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Health: Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus, diabetes in short is a syndrome where your body shows symptoms of a disordered metabolism while having abnormally high blood sugar, also called hyperglycaemia. The high blood sugar level results insufficient levels of the hormone insulin. Rapidly absorbed carbohydrates, such as sucrose, result in high glucose/ sugar levels in the blood.

Healthy people are able to cope with this by adjusting their insulin production accordingly. Insulin is a hormone, secreted by the pancreas, that helps to move glucose from the blood into the body`s cells.

type 1 diabetes

If you have diabetes, this mechanism does not work. The aim of diabetic control is to maintain blood glucose levels with normal limits. People with type 1 diabetes do not produce insulin due to a loss of the body`s insulin-producing beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas (type 1 or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus). People who suffer from type 1 diabetes need to inject insulin.

diabetes type 2

People with diabetes type 2 produce insulin but are resistant to its action or have an reduced insulin sensitivity (type 2 or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus). During the first stages of the hyperglycemia syndrome there is hope. Many effects of diabetes type 2 can be reversed medications. Most of the medications improve your body`s insulin sensitivity or help your body to reduce the glucose production by your liver.

symptoms of diabetes

High levels of glucose in the blood result in the acute symptoms of diabetes, such as thirst, hunger and increased urination and, in the long term, in complications such as eye, nerve and circulatory disorders. Type 1 diabetes symptoms can develop very quickly. The symptoms can worsen within a few weeks or months.

warning signs diabetes type 2

Unfortunately the symptoms of type 2 diabetes develop only very slowly or are even completely absent. That makes it difficult do diagnose type 2 diabetes. However, the symptoms of type 2 diabetes are the same like for type 1 diabetes: Thirst, hunger and increased urination and, in the long term, in complications such as eye, nerve and circulatory disorders.