- Diet should be the first place to look for the prevention and control of high blood sugar. The diabetic-friendly formula of the Almased dietary supplement supports healthy blood sugar levels and helps you lose weight without hunger.
- Check out these 10 best foods to lower blood sugar levels and 5 useful bonus tips to guide you to a new, healthier and slimmer you!
The Two Types of Diabetes
In the United States, nearly 80 million people, or one in four has some form of diabetes or pre-diabetes. What's worse, from 2001 to 2009, the incidence of type 2 diabetes among children aged 10-19 rose by 30 percent! Before getting into causes and treatments for diabetes, let’s clarify the variance between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes, previously known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease. In this form of the disease, the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed, so the body can’t produce any insulin.
Only 5% of people with diabetes have the type 1 form of the disease.
With the help of insulin therapy and other treatments, even young children can learn the techniques of managing blood sugar levels and live long healthy lives.
Type 2 diabetes, once known as adult-onset diabetes, is a chronic condition that affects the way your body metabolizes sugar (glucose), your body's foremost source of fuel.1
In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas is producing normal and sometimes excess amounts of insulin.2,3 The problem is not with the pancreas; the problem is that the cells throughout the body have become resistant to the actions of insulin. This resistance results in less sugar entering the cells and more sugar remaining in the blood.
The body needs sugar for energy and produces it by breaking down the sugars and starches you eat into a simple sugar called glucose. A molecule of glucose carries a packet of chemical energy just the right size for transport and uptake by cells. In your body, glucose is the “deliverable” form of energy, carried in your blood to each of your 100 trillion cells.4
But without the hormone insulin, glucose remains in the bloodstream, unable to gain access into the cells of the body. Glucose molecules have sharp edges, which nick the walls of blood vessels as it circulates, causing damage and over time, vascular disease.
High glucose levels also reduce nitric oxide in blood vessels, a shortage that increases the risk of high blood pressure and eventually narrows down the vessels.5
For type 1 and type 2 diabetes, learning how to manage blood sugar is crucial.
Common symptoms of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are low energy levels, weight change, thirst, and frequent urination as the body tries to deal with too much glucose in the blood. Even though you may not feel any symptoms of diabetes, the damage occurs progressively, and you will, in time, be dealing with the results. The organs most at risk from blood vessel damage include the heart, brain, eyes, nerves, and kidneys.
Organ damage, sustained because of unchecked high blood glucose levels, is referred to as a diabetic complication.