The 14th November marks World Diabetes Day where many different counties and individuals come together to raise money and awareness for this widespread and debilitating condition.
There are two types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Type 1 is characterised by the body’s inability to produce insulin. On the other hand, Type 2 diabetes is where your insulin doesn’t work properly or the pancreas can’t produce enough insulin.
Around 10% of those with diabetes in the UK have type 1 and the unfortunate case is that it doesn’t occur because of lifestyle factors, it just comes about. On the other hand, the other 90% of people have type 2 diabetes which is caused by lifestyle factors such as a lack of exercise, overeating, sugar, smoking, and other unhealthy activities.
At the minute, there is no known cure for diabetes which means that once you get it, you can’t go back, but there are medications and devices to manage it. However, most importantly, there are ways to prevent against getting type 2 diabetes which comes down to just making the right decisions each day.
Diabetes isn’t where the problems end either. It can also put you at a high risk for a number of other conditions such a cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, eye disease, amputations, depressions, neuropathy, sexual dysfunction, and dementia.
Now, when it comes to avoiding diabetes, the advice is the same as avoiding a variety of other ill-health conditions: exercise often and eat healthily. Together, these two factors can dramatically improve your health in a number of ways, but one of the biggest and most common is providing protection against diabetes.
All of this week we’ll be providing more facts and tips about diabetes to help keep you informed and your health on the right track.