healthy diet

The National Health and Nutrition Examination survey revealed that 6.3 million Americans are diabetic and don’t even know it. Moreover, each year these patients with type 2 diabetes run up an $18 billion health bill. Researchers looked at health care use patterns of people for two years leading up to their diagnosis to determine the results. The study also revealed that 4 to 6% of men ages 25 to 64 and 14% of men ages 65 to 69 have undiagnosed diabetes. Medical costs include $2.3 billion for cardiovascular disease, $720 million for hypertension, $443 million for kidney problems and $293 million for neurological afflictions. Perhaps you may be wondering, “Am I in need of diabetes care?”

There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2 and gestational. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, where the body’s immune system turns against itself, attacking insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Scientists believe viral and genetic factors are at play here, with most people receiving a diagnosis when they are younger. This type of diabetes occurs evenly in males and females, but is more common in Caucasian sectors of the population, particularly in northern European countries like Sweden and Finland. The onset is sudden for a type 1 diabetic, who has blurry vision, feels constantly hungry, thirsty and fatigued, and loses weight rapidly. If they do not receive insulin everyday, they can lapse into a coma. You may need immediate medical attention if you’re always thirsty, you urinate frequently, if your breathing becomes more rapid, if your abdomen hurts or if your breath smells like nail polish remover.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form, accounting for 90 to 95% of all cases. For unknown reasons, African Americans are 1.6 times more likely to develop the disease than Caucasians. Similarly, Hispanics are 1.5 times more likely and American Natives/Alaskan Natives are 2.2 times more likely to become a diabetic. It’s believed that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are twice as likely to get diabetes as well. Eighty percent of those who develop this disease are overweight and many of these patients are also older. Many diabetics will encounter rapid heartbeats, trembling, sweating and irritability, while always feeling hungry and fatigued.

There are several ways to test if a person is diabetic. For type 2, doctors can perform a Fasting Plasma Glucose Test, which is convenient, easy and less expensive than other tests, according to the American Diabetes Association. For this test, you’ll need to fast for eight hours, and then blood will be drawn and sent to a lab. A normal fasting, blood glucose level would come back 70 to 100 milligrams per deci-liter, whereas a person with diabetes would have a level beyond 126. Sometimes the test results will come back inconclusive and a Casual Plasma Glucose Test will be done, with blood drawn at a random interval. If the glucose level is over 200, then diabetes is likely the culprit. Pregnant women may receive an Oral Glucose Test. A Hemoglobin A1c Test is another important diabetes blood test, which examines blood sugar levels over a 6 to 12 week period through home blood glucose monitoring.

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type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas is unable to produce insulin to transport energy throughout the bloodstream. This disease is generally treated with injections, an insulin pump or an insulin pen. Type 2 diabetes occurs most frequently in older, overweight Americans, where the body stops responding to the insulin produced. These patients are treated with diet and weight management, as well as medications and insulin supplements. Both of these types fall under the blanket classification of “diabetes mellitus,” which is one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

Diabetes mellitus is a world-wide disease afflicting 171 million people as of 2000 (or 2.8% of the population), although many people remain undiagnosed. It’s estimated that the number of people affected will double by 2030. Unlike many other diseases, the scope of diabetes is most encompassing in developed countries, like the United States, Australia, Sweden, Finland and the UK, where unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyes may be contributing factors. Over the past thirty years, the rate of type 2 diabetes has increased substantially to include 24 million diagnosed, 5.7 million undiagnosed and another 60 million overweight, sedentary and borderline diabetics. The American Diabetes Association reports that over 18% of Americans over 60 have diabetes. As a result, the Center for Disease Control has dubbed the change an “epidemic” and predicted that 1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will develop the disease during their lifetime.

If treatments for diabetes are not sought, many complications may ensue. Up to 50% of people with the disease suffer diabetic neuropathy, which causes tingling, pain, numbness and weakness in the hands and feet. Sometimes this can lead to reduced blood flow, ulcers, gangrene and amputation. After 15 years, 2% of diabetics go blind and 10% suffer severe visual impairment as a result of damage to the retinal blood vessels. Diabetes is among the leading causes of kidney failure, causing 10 to 20% of diabetic deaths. Another 50% die from heart disease or stroke.

Patient participation is essential to treating diabetes mellitus. People who smoke, are overweight, have high cholesterol and blood pressure, and do not exercise regularly will suffer more severe effects of the disease. One proposed treatment for people with type 2 is gastric bypass surgery, which normalizes blood glucose levels in over 80% of severely obese diabetics. While researchers aren’t sure why this approach works, the death rate for severely obese people is reduced by 40% with surgery, so this may become a standard treatment in the future. Patients with type 1 may benefit from a kidney-pancreas transplant or from transplanted exogenous beta cells that stimulate insulin production, although more research is needed.

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