What Is A Diabetes Meal Plan
There’s no “magic” diabetes diet. However, there are dietary recommendations for people with diabetes. Diet methods for managing both type 1 and type 2 diabetes include:
- Carbohydrate counting
Signs and symptoms of diabetes, whether type 1 or type 2, do not differ.
- Early diabetes may not produce any symptoms at all.
- When symptoms do occur, the age of onset is typically different, with type 1 diabetes being diagnosed most often in younger people , while type 2 diabetes is diagnosed more commonly in adults. However, this is not always the case.
- The increasing incidence of obesity among children and adolescents has caused a rise in the development of type 2 diabetes in young people.
- Further, some adults with diabetes may be diagnosed with a form of late-onset type 1 diabetes.
Diabetes Disrupts The Body’s Insulin Response
Diabetes, regardless of type, affects how your body produces insulin. Insulin is what helps your body convert the sugars from food into fuel for your cells.
Normally, the pancreas releases insulin after you eat. But people with diabetes don’t produce or use insulin properly, which means blood sugar, also called blood glucose, stays elevated at dangerously high levels. This can lead to a condition called hyperglycemia.
All diabetics can experience hyperglycemia, regardless of type. If not addressed, hyperglycemia can result in a life-threatening coma. Meanwhile, chronic cases can cause organ damage.
“These long-term complications can be severe and can lead to blindness, foot ulcers, gangrene requiring amputation, and kidney failure,” says Arnold Saperstein, MD, FACP, an endocrinologist and chief medical officer at Cecelia Health.
Causes Of Type 2 Diabetes
People with type 2 diabetes have insulin resistance. The body still produces insulin, but its unable to use it effectively.
Researchers arent sure why some people become insulin resistant and others dont, but several lifestyle factors may contribute, including being inactive and carrying excess weight.
Other genetic and environmental factors may also play a role. When you develop type 2 diabetes, your pancreas will try to compensate by producing more insulin. Because your body is unable to effectively use insulin, glucose will accumulate in your bloodstream.
Type 2 diabetes is much more common than type 1.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions , 34.2 million people in the United States were living with diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes in 2018. Thats a little over 1 in 10 people. Ninety to 95 percent of people with diabetes have type 2.
The percentage of people with diabetes increases with age.
About 10.5 percent of the general population has diabetes. Among those 65 years old and older, the rate reaches 26.8 percent. Only 25 out of every 10,000 Americans under 20 years old had been diagnosed with diabetes in 2018.
Men and women get diabetes at roughly the same rate. However, prevalence rates are higher among certain races and ethnicities.
Prevalence rates are higher for Hispanic Americans of Mexican or Puerto Rican descent than they are for those of Central and South American or Cuban descent.
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Would Be The Signs And Symptoms Of Diabetes Different
The very first signs and symptoms of your body appear when bloodstream sugar will get excessive. Signs and symptoms include thirst, hunger, fatigue, frequent peeing, weight reduction, tingling or numbness within the ft, and blurred vision. High bloodstream sugar may cause rapid breathing, dried-out skin, fruity breath, and nausea.
Meanwhile, the very first signs and symptoms of diabetes type 2 might not appear for several years meaning the condition can ravage an individuals body without one realizing it. Early signs and symptoms include frequent infections, fatigue, frequent peeing, thirst, hunger, blurred vision, erection dysfunction in males, and discomfort or numbness in the possession of or ft. Drincic notes that signs and symptoms of diabetes type 2 dont start as all of a sudden as signs and symptoms of your body.
Is Diagnosing Diabetes Types 1 And 2 Similar
Blood tests used to diagnose type 1 and type 2 diabetes include fasting blood sugar, a hemoglobin A1C test, and a glucose tolerance test. The A1C test measures the average blood sugar level over the past few months. The glucose tolerance test measures blood sugar after a sugary drink is given.
“The blood sugar testing we do to diagnose and manage type 1 diabetes is very similar to the testing we do for type 2 diabetes,” says Drincic. “We can do a blood test that looks for antibodies. That tells us if it is type 1 or 2.” In type 1 diabetes, the immune system makes antibodies that act against the cells in the pancreas that make insulin, and these antibodies can be detected in a blood test. Your doctor may suspect type 2 diabetes based on your symptoms and risk factors, such as obesity and family history.
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Do You Know The Complications Of Diabetes
Be it type 1 or type 2, Drinsic states, the large picture for diabetes is about stopping complications, that are mostly associated with nerve and circulation system damage. For instance, for those who have either kind of diabetes, youve two times the chance of cardiac arrest or cardiovascular disease compared to someone with no disease. Other complications include eye problems, kidney disease, feet infections, skin ailment, stroke, high bloodstream pressure, cognitive decline, and cholesterol.
The Causes Of Type 1 And Type 2 Are Different
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition, which means that your immune system mistakenly attacks your body. In the case of type 1 diabetes, immune-system cells go after the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, which causes insulin production to suddenly turn off.
