It seems like diabetes is a word on many people's lips these days. It is one of the fastest growing diseases in the world such that the World Health Organization recently listed it as an epidemic. But what exactly is diabetes ? This article will explain what the disease is and the different types of diabetes.

Someone with diabetes will have a high blood sugar reading after they have eaten some food. Their body is unable to process the sugar in the bloodstream. Sugar is vital for the body as it is the primary source of energy for the body's cells. Without sugar the cells will starve and die.

One belief that has no scientific proof is that eating too much sugar will give you diabetes. This is not really true, however eating lots of sugary foods without sufficient exercise could lead to weight gain.

If this situation was not changed then the person could become overweight and eventually classified as obese. And many people with type 2 diabetes have a weight problem suggesting that they are linked in some way. Thus an obese person is at increased risk of getting type 2 diabetes than someone of their height and sex that was a normal weight.

Another common belief is that most people that have diabetes don't even know they have it. This is often the case because it is very hard to diagnose the disease without a fasting test. There are no symptoms that are unique to the disease and in some cases there are no symptoms at all.

Some of the more common symptoms are :

Excessive thirst (polydipsia).

Increased need to urinate (polyuria).

Excessive eating without any noticeable gain in weight (usually weight loss).

Extreme tiredness.

Nausea and a general feeling of being ill.

Yeast infections.

Blurred or double vision.

Male impotence.

One or more of these symptoms should convince you to visit your health care provider.

Your body may have stopped producing the hormone insulin, that is secreted to reduce the sugar content in the blood. This is known as insulin dependent diabetes or type 1 diabetes.

Or, your body can become immune or resistant to insulin such that it cannot process the sugar. This is known as type 2 diabetes. A similar condition, known as gestational diabetes also occurs but lasts during pregnancy and normally stops after the birth.

As yet there is no cure for diabetes. It will last for life and the best way to deal with it is regular checkups and ongoing treatment. Treatment is easy after the initial adjustment to a new lifestyle conducive with the disease.

Treatment involves getting a diabetic diet plan. A diet plan for diabetes is essentially a well balanced meal plan with certain foods taken infrequently as a treat. Treatment also includes getting regular exercise. For people with type 1 diabetes it will also include regular injections of insulin, usually before each meal or when the blood sugar reading is high. Type 2 diabetics may have to take medication to make the body more responsive to insulin. Once a person gets into this routine, it is quite easy to lead a normal life without diabetes impacting your life greatly.

About the Author, Adrian Fletcher:

Learn more about diabetes diet plans at diabeticdietsplan.com. The site deals with diets and eating healthy diabetes food and some common symptoms of diabetes. Glyconutrients and diabetes.

Tags: glyconutrients adhd, saccharides in the human body, glyconutrient, fisher institute for medical research

Glyconutrients, Glyconutrients What is Diabetes, Health And Nutrition, sugars that heal