Diabetes Types

What is Gestational Diabetes?

What is gestational diabetes? When a women has never had diabetes before, but have high blood sugar (glucose) level during pregnancy the condition is called gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is estimated to occur in about 18% of pregnancies. So, how do you get gestational diabetes? It is unknown what exactly causes gestational diabetes.Scientists believe that hormones from the placenta block the action of the mother’s insulin. Since the mother’s body has a hard time using insulin, excess insulin is needed for the body to process blood sugar. It is important for a mother to learn as much as possible about gestational diabetes to protect herself and her baby.

 

Gestational Diabetes Diet

 

When a mother learns she has gestational diabetes, she must begin making sure that her blood sugar levels don’t become too high. One reason for this is that high blood sugar levels during pregnancy cause babies of gestational …


Dysmetabolic Syndrome X – What is it?

Dysmetabolic Syndrome X, or dysmetabolic x syndrome,is essentially a category of risk factors for the likelihood of a person developing Type 2 diabetes. These factors are few, but significant, and include having blood pressure over 130/85, and a waistline greater than forty for men and thirty-five for women. Other precursors to this condition are triglycerides higher than 150mg/dL, HDL (high-density lipoprotein) levels in the blood lower than 40 mg/dL for men and 50 mg/dL for women, and a reading in fasting blood glucose levels higher than 100 mg/dL.

These factors are also components of people who have sedentary lifestyles, are overweight or obese, and have a family history of diabetes and heart disease. Hispanics and Asians seem to suffer from this condition more so than other racial groups. Researchers are not exactly sure what causes the condition, but they do know that the body has trouble processing and absorbing …


Insulin Resistance Polycystic Ovary Syndrome – What it is

Insulin resistance polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal and metabolic condition that menstruating women and teenagers endure. Most women with this disease are in their childbearing years, but symptoms of the disease can manifest in the teen years. Medical professionals estimate that up to 25% percent of females worldwide suffer from this condition, and may experience excess weight, increased facial hair, abnormal menstrual cycles, acne, infertility, and atypical glucose metabolism.

According to the Journal of Diabetes, 70% of PCOS patients have insulin resistance and, of those individuals, at least 10% have diabetes.An abundance of cysts that are found along the outer edges of an ovary coincides with increased female and male hormones, estrogen, and androgen respectively. Another hormone that becomes irregular is insulin, which is produced by the pancreas and is responsible for lowering the body’s blood sugar and metabolizing fat stores for energy.

When individuals are …


Juvenile Onset Diabetes

Juvenile onset diabetes is also known as Type 1 diabetes, or insulin resistance. This disease is an autoimmune disorder that occurs when an individual’s pancreas has defective beta cells and therefore cannot produce insulin. Insulin is the hormone that is responsible for removing glucose from the blood and converting it into fuel for uptake into the muscle, tissues, and other cells. Without insulin, the glucose remains in the blood, the body has no fuel, and the blood sugar remains elevated, which causes a multitude of other issues.

Physicians are still unclear what causes the beta cells to attack its own pancreas, but they do know that this disease runs in families and that in addition to family history and genetics, geography, viral exposure, low levels of Vitamin D, and lack of Omega 3 fatty acids may play a role. Individuals who have a parent or sibling with juvenile diabetes are …


Pre Metabolic Syndrome – What is it?

Pre Metabolic Syndrome, also referred to as Metabolic Syndrome X, is the condition of health individuals’ face before they develop full-blown Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes. Metabolic Syndrome is characterized by impaired metabolism and insulin production and it can result in stroke and cardiovascular disease. Risk factors for this syndrome and for Diabetes are closely linked and therefore individuals who develop Diabetes are likely to develop Metabolic Syndrome as well.

When a person eats, the digestive system will break down the food into glucose, which is transported in the blood. Insulin transfers this glucose from the blood into muscles, tissue, and other cells in the body so they can use it as fuel. When people do not produce enough insulin or cannot absorb the insulin available, the excess glucose remains in the blood and a person’s blood sugar level remains elevated. Prolonged periods of high blood sugar levels can cause …


Type 3 Diabetes Mellitus

Type 3 Diabetes Mellitus is somewhat different from type 1 and type 2 diabetes. All three suffer from issues with insulin, but while type 1 diabetics are insulin dependent, and type 2 diabetics are insulin resistant, type 3 diabetics are a hybrid of both conditions. In addition, the origination of diabetes type 3 is not the pancreas, as in the other two types.

A few years ago, researchers discovered that the body produces insulin in the pancreas and in the brain. In type 3 diabetes, the pancreas and respective insulin in the body is not impaired. The insulin in the brain is what is defective. Either the brain stops making adequate insulin or it sends signals to cell receptors instructing them not to accept the available insulin.

When the brain cells do not receive vital insulin, a protein called amyloid plaque is formed on the receptors. The cells will be …


Early Onset Diabetes–What is it?

Early onset diabetes is a condition that affects over twenty four million people according to the National Diabetes Association.The early onset of diabetes is a condition that is caused by the pancreas’ inability to produce insulin and requires regular injections of insulin in order to function. It is sometimes referred to as Type 1 or juvenile diabetes as the disease often occurs in childhood. It is not uncommon, however, for individuals over the age of twenty-one to develop diabetes early onset due to pancreatic damage, environmental elements, and genetics. People who have a history of alcohol abuse, autoimmune disorders, or have had certain surgeries are also prone to developing this disease.

A second form of diabetes, early onset gestational diabetes, is similar to Type 1 diabetes, but affects women in their third trimester of pregnancy. Due to a woman’s hormonal shifts, their body’s ability to manufacture and regulate insulin is …


IDDM Diabetes

IDDM diabetes stands for insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. People who have risk factors should be aware of what is iddm, or type 1 diabetes. Diabetes of this type is a systemic disease that affects individuals who are unable to produce adequate amounts of insulin, or no insulin at all. The pancreas is responsible for manufacturing insulin in order to transfer sugar from digested foods into muscles, fat, and other tissues for energy. In patients with IDDM, the immune system has been compromised due to a variety of factors and has subsequently attacked the beta cells in the pancreas, leaving them unable to secrete necessary insulin.

IDDM symptoms include increased thirst, hunger, fatigue, and need for urination in addition to blurred vision, recurrent infections, and sudden weight loss. People who are most susceptible to developing this disease are usually children and young adults, but while it is possible for older adults …


Insulin Resistance Disorder

Insulin Resistance Disorder is a syndrome in which a person’s body may produce insulin, but they are unable to utilize it for fuel. In a normal functioning individual, the pancreas will produce insulin which is transported in the bloodstream. The insulin converts sugar from digested food into energy and moves it into muscles, fat, and tissues within the body. When a person has insulin resistance disorder, their insulin metabolism-not their insulin function-is impaired. Therefore, their blood sugar will remain elevated until additional insulin is produced.

To compensate for the abundance of sugar in the blood, the liver will respond by decreasing the production of glucose. This reduction, however, may not occur in people with this disorder. In addition to the cells being deprived of glucose and the liver overproducing glucose, the fat cells are affected as well. Without insulin to help contain and break down lipids and triglycerides, fatty acids …


NIDDM Diabetes

NIDDM Diabetes or Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes is a metabolic condition individuals experience when they are unable to use their insulin to convert sugar in the blood into the muscles to be used as fuel for the body. There are varying shades of this condition with episodes of high blood glucose levels due to insulin resistance or an inability to absorb it. Some people may produce adequate quantities of insulin, but their body cannot absorb it into the muscles, fat, and tissues. Other individuals may make insulin in insufficient quantities to enable the conversion of glucose into energy for the body.