No one knows exactly why your body goes on the offensive, but there are probably many contributing factors. “We don’t completely understand why this happens but there is some data that a viral infection can trigger the process if you already have a predisposition,” says Dr. Vouyiouklis Kellis. “You may already have antibodies but the second hit is a viral infection.” That predisposition could also be genetic.
With type 2 diabetes, genetics, including family history, can also play a role, but here the main risk comes from being obese or overweight, as well as other lifestyle factors, such as not being active and eating unhealthy foods, Jasmine D. Gonzalvo, PharmD, director of the Center for Health Equity and Innovation at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, tells Health. “The body still has some ability to produce insulin, but the body has a resistance to the insulin.” In type 2 diabetes, the cells may also have difficulty using the insulin effectively, called insulin resistance.
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Symptoms Of Type 1 And Type 2 Diabetes
In general, the symptoms of type 1 and type 2 diabetes are fairly similar. The symptoms of type 1 diabetes will show up when your blood sugar level is elevated. These symptoms include:
- extreme thirst
- hunger
- numbness or tingling in extremities
With type 2 the symptoms may not show right away and it may actually be up to a year before you notice symptoms. So, a person could have type 2 diabetes for a period of time and not even know it. Their symptoms will be close to the same with type 1 but may be subtle. Men with type 2 diabetes may experience erectile dysfunction. Other signs of high blood sugar include dry skin, nausea, and fruity breath.
It is crucial to see your doctor the moment you notice any of these symptoms. If you experience the above symptoms, then your doctor should run a blood test to measure your hemoglobin A1C. This test will tell the doctor what your average glucose has been for the past three months or so. An A1C higher 6.5 is considered diabetes.
Symptoms Of Type 1 And Type 2
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes share common symptoms. They are:
- going to the toilet a lot, especially at night
- being really thirsty
- feeling more tired than usual
- losing weight without trying to
- genital itching or thrush
- cuts and wounds take longer to heal
- blurred vision.
But where type 1 and type 2 diabetes are different in symptom is how they appear. Type 1 can often appear quite quickly. That makes them harder to ignore. This is important because symptoms that are ignored can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis .
But type 2 diabetes can be easier to miss. This is because it develops more slowly, especially in the early stages. That makes it harder to spot the symptoms. That is why it is important to know your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Some people have diabetes and dont know it. They can have it for up to 10 years without knowing.
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Can You Manage Your Diabetes With Diet Plan And Workout
Yes, you definitely can. Diet and workout not only help control your weight, however they likewise assist manage your blood sugar level. Exercise helps increase your metabolic process and help you burn more energy. These two aspects integrate to give you more endurance and increased ability to manage your diabetes.
What Happens When You Have Type 1 And Type 2 Diabetes
If you have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, it means you have too much glucose in your blood. This is the same for both types. But the difference between them is how this happens.
If you have type 1 diabetes, it means you have an autoimmune condition. This means your body has attacked and destroyed the cells that make a hormone called insulin. So you cant make insulin anymore.
We all need insulin as it helps take the glucose from our blood into our bodys cells. We then use this glucose for energy. Without insulin, the glucose level in your blood gets too high.
Type 2 diabetes is different. If youve got type 2, either your body doesnt make enough insulin, or your insulin doesnt work properly. This is known as insulin resistance. Like type 1, this means the level of glucose in your blood is too high.
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Type 2 Diabetes And Insulin Injections
People with type 2 diabetes may need to take insulin injections, usually for one of two main reasons:
- Low sensitivity to insulin: The more excess body weight we carry, the less sensitive we are to insulin Being insensitive to insulin means insulin doesnt reduce blood glucose levels as much as it should. People with low insulin sensitivity often need to be injected with insulin to avoid hyperglycemia
- Beta cell failure: If you develop insulin resistance, you need more of it to keep your blood glucose levels stable. More insulin production means more work for the pancreas. Over time, the beta cells can become burnt out by the constant strain, and stop producing insulin altogether. Eventually, you can get to a similar situation as someone with type 1 diabetes, in which your body is incapable of producing the amount of insulin you need to keep blood glucose levels under control. Insulin injections are necessary in these situations
Diagnosis Is The Same
Diagnosing type 1 and type 2 diabetes is based on tests to determine how high your blood sugar is. There are several different types of tests, including the A1C test, a blood test which looks at your average blood-sugar levels over the past two to three months, and a fasting plasma glucose test, a blood test which measures levels after you’ve been fasting for at least eight hours.
If your doctor thinks you have type 1 diabetes, he or she may also order certain antibody tests.
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What Is Type 1 Diabetes Who Is At Risk From It
Type 1 diabetes is where the cells in the body that typically produce insulin have been destroyed, leaving the body unable to produce the key hormone.
Its far less common, affecting around 10 per cent of adults who have the disease.
It is treated with daily insulin injections or an insulin pump.
This form of the disease typically occurs in childhood, or before the age of 40 and is not linked to obesity.
