{"id":9832,"date":"2022-11-22T10:16:52","date_gmt":"2022-11-22T17:16:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dsiohn098w.mpqhf.org\/blog\/?p=9832"},"modified":"2022-11-22T10:16:52","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T17:16:52","slug":"what-you-need-to-know-about-diabetes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dsiohn098w.mpqhf.org\/blog\/what-you-need-to-know-about-diabetes\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Need to Know about Diabetes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Mountain-Pacific Quality Health<\/em><\/p>\n

November 22, 2022<\/em><\/p>\n

Diabetes<\/a> is a disease that affects more than 37 million Americans, and is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Diabetes is also the number one cause of kidney failure, adult blindness and lower-limb amputations. But despite the impact diabetes has on the health of so many Americans, many people don\u2019t know what it is or how it affects us.<\/p>\n

What is Diabetes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Diabetes affects how the body turns food into energy. Most of the food we eat is converted into sugar and goes into our bloodstream. This causes our blood sugar level to go up, letting the pancreas know to release insulin. Insulin allows sugar in the blood to be turned into energy for the body.<\/p>\n

There are three main types of diabetes, type 1 diabetes, which causes the body to be unable to produce insulin, and type 2 diabetes, where the body does produce insulin but it\u2019s unable to use it effectively, preventing the sugar in the blood form being turned in to energy, and instead stays in the blood stream.\u00a0 Without treatment, this buildup of sugar in the blood stream can lead to kidney disease, vision loss, blood vessel disease and heart disease.<\/p>\n

The third type of diabetes is gestational (diabetes while pregnant). Gestational diabetes<\/a> can arise during pregnancy with women who have never had diabetes, and it usually does not have any symptoms. It is normally a temporary condition that ends once the child has been born. However, about 50% of women with gestational diabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.<\/p>\n

Additionally, more than one in three Americans have prediabetes. Prediabetes<\/a> is where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Without lifestyle changes, it is possible for prediabetes to progress to type 2 diabetes and puts you at an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the Signs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Diabetes symptoms depend on how high your blood sugar is. However, there are several symptoms that could indicate diabetes including:<\/p>\n