The prevalence of NIDDM, also called type 2 diabetes mellitus, accounts forover 90% of the diabetic population. While over twenty-four million people suffer from type 1 and type 2 diabetes, 90% of twenty-four million is a large number. Over the last few years, the number of diabetes NIDDM has grown …


Obesity-related Diabetes

Obesity-related diabetes is a form of diabetes that occurs in individuals who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of twenty-seven or greater. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, eighty percent of people who have been diagnosed with diabetes are overweight or obese.As the numbers on the scale rise, so do the chances of developing this condition. Overweight people are ten times more likely to develop the disease than people with a healthy BMI are and obese people are eighty times more liable.

People who suffer from diabetes related to obesity have an issue in manufacturing enough insulin or are simply unable to utilize that insulin. This is a huge problem for anyone, let alone an individual who is carrying excess weight. In order to regulate blood sugar levels, the body will try to produce more insulin, which will aggravate already high levels and eventually lead to Type …


Uncontrolled Diabetes Mellitus

Uncontrolled Diabetes Mellitus can have serious complications. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition that affects over 8% of the population and the rates are rapidly increasing. Diabetes is a systemic disease, which can affect virtually every structure and function of the body. Two types of diabetes can occur, type 1 and type 2. Type 1 is an autoimmune disorder in which the beta cells do not produce insulin and therefore the individual needs to take prescribes doses of insulin in order to thrive. Type 2 is a condition that occurs when a person becomes resistant to their own insulin due to environmental factors. This type of diabetes does not require insulin, but it does need a commitment to a healthy diet and exercise to maintain normal blood sugar levels.

When insulin cannot transfer glucose into the tissues of the body, the sugar remains in the bloodstream and no energy is …


Diabetic Retinopathy Classification

Diabetic retinopathy classification is a term used for individuals who suffer impaired vision resulting from damage to the retina as a complication of their diabetes mellitus. The retinopathy can occur as proliferative or nonproliferative, depending upon the presence or absence of atypical new blood vessels stemming from the retina. Retinal damage is normally secondary to another form of eye disease like vessel hemorrhage, neovascular glaucoma, retinal detachment, or macular edema, which is thickening and swelling of the retinal wall.

The majority of diabetics will endure some form of vision impairment over the course of their lifetime with the progression of their disease. In addition to type and duration of diabetes, factors such as how well their blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, and serum lipid levels are controlled influence an individual’s susceptibility for diabetic retinopathy. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, upwards of 24,000 people who have diabetes …


Type 1.5 Diabetes – the Double Diabetes

Type 1.5 Diabetes is a combined form of diabetes type 1 and type 2. To comprehend this disorder, one must understand the structure of both diseases. Type 1 is an autoimmune condition in which the damaged pancreatic cells produce minimal, if any, insulin, and most type 2 diabetics require the regular use of insulin to function.

Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, is when the body cannot use the insulin it produces and these diabetics do not need to take insulin, at least in the beginning stages of the disease. Individuals can be treated with oral medicines and healthy diets in the beginning stages of the disease.

When people with a type 2 diabetes start to show autoimmune deficiencies in their pancreas like a type 1 diabetic, they soon receive a type 1.5 diabetes diagnosis. Some scientists call the condition type 1.5 as it comingles type 1 and 2, …


Type 2 Diabetes in Pregnancy

Type 2 Diabetes In Pregnancy can cause numerous issues not only for the mother, but also for her unborn baby. When a woman is approximately twenty-four weeks pregnant, her body may start to react differently to all of the extra hormones pulsing through her body. Her placenta is the organ that houses the baby during the pregnancy and it is through this organ that the baby is supplied oxygen and nutrients in order to grow and develop. The placenta may produce an abundance of hormones that trigger impairment in the function or absorption of insulin, which can result in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

A normal pancreas will produce insulin in order for sugar from digested food to be transferred out of the bloodstream and into the muscles, fats, and tissues with the help of insulin. When the body cannot absorb the insulin, the sugar remains in the blood and there …


Diabetes Age of Onset

Diabetes age of onset used to be a prime factor in determining the types of diabetes an individual had in addition to risk factors. For instance, if an eight year old had diabetes, one could generally assume he or she suffered from type 1 diabetes while a forty eight year old was probably a type 2 diabetic. The key to age onset diabetes was not simply one’s age but the risks they accumulated, as they grew older versus what virus or infections they were exposed to as a child. As such, most people who develop type 2 diabetes do so over a gradual period through poor habits like smoking tobacco or not exercising.

These lifestyle choices lead to blood vessel constriction, heart damage, and stroke, which increase an individual’s risk factor for conceiving diabetes, as well as complicating the disease. Children are unlikely to have these habits, so type 2 …


Diabetic Autonomic Neuropathy

Diabetic autonomic neuropathy is a complication of diabetes that at least 60% of diabetics suffer from. The condition, which is caused by extensive nerve damage to one or several areas of the body, can be quite grave. Individuals who have had diabetes for over twenty-five years, are older, or have numerous episodes in which their blood sugar levels have been out of range most commonly experience diabetic autonomic neuropathy. In addition, diabetics who are overweight or have high blood pressure and blood lipid levels also endure this condition.

These classifications of people, although they may seem different, are all at increased risk for diabetic autonomic neuropathy for one simple reason. They have encountered problems with elevated blood sugar levels on numerous occasions. When a person suffers from high glucose levels, their insulin is unable to aid the body in absorbing the excess sugar, so it remains in the blood.

Normally, …


Late Onset Diabetes

Late onset diabetes is a condition that occurs later in a person’s life cycle versus in adolescence. The disease is characterized by the body’s resistance to the absorption of insulin or to a deficiency in the insulin itself. Both conditions lead to an abundance of glucose in the blood, or hyperglycemia. As insulin assist the cells with energy intake, this deviation causes the cells to starve and are unable to function properly. In addition, organs, tissues, and muscles that maintain a heightened glucose level may suffer permanent damage.

Diabetes late onset usually occurs for a variety of reasons in addition to family history. Health issues tend to play a major role in late onset diabetes in adults. Individuals who are overweight or obese are at increased risk not only due to their excessive size, but also because of the lifestyle that supported it. For example, a poor or high fat …


Pre Diabetes Blood Glucose Levels

Pre diabetes blood glucose levels is the major indicator in determining if an individual is at risk for developing the condition of Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a condition that occurs in people whose pancreas produces insufficient insulin levels or their body is unable to utilize the insulin that is produced. These people are generally referred to as insulin resistant.

When a person’s blood sugar level is higher than the recommended range, but too low to qualify for the diabetic range, this person is termed pre-diabetic. In the past, doctors have referred to pre-diabetes as Impaired Glucose Tolerance or Impaired Fasting Glucose as these are the names of the tests that are administered in order to check for the condition.

Approximately seventy-nine million people in the United Stated have pre-diabetes and of this number, 50% are likely to develop full blown Type 2 diabetes within ten years. In …


Risk of Diabetes in Pregnancy

Risk of diabetes in pregnancy can be increased due to several biological factors. Diabetes in pregnancy, also referred to as gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that affects the blood glucose levels of women during their pregnancy. When women are pregnant, their blood levels can become extremely elevated due to the conditions of the pregnancy. For example, the placenta is the organ that houses the baby while it is growing inside of the mother. The placenta is attached to the mother’s supply of blood in order to provide the fetus with blood, oxygen, and nutrients.

The placenta produces hormones that can prevent the normal process of glucose and insulin. Normally, insulin, which is manufactured in the pancreas, is required in order to convert glucose into energy and move the energy into muscle, fat, and other tissues in the body. These hormones from the placenta block the insulin and its …


Double Diabetes

Double diabetes is a condition in which patients experience symptoms of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Initially, doctors diagnose these patients with having type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune disease in which the beta cells of the pancreas have been attacked by the immune system and no longer produce insulin. People with type 1 diabetes usually notice symptoms in early childhood and they require daily, and sometimes, multiple doses of insulin. As their diabetes progress, these people tend to gain weight and they begin to see signs of type 2 diabetes, along with type 1.

