, your body is not able to use insulin properly. Initially your pancreas makes excessive insulin to make up for it but over time it is not able to make enough insulin to maintain the normal blood sugar levels. In type2 diabetes patients, their blood sugar level is not normal but also not high enough to be diabetes yet. In this condition cells of the body are unable to use glucose efficiently for energy.

Causes of type 2 diabetes:

• Excessive weight
• Genetics
• Chronic stress
• Lack of exercise
• Sedentary behavior
• Consumption of artificial sweeteners
• Sugary foods and simple carbohydrates
• Metabolic syndrome
• Bad communication between cells
• Broken beta cells

Diagnosis Tests:

• Glycated hemoglobin test
• Random blood sugar test
• Fasting blood sugar test
• Oral glucose tolerance test

Signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes:

Usually signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes are subtle. Major symptom of type 2 diabetes is being overweight. Other symptoms include:

• Blurry vision
• Unusual urine odor
• Fatigue
• Dark skin of chin, groin or armpits
• Excessive urination
• Excess thirst
• Unintentional weight loss or gain
• Wounds that would not heal
• Erectile dysfunction
• Numbness in feet

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment:

• Dietary supplements
• Getting enough sleep
• Managing sleep apnea or stress
• Injectable drugs
• Oral drugs
• Weight loss
• Quit smoking
• Physical Exercise
• Diabetic eating plan

Type2 diabetes treatment involves lifestyle changes and diet that include eating less sugary food and simple carbs. In some cases, patients may need drugs. Type2 diabetes doesn’t always need drug therapy. A healthy exercise and eating plan are sufficient with significant lifestyle changes. Nutritional deficiencies, kidney or heart disease and vision may need further treatment. Exercise is very important to beat this condition. Proper regular exercise makes your cells more insulin sensitive and pulls glucose out of the blood. It gives you better energy and brings down the blood glucose levels.

Medications:

Medications for type2 diabetes include metformin (riomet, fortamet, glumetza), meglitinides (nateglinide, repaglinide) and surfonureas (glimepiride, glipizide, glyburide),Oral and injectable drugs include dulaglutide, albiglutide, long-acting exenatide, liraglutide, exenatide, pramlintide, acarbose, DPP-IV inhibitors and combination of some of these drugs.

Type2 diabetes diet plan:

Food with low glycemic index like vegetables, lentils, beans, chicken and fish, is preferred. Nuts, low fat dairy products, whole grains and fruits should be added to the diet. Patient should avoid pasta, crackers, chips, breads, pastries, sweets and desserts.

Risk factors for type2 diabetes

• Age above 45
• Metabolic syndrome such as high triglycerides or high blood pressure
• Gestational diabetes or prediabetes
• Being overweight
• Diabetic family history

Complications:

Complications associated with type2 diabetes include eye problems, foot problems, urinary issues, sexual problems, neuropathy conditions, kidney and heart disease.

Prevention:

Prevention of type2 diabetes can be done by getting regular medical screenings, physical activity and low glycemic load diet. Type2 diabetes can be reversed with focused alterations to one’s lifestyle.