Early Signs Of Diabetes

admin — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:42:00 +0000

Diabetes is a major health problem here in the U.S. It can be controlled or managed with lifestyle and diatary changes. In fact, it can actually be reversed. But it will require a major effort to do so. But it’s worth it. Diabetes most certainly will shorten your life, and if it is not controlled, it is nasty in its later stages.

It should be noted that we’re talking about Type 2 diabetes here, or adult diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is the one people have when they are born. Most of them take insulin all their lives, which generally are shorter than the average person. Type 2 sneaks up on you, and because a person is older, usually over 40 when he or she gets it, it requires a real lifestyle change to manage and/or control it. But it can be done, and the results of the effort are worth it.

The Main Pre-Diabetic Symptoms

If you have two or more of these pre-diabetes symptoms you should seriously consider getting yourself checked out:

1) If you find you are excessively thirsty, not just after extreme exercise or hot weather.

2) You seem to constantly have a dry mouth – even if you’ve just had a drink.

3) You find you are having to urinate frequently.

4) You have unexpected weight loss or gain (even though you may be constantly hungry and eating well. Of course you may be eating the wrong things which would probably make your pre-diabetes symptom worse).

5) You feel lethargic. You always feel as if you have no energy; you are weak and tired all the time.

6) Sometimes your vision is blurry – be careful, untreated eye problems caused through diabetes can lead to blindness. You should have regular eye checks, especially as you get older because your eyes can be the early warning signal for many diseases – not just diabetes.

7) You have cuts or sores or bruises (especially on your feet) that are slow to heal.

If you experience excessive itching or soreness in the genital area or yeast infections (which can be misdiagnosed as thrush) it may be a sign of too much sugar in your urine.

Risk Factors For Diabetes

There are different types of diabetes; pre-diabetes, type 1, type 2, gestational and maturity onset. And, depending on your age, lifestyle and family history you may be more susceptible to developing diabetes.

Foe example you may be more prone to developing diabetes if any of these factors apply to you:

Your family background is African American, American Indian, Asian American, Pacific Islander, or Hispanic American/Latino.

You have a parent, brother, or sister with diabetes

You are aged over 45 and are overweight you might be at risk of diabetes type 2

You have had gestational diabetes or have given birth to a baby over 9 pounds in weight

You have high blood pressure.

Your cholesterol levels are not good.

I myself have diabetes and high blood pressure–or I used to. We’ll present you with a lot of opinions in future posts from all sorts of experts on what to do about diabetes. Well, the bottom line is this. Every doctor you’ll ever consult about diabetes will say these key things:

Lose Weight–Probably the most important thing, If you’re like I was–55 years old, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, weighing 200 pounds–you’re too heavy. The pancreas, which produces insulin for your body which is used to keep blood sugars below the diabetic threshold level, can only produce a certain amount of insulin. In my case, for example, at 5′ 5” in height, my pancreas can only produce enough insulin for a weight of 175 pounds. After that–not enough insulin is produced and diabetes sets in. Drop 30 pounds and you’re good.
Change Your Diet to Reduce Blood Sugar–Cut out sugar and "bad carbohydrates," which convert into sugar during digestion.
Exercise Regularly– Aerobic exercise every other day will do the trick–30 minutes a day. A brisk walk will even suffice.

I know you’re thinking, O Boy! Is that all? Well, it’s doable. It’ll take some work and commitment. But if you’re like I was at 55 and the doctor says, "If you don’t lose weight and exercise, you probably won’t live 10 more years. If you do what I say and stay with it, you’ll see 80." Well, that was all the motivation I needed.

Oh, and one more thing. If you follow the guidelines above, your blood pressure and cholesterol will drop to normal levels, too. Just a little bonus for your effort!

We’ll have a lot more detailed information on diabetes and its treatment in future posts.

Published by Heart Wellness Store

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