World Diabetes Day (WDD) is celebrated annually on 14th November. Learn more about Diabetes with AcuMed.
Diabetes Mellitus is a condition where the amount of glucose in your blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly. This is because your pancreas does not produce any insulin, or not enough insulin, to help glucose enter your body’ cells –or the insulin that is produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance).
2 Major Causes of Diabetes:
- Diabetes Type 1: It develops when the insulin-producing cells in the body have been destroyed and the body is unable to produce any insulin. The exact cause of diabetes type 1 is still unknown but genetic is a big factor.
- Diabetes Type 2: It develops when the insulin-producing cells in the body are unable to produce enough insulin, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly. This type of diabetes can be inherited by family member or cause by unhealthy lifestyle factors such as obesity or poor diet.
Simple steps to preventing diabetes
- Weight management
- Healthy diet
- Exercise regularly
- Regular medical check-up
Long-term complications of diabetes develop gradually. The longer you have diabetes and the less controlled your blood sugar, the higher the risk of complications. Possible complications include:
- Coronary heart disease
- Stroke
- Kidney disease
- Eye disease
- Foot disease
- Nerve disease