The Best Diabetic Diets in 2023 – Forbes Health
|But when a person has diabetes, their body either does not produce enough insulin or cannot effectively utilize the insulin it does produce. As a result, glucose remains in the bloodstream, causing your blood sugar to rise.
High blood glucose levels can lead to a slew of long-term health problems, including:
- My heart disease
- Apoplexy
- kidney disease;
- eye problems
- Periodontal disease
- Nerve damage
- foot ulcers
Although there is no known cure for diabetes, it can be managed effectively with proper diet and proper maintenance.
In addition to gestational diabetes — a type of diabetes that can affect pregnant women — there are two main types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes
This type of diabetes is an autoimmune reaction in which your body attacks the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults and requires a person to take extra insulin daily.
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes usually develops in adults, although it can be diagnosed at any age. With this type of diabetes, your body does not make or use insulin efficiently. Type 2 diabetes can usually be avoided by following a healthy diet and an active lifestyle, as obesity is the main risk factor for type 2 diabetes. In fact, research has found that women with a BMI of 30 kg/m are more likely to develop diabetes. type 2 diabetes by 28 times compared to women of normal weight.
What are the early signs of diabetes?
Symptoms of diabetes include the following, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
- frequent urination
- extreme thirst
- Unexplained weight loss
- Excessive hunger
- blurred vision
- Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
- extreme tiredness
- very dry skin
- Sores that heal slowly
- susceptible to infection
In addition, symptoms of type 1 diabetes — which can form over weeks or months and usually appear in children — include nausea, vomiting and stomach pain, as noted by the CDC. However, type 1 diabetes can occur at any age. Meanwhile, the symptoms of type 2 diabetes can be slow to develop over several years, and they can be difficult to spot.