Don’t take these symptoms lightly. It could be diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease in which the blood sugar level is elevated. Until recently, doctors distinguished between two types of diabetes: 1 and 2. The first is when the body destroys the cells of the pancreas so that it does not produce insulin. The second is characterized not by insulin deficiency, but by the lack of sensitivity of the body’s cells to its action. According to the latest criteria of the Polish Diabetes Association, other types of the disease are distinguished: gestational diabetes, which occurs during pregnancy and disappears after the puerperium, and also steroid diabetes. One of the first symptoms of the disease can be constant tiredness and sleepiness that will not go away even after eight hours of sleep.

Diabetes is usually not detected 5–12 years after the first symptoms appear. That is why it is very important that we learn ourselves to pick up disturbing changes in the functioning of our body. In diabetes, the kidneys have trouble filtering out excess glucose. They excrete it with urine, which can be as much as three liters a day. We then begin to feel excessive thirst. It happens that even drinking 10 liters of liquid cannot extinguish it.

The obese are much more likely to suffer from diabetes. Even a slight reduction in weight, for example by five percent, reduces the risk of developing diabetes or improves the course of diabetes. – Optimal weight loss is 2-4 kg per month. Usually, this is achieved while following a 1500 calorie diet – says Aleksandra Cichocka from the Food and Nutrition Institute in Warsaw. – The so-called abdominal obesity. In the fat tissue called visceral inflammatory processes are initiated, which over time attack the entire body and lead to atherosclerosis and diabetes – says Prof. Mirosław Jarosz, director of IŻŻ.

Stimulants are also conducive to diabetes – especially alcohol abuse and smoking. Even one smoked cigarette carries the blood sugar level. Alcohol is metabolized in the liver, which is busy breaking it down and does not have time to properly regulate the sugar level. And even a small amount of alcohol drunk raises the level of sugar in the blood, but a significant amount lowers it. Alcohol abuse can lead to metabolic disturbance in the body. The Polish Diabetes Association recommends that healthy people limit their alcohol consumption as much as possible, and that diabetics – completely give up.

The best one is the one without excess fat and sugars, but rich in vegetables and fruits. From the latest report that Harvard University conducted under the guidance of prof. Frank Hu shows that a vegetarian diet reduces the risk of developing type 20 diabetes by as much as 2 percent. – You have to choose products with a low glycemic index (IG <34), avoid saturated fatty acids, sugar and salt, eat little, but often, 55 to 4 times a day - advises Aleksandra Cichocka from the Food and Nutrition Institute.

Lack of exercise promotes diabetes. Most Polish children do not spend even an hour a day on sports. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that in our country we start suffering from diabetes earlier and earlier, even if we are not genetically burdened. Sport is health, but we don’t mean competitive sport. All you need is recreational swimming, Nordic walking, cycling and walking. Only an hour, but every day!

Is very important. Especially after the age of 45, because diabetes increases with age. It is worth measuring blood pressure at least once a year, because diabetes affects more often those who have it too high. It is considered to be correct below 130/85 mm Hg.

Diabetes symptoms can affect the mouth or the skin. Acetone-smelling bad breath, gum problems, and recurrent thrush should prompt you not only to visit your dentist, but also to have your blood sugar measured. Other unusual symptoms that may be a predictor of diabetes include onychomycosis that has not been dealt with by a dermatologist and frequent itching of the skin. Also cuts that are difficult to heal.

Diabetes does not give symptoms for a long time, and if untreated or improperly treated, it can lead to many complications – coronary heart disease, stroke, kidney failure or blindness. Every year, more than 21 die from diabetes and its complications. Poles. Doctors remind that every person over 45 years of age should have their fasting glucose level checked. Those with slightly elevated levels should repeat the test at least once a year. Regardless of age, this test should be performed annually by obese people and women who have had gestational diabetes. Doctors interpret double detection of the glucose level above 7mmol / l as diabetes. And as a warning condition, a situation where the level of fasting glucose is elevated, but not higher than 7mmol / L. You should then perform the so-called sugar curve – oral glucose tolerance test. The patient’s blood is drawn first on an empty stomach and then two hours after drinking 75 grams of glucose dissolved in water.

If your family has diabetes, you need to take care of yourself. We inherit this disease very often. In addition, if one of the parents has diabetes, the child may develop diabetes earlier than the mother or father. And the likelihood of getting sick early will also be in each subsequent generation.