Diabetes is a condition that affects how your body metabolizes sugar, and it can lead to serious health complications if left untreated. The good news is that type 2 diabetes is often preventable, and there are a few key warning signs to watch out for.
The condition is often associated with genetics, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. If you have any of the risk factors of diabetes, it’s important to be proactive about your health. In this guide, we provide advice for maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet, and exercising regularly — all of which can help to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.
At its most basic, what is diabetes?
Diabetes is a health condition which affects your blood sugar levels. In order to understand its impact, we first need to look at how the body breaks down the food we eat — and how this is different for people with diabetes.
- When someone doesn’t have diabetes, their body breaks most food down into glucose and releases it into the bloodstream. An increase in blood sugar acts as a signal to the pancreas, a gland behind the stomach. The pancreas releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin lets the blood sugar into the body’s cells, which use it to produce energy.
- When someone has diabetes, their body doesn’t make enough insulin, can’t use it the way it should, or can’t make insulin at all. The blood sugar stays in the bloodstream instead of being broken down into energy. Too much blood sugar in the bloodstream can lead to serious health conditions, including angina (chest pain), heart disease, kidney disease, loss of vision, and stroke.
There’s no cure for diabetes at this point in time. However, the condition can be managed using lifestyle practices, such as eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly.
There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2 and gestational (which occurs in pregnancy). There’s nothing you can do to lower your risk of developing type 1, but type 2 can be prevented with the lifestyle choices mentioned above.