This means that even though insulin is available to the cells in the body, the muscles, fats, and other tissues are unable to absorb it and so the sugar needed for fuel remains in the blood and the blood glucose level remains elevated. Type 2 diabetes is not an autoimmune condition, …


Juvenile Diabetic

Juvenile diabetic, also called insulin dependent,is a term used to describe an individual with type 1 diabetes. This form of diabetes is an endocrine condition that usually affects younger individuals, but can develop at any age. Experts believe it is caused by certain genetics, vitamin deficiencies, or infections, but they know that it is not due to being overweight or having high blood pressure. In this chronic disease, the immune system is over active and attacks the pancreas’ beta cells leaving them unable to produce adequate, if any, levels of insulin.

Insulin is required to transfer glucose from the bloodstream into the muscles, fat, and tissue where it will be converted into energy for the body. Without the vital insulin, the conversion of fuel cannot happen and the body is literally left without energy. The person does have a high blood glucose level, which can be extremely dangerous. If …


Maturity-Onset Diabetes

Maturity-onset diabetes, also called type 2 diabetes mellitus,is a type of diabetes that occurs individuals develop in their thirties, forties, and fifties, rather than in young adulthood. The disease results from the body’s inability to produce sufficient amounts of insulin or is resistance to the absorption of the secreted insulin. Both conditions lead to an excess of sugar in the bloodstream called hyperglycemia. Insulin is required to assist the cells with energy conversion and this lack of nutrients causes impairment in the cells. In addition, muscles, fats, and tissues that maintain an elevated level of glucose may experience irreversible damage.

Individuals normally develop maturity-onset diabetesdue to numerous factors in addition to family history. Individuals who are overweight or obese are at increased risk because of the extra strain on the body as well as the lifestyle that prompted the weight gain it. For example, a nutrient poor diet, lack …


Diabetic Class – What It Is

Diabetic class is a system that medical professionals use to categorize the extraneous types of diabetes mellitus. While most people may have heard of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, some people may not even be aware that other forms exist. Gestational diabetes, for example, is a type of diabetes that pregnant women can develop and the disease rectifies itself when the mother delivers the baby. Gestational diabetes is further broken down into categories based on an individual’s age when they were diagnosed with diabetes, how long they have had the disease, and if they have suffered any complications from the disease.

Medical professionals share a wealth of information about this condition that the general population and possibly even diabetics may not understand due to the complexity. For instance, most individuals know if they are type 1 or type 2, but probably only a handful, if any, know their diabetic …


GDM Diabetes – What is it?

GDM, or gestational diabetes mellitus, is a serious condition that affects approximately 3-8% of all pregnant women in United States. These women enter their pregnancies with no history of diabetes. In their second or third trimester, they develop symptoms of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Type 2 diabetes is a medical condition in which either the pancreas cannot produce an adequate amount of insulin or the body cannot absorb the insulin. During pregnancy, the placenta produces extra hormones that block the ability of the women’s insulin; therefore, her production level is fine. She is simply insulin resistant.

Insulin’s primary job is to remove glucose, or sugar from the bloodstream and transfer it into the muscles, fat, and tissue, where the body will use it as energy. When insulin is unavailable, the body can become fatigued, as it has no fuel to keep it going.

 

GDM Diabetes – Risks for


Latent Autoimmune Diabetes

Latent autoimmune diabetes sometimes referred to as LADA or Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults is a condition of diabetes that occurs under the classification of Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder in which the body does not recognize its own pancreas and insulin and instead of assisting in performance, the body’s immune system destroys the beta cells of the pancreas. The result is a lack of insulin and the body has no method to transfer glucose in the blood to the muscles and other tissues where it should be converted into energy.

Type 1 diabetes usually occurs early in the lifecycle, normally in infancy or in childhood. When this disease occurs in an adult, doctors refer to it as latent diabetes mellitus. Due to their age, individuals with this condition are normally misdiagnosed as having non-obesity related Type 2 diabetes, versus Type 1 diabetes. This incorrect …


Diabetes Fetus

A diabetes fetus is a baby that is prone to all sorts of health problems while still in utero. These problems are a result of the mother’s poor health conditions, specifically high or low blood sugar levels. If the mother suffers from any form of diabetes, whether it is type 1, type 2, or pre-diabetes, the women is at increased risk in developing gestational diabetes, which only affects women during their pregnancy.

As a woman’s body supports the growing fetus, the mother’s issues with any form of diabetes will transfer onto the child. If a mother’s pancreas produces little or no insulin, a fetus is likely to show signs of this problem, too. Similarly, if a mother develops diabetes, she and the baby, are both more susceptible to developing type 2 diabetes later on.

 

Diabetes Fetus – Complications

 

Complications of the diabetes fetus are numerous. First, if the …


Gastric Bypass and Diabetes – How are they Linked?

Gastric bypass and diabetes have recently been linked together as many people suffering from this condition have wondered if gastric bypass surgery for diabetes can be the answer to their problems. For people with Type 2 diabetes, increased physical activity and a modified diet should always be the first approach in overcoming the disease. Many individuals with this condition are overweight or obese and they find daily exercise to be extremely difficult to maintain due to achy joints and constant fatigue. In addition, numerous people struggle with their diet modifications.

With these adversities, losing weight and finding a healthy BMI, may prove difficult so doctors have advised patients who need to shed excess weight to undergo bypass surgery. This procedure involves reducing the size of the stomach and the length of the intestine in order to restrict calories, absorption, or both. This surgery is normally recommended for individuals with BMI’s …


Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome

Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome are two disorders that individuals can experience simultaneously due to the risk factors for both diseases being so similar. One disease does not cause the other, but factors that cause one disease can cause both disease. For example, risk factors for both diseases are having a family history of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. If a sibling or parent has diabetes, then odds are increased that the individual will develop diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

The diseases are also similar in that they both occur as a result from impairment in a chemical process. While metabolism regulates all chemical processes in the body including absorption, conversion, and production of energy from molecules and nutrients, insulin helps transfer the energy into the cells for utilization. When either of these processes is defunct, effects on blood glucose and energy levels can detrimental, leading to metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

Diabetes is …


Insulin Resistance Syndrome

Insulin Resistance Syndrome is a metabolic condition that people experience when they are unable to use their insulin to convert sugar in the blood into the muscles to be used as fuel for the body. When this happens, the pancreas responds by producing more insulin, which does not get used and blood sugar and blood insulin levels both remain high. Repeated cycles of this process is dangerous to the individual and can eventually lead to type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Some medical professionals believe that insulin resistance syndrome may lead to metabolic syndrome or syndrome x, which is also a metabolic disorder in which an individual suffers from a group of disorders characterized by heart disease. Researchers disagree if insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome are causational or if they are indeed one in the same. Some experts believe that perpetual effects of insulin resistance and associated risk factors of metabolic syndrome …


Adult Onset Diabetes

Adult onset diabetes, also known as type 2 diabetes, is a condition that affects a person’s ability to use their body’s insulin. When a person consumes a meal, acids in the digestive system will dissolve the food in order to isolate the nutrients and glucose. The pancreas and liver produce and regulate insulin in order to transfer the glucose, or sugar, out of the bloodstream and transfer it to muscles, fat, and other tissues where it can be used as energy for the body. Sometimes, the issue is in the manufacturing of the insulin itself, but usually in adult diabetes, the problem is with the process of transfer and absorption. The result is that an individuals’ blood glucose level remains elevated and they suffer from hyperglycemia. Over time, high blood sugar levels can have negative consequences, such as heart disease and stroke.

