Diabetes Information - Types And Symptoms

The human body is a highly efficient machine. Food, as its crude fuel, is digested for energy and growth. Our system refines the food we eat by breaking it down into glucose to be used by our cells to live. However, glucose can only enter our cells with the assistance of insulin. This whole process is part of what we call metabolism and this is screwed up when we have diabetes.

With the statement above, diabetes is considered as a metabolism disorder. It is a current global epidemic that can be actually avoided but our current lifestyle and eating habits have made preventing the disease a difficult one. In the United States alone, about 24 million people have diabetes and only 18 million of that figure have been diagnosed.

Diabetics are deprived of sugar because their cells have poor glucose absorption. Since glucose is left unused by our cells, it builds up in the blood causing high blood sugar levels. Eventually it ends up in urine making it sweet. Diabetes Mellitus translates in 'honey urine' or 'sweet urine' which aptly describes the diabetic's liquid waste. A person with diabetes urinates with high sugar content. This is why you might notice that ants are attracted to it.

What are the symptoms of diabetes?

The problem with diabetes is that its symptoms are often overlooked and ignored. The initial symptoms seem harmless-the main reason why many people are undiagnosed until severe signs are evident. It is studied that early detection of diabetes significantly decreases the chances of having difficult complications in the future. So always be on the lookout for these symptoms:

Frequent and unusual urination, thirst, and hunger
Peculiar loss of weight
Being overweight
Frequent feeling of fatigue
High irritability
Repeated infections
Blurry vision
Slow healing wounds and bruises
Tingling and numbness
Bladder infections
Skin and gum infections

Diabetes can either be Type 1 or Type 2. There are actually other types but the said two are the most common.

Type 1 diabetes is believed to be a life-long disease in which the pancreas is underperforming by producing inadequate insulin for stabilizing blood sugar. This type of diabetes is often called juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes.

Type 2, on the other hand, is considered a non-insulin dependent type of diabetes. This means that insulin production may be sufficient but it is just not working like it should be. This may be referred to as "insulin resistance" in which the body is unable to respond properly to the hormone.

By: Loren Denton

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Loren R. Denton is a diabetes studies expert. For more great tips and info on diabetes, visit www.diabetesreversal.net.