What the Heck is Diabetes?

What the heck is diabetes?  Yes, I’m sure you have heard of it…and that it’s increasing.  My endocrinologist’s office is filled with patients with Type 1 and 2 diabetes making it difficult for us thyroid sufferer to make an appointment. Okay, that’s only slightly true but according to JAMA over 44 million now considered obese
Currently, more than 44 million Americans are considered obese by body mass index (BMI), reflecting an increase of 74 percent since 1991. During the same time frame, diabetes increased by 61 percent, reflecting the strong correlation between obesity and development of diabetes. Today an estimated 17 million people have diabetes in the United States. And this was in the journal Lancet:  An international study has revealed some shocking statistics. In less than 30 years, between 1980 and 2008, the number of people with type 2 diabetes more than doubled around the world, rising from 153 million to 347 million.

Yikes, right!  But let me put what diabetes is in simple words.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90-95% of all cases of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is caused by eating too much sugar. Remember, sugar has 56 names.(Click here for the 56 Names of Sugar) Here’s how it works. When you eat a meal, the carbs in your food are broken down into glucose. The glucose enters your bloodstream where it is carried throughout your body to give…energy!  Your pancreas in turn releases the hormone insulin to help your cells turn glucose into energy. What happens when there is too much sugar over and over again?  Your body becomes insulin resistant. So, the pancreas sends more and more insulin out (poor pancreas) into the bloodstream so glucose can convert to energy but keep going along like this; forcing more insulin into your bloodstream, and your pancreas won’t be able to keep up. What happens instead is that the glucose becomes trapped into your bloodstream, and the cells of your muscles and organs are starved for energy. Eventually, this causes organ and nerve damage.which eventually will lead to heart disease, eye sight damage, limbs being amputated, strokes, etc.

That’s why your grandparents used to call it SUGAR.  Because you give a urine sample and if you are experiencing diabetes an over abundance of glucose will present in your sample.  Now, it is know as simply diabetes – type 2.

Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, and was previously known as juvenile diabetes. Only 5% of people with diabetes have this form of the disease.

In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. With the help of insulin therapy and other treatments, even young children can learn to manage their condition and live long, healthy lives.

– See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/type-1/#sthash.meThJ71C.dpuf

Are You at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes?

• A waist that is 35 or more inches in diameter of you’re a woman or 40″ if a man.
• A Blood triglyceride of 150 or greater.
• Fasting blood sugar greater than 100mg.

Symptoms you may have type 2 diabetes:

• Common symptoms of diabetes: Urinating often Feeling very thirsty Feeling very hungry – even though you are eating
• Extreme fatigue
• Blurry vision
• Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
• Weight loss – even though you are eating more (type 1)
• Tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet (type 2) –
• See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/symptoms/#sthash.souFT766.dpuf

What you can do to prevent developing type 2 diabetes.

Eat a well balanced diet that is high in vegetables, low in simple carbohydrates, zero in refined sugar except on your birthday and maybe Christmas…if you must, and, this is a big one…cut out the alcohol.

I recently read a magazine about diabetes and they had some recipes that included chocolate cake. Come on! Chocolate cake?  Yes, it had stuff like sugar and white flour. No, not a good thing to eat if you have or have not diabetes.  This recipe for 1 Minute Chocolate Cake is the correct recipe for preventing diabetes:

1-Minute Cake With Almond Flour

1/4 cup Truvia Baking Blend
1/2 cup almond flour
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 egg
2 tbsp half & half
Directions
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until the mixture is even and smooth (no lumps).
Pour 1/4 of the mixture into a mug and microwave for 1 minutes.
Refrigerate remaining batter for later!

I like to add unsweetened whipped cream on top. No sugar carbs in this recipe!

If you suspect you have symptoms of diabetes it is imperative to seek a doctor’s advice as soon as possible and be tested. I have my blood tested every year.There is medicines that can control diabetes and in severe cases, insulin injections.  Hopefully, you will keep good healthy eating habits and avoid that long, dark ride down type 2 diabetes lane.