Healthy Lifestyle

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease in which the body produces too little of ineffective insulin. Insulin is a hormone that comes from a gland below the stomach, called the pancreas.

When the food you eat is digested, most of it break down into a sugar called glucose, which is absorbed into the blood.

In a normal person, insulin helps the blood glucose enter the body cells to be used for energy.

In a diabetic person with ineffective, too little or no insulin, the glucose cannot enter the body cells. It builds up in the blood, giving rise to a high blood glucose level which is the main sign of untreated or uncontrolled diabetes.

Types of Diabetes

The two main types of diabetes are Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 Diabetes

This type of diabetes is usually found in children and young adults. The insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed, and the body produces practically no insulin.

You have a higher risk of developing Type 1 diabetes if your parent or sibling is a diabetic.

Type 1 diabetes can only be controlled with daily insulin injections, as well as proper diet and exercise.

The warning symptoms of Type 1 diabetes include:

• nausea and vomiting
• extreme thirst with frequent urination
• extreme hunger with rapid weight loss
• tiredness and irritability

These symptoms usually occur suddenly. Prompt treatment is necessary. See you doctor immediately if you have these symptoms.

Type 2 Diabetes

This is the most common type of diabetes in Singapore. Insulin is produced by the body, but it may not be enough or it may not work effectively.

More and more Singaporeans are getting Type 2 diabetes because of changes in lifestyle which increase the risk of getting diabetes. The risk factors of Type 2 diabetes are:

• Lack of exercise and being overweight
  Type 2 diabetes is more common in people who do not exercise regularly and who are overweight.
• Family history
  The risk of a person getting Type 2 diabetes is increased if one’s parent, grandparent or sibling is diabetes, and even higher if both parents are diabetes.
• Age
  In Singapore, Type 2 diabetes commonly affects those over 40 years of age.
• Ethnic group
  Type 2 diabetes is more common in Indians than in Malays or Chinese. But the number of people with Type 2 diabetes is increasing in all three ethnic groups.
• High blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and smoking
  Studies have shown that people with high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol levels and smokers have an increased risk of getting Type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes can sometimes develop during pregnancy, or it can become worse in diabetic woman during pregnancy. A woman who has diabetes during pregnancy is also at higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life.

Type 2 diabetes can often be controlled with proper diet and exercise alone. For some, tablets are needed to stimulate the production of more insulin, or to improve the action of ineffective insulin. In severe cases, insulin injections are needed.

Persons with Type 2 diabetes often have no warning symptoms. Some only discover they have the disease after a routine blood test, or when they develop complications.

If warning symptoms occur, they may include:

• fungal infection and itching of the genital area
• thirst with frequent urination
• unexplained weight loss
• blurred vision or a change in vision
• numbness or tingling of hands or feet
• slow healing of wounds
• tiredness and irritability

These symptoms usually occur gradually. See your doctor as soon as possible. Early treatment improves the chances of preventing or delaying complications.

Complications of Diabetes

Untreated or uncontrolled diabetes leads to serious complications.

A persistent high blood glucose level damages the small and large blood vessels in the body, particularly in the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and brain. Blood flow to the various organs and tissues is reduced or even cut off, causing damage.

If the nerves in the hands and feet are affected, there is a loss of feeling. Such diabetics often injure themselves without realising it. The wounds are slow to heal and become infected easily.

Complication of diabetes are:

• coma or loss of consciousness
• blindness
• high blood pressure
• kidney disease
• heart disease
• stroke
• gangrene or decay of the limbs, which may require…
• amputation

Is there A Cure?

There is no cure for diabetes at present. But the disease can be controlled with lifelong treatment.

Good control of blood glucose level will help prevent or delay the complications of diabetes, and enable a diabetic person to live a normal life.

Prevention

At present, it is not possible to prevent Type 1 diabetes. However, Type 2 diabetes, which is often associated with being overweight, may be prevented by:

• Maintaining a healthy weight
  Excess fat prevents insulin from working properly.
• Eating a balanced diet
  Take the correct number of servings from each of the basic food groups for your age and level of activity. Avoid too much sugar, salt, fat and high-cholesterol foods.
• Exercising regularly
  This uses up blood glucose and body fat, improves blood circulation and strengthens the heart. It helps to control weight and improves insulin action.
• Not smoking
  If you’re a smoker, stop now. Ask your family doctor for advice on quitting. If you are a non-smoker, don’t start.