What is Diabetes and Prediabetes?

We are all familiar with the name diabetes, but what is diabetes mellitus? Diabetes mellitus is simply the medical terminology used for the grouping of disorders which are known as diabetes.

What is Diabetes Impact on the U.S.?

It has been estimated that this disease affects almost 26 million Americans. For some unknown reason diabetes cases are on the rise, so much so that it has reached a point where some public health officials are actually calling it an epidemic.

Of the 26 million Americans who are affected, about 7 million of those are unaware that they even have this condition. Just in 2010 alone, an additional 1.9 million more Americans were diagnosed with this disease meaning it now affects more than 8% of the population. It has been determined that the cost of health care, just for those who have diabetes, exceeds $116 billion in the U.S. each year.

What is Diabetes Cause?

Diabetes is a condition which develops due to a problem with the metabolism which causes high amounts of glucose to form in the blood because of insulin inadequacies. Glucose amounts are normally regulated by the hormone insulin which is created within the pancreas.

For example, your blood sugar will rise after you eat food. The pancreas then releases insulin in order to maintain normal sugar levels. This is what happens when your system is working properly, however diabetes occurs when there is too little or no insulin production or if the body can’t use the insulin being produced. Although it is a disease that can be treated and controlled, it is a chronic condition which means it will last a lifetime.

What is Diabetes Danger?

If diabetes goes untreated it can lead to some horrible complications. In fact, it was the sixth leading cause of death in America in 2010. If the sugar levels get too high in your body it can harm blood vessels including those that lead to the nervous system, heart, eyes and kidneys.

There is good news, however, because with proper care diabetics can lead a normal and fulfilling life. Proper care means self managing your condition by exercising, eating healthy and frequently checking your blood glucose to keep it close to normal levels.

Prediabetes

Prediabetes is a name given to a condition when a person has above normal glucose levels but not so high as to indicate diabetes. Sometimes you may also hear this ailment referred to as borderline diabetes. Often, people will not experience any symptoms with prediabetes so the only way to know if you have it for sure is by getting a blood test.

You should talk to your doctor about getting this test done if you are considered a high risk to develop diabetes. These high risk factors include little physical activity, being too heavy, a history of diabetes in your family and also being over 50 years old.

Someone with prediabetes runs the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes along with other serious medical complications like heart disease or stroke. Those who have prediabetes have a 50% better chance of having a stroke or heart disease than is someone without prediabetes.

You treat prediabetes in pretty much the same manner as diabetes itself. What is diabetes treatment? It includes changes in your lifestyle that include watching what you eat, increased physical activity and, if necessary, loss of weight. These changes to your daily routine may not only delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes but it could also keep you from getting it at all.

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