November is National Diabetes Awareness month. Chances are that you have someone to wear gray for. It is likely that you or someone you know has some form of diabetes or will develop it in the future. Statistics show that 26 million Americans are living with some type of diabetes while an estimated 57 million Americans aged 20 and up have prediabetes.
Diabetes is when blood glucose levels are above normal because the body cannot produce enough insulin or cannot use what insulin it does make properly. This causes sugar to build up in the blood. There are many complications due to diabetes and if not well managed can range anywhere from amputation, coma, or even death.
There are three main types of diabetes: Type 1, Type 2, and gestational. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease when the immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, causing it to produce little or no insulin. Someone with this type of diabetes has to take insulin every day to live.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of this disease; 90 to 95% of people with diabetes have this type. The chance for developing Type 2 diabetes is significantly higher if there is a family history, a person is overweight, not physically active very often, or 45 years or older. But it is possible to delay or prevent this type of diabetes; by eating right and staying active, the risk is cut in half. Before developing Type 2 diabetes, one will almost always have prediabetes, which is when blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
Gestational diabetes only occurs in three to eight percent of women late in pregnancy and disappears after the baby is born; however, it increases the chance of developing type 2 diabetes in the future by 40 to 60%.
Of course, some people are more at risk than others for developing diabetes because of genetics, health, and lifestyle. It’s possible to prevent it in some cases, and although living with it can be difficult, diabetes doesn’t have to be scary. If well managed, a diabetic person can practically live a normal life. There are even diabetic camps, where kids who deal with diabetes can go and not have to worry. However, that does not change the fact that diabetes is affecting way too many people and is on the long list of diseases without a cure, but the more we can raise awareness and the more people know about diabetes the closer we`ll get to one day finding a cure or being able to prevent it all together.