You can make changes, a few at a time, to slowly lower your blood glucose levels if you have diabetes. Here are some things you may want to change:
Currently there is no cure for juvenile diabetes. However, there are several research studies searching for a cure. Juvenile diabetes can be treated wth insulin injections to control blood sugar levels. Children with juvenile diabetes can lead relatively normal lives and participate in sports and other activities with appropriate planning, diet modification and monitoring of their blood sugar levels.
The symptoms of diabetes include the following:
Type 1 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes
Some researchers believe that when a virus infects a body, it might somehow change the structure of the antigens on the surface of the islet cells. If this occurs, then the altered antigen might appear to be foreign to the immune system, and a person’s own insulin-producing islet cells might be destroyed.
Islet transplantation is a procedure that involves moving the islets from a donor pancreas into a person whose pancreas has stopped producing insulin. Beta cells in the islets make the insulin that the body needs for using blood glucose.
Your potential diabetes management tools are many. Included in your bag of tricks are insulin, oral diabetes medications, healthy eating habits, regular exercise habits and a take-charge attitude about your diabetes. Another big player in your diabetes management is self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG). This is a tool that gives you an immediate reading of your blood glucose level. When you know your blood glucose level at a given moment, you can make informed diabetes management decisions.
Although your healthcare provider may suspect that you have diabetes because of your symptoms, the only sure way to tell is with blood tests. Blood tests are used to diagnose both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, as well as gestational diabetes.
The following blood tests are used for diagnosis:
A1C Test
Fasting Plasma Glucose Test
Random Plasma Glucose Test
Oral Glucose Tolerance Test
Unlike some traits, diabetes does not seem to be inherited in a simple pattern. Yet clearly, some people are born more likely to get diabetes than others.
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes have different causes. Yet two factors are important in both. You inherit a predisposition to the disease then something in your environment triggers it.
Genes alone are not enough. One proof of this is identical twins. Identical twins have identical genes. Yet when one twin has type 1 diabetes, the other gets the disease at most only half the time. When one twin has type 2 diabetes, the other's risk is at most 3 in 4.
Type 2 diabetes has a stronger link to family history and lineage than type 1, although it too depends on environmental factors. Studies of twins have shown that genetics play a very strong role in the development of type 2 diabetes. Lifestyle also influences the development of type 2 diabetes. Obesity tends to run in families, and families tend to have similar eating and exercise habits.
If you have a family history of type 2 diabetes, it may be difficult to figure out whether your diabetes is due to lifestyle factors or genetic susceptibility. Most likely it is due to both. However, don’t lose heart. Studies show that it is possible to delay or prevent type 2 diabetes by exercising and losing weight.
Drinking extra water will not dilute your blood sugar levels if you are already fully hydrated. However, being dehydrated can cause blood sugars to concentrate and subsequently rise. Dehydration can worsen diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS). In general, it's a good idea to have at least 64 ounces of water daily, unless you are instructed to follow a fluid restriction from your doctor. This 64 ounce fluid recommendation can increase due to activity levels, time of year and personal preference.
The term "diabetes" refers to a number of diseases, the most common being type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes. In each, the body does not produce or properly use insulin—a hormone that is needed to convert sugar starches and other food into the energy we need to live.