Facebook Pixel

What Is Type 2 Diabetes?

By HERWriter Blogger
 
Rate This
Diabetes Type 2 related image MonkeyBusiness Images/PhotoSpin

Diabetes is a condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It is actually a group of metabolic diseases diagnosed in a person who has high blood sugar (blood glucose).

Diabetics have high blood sugar levels due to one of two reasons. Type 1 diabetics have bodies that do not produce insulin and due to no fault of their own will be in need of daily insulin shots for the rest of their lives.

Type 2 diabetics have bodies that do not produce enough insulin to function properly or else the cells in their bodies are insulin resistant and do not react to insulin. Family history and genetics can contribute to developing type 2 diabetes as well as other lifestyle risk factors such as lack of exercise, poor diet and excess body weight.

Ninety percent of diabetics worldwide have type 2 diabetes.

A third type, gestational diabetes affects pregnant women with high levels of glucose. While many Americans downplay diabetes as just "high sugar", it is a serious disease with deadly consequences.

Diabetics may experience increased thirst (polydipsia) and hunger (polyphagia) and frequent urination (polyuria). Prolonged complications from diabetes can include kidney disease, hypertension, skin infections, hearing loss, stroke, glaucoma, and a host of other issues including death.

These problems do not have to happen, though. Type 2 diabetes can be controlled through proper foods, good weight control and medicine.

The people who are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese as compared to people at a healthy body weight. They are physically inactive and eat the wrong foods (high fat, processed, and high calorie) too. Soda drinkers are also at higher risk.

The journal Diabetologia reported findings from Imperial College London researchers that found even those who drink just one 12-ounce can of non-diet soda increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 22 percent.

The highest risk group also has significant abdominal obesity, or belly fat. The excess weight causes the release of chemicals that destabilize both the cardiovascular and metabolic systems.

Since weight control is such an important part of managing type 2 diabetes, the American Diabetes Association has developed several cookbooks to help anyone learn how to cook healthy and delicious food.

One such recipe is the turkey and sun dried tomatoes meatloaf from the cookbook, "The Stress Free Diabetes Kitchen" by Barbara Seelig-Brown. The recipe is featured in its entirety by the blogger, Karen Hartzell, who writes In The Kitchen With KP. She and other bloggers are working with the American Diabetes Association to promote healthy eating and diabetes prevention.

Eating right can taste good! Add to that some exercise and you will be on your way to controlling type 2 diabetes.

Sources:

InTheKitchenWithKP.com. Web. Sept 12, 2013. "Recipe: Turkey and sun dried tomato meatloaf".
http://www.inthekitchenwithkp.com/recipe/turkey-sun-dried-tomato-meatloaf-30daysoffamilyhealth-amdiabetesbooks

Medicalnewstoday.com. Web. Sept 12, 2013. "What is Diabetes".
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/diabetes

Type 2 diabetes. MedlinePlus. National Institute of Health. Web. Sept 12, 2013.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000313.htm

Reviewed September 12, 2013
by MIchele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith

Add a CommentComments

There are no comments yet. Be the first one and get the conversation started!

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
By submitting this form, you agree to EmpowHER's terms of service and privacy policy

We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

Diabetes Type 2

Get Email Updates

Health Newsletter

Receive the latest and greatest in women's health and wellness from EmpowHER - for free!