The Diabetes Manager

Diabetes can be one of the worst chronic diseases, robbing you of your health and ultimately our life. While doctors disagree about the causes of the disease, there are several factors believed to heighten your risk of contracting diabetes. In order to reduce risk factors, you should pay attention to your general health, especially your diet, and learn everything scientists already know about this disease. It has already been proven that genetics play a role in the risk of contracting diabetes. Family history bears this out, even going back a century or more to before the disease was well-known. Those with an immediate family member who has diabetes are up to 33% more likely to eventually end up getting the disease than those whose family histories do not contain it. Let us take a look at the causes of diabetes…

Scientists do know that there is a large heredity component to diabetes. It is easy to see patterns in families, even going back to before diabetes was named as a disease or much was understood about it. If someone in your family has the disease, you are 25-33 percent more likely to get it than someone who does not have any occurrences of diabetes in their family.

Diabetic mothers pose special risks for their unborn children. A woman who already has diabetes prior to conception or exhibits signs of gestational diabetes is far more likely to bear children who get diabetes in childhood. Diabetic fathers also risk passing on the disease to their children, but the risk level is not as high as it is for mothers.

While none of these factors is an absolute cause of diabetes, it is especially important to monitor the mother during pregnancy. If the mother’s blood sugar is kept at proper levels throughout the pregnancy, she is far less likely to pass diabetes on to her unborn child.

A study sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases is currently investigating whether treating the diabetic’s closest relatives with low doses of insulin or oral diabetes medication can help prevent the onset of the disease.

It is known that the second most important factor besides genetics is a person’s diet. Diabetes is often referred to as the “disease of prosperity” because excessive eating is a significant cause of its onset. Over time, ingesting too much sugar, protein, and fat seems to lead to diabetes.

Chronic overeating overtaxes the pancreas, which is the organ in the body that produces insulin. Eventually, the pancreas shuts down altogether, and insulin stops being produced. This condition rarely occurs in impoverished countries where overeating is not an option for most people.

Genetics and diet are the primary known causes of diabetes. You can’t do much about your genes, but if you follow a proper diet and exercise regularly you can lessen your risk of diabetes.

Extras: Can you die from diabetes

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