Medical professionals once referred to this form …


Diabetic Types – What they are

Diabetic types are grave conditions that diabetics suffer. People who have had diabetes for long periods or have had poor care tend to develop this condition.Three types of diabetic retinopathy prevail, which include proliferative diabetic retinopathy, macular edema and background retinopathy. All diabetic types of retinopathy can eventually cause impaired vision and can eventually lead to blindness if not treated swiftly and properly. The first class is proliferative diabetic retinopathy, which has little symptoms other than a minimal loss of vision and possible eye swelling.

When this condition progresses, it is called macular edema, which is the second stage of the disease. The macula is the part of the eye that allows people to see. When the middle of the macula swells, vision may become blurred. In addition, the vessels in the retina, another part of the eye, start to leak blood and other fluid, which leads to more edema. …


Autoimmune Diabetes

Autoimmune Diabetes, also referred to type 1 diabetes, is caused by some genetic or environmental factor, and is characterized by an overactive immune system that destroys the beta cells in the pancreas. The pancreas is then unable to secrete insulin and the body has no way to transfer sugar from the bloodstream into the muscles, fat, and tissuesforfuel.As the body needs insulin for glucose absorption and energy conversion, diabetics often feel weak and fatigued.This condition requires insulin in order to survive.

Latent autoimmune diabetesleft untreated for any amount of time can be critical, leading to issues such as diabetic neuropathy-never damage and diabetic retinopathy, which is a disorder or they eyes and can cause vision loss. Other conditions that can occur are kidney failure, heart disease, recurring infections, and gastrointestinal tract, urological and sexual dysfunctions. Physicians that have any uncertainty about a patients type of diabetes can administer a …


Classification of Diabetes

Classification of diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases that stem from impaired insulin production, absorption, or a combination of both and invoke either high or low blood glucose levels. Over time, patients will suffer extensive damage to nerves, blood vessels, and organs, provoking other life altering conditions, such as coronary artery disease, and liver and kidney damage. Diabetes classification consists of two main categories, type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas’ beta cells are defective and attack its own insulin producing cells. Researchers are uncertain of its origin, but theorize that a virus or infection could perhaps be the cause. An individual of any age can get type 1, but it usually occurs in children and adolescents.

Type 2 diabetes is different in that there are no damaged cells and sometimes the pancreas is able to manufacture insulin, …


Diabetes Kinds

Diabetes kinds are abundant and may be referred to in a variety of terms. For simplicity’s sake, there are essentially four kinds of diabetes, which include Type 1, Type 2, Type 1.5, and Type 3. Of these kinds of diabetesclassifications, there may be subcategories of diabetes, which are one form of the disease, but are called a different condition, due to the age of onset. These conditions include Gestational Diabetes, and Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA).

Type 1 is a condition in which the pancreas’ beta cells are defective and destroy themselves, resulting in insulin injections, while Type 2 is a condition in which the pancreas produces insulin but either in inadequate amounts, or the body in unable to absorb it.Type 1.5 is a condition that may initially manifest as Type 2, but the progression of the disease will show characteristics of Type 1, thus it is a hybrid …


Lada Diabetes – What Is It?

Lada diabetes, or Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults, is a form of Type 1 diabetes that occurs after the age of twenty-five versus in adolescence. Because of the age of onset, a doctor may attribute a person’s symptoms to being the result of Type 2 diabetes. Usually this diabetes is brought on by some genetic or environmental factor, such as an illness. This illness is an allergy to the person’s own body.

While the pancreas is responsible for producing insulin, the immune system views the cells inhabiting the pancreas as foreign bodies and attacks them. Due to this action, the pancreas is unable to have a steady supply of insulin. As insulin is needed for sugar absorption and energy conversion, people with this disease often feel weak and fatigued.

The person with lada diabetes usually does not have a weight issue, but they still need to be cautious regarding …


Metabolism Syndrome

Metabolism Syndrome is a group of conditions that occur simultaneously that result from impairments of the body’s system of metabolism and possibly of glucose intolerance, which are characterized by heart disease. Metabolism is the total of all chemical processes that occur in the cells and fluids in the body, including absorption of nutrients and minerals, conversion of molecules, and the production of energy from these chemical processes. Each step of the metabolic process requires an enzyme to facilitate the actual change. Sometimes, the enzyme has an internal abnormality, which causes a defect in the metabolic process. Since metabolism is responsible for all chemical conversions, defects can present in numerous areas of the body.

Often times, Metabolic Syndrome, which was referred to as Syndrome X in the past, has been linked to glucose intolerance. As the process of glucose and insulin are also chemical processes in the body, it is clear …


Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes

Non-insulin dependent diabetes, also referred to as type 2 diabetes mellitus, is a form of diabetes that affects over 90% of the diabetic population. This metabolic condition is characterized by episodes of high blood glucose levels due to insulin resistance or an inability to absorb it. There are many degrees of this condition and some individuals may produce adequate quantities of insulin, but for whatever reason, their body is unable to absorb it into the muscles, fat, and tissues in order to use it for energy. This action creates a demand for more insulin and after a while, the pancreas stops making insulin altogether. Other times, an individual may manufacture insulin, but in quantities too small to enable the conversion of sugar into fuel for the body.

The prevalence of non-insulin dependent diabetes has increased exponentially over the past few decades due to the availability of fast foods, lack …


Diabetes Class

Diabetes class is a classification system developed by Priscilla White to exemplify the effects of diabetes on mothers and babies throughout pregnancy. White was the founding researcher who recognized the distinction necessary for perinatology studies related to diabetes. Using the White system, there are two main types of diabetes, gestational diabetes- class a diabetes-and pre-gestational diabetes- class b diabetes.

Gestational diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin or the body cannot absorb the insulin and therefore has elevated blood sugar levels. This condition is similar to type 2 diabetes, however, the condition will resolve itself after the mother has delivered her baby. White distinguished gestational diabetes sufferers by their mode of treatment. The blood sugar levels of a1 were regulated by their diet, while the blood sugar levels of a2 were controlled through injections of insulin.

White defines pre-gestational diabetes as diabetes that a woman …


Pancreas Transplants

Pancreas transplants are performed for a variety of reasons, including curing type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas has damaged beta cells and is unable to produce enough, if any, insulin. Insulin is the glucose that muscles and tissues in the body use for fuel. Insulin helps in moving this glucose, or sugar, from the blood into cells that can use it for energy. If an adequate level of insulin is unavailable, the glucose remains in the blood, causing extreme levels of blood sugar levels.

In order to function, type 1 diabetics routinely have to inject themselves with insulin. When doctors remove their defective pancreas and replace it with a healthy donor pancreas, insulin production commences and patients are able to stop using manufactured insulin to maintain their normal blood glucose levels after pancreas transplant for diabetics.

There is a strong possibility that the …


Alpha Lipoic Acid and Insulin Resistance

What do alpha lipoic acid and insulin resistance have to do with one another? Studies on animals have shown that alphlipoic acid reduces insulin resistance. Although it has much potential, studies on humans have not yet been confirmed, according to Everydayhealth.com. It has been shown to work as follows:

  1. High blood sugar levels increase oxidative stress
  2. This causes an increased concentration of free radicals
  3. This in turn causes insulin resistance
  4. Alpha lipoic acid, an antioxidant, eliminates free radicals and in turn reduces insulin resistance

 

One study, described by the National Institutes of Health, was performed on obese rats. They found that alpha lipoic acid reduced insulin resistance, increased fatty acid oxidation, and activated protein kinase (a major regulator of cellular energy metabolism) in the skeletal muscle. These results suggest that improvement on alpha lipoic acid insulin resistance.

