Diabetes is a very common disease that occurs when there’s too much sugar in a person’s blood, which is referred to as high blood glucose.
Your body is supposed to process this blood sugar so that the glucose can provide energy to your cells.
If this process is impaired or disrupted in any way, it’s possible that you could be affected by diabetes, of which there are several types.
If you’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or have been told that you have pre-diabetes, you should know more about this condition and the treatments available for it.
What Is Type 2 Diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is a long-lasting condition that causes issues with how your body can metabolize the glucose that enters your blood from the food you consume.
Since glucose is supposed to give your body the energy it needs to function properly, there can be some dangerous complications of not managing your case of type 2 diabetes.
A person can suffer from type 2 diabetes because their body doesn’t produce enough insulin or because their body has become resistant to insulin.
Insulin is a substance produced by the pancreas that’s designed to help move blood glucose into cells.
While type 2 diabetes was once a condition that mainly affected adults, children can be diagnosed with this disease as well.
Even though it’s currently impossible to fully cure this type of diabetes, you can manage the symptoms of this condition by exercising regularly, losing any excess weight, and eating a healthy diet.
These methods of managing your symptoms may also allow you to avoid needing to use medications to do so.
Possible Causes of This Condition
As touched upon previously, this type of diabetes can result from the body not producing enough insulin or the body becomes resistant to insulin.
While there’s no known cause of type 2 diabetes, there is an array of factors that may contribute to you developing this disease.
The commonest of which include being overweight and being inactive.
However, you don’t exactly need to be overweight to develop this condition.
How your fat is distributed throughout your body can also play a part in whether or not you ever become affected by type 2 diabetes.
If your extra fat is primarily distributed in and around the abdomen, you’ll have a higher chance of developing diabetes than an individual who stores fat in their thighs and hips.
A lack of physical activity can also bolster the chances that you eventually develop this form of diabetes.
This is because your body will use glucose and stimulate insulin levels whenever you’re active.
If you have an immediate family member who is affected by this condition, your risk of diabetes is greater.
Other potential risk factors include the presence of pre-diabetes, the presence of polycystic ovarian syndrome, and darkened skin around the neck or armpits.
The latter of which is a sign that your body has become resistant to insulin.
Symptoms You Might Experience
Type 2 diabetes is easy to ignore in the very first stages of the disease since the symptoms aren’t readily apparent.
You could even suffer from this disease for several years before you even know about it.
There are, however, some signs that you should be on the lookout for if any of the risk factors for type 2 diabetes apply to you.
You may begin to experience an increased thirst as well as a need to urinate frequently.
You might also start to feel hungry much more often than usual, which could also be accompanied by weight loss that you can’t explain.
Some other symptoms to look for include sores that are slow to heal, fatigue, and blurry vision.
If this disease is left untreated, numerous complications can occur from this problem.
Although the symptoms of type 2 diabetes develop gradually, they will still adversely affect the organs and other components of the body if you’re not properly managing the disease.
Long-term complications and even life-threatening issues are possible with unchecked type 2 diabetes.
The more common complications include eye damage, nerve damage, kidney damage, and heart disease.
Diabetes that has yet to be diagnosed will usually be accompanied by high blood pressure levels.
If ever you suffer from a severe infection or deep cut, these health problems will likely be slower to heal because of your diabetes.
Other complications that could occur include sleep apnea, Alzheimer’s disease, and certain skin conditions like fungal or bacterial infections.
How to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
Since type 2 diabetes can’t be cured, you must take the necessary steps to prevent this condition.
Even if you’ve been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, these prevention tips may be enough to get rid of these issues for good.
Eating healthy foods is important, which mainly means that you should fill your diet with foods that are high in fiber and low in calories and fat.
You should focus primarily on whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
It’s also important that you exercise regularly, which could be anything from jogging around your neighborhood to taking a swim at your local pool.
If you perform vigorous exercises, 15-30 minutes around five days a week is optimal.
If your exercises are more moderate, increase your daily physical activity to around 30-60 minutes.
A couple of additional steps that you can take to prevent type 2 diabetes include losing weight and avoiding being inactive for lengthy periods.
Treatment Options to Select From
All of the aforementioned tips for type 2 diabetes prevention are also applicable as treatment options for this disease.
Losing weight, eating healthy foods, and exercising regularly are all things that you can do to keep your blood sugar level close to normal.
You will also need to monitor your glucose levels to make sure that they are at a healthy range.
If you’re unable to manage your symptoms with these lifestyle changes, you may need to take some medications or insulin therapy.
While there are many different types of medications available for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, your doctor will be able to provide you with a prescription for the right one.