Question:
I’ve been very thirsty lately and someone mentioned to me that this is a
symptom for diabetes. Is that true?
Answer:
An intense thirst is one diabetes symptom. Here are others: frequent urination,
strong hunger, fatigue, unintended weight loss, slow-healing sores, dry and
itchy skin, numbness or tingling in your feet, and blurred vision. However,
some people with diabetes do not have symptoms.
Diabetes
mellitus is a group of diseases characterized by high levels of blood sugar.
Diabetes can create serious health problems, but diabetics can control the
disease.
If
you have diabetes, your body can’t produce insulin or can’t use it properly.
Insulin is a hormone that helps control the sugar in your blood. Insulin is
made by the pancreas, a large organ behind the stomach.
Your
body converts most of the food you eat into a form of sugar called glucose,
which is our main source of energy. If your body does not make enough insulin
or if the insulin it makes doesn’t work the way it should, glucose can’t get
into your cells and remains in your blood.
High
levels of glucose in the blood damage nerves and blood vessels.
This
can lead to complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease,
blindness, and lower-limb amputation.
About
18.2 million Americans have diabetes.
More
than 8 million people 60 years or older suffer from the disease.
A
small percentage of diabetics have type-1 diabetes, which usually occurs in
people under age 30. Diabetics with this form of the disease can not produce insulin.
About
90 percent of Americans with diabetes have type-2 diabetes. It is most common
in adults over age 40, and the risk of getting it increases with age. With this
form of diabetes, the body does not always produce enough insulin or does not
use insulin efficiently. Being overweight and inactive increases the chances of
developing type-2 diabetes.
Type-2
diabetes can be prevented in people who are at an increased risk or have
pre-diabetes, a condition in which glucose levels are higher than normal but
not yet high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. People with pre-diabetes are
more likely to develop diabetes within 10 years and are also more likely to
have a heart attack or stroke.
A
recent study showed that people with pre-diabetes can sharply lower their
chances of developing the disease through modest weight loss with diet and
exercise.
That
same study showed that changes in diet and exercise were especially effective
in curbing the development of diabetes in older people. In fact, the
development of diabetes dropped by 71 percent in adults 60 and older who were
enrolled in the study.
Because
type-2 diabetes is more common in older people, especially in people who are
overweight, doctors recommend that anyone 45 years of age or older be tested
for diabetes.
If
you have a question, please write to fred@healthygeezer.com
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2007 by Fred Cicetti