Though nothing has been proven, people with diabetes or metabolic syndrome seem …


Hypothyroidism and Metabolic Syndrome

Hypothyroidism and metabolic syndrome are two conditions which are commonly found together. Thyroid patients with hypothyroidism are at an increased risk of metabolic syndrome and other metabolic disorders such as diabetes. These metabolic disorders often lead to even more serious health problems such as heart disease, elevated cholesterol, and hypertension.

The good news is that metabolic syndrome can usually be avoided by improving your diet and exercising regularly. By eliminating refined sugars, cutting back on unhealthy fats, and limiting simple carbohydrates such as pies, cakes, and soft drinks you can significantly reduce your chances of developing both hypothyroidism and metabolic syndrome. Eating more complex carbs such as fruits, vegetable, nuts & grain help to keep your weight down and lessen your chance of developing insulin resistance. Exercising a minimum of 30 minutes a day will help you to avoid many health problems, and make you feel better both mentally and …


Alpha Lipoic Acid and Metabolic Syndrome

Alpha lipoic acid and metabolic syndrome have been linked, but how? Alpha lipoic acid is an antioxidant that is found in every cell of your body. The main function of this antioxidant is to destroy free radicals which cause damage to your healthy cells. It has been shown that taking alpha lipoic acid may reduce your risk of developing metabolic syndrome (Livestrong.com, 2012).

Alpha lopoic acid is an unusual type of antioxidant. It is active in both water-soluble and fat-soluble domains in cells and tissues. Because of these qualities, it is easily absorbed and transported and the body’s ability to fight free radicals is greatly increased.

In addition, alpha lipoic acid helps metabolic syndrome in that it helps regenerate antioxidants such as vitamins E and C. It also amplifies the positive effects of other antioxidants such as glutathione and coenzyme Q10. The former are compounds that fight against aging and …


Class RF Diabetes

When diabetic nephropathy (Class F) and Proliferative retinopathy (Class R) coexist, this is considered Class RF diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy are both micro-vascular complications which seem to be related in patients with diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy is a major cause of adult blindness. Diabetic nephropathy causes renal failure in patients. The correlation between the two conditions were deemed ‘diabetic renal-retinal syndrome’ in 1979.

Since the two conditions are often found together, diabetes patients with both conditions are considered to have Class RF Diabetes. Class RF diabetes is more often found in Type 1 diabetics. According to uKidney.com, 90% of patients with diabetic neuropathy will also have diabetic retinopathy. In cases where there is no diabetic retinopathy in type-1, it is rare to have diabetic nephropathy. Therefore, diabetic retinopathy in type-1 diabetes is usually an indicator that diabetic nephropathy will manifest.

On the other hand, in type-2 diabetes the absence …


Juvenile Onset Diabetic Disease

Normally, juvenile onset diabetic disease is type 1 diabetes. Children that are diagnosed with ‘juvenile’ diabetes are usually medically insulin dependent because the body is unable to produce the insulin that it needs. However, increasingly juveniles are developing type-2 diabetes as well.

It is still not completely understood why the type-2 juvenile onset diabetic disease has been occurring more rapidly. Type-2 diabetes does not usually happen until adults reach about 40. However, it is thought to have something to do with the hormonal changes that happen around puberty for those children that are already genetically pre-disposed.

Obesity is also a significant factor in type-2 juvenile onset diabetic disease. Obese children produce too much insulin. Therefore, when the need for more insulin arises, they are unable to produce more. Also, the presence of too much fatty tissue leads to insulin resistance. The condition, however, is still fairly rare in children. Only …


Labile Diabetic

A labile diabetic is a person with uncontrolled type-1 diabetes. Labile diabetes is also referred to as ‘brittle diabetes’. A labile diabetic will often experience large swings in blood sugar levels. More commonly the blood sugar levels are high (hyperglycemic) and sometimes very extreme.

Blood sugar levels in people with stable diabetes fluctuate occasionally, but these fluctuations are not frequent and normally do not impact the diabetics ability to carry out regular activities. A labile diabetic, however, is frequently hospitalized, misses work, and has to contend with psychological problems. These factors, of course, add additional emotional and financial stress. Luckily, only 3 out of every 1,000 people with diabetes experience labile diabetic problems.

Labile diabetic problems can be caused by gastrointestinal absorption problems, such as gastroperesis. Gastroperesis is a problem which occurs when the stomach has a delay in emptying. Drug interactions, problems with insulin absorption, and hormonal malfunction are …


Class III Diabetes Mellitus

Is it possible that there is class III diabetes mellitus? It is true, type-3 diabetes is a relatively new title given to a previously unknown type of diabetes, according to Diabetes.co.uk. Unlike type-1 and type-2 diabetes, this new form is believed to cause lower insulin levels in the brain. This does not affect blood sugar like type-1 and type-2 diabetes. However, class III diabetes has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

In type 3 diabetes the brain produces less than normal levels of brain insulin. If the brain cells are deprived of insulin they eventually die and cause memory loss. This also brings scientist to believe that people with diabetes have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, possibly up to 65%. In addition, toxins produced in diabetes may negatively affect the brains ability to use sugar, according to First-Signs-of-Diabetes-Symptoms.com.

 

Symptoms of Class III Diabetes Mellitus

 

The symptoms of …


Type 1.5 Diabetic

What is a type 1.5 diabetic? A type 1.5 diabetic is an adult who does not immediately require insulin for treatment, they are not usually overweight, and they have little or no insulin resistance. When tested, they are found to have anti-bodies which attack their beta cells. This type of diabetes is often called Slow Onset Type 1 or Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA).

Many people with this type are often diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes because they are older and initially respond to diabetes medications. One study performed in Italy found that 84% of people with Type 2 diabetes had insulin resistance; however, the other 16% did not. These individuals were type 1.5 diabetics. In other words, a type 1.5 diabetic is similar to a type-2 diabetic, but they have an ongoing autoimmune condition like those of type-1 diabetes.

A misdiagnosis of a type 1.5 diabetic causes …


Diabetes Subtypes

According to MSNBC.com, there may be many diabetes subtypes. The discoveries of these various diabetes subtypes are already triggering important changes in treatment. New findings show that diabetes is caused “by complex interactions among numerous genes and modern lifestyles – and a flurry of genetic discoveries in the past year finally points to new ways of attacking the epidemic.”

Twenty-one million Americans have diabetes, and there are variations among many of them. Where one might need dialysis, for example, another may not even despite of uncontrolled blood sugar. One person may be slender and have diabetes, where another overweight individual may not. New gene work suggests that individuals may need personalized treatment to address the various diabetes subtypes.

 

MODY Diabetes Subtypes

 

MODY is shorthand for six various diabetes subtypes that are thought to account for 2% of diabetes. Each of these six diabetes subtypes is caused by …


Class R Diabetes

Class R diabetes is diabetes that is associated with retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is caused by damage to the blood vessels in the retina. It is the most common eye disease in diabetes. A person with Class R diabetes will not notice changes in their vision at first. Overtime it gets worse and causes vision loss. Worst of all, it usually affects both eyes.

There are four stages of diabetic retinopathy, they are:

Mild Nonproliferative Retinopathy – This is the earliest stage, where microaneurysms occur. Microaneurysms are small areas of balloon-like swelling in the retina’s tiny blood vessels.

Moderate Nonproliferative Retinopathy – The disease progresses and some blood vessels, which nourish the retina, are blocked.

Severe Nonproliferative Retinopathy – In this stage many more blood vessels are blocked. This deprives several areas of the retina of a blood supply. Signals are sent to the body to grow new blood vessels.

