What is dibetes? The ADA (American Diabetic Association) defines diabetes as a disease in which the body can't control the amount of sugar in the blood, resulting in too much sugar floating in the blood stream.The organ in the body that helps control our blood sugars, excreting insulin into the blood stream, is our pancreas. Insulin locks onto the sugar molecules and drags them from the blood stream and across our cell membrane where the sugar can be used for energy. A diabetic either doesn't make enough of his own insulin, or the insulin he does make can't perform its job for one reason or another.
When this happens, a doctor will prescribe insulin or an oral diabetic medication in the form of a pill to help keep blood sugar levels between 80-120.
Tight control to maintain blood sugar in this range is important. Blood sugar that is too low or too high plays havoc on a person's cells and can cause a variety of medical problems related to diabetes.
Here are some symptoms of high blood sugar:
Increased thirst
Difficulty concentrating
Blurred vision
Frequent urination
Fatigue (weak, tired feeling)
Headaches
Unexplained weight loss
Age greater than 45 years
Diabetes during a previous pregnancy
Excess body weight (especially around the waist)
Family history of diabetes
Given birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
HDL cholesterol under 35
High blood levels of triglycerides, a type of fat molecule (250 mg/dL or more)
High blood pressure (greater than or equal to 140/90 mmHg)
Impaired glucose tolerance
Low activity level
Poor diet
Diabetes during a previous pregnancy
Excess body weight (especially around the waist)
Family history of diabetes
Given birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
HDL cholesterol under 35
High blood levels of triglycerides, a type of fat molecule (250 mg/dL or more)
High blood pressure (greater than or equal to 140/90 mmHg)
Impaired glucose tolerance
Low activity level
Poor diet
Please, if you are at risk and have had any of the symptoms of diabetes, please see your doctor and be checked. All it takes is a simple blood draw.
If you would like to help raise money for diabetes research, learn how by going to http://www.brendanovak.com/ and donate an item for her online auction coming May, 2008. Or, just stop by to see how you can participate in the online auction and help author Brenda Novak raise more than last year!!! Every contribution no matter how big or how small helps!
Some facts taken from webMD for this post.
1 comment:
Great information, Kathleen. Thanks for sharing.
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