November is the awareness month for diabetes. According to the CDC about 37.7 million of Americans have diabetes. That’s about 1 in 10 people who are diagnosed with diabetes. According to the World Health Organization diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar, which over time can lead to other serious health issues.
Diabetes is when your body doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use it as well as it could be used.
“There are several different types of diabetes,” WHS nurse Cindy Delargy said. “You can either not produce insulin or your body is unable to use the insulin that it has or it doesn’t produce enough insulin.”
In your body insulin is released from your pancreas because insulin helps blood sugar into your body cells to give you energy. When your body isn’t making enough insulin or your cells stop responding as well then too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream. This can lead to more serious health problems if left untreated.
“Insulin basically transports glucose, which is why we eat, into every cell of the body and without insulin, the cells literally starve to death,” Delargy said.
Diabetes affects people of all ages for multiple different reasons. Many factors go into diabetes. Diabetes has been around for thousands of years. It’s the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S. In the 1920s they discovered insulin and different treatments for people with diabetes which has helped to improve the lifespan of people. In today’s societies they have different options depending on what type of diabetes you have.
Some options depend on the type of diabetes someone has and the severity.
“There’s either a pump with a needle in your body or a shot of insulin as an option,” Delargy said.
Depending on the type of diabetes you have, type two is the most common type of diabetes. The best way to prevent type two diabetes is to stay active and healthy. Although someone can have a healthy lifestyle other things factor into diabetes like family history and genetics.
“If we keep healthy and watch our diets while maintaining physical activities, that could help,” Delargy said. ” Some of it can also just be hereditary and they are healthy but still develop diabetes.”