Proliferative


Class F Diabetes

Class F diabetes is diabetes that is associated with nephropathy. Diabetes is the primary cause for end-stage renal disease. According to ClevelandClinicMedEd.com, currently 44% of new patients needing dialysis are diabetics. That is why early diagnosis and intervention of diabetes is so critical.

In a healthy kidney, there are many blood vessels which filter out the waste products in the body. These blood vessels have holes which are big enough to allow waste to pass through to the urine, but are small enough to keep useful products such as proteins and red blood cells. In diabetes the vessels are damaged if blood sugar levels are not controlled, causing Class F diabetes, otherwise known as diabetic nephropathy.

In Class F diabetes, a diabetic does not usually notice any symptoms until kidney damage is sever. Therefore, speaking with your physician regularly and meeting your diabetic appointments is very critical. As the conditions …


Immune-Mediated Diabetes

Immune-mediated diabetes is another term for Type-1 diabetes. In immune-mediated diabetes cell in the pancreas are destroyed by the body’s own immune system. This eventually leads to the total failure of the body’s ability to produce insulin, a hormone which is needed to allow to cells to use the sugar in your body for energy. When your body does not have insulin, blood sugar builds up in your bloodstream and causes bodily damage. Without it you would die.

People with immune-mediated diabetes must take at least one shot of insulin a day. It is injected under the skin. There is no pill for insulin because the juices in your stomach would destroy it. Currently, scientists are looking for new way that insulin could be administered.

Immune-mediated diabetes may occur suddenly. There are many ways to detect it. The symptoms of immune mediated diabetes are as follows:

  • High levels of sugar

Reduced Insulin Secretion Response

Diabetics tend to have reduced insulin secretion response or even an insulin resistance. This means that their body’s ability to use insulin properly is impaired. In someone without diabetes beta cells sense the rising of blood glucose levels and secrete insulin into the blood. The insulin then allows the sugar to be used by the cells for energy. The result of this is that the glucose levels return to normal, and insulin secretion is reduced. In diabetics, however the cells do not respond to the insulin that is being released, and therefore releases more insulin.

A study was recently performed on reduced insulin secretion in type-2 diabetes. The subjects were the Pima Indians of Arizona because the prevalence and incidence rates of this group are the highest in the world. Studies have shown that glucose tolerance deteriorates as obesity increases due to worsening insulin resistance and decreases in early insulin …


Class A2 Diabetes

Class A2 diabetes is the classification for insulin controlled gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a condition in which a woman, not previously diagnosed with diabetes, begins exhibiting high glucose levels during pregnancy. In most cases a modification of diet is enough to control glucose levels, but in some cases insulin and/or other medications are required. This is considered class A2 diabetes.

Typically, mothers who get gestational diabetes in pregnancy have perfectly normal babies, especially if they keep their blood sugar levels under control. However, there are increased risks for the baby that you should be aware of. The baby may have low blood sugar levels, jaundice, or be large for their gestational age which can lead to delivery complication.

Women who have gestational diabetes generally do not show symptoms. The condition is usually caught by the screenings performed during pregnancy. There are, however, risk factors that make you more likely …


Leptin and Metabolic Syndrome

“What is the connection between leptin and metabolic syndrome?” you may ask, but actually they are connected in many different ways. You see, leptin is a protein hormone which plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure. This includes appetite and metabolism.

Just as people with metabolic disorders may be resistant to the insulin hormone, it seems as though obese may become resistant to leptin as well. In other words, Leptin is the hormone that reduces appetite in our bodies, however, high levels are found in obese people because they have become resistant to its effects. It may also be that some obese people may be flawed in some way that the signal is not receive the feeling of being ‘full’ at all (or as much).

In any case, this ‘leptin resistance’ is at the very least a contributor to the eventual formation of metabolic syndrome …


Childhood-Onset Diabetes

Childhood-onset diabetes is one of the most disturbing epidemics plaguing our world today. Luckily, however, the disease itself is not so disturbing if the parent and child take care of monitoring blood sugar levels and keep a healthy lifestyle. Childhood-onset diabetes is primarily type-1 diabetes, but more and more frequently children are beginning to get type-2 diabetes as well. The symptoms of each type are, for the most part, the same. They are:

Type 1 Symptoms

  • Frequent urination
  • Unusual thirst
  • Extreme hunger
  • Unusual weight loss
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Irritability

 

Type 2 Diabetes

** Any of the type 1 symptoms

  • Frequent infections
  • Blurred vision
  • Cut/bruises that are slow to heal
  • Tingling/numbness in the hands/feet
  • Recurring skin, gum, or bladder infections

 

Controlling Childhood-Onset Diabetes

 

Too much, or not enough, sugar in the blood stream can lead to problems that must be treatment right away. In childhood, management of blood sugar levels …


Class D Diabetes

You have Class D diabetes if you developed diabetes before the age of 10, have had the disease for over 20 years, and vascular problems are present. This is important to know because having pre-existing diabetes during pregnancy puts you and your baby at risk for serious complications. A person with Class D diabetes may have blood vessel complications which can include heart disease, stork, or accumulations of fatty deposits in their blood vessel walls.

According to American Diabetes Association, studies show that the survival of mothers who have diabetic vascular problems is virtually 100%, with the exception of ishemic heart disease. Fetal survival has had significant improvements over the last 50 years, but still much lower than those women who do not have vascular issues. Over the next decade, after the birth, maternal survival is uncertain.

 

The Prevention of Complications

 

When women have already have diabetes complications prior …


Class C Diabetes

Class C diabetes is diabetes that began between the ages of 10 – 19 and has lasted a duration of 10-19 years. Women whose diabetes had set in before the age of 20 years of age have a higher incidence of infants with malformations that were fatal than women who developed diabetes at an older age, according to a study found on oxfordjournals.org.

The placentae from mothers with Class C diabetes were compared in one study with a normal group of placentae. The placentae from the Class C diabetes patients were divided into two groups based on growth characteristics and the neonatal out comes of the infants. The placentae of both of these groups were heavier than the placentae of the normal mothers. They were also found to have a relative increase in surface are. The results of the study suggested that the placental function in diabetics were probably not …


LADA Diabetic Disease

What is a LADA diabetic? LADA stands for latent autoimmune diabetes in adults. It is sometimes referred to as Type 1.5 diabetes. This is a newly discovered form of diabetes, which seems to be a combination of type-1 and type-2, though many really consider it a form of type-1 diabetes which comes on at a slower onset.

The biggest difference between type-1 and type-2 diabetes is that type-1 is actually an autoimmune disease. This means the body’s immune system actually attacks its own cells. There are many types of autoimmune disorders, and in type-1 diabetes the system’s antibodies attack the beta cells of the pancreas. This renders the ability of the pancreas to create insulin, a hormone the body cannot sustain itself without. So, people with autoimmune diabetes must inject insulin in order to keep their body’s functioning properly.

LADA diabetic disease is commonly seen after the age of …


Latent Diabetic Autoimmunity

You may ask, “What is a latent diabetic?” Latent diabetic autoimmunity is similar to type-1 diabetes, but it occurs in adults and is sometimes mistaken for type-2 diabetes. The disorder is deemed latent diabetes in adult (LADA) or sometime diabetes type 1.5. In type-1 diabetes patients cannot produce insulin on their own due to an autoimmune disorder where antibodies attack the cells in the pancreas which produces insulin. Islet autoantibodies, which are commonly found in type-1 diabetes, are also present in a latent diabetic.

A latent diabetic will be diagnosed with LADA if they meet the following criteria:

  1. They are at least 30 years of age.
  2. They test positive for at least one of the autoantibodies found in type-1 diabetes.
  3. They have been free from insulin treatment for the first six months after diagnosis.

