Test your Risk for Diabetes
What is Diabetes?
There are two kinds of diabetes. Type 1 is not curable, an autoimmune disease that is inherited and often already starts in adolescence. The body destroys the cells that produce insulin and therefore has to be provided artificially. Far more frequent is type 2 diabetes, a lifestyle disease mainly found among people who eat too much food, eat food that is too fat, or too sweet. While the body does produce insulin, the cells no longer respond to it. They absorb less glucose (blood sugar) and burn less food to produce energy. The excess glucose is then converted into fat. As if this wasn’t enough, not only are people with diabetes more prone to gain weight but the high insulin level also inhibits the fat burning process.
Test your risk here:
• Are you frequently thirsty and suffer from a dry throat?
• Are you overweight?
• Do close relatives suffer from diabetes?
• Do small wounds heal slowly?
• Do you have to go to the bathroom more often than others?
Result:
If you have answered three or more of these questions with yes, you should have your blood sugar level tested by your doctor (in the morning on an empty stomach).