The Importance of Diabetes Control

Diabetes is a serious disease that affects millions of people. Are you someone who is at risk of developing diabetes? If so, it pays to learn the symptoms to determine if additional investigation is required. When it comes to Diabetes, heredity plays an important role in determining whether of not you will develop the disease. It's good to know that Diabetes can be prevented and sometimes reversed.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or does not utilize insulin properly. Usually, the food you eat is digested and broken down to a simple sugar known as glucose. The glucose then circulates in your blood prior toentering your cells to be used as fuel. Insulin, a horome produced by the pancreas, aids in the transportation of glucose into cells. With Diabetes, this sugar or glucose, cannot properly enter into your cells resulting in too much sugar circulating in your bloodstream, depriving your cells of fuel and leaving you feeling tired.

There are two different types of diabetes.

Type I Diabetes (juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes): Type I Diabetes is caused by the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin.

Type II Diabetes (non insulin dependent diabetes or adult onset diabetes): This diabetes is the result of body tissues becoming resistant to insulin. It is usually hereditary.

Serious consequences can result if Diabetes is neglected. This is why Diabetes control is so important. This is accomplished by monitoring your blood sugar levels and keeping them in an acceptable range.

The most common symptoms of Diabetes are as follow:

- frequent thirst
- frequent urination
- excessive hunger
- excessive tiredness and fatigue

Variouscomplications of Diabetes are:

- vision changes
- recurring skin infections
- kidney damage
- wounds that won't heal
- tingling or numbness in the extremities
- gum disorders
- hair loss and more

Diabetes control is essential if you want to avoid it's many complications. Although Diabetes is a serious disease it can be brought under control by a proper diabetic diet along with exercise.

The American Diabetes Association recommends the following guidelines:

- resting blood sugar levels should be in the range of 70-130 mg/dl
- after a meal your blood sugar levels should be less than 180 mg/dl
- A1C less than 7.0%. Your A1C number measures your average blood glucose over the past 2 to 3 months.
- blood pressure reading around 130/80 mmHg.
- LDL cholesterol less than 100 mg/dl
- HDL cholesterol greater than 40 mg/dl
- Triglycerides less than 150 mg/dl

Use your readings as a diagnostic tool to ensure that your Diabetes is under control. If your numbers are not in the recommended range, you may need to make dietary, exercise, and medication adjustments with the help of your healthcare providerl. Make Diabetes control within your control.

Learn more at 123 Diabetes Health, a comprehensive site full of all sorts of diabetes information.