 

LADA is also similar to type-2 diabetes is that it occurs in adults, there …


Vitamin D and Metabolic Syndrome

Scientists have uncovered links between vitamin D and metabolic syndrome.  Studies have found that low vitamin D levels are associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, according to Nutraingredients.com. Vitamin D is associated with an increased risk of insulin resistance as well.

Maintaining vitamin D levels is a common problem among the middle-aged and elderly. Our bodies typically make vitamin D from the sunlight that we are exposed to, but in some areas there is not enough sunshine throughout the winter months which means the body cannot make vitamin D at all. During these times dietary supplements and fortified foods should be used to avoid complications such as a deficiency of vitamin d and metabolic syndrome.

 

More about Vitamin D and Metabolic Syndrome 

 

Metabolic syndrome is defined as a cluster of different conditions which occur together. These conditions increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, and diabetes, …


Fatty Liver and Metabolic Syndrome

What is the connection between a fatty liver and metabolic syndrome? A fatty liver may be a new component to metabolic syndrome. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a condition where fat deposits in the liver in nonalcoholic people. Some studies have shown an association between fatty liver and metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors, such as elevated cholesterol levels, elevated glucose levels, and high blood pressure, which indicate the possibility of future health problems such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes. Metabolic syndrome is commonly associated with overweight people, but not always. Insulin resistance is a common indicator of the condition. Normally fatty liver disease is normally associated with alcohol abuse. Researchers are also finding that fatty liver disease is also common in people with metabolic syndrome as well.

Studies show there are quite a few connections between a fatty liver and metabolic syndrome. Nonalcoholic …


Peripheral Insulin Resistance

People with peripheral insulin resistance have built up a tolerance to the hormone, making it less effective. Normally when a person eats a meal, high blood sugar levels trigger the pancreas to produce insulin. Insulin then induces the cells to take up the glucose in the blood, which they either turn into fat or energy. This in turn causes blood glucose levels to fall into a normal range. However, in peripheral insulin resistance, the cells do not respond to the insulin’s signal as well and blood sugar is left in the bloodstream.

When peripheral insulin resistance begins, the pancreas responds by deploying greater amounts of insulin to keep the cells energized and the glucose levels under control. Overtime, the cells become resistant to these insulin levels as well, the same way a person becomes tolerant to a drug in time. Beta cells that make insulin begin to wear out when …


Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Insulin Resistance

What is the connection between polycystic ovarian syndrome and insulin resistance? Insulin resistance is a root cause of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), according to PCOS.InsuliteLabs.com. PCOS is a common hormonal disorder that affects women of reproductive age. In this disorder women may have enlarged ovaries, containing numerous small cysts located along the outer edge. Not all women with PCOS have these cysts, however.

Insulin is needed in order for cells to take in glucose and convert it to energy. Insulin resistance occurs when these cells no longer respond to the insulin. This causes sugar, or glucose, to remain in the bloodstream. There are two ways in which polycystic ovarian syndrome and insulin resistance have been found to be connected. First, insulin resistance leads to weight gain and obesity.

The second cause comes from high insulin levels in the blood stream. You see, when the cells no longer respond to …


Fatty Liver and Insulin Resistance

“What do a fatty liver and insulin resistance have to do with one another?”, actually quite a lot. Many studies have shown fatty liver and insulin resistance to be associated, though the relationship between the two in the development of diabetes is still unclear. According to Howard Hughes Medical Institute, scientists have recently identified genetic factors that predispose people to developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Interestingly, the same genetic factors are linked to insulin resistance as well, even in people of normal weight.

It has been found that treatments developed for insulin resistance and metabolic disorders often are helpful in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. These treatments include weight loss, metformin, and thiazolidinediones. Diet changes seem to have a very beneficial effect on both fatty liver and insulin resistance. Vitamin E has also been known to improve symptoms of both conditions as well.

Soft drink consumption may have a major influence …


Hypoglycemia and Insulin Resistance

Hypoglycemia and insulin resistance occur together frequently. Patients with diabetes who have insulin resistance can have low blood sugar levels. When cells do not respond properly to insulin, the body reacts by creating more insulin. The overproduction of insulin causes blood sugar levels to drop too low. High levels of insulin can cause serious health consequences. According to Ei-Resource.org, anytime a hormone in our body is chronically raised, the cells that react to it become less and less sensitive to it.

Our bodies were not meant to deal with a constant flow of simple sugars. Simple sugars require little or no digestion, and therefore are absorbed into the bloodstream quickly. This requires a rapid insulin response. Eventually it results in hypoglycemia and insulin resistance. This insulin resistance leads to type-2 diabetes if simple sugars are consumed on a regular basis. This is why one should avoid eating refined carbohydrates and …


Hypothyroidism and Insulin Resistance

There have been many studies conducted linking hypothyroidism and insulin resistance. Although, there has been much evidence in the association between hypothyroidism and insulin resistance, the answers are still unclear where exactly the connection lies. It has been concluded, however, that people with hypothyroidism were more likely to have insulin resistance.

The thyroid makes two different hormones. These are known as T4 and T3. These hormones help to regulate how quickly the body burns energy. The higher the hormone levels, the higher your metabolism. In hypothyroidism, your body does not make enough hormones. This obviously causes a lower metabolism. So, people with hypothyroidism tend to gain weight and be lethargic. This also may cause intolerance to cold, dry skin, and hoarseness.

Insulin resistance is very common in hypothyroid patients. People with low thyroid function are prone to develop hypothyroidism as well. According to OutSmartDisease.com, this is because hypothyroidism slows …


Vitamin D and Insulin Resistance

Many studies have evaluated the effect of vitamin d on insulin resistance, and the results are good. High-doses of vitamin D have been found to increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin, according to NaturalNew.com. In one study, noted by the website, 81 South Asian women between the ages of 23 and 68 were given either a placebo or a 4,000 IU vitamin D once per day. After 6 months, the women in the vitamin D group exhibited more insulin sensitivity than those in the placebo group, showing the effects of vitamin D on insulin resistance.

Diabetes is very widespread in the United States. Current statistic show that 24 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed and 5.6 million still have not. Metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes, and other metabolic disorders are also on the rise. Many researchers and scientists have suggested that deficiencies of Vitamin D and insulin resistance may …


Idiopathic Diabetes

Type 1B, or idiopathic diabetes, is a type-1 of diabetes which is not autoimmune. People with idiopathic diabetes have an insulin deficiency and can experience ketoacidosis like people with type-1 diabetes. However, their need for injected insulin waxes and wanes overtime. Patients of African, Asian, or Hispanic decent are the most likely groups to develop idiopathic diabetes.

It almost seems as if idiopathic diabetes is a cross between the two types. It is important to understand the basic difference is the way the body processes insulin in each. People with type-one diabetes are insulin deficient, meaning the pancreas in these individuals produces little or no insulin.

Type-2 diabetics generally generate enough insulin but the cells are resistant to it, so their bodies cannot regulate blood sugar properly. Type-2 diabetes is not an autoimmune disease either, but in idiopathic diabetes there is no insulin resistance, there is just not enough …


Insulin Insensitivity

Insulin insensitivity is when cells stop responding to insulin that is secreted from the pancreas. When cells fail to respond to insulin adequately, blood sugar levels rice to high. This causes damage to your body and makes you more likely to develop complications such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, or even nerve damage.

Exercise helps. It causes your cells to respond to insulin because it empties muscles of their stored sugar. When the muscles are empty of stored sugar, the muscles begin to absorb sugar from the bloodstream. This prevents blood sugar levels from becoming to high.

