Understanding Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease which plagues a lot of Africans and yet, the majority of the population does not actually understand what diabetes really is. We know it is a disease relayed to sugar and the ability to have anything with sugar, but further than that, most people don’t know what causes diabetes or the different types of diabetes that exist. In the below, we discuss the different types of diabetes, what causes them and how they are best managed.

Type 1 Diabetes

This diabetes is pretty much as bad as it gets. Type 1 diabetes is caused by the immune system attacking the cells in your pancreas, which are responsible for making insulin. This means that the body produces no insulin at all and is unable to regulate glucose levels in the body. We are not sure why the immune system would attack these particular cells, but it is the root cause of type 1 diabetes. This type of diabetes seems to come out at random, with people of all ages being affected from random points in their lives onwards. There is no one particular time or circumstance which causes type 1 diabetes to start.

When it comes to management and cure, there is only one option. Type 1 diabetics need to take insulin every day to manage the glucose levels in their blood. It is currently not possible to cure this condition, as we will have little to no understanding of why the immune system attacks these healthy cells.

Type 1 diabetes can be fatal in short order if not managed and treated correctly. Fortunately, with modern hardware, there are consistent testing apparatuses available like the freestyle libre, however, due to the price these monitoring systems are still far out of reach for the majority of the population.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes is still a very real disease, but more manageable and, in more cases, potentially less fatal than type 1 diabetes. This type of diabetes stems from the body’s inefficiency to produce or use insulin. The body does still produce and use insulin, just not in the quantities normally needed to keep a stable blood sugar level. Type 2 diabetes can affect younger people but is most common as one gets older, usually presenting itself after the age of 45.

Management and potential cure for type 2 diabetes is not as consistent, and the severity of the disease can vary wildly. Some people may be able to suppress the disease by just correcting their diet and eating healthier, while others will still need to use insulin. When it comes to type 2 diabetes, management should be done on a case-to-case basis as different people will have varying amount of insulin unable to be made or processed.

Type 2 diabetes is generally not fatal as it is usually found and to be managed before a point it can become fatal, although there are other bodily functions to take note of, especially when you get excited playing the tragamonedas Chile offers. While having a bit too high or low sugar is unlikely to kill you, this will cause damage in other parts of your body. Heart, kidney and liver conditions are common amongst those type 2 diabetics who do not manage their disease correctly.