How Diabetes Affects The Whole Body

Most of us know that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tries to warn us about significant health concerns affecting large populations of people, such as COVID-19. But not everyone knows that the CDC also provides other helpful guidelines and recommendations to residents of Manchester and elsewhere, including how individuals can defend themselves against diabetes. This accurate and objective information could be especially useful to anyone concerned about their personal health and wellness, including those receiving end-of-life care.

The team at Above and Beyond Home Health Care is always happy to help our clients be more aware of their diabetes risks. Or if they already have been diagnosed with the health condition, the staff can provide them with pointers on how to manage it.

Although any age is susceptible to Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, there are two factors that our staff wants people to be aware of.

First, more and more people are being diagnosed with diabetes worldwide. This info comes right from the CDC. While it’s certainly possible that rates are increasing because providers do a better job at identifying and diagnosing it, the CDC suggests it’s more due to a variety of poor health and lifestyle factors.

This can include factors such as increased amounts of obesity, general poor nutrition, poor physical activity, and other dangerous activities like smoking and drinking. We generally don’t take care of ourselves, we exercise less, and we eat worse, and all of these areas can contribute to increases in both types of diabetes.

A second main factor is that the risk of types of diabetes increases over time as your body changes as part of the aging process.

Diabetes Facts

Even those generally unfamiliar with diabetes know it has something to do with blood sugar. Which is technically true.

But diabetes is so much more than that. If untreated, or not treated adequately, it could lead to damage to the body, from minor mood swings to the need to amputate limbs in extreme cases.

Generally, diabetes is caused when sugar, or sugar, builds up in the bloodstream, which then spreads to cells throughout the body. Glucose typically comes from the liver or from food.

Over time, the body often changes how and how much sugar it is able to process regularly changes. There are problems having too high blood sugar levels and problems having too low blood sugar levels. A key hormone in both situations is insulin, which is designed to help your body turn sugar into energy.

Though the cause of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes is not known, many risk factors have been identified, including genetics.

Poor health over time can also increase the risk of diabetes.

The Rest Of The Body

Medical experts say that you should understand how complex diabetes can be and learn as much as you can.

This includes learning how it can impact the processes in the body in different areas.

For instance, Healthline said low blood sugar in the brain can sometimes give the impression of someone having a stroke, such as incomplete motion or difficulty moving or forming words. People with diabetes also have a four times higher chance of having a stroke anyway.

In the digestive system, untreated diabetes can lead to increased thirst. It also can cause someone’s breath to smell sweeter than usual. This can be caused by dangerous ketones in the body.

Poor blood sugar levels often lead to less energy, generally higher fatigue, and difficulty concentrating.  All of these areas may take place if you’re not absorbing enough glucose and your organs are working harder than usual to minimize further damage.

A need to urinate more than usual is one warning sign, and providers may detect higher levels of protein in the urine which might be due to kidneys working hard.

The feet may have less sensation and the skin may be cracked or difficult to repair.

Learn More

Luckily there are treatment methods for some types of diabetes. The key is discussing it with a licensed medical provider, and listening to some of the options available for different types of diabetes.

Types of treatment can include something as simple as eating less sugar. Or having easy access to foods or drinks containing sugar, since conditions can sometimes change quickly.

A provider will likely recommend positive health and lifestyle activities such as regular exercise and moving the body around. All of these can lead to losing weight and eating better.

In some cases, the provider may suggest more serious options such as insulin injections or a pump that connects to the body that provides a steady, regular amount of insulin.

People with these options still have to use caution – in most cases diabetes is permanent, so looking for ways to reduce intake should be done all through your life.

There are plenty of online resources that can help you recognize symptoms, offer tips on improving your health and lifestyle, and learn to live with it.

One upcoming event is World Diabetes Day, which takes place on Nov. 14. This can provide a global perspective and give ideas to educate yourself and those around you.