Statistics have shown that 35% of adults in America will become diabetic. This is because many Americans eat too much and exercise too little. Being fat fills your fat cells with fat, according to DrMirkin.com. This blocks the insulin receptors and it prevents them from responding to insulin. …


Leptin Insulin Resistance

It has been shown in many different instances that there is a correlation between leptin and insulin resistance. In fact, previous studies have shown them to be highly correlated. One study, posted on Nature.com, serves as a good example of their relationship. They have found that, when compared, insulin sensitive men have lower liptin levels than insulin resistant men. This example shows how leptin levels may play a role somehow in how metabolic conditions come about.

Liptin and insulin work together in controlling the extent and rate of your metabolism. Insulin works at the cellular level, telling the cells whether to burn or store fat from sugar or to utilize it for energy. Insulin resistance occurs overtime because your cells adjust to high blood sugar levels by not reacting to the insulin. This causes the pancreas to produce more insulin, basically ‘to try’ and get the cells to react. …


Mature Onset Diabetes

Mature onset diabetes of the young (MODY), refers to any of several heredity forms of diabetes. These forms of diabetes are caused by mutations in a sex independent gene which disrupts the process of insulin production. It can appear in several generations in a family. Mature onset diabetes is also referred to as “monogenic diabetes” according to Wikipedia.org.

Mature onset diabetes affects one to two percent of people who have diabetes. Although all of the normal signs of diabetes are present, this type of diabetes often goes unrecognized. It can be distinguished from type-1 diabetes by establishing the absence of antibodies, and it is not caused by insulin resistance like type-2 diabetes.

Mature onset diabetes, or MODY, can be diagnosed at any age. Patients that are obese tend to get it before the age of 50. Diagnosis requires that the patient meets the following criteria:

  • Glucose levels are high
  • There

Unstable Diabetes

Unstable diabetes is a type of diabetes where a person’s blood glucose (sugar) level fluctuates very quickly. Unstable diabetes is also called ‘brittle diabetes’ and ‘labile diabetes’. Possible causes for this type of diabetes include gastrointestinal absorption problems, delayed stomach emptying, drug interactions, problems with insulin absorption, or hormonal malfunction. In addition, the treatment of thyroid problems and adrenal gland conditions may lead to unstable diabetes, according to Diabetes.About.com.

In people with stable forms of diabetes, blood sugar levels fluctuate all the time, but normally this does not affect their daily living much. The same cannot be said for people with unstable diabetes. People with brittle diabetes must be hospitalized frequently and they often must miss work. In addition, many people with unstable diabetes have psychological problems which they have to attend to. All these factors normally add to even more emotional and financial stress.

 

Causes and Symptoms of Unstable


Class B Diabetes

Diabetes that occurs in pregnancy is categorized by (Pricilla) White’s classification system so that it is better managed. Class B diabetes is diabetes which was developed after the age of 20, the disease has had a duration of less than 10 years, and the diabetic has no vascular complications.A Class B diabetes pregnancy is not of any extreme risk, but you should take the time to learn what risks there are. Infants born of mothers with pre-existing diabetes are at an increased risk of pre- and neonatal complications, such as stillbirth.

 

Class B Diabetes MellitusComplications

 

Complications for a mother with pre-existing diabetes (such as Class B diabetes) are really based on three different factors. First is the degree of insulin need, the second is the degree of severity of complications associated with the diabetes, and the third is the control of blood glucose levels. The third is the most …


Diabetic Fetus

The effects on a diabetic fetus can be minimized by good diabetic care during a pregnancy and delivery. To avoid complications, the most important thing that you can do is to keep your blood glucose levels normal by careful monitoring, eating healthily, and exercise in a manner which your doctor recommends. In current times, most diabetic pregnancies turn out about like any other pregnancy would. There are risk factors for your diabetic fetus that you should know about though. According to MedIndia.net, these risks include:

Congenital malformations–your baby stands a risk of developing heart defects of defects of the respiratory system. Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is one complication that occurs more often in babies born to diabetic mothers.

Intrauterine death – a diabetic fetus carries this risk far more than the fetus of a non-diabetic mother.

Fetal macrosomia – a diabetic fetus is likely to be considerably larger …


Labile Diabetes

Labile diabetes is a type of diabetes in which blood sugar levels drop and peak at alarming rates. Sometimes these fluctuations can be very extreme. Labile diabetes is more common in people with type-1 diabetes, but it can occur in type-2 diabetes as well. Certain medical conditions are linked to this type of diabetes. One of these conditions is delayed gastric emptying, which a delay in stomach emptying which interferes with the timing of carbohydrate absorption. Disorders of the thyroid and adrenal glands, as well as problems with insulin absorption and drug interactions are also possible causes.

Psychological problems such as stress and depression carry the highest risk of labile diabetes. It is believed that these mental health problems cause them to neglect their treatment. With these blood sugar levels being uncontrolled, metabolic imbalances occur more and more frequently. At the same time, stresses from loss of employment, frequent hospital …


Class 2 Diabetes

Type-2 diabetes mellitus is sometimes mistermed as class-2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. Millions of Americans have been diagnosed with it and many more are unaware that they even have it. This class 2 of diabetes mellitus is most common among African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asians, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and the elderly.

Type-2 diabetes, or class 2 diabetes, occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin. What happens is that the body breaks down all of the sugars and starches that you eat into glucose. Glucose is then turned into energy for your body to use. The body uses a hormone called insulin to achieve this.

In a normal, healthy body, insulin delivers the glucose to the cell and the cell takes it in to either use it as energy for the body or stores it as fat. However, …


Double Diabetic

A double diabetic is a person who has symptoms of both type-1 and type-2 diabetes. Researchers say this could be a growing phenomenon. Studies have found that as many as one in three newly diagnosed childhood diabetics may be a double diabetic, according to EveryDayHealth.com.

Type-1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. It normally occurs in childhood or young adulthood. In this disease the beta cells in the pancreas, which produce insulin, are destroyed by the body’s own immune system. The hormone insulin is what helps the cells of the body convert sugar into insulin. However, without the beta cells no insulin is produced and sugar remains in the bloodstream. Type-1 diabetics must take insulin medically.

Type-2 diabetes usually has a much later onset. There are genetic factors which cause it, but poor diet, lack of exercise, and too much body fat contributes to the disease. The main underlying cause of …


Diabetes Kind

When you have diabetes, it is important to continually learn about the disease. The diabetes kind that you have is going to have a major impact on how you live your life. So, taking the time to understand the diabetes kind you have, as well as others, will help you differentiate the information as you learn more and more about your disease.

There are actually many different types of diabetes, and as research goes on, more differentials are being found. For example, latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) is very much like juvenile diabetes, except it occurs at a later age than expected for this diabetes kind. It used to be mistaken for type 2 diabetes. Also, gestational diabetes is a lot like type-2 diabetes, except it only comes about during pregnancy. Sometimes medications can also cause a person to have diabetes-like metabolic problems as well. All types of diabetes …


Metabolic Syndrome Disorder

A metabolic syndrome disorder is a combination of medical conditions which put you at risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. A metabolic syndrome disorder may also be referred to as metabolic syndrome, syndrome x, cardio-metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance syndrome, Reaven’s syndrome, and CHAOS (in Australia) according to Wikipedia.org. Some studies show that metabolic syndrome disorders affect an estimated 25% of the U.S. population alone.

There are five risk factors that doctors look at to determine whether you have a metabolic syndrome disorder. Those who have three or more of these risk factors are said to have a metabolic syndrome disorder. They are:

  1. A fasting blood sugar (glucose) level of 100 mg/dl or above
  2. A blood pressure level of 130/85 mm Hg or greater
  3. An “apple” shaped abdomen that measures more than 40” for men and 35” for women
  4. A triglyceride level above 150 mg/dl
  5. A good cholesterol (HDL) level

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