One well-known sufferer of Type 1 diabetes is Prime Minister Theresa May.
She has recently revealed that she has to inject herself with insulin up to five times a day to manage her condition.
While pregnant women can also suffer from gestinational diabetes, when they produce too much blood sugar while carrying their unborn baby.
Model Danielle Lloyd has told how she suffered from the condition while pregnant with her fourth child and was told to have bed rest.
Causes Of Type 1 Diabetes
The bodys immune system is responsible for fighting off foreign invaders, such as harmful viruses and bacteria.
In people with type 1 diabetes, the immune system mistakes the bodys own healthy cells for foreign invaders. The immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. After these beta cells are destroyed, the body is unable to produce insulin.
Researchers dont know why the immune system sometimes attacks the bodys own cells. It may have something to do with genetic and environmental factors, such as exposure to viruses. Research into autoimmune diseases is ongoing.
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Ultimately The Goal In Managing Both Types Of Diabetes Is To Keep Blood Sugar Levels Steady Over Time
The goal of diabetes treatment-whether through insulin injections, medication or proper diet-is to keep blood sugar levels as steady as possible to minimize potential complications. All people with diabetes should see a doctor for an A1C test two to four times a year, according to the NIDDK. The test results show average blood glucose level over the past three months, and the goal for many people with diabetes is for that level to remain below 7%.
Diabetes is a chronic condition, and both types of diabetes require long-term treatment. But with proper management, patients can lead long, healthy lives.
Symptoms Of Type 1 Diabetes
The symptoms of type 1 diabetes come on much more quickly and severely because the development of the disease usually happens within a matter of weeks once the immune system has begun attacking the cells that produce insulin.
As insulin production quickly decreases, blood sugar levels quickly increase.
Left unnoticed or untreated, the dangerously high blood sugar levels within even one month of having the disease can become fatal or nearly fatal, putting undiagnosed patients in comas.
Fortunately, most cases of type 1 diabetes are caught before this happens due to its very consistent symptoms.
The most common symptoms of type 1 diabetes include:
- Sudden extreme thirst
- Tingling pain or numbness in feet and hands
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How Type 2 Diabetes Develops
Type 2 diabetes is different. The autoimmune systems of people with type 2 diabetes dont attack beta cells. Instead, type 2 diabetes is characterised by the body losing its ability to respond to insulin. This is known as insulin resistance
The body compensates for the ineffectiveness of its insulin by producing more, but it cant always produce enough. Over time, the strain placed on the beta cells by this level of insulin production can destroy them, diminishing insulin production.
Is Diabetes Treatment Different Too
A good diabetes diet and regular exercise matters for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, Knapp explains. “The big difference is that everybody with type 1 diabetes needs to take insulin, she says. People with type 1 diabetes need to check their blood sugar level with a device called a glucometer about four times a day to know how much insulin to take.”
Treatment for type 2 diabetes also starts with diet and exercise, and oral medication can also be used to increase the amount of insulin the pancreas makes, Knapp says. “Over time, if the pancreas stops making insulin, some people with type 2 will also need insulin.” People with type 2 diabetes also need to check their blood sugar, from one to several times a day, depending on their state of health.
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How Is Type 1 Diabetes And Type 2 Diabetes Treated
Mainstream media would have you believe that treating diabetes is as easy as eating fewer doughnuts or slapping an insulin pump on and poof! Your diabetes is controlled now!
While all patients with type 1 diabetes need insulin to stay alive, there are a variety of treatment plans for people with type 2 diabetes depending on their bodys needs. No treatment plan is better or worse than another. Instead, the right choice for each patient is simply defined by what helps that patient improve their blood sugar levels.
In real life, treating any type of diabetes is a complicated, non-stop juggling act of variables including:
- insulin
- other health conditions
- human error
Lets take a closer look at the basics of treating type 1 diabetes versus treating type 2 diabetes.
In Type 1 Diabetes Your Body Doesnt Produce Insulin
Type 1 diabetes is due to not producing any insulin, says Grenye OMalley, M.D., an endocrinologist at the Mount Sinai Diabetes Center and an assistant professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The most common cause is an autoimmune process in which your body attacks your own pancreas. Without insulin, your body doesnt know to use glucose for energy , even after youve eaten and theres plenty of glucose in your blood. In fact, your liver ends up releasing more glucose into your blood-because glucose isnt being shuttled to your liver for energy and storage, it thinks youre starving. So, your blood sugar stays high , and other cells dont get the energy they need, which can lead to serious health problems.
Type 1 is typically diagnosed at a younger age, but it can be diagnosed at any age, OMalley says. Doctors and scientists arent exactly sure what causes type 1 diabetes, but its likely a genetic condition, and it isnt caused by diet or other lifestyle factors. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases , a patient with type 1 will experience symptoms like increased hunger and thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, blurred vision, numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, sores that dont heal, and unexplained weight loss.
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