Understanding Diabetes

Type 1, or juvenile diabetes is because the body fails to make insulin. Type 2, or adult onset diabetes is because the body becomes resistant to insulin - and you can end up taking insulin with this one as well as Type 1. Yes, Type 2 is hereditary. You shouldn't eat a lot of sugar (and you'd be STUNNED to find out what is considered sugar by your body) if you are even borderline (my mom was.) Being over weight can cause Type 2, and, in fact, children are becoming Type 2 because of the childhood obesity problems today. However, even tho my mom was borderline, I actually tend to run low, despite my weight problem... I firmly believe that 1 - my mother never became fully diabetic, and 2 - I haven't become diabetic BECAUSE we took corn almost completely out of her diet when I became acutely allergic to it. I also wish to point out that groups that tend to eat a lot of corn have a higher incident rate of diabetes than those who don't.

You have certainly proven here that it is a confusing subject as there are varied answers just in a few responses here. My understanding of diabetes is the same as in the 3rd response. I have known people to reverse their diabetes (particularly type 2) by exercising regularly and eating all organic whole foods. Nothing processed and no grains. Natural sugars are OK to a point, just about all fruits and vegetables have some level of natural sugars in them. But any processed sugars should be avoided. My dad is borderline too. Tried to get them eating better a few times, but my parents are stuck in their ways too much and listen to their mainstream doctors too much as well.

You can't prevent Type 1 diabetes, but Type 2 is largely associated with being overweight and living an unhealthy life, so this can be prevented to some extent. Not all instances are caused by weight though, as there is a lot to do with genetics in it, so it can't always be prevented just from losing weight alone. My boyfriend has T2 because he is overweight, but he refuses to do anything about it. Personally, I don't see how you could remain overweight if you know that it's having such an impact on your life. His sugars are getting out of control, and it is getting to the point where he is going to have to inject himself daily if he doesn't sort things out. You'd think that it would be enough to get your mind straight, but for him it just doesn't seem to be.

I think the more extreme diabetic cases can have limited natural sugar (eg fruits) and no artificial sugar at all. If there is a history of diabetes in your family you are more likely to become diabetic, but it can also be triggered by eating habits and body weight even if nobody else in your family was ever diabetic. Type 1 diabetes or "Juvenile Diabetes" is one where the person will take insulin all their life beginning usually in early childhood. Type 2 diabetes is the one that people develop from overindulging in sugars for most of their life. Bad cases of Type 2 will also be treated with insulin, but CAN be controlled in most cases by proper nutrition.

3 honor told you something..which is more or less what it is.. Need exercise.. But honestly, if your question is about sugar ..you need to understand what diabetes is about.. Insulin breaks down sugar into energy which is carried to different parts of the body by your blood. There are acceptable sugar levels before eating breakfast, and two hours after breakfast. The difference between these two gives you an idea whether you are getting enough insulin injected in your blood stream. If not, then you might have to correct it some way. If the difference from accepted standards is nominal, exercises and reduction of carbohydrate intake will do. If it is slightly higher, medication becomes necessary. If it is much higher, the person starts feeling weak, so he or she needs to carry sugar pills around so that he or she can get energy instantaneously. This is hoping a little insulin is still present in his or her blood. Some folks need to take insulin injections..regularly. That is sad. One easy way to identify diabetes is need to urinate more frequently. Especially in the nights. The moment such things are noticed, if corrective measures such as exercises and sugar control are taken in time, it can be kept in control for reasonably long. This is why ..it is called lifestyle disease.

Diabetes is a troublesome chronic disease .Generally speaking, it is presented by heredity. In addition,it was reported that some linked it with a kind of virus which upsets the function of pancreatic island.It is said that most of the people who suffer from type 1 diabetes are young people ,on the contrary,most of type 2 diabetes sufferers are old people.My FIL suffers from it.He takes very little meal and abstain from lots of food apart from taking medicine.

Janey, this is a very serious subject! My family on my mother's side has a history of diabetes! Out of us eight siblings, only I and another brother, don't have diabetes! But when I had my surgery for cancer, my doctor told me that I was very close to the borderline, and he advised me to start cutting down on sugar intake now, because as I age, the chances of my getting diabetes increases ! The way he explained it to me was, your body has a machine that processes all the sugar intake ! When there is an overabundance of sugar to process, it has to do double the work, and he said that when it breaks down from over working, that's when you get diabetes, and you have to take insulin to process the sugar intake!

I can tell you exactly what you need to know. First off if you ever become diabetic, do not go to your regular doctor. Go to an endocrinologist. They specialize in diabetes. Now, here is the real deal, there is no such thing as borderline diabetes. You are either diabetic or you're not. And NO, you cannot have any sugar. What happens is that the pancreas stops producing insulin. The insulin is what breaks down the sugar or the carbs. There are diabetics that do not take medication, they control it with diet and exercise like I do. Others need the medication, some take oral meds and others inject the needle. I looked this up many years ago and my doctor told me also. What happens is that your immune system for some reason starts killing off pancreaotic cells killing the pancreas slowly. In time the pancreas will stop producing insulin completely. If you control it by diet, you cannot have any real sugar. No carbs meaning no bread or pasta. And fruit becomes a thing of the past. You would need to eat good foods and lots of vegetables. You see, since you would not be having any carbs, you need to offset all the protein with vegetables. If you are on the insulin, like the pill, you could have some carbs but not all the time. If you shooting the injection, then you would be eating a little more. But remember this, no matter what stage it may be, you have to check your sugar a few time a day. I have not tested mine in a while, but I need to. Normally they will make you test your blood 2 to 3 times a day. You do that with sticking your finger and putting the blood drop onto the strip in the blood meter. That reads it. The normal range for men is 65 to 120 and the range for women is 70 to 130. If your sugar is near the higher number you are at risk. The real way to test yourself would be on a fast. You cannot test yourself right after you eat. Another thing to remember, in a person without diabetes, if they have a piece of cake now, their sugar will go up but it will return to normal in about 30 minutes. In a diabetic, if they have that same piece of cake, it could take a day or more for your sugar level to return to normal. And when you eat carbs, bread, pasta, you will not feel the effects of that for 2 to 3 days. The you will be feeling tired and cranky. The tell tale signs of diabetes are uncontrollable thirst, urinating frequently and getting tired right after eating. Also diabetes affects the eyes, the liver, the kidneys and many other organs. Also diabetics are a higher risk of heart attacks. And the signs of a heart attack do not always mean the normal signs of tightening in the left arm and pain in the chest, It could be a tooth ache. But going back to the beginning, if you ever get diagnosed with it, consult an endocrinologist. They will be able to monitor your blood sugar and provide you with a diet that will be right for you. I hope this helps.