What is diabetes?

Diabetes is the name used to describe a metabolic condition of having higher than normal blood sugar levels.

Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugare, for our bodies to use for energy

(The pancreas) an organ that lies near the stomach , makes a hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies

When you have diabetes, your bod eather doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use its own insulin as well as it should.

This causes sugars to build up in the blood.

Diabetes can cause serious health complications including

1)heart disease,     2)  blindness               3) kidney failure      4) and lower-extremity amputations.

Diabetes is predicted by a clear set of symptoms, but it still often goes undiagnosed.

The main 3 diabetes signs are:

• Increased thirst
• Increased need to urinate
• Increased hunger
• Diabetes is becoming increasingly more common throughout the world, due to increased obesity – which can lead to metabolic syndrome or pre-diabetes leading to higher incidences of type 2 diabetes.

The pancreas either cannot make insulin or the insulin it does make is not enough and cannot work properly. Without insulin doing its job, glucose builds up in the blood leading to high blood glucose levels which cause the health problems linked to diabetes.

There are two main types of diabetes.

1. Type 1 Diabetes:  is less common usually affecting children and young adults but it can occur at any age.
2. Type 2 Diabete:  is the fastest growing chronic condition in Australia  affects 85–90% of all people with diabetes. It usually occurs in adults but younger people and even children are now getting this lifestyle condition
   

   Are you at Risk? (Diabetes Type 2)

   While there is no single cause of type 2 Diabetes , there are well- established risk factors, .Some risk factors can be controlled and others you are born with.

   An estimated 2 million Australians are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

   Type2  diabetes and there are also large numbers of people with silent, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes which may be damaging their bodies.

   To find out your risk of developing type 2 diabetes within the next five years , our professional staff can help

Find out more: https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au

Good News

Preventing type 2 diabetes

People at risk of type 2 diabetes can delay and in some cases even prevent it by following a healthy lifestyle. This includes regular physical activity, making healthy food choices and achieving a healthier body weight, especially if they have been told that they have risk factors for diabetes.

Lifestyle choices can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes. It is strongly associated with high blood pressure, abnormal blood fats and the classic ‘apple shape’ body where there is extra weight around the waist.