Understanding the risks
How does Diabetes affect the body?
As the disease progresses, severe short- and long-term complications are likely. Blindness, amputations, stroke, cognitive decline, decreased quality of life, and premature death can occur. (Lin et al., 2008)
People with Diabetes are known to have a two-fold higher risk of contracting a wide range of vascular diseases. (Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration, 2010).
Read here for a more comprehensive look at the impact of Diabetes on the body.
https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-risk
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/how-does-diabetes-affect-the-body.html
What are the indicator symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes?
Unlike other types of Diabetes, there are often no outward symptoms in Type 2 Diabetes patients. American Diabetes Association states that Type 2 patients can feel tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands or feet. Symptoms in Type 2 Diabetes patients, if they appear, do so very slowly.
Type 1 Diabetes patients, on the other hand, have been noted to show the following symptoms:
- Frequent urination
- Feeling very thirsty
- Acute hunger
- Extreme fatigue
- Blurry vision
- Wounds heal slowly
- Weight loss
Read more on Diabetes indicator symptoms:
https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/type-1/symptoms
What is Type 2 Diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes mellitus accounts for approximately 90 percent of all Diabetes. There are two other types of Diabetes – Type 1 Diabetes and Gestational Diabetes
The pancreas is the organ that produces the insulin hormone. Insulin plays a blood sugar regulatory role. When blood sugar levels get too high, such a condition is called hyperglycemia. Hypoglycemia, on the other hand, is a low blood sugar condition. Diabetes manifests itself when insulin produced in the body cannot adequately metabolize the blood's sugar, causing blood sugar levels to spike.
Type 1 diabetes patients' pancreas does not produce insulin at all. Type 1 diabetes is often inherited.
Gestational Diabetes, as the name suggests, is seen during pregnancy. Gestational Diabetes affects the mother and the child. It disappears after childbirth.
Here is where you can learn more about Diabetes:
https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/type-2-diabetes/
What causes Type 2 Diabetes?
We need the energy to live, grow, exercise, and survive. When we eat, in the digestive process, sugar is produced. Sugar finds its way from the digestive system into the blood, where insulin released from the pancreas helps break it down to release energy. This energy becomes available to the body for survival and other functions.
Excess sugar not required by us is converted into fats and stored in the liver. This stored fat is broken down into energy and made available when demand exceeds supply.
Insulin plays a blood sugar regulatory role. It prevents blood sugar levels from either rising too high. Blood sugar levels, when these stay high, cause harm. But why do these levels rise at all? The inability of available insulin to fully break available blood sugar into energy leads to increased blood sugar levels.
Another reason is that the conversion process itself has become retarded. The cells of the body have become resistant to the available insulin. As a consequence, blood sugar levels rise. The medical name for such a condition is insulin resistance.
There are multiple causes of insulin resistance. Hepatitis C virus infection in the liver is one reported cause. (Petit et al., 2001) The pancreas themselves have become calcified and cannot produce enough insulin is another reason. (Malka et al., 2000). There are other causes of insulin resistance. An emerging view is that an imbalance in the gut microbiota could contribute to Diabetes. The causes of Diabetes are complex and are the subject of intense research.
Below are a few references for more information on the causes of Type 2 Diabetes.
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/type-2-diabetes
https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes
What is Diabetic distress?
People with Diabetes often experience a sense of frustration, anger, and helplessness. They feel emotionally drained. They struggle with keeping up with the disease's relentless and day-to-day management. It takes a toll on the mental health of the individual. This condition is called Diabetes distress.
To learn more about diabetes distress, you can read here:
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/professionals/resources/shared-practice/psychological-care/emotional-health-professionals-guide/chapter-3-diabetes-distress
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/diabetes-distress/ten-tips-coping-diabetes-distress.html
What is the impact of Type 2 Diabetes on the eyes?
Diabetes, over a while, causes damage to the small blood vessels that lie behind the retina. Those individuals who manage to keep their blood sugar levels close to normal are less likely to suffer eye damage. The retina damage can go undetected, as there is no apparent vision loss in the initial stages. (Fong, D.S et al., 2004) People with Diabetes are also more prone to eye ailments like cataracts and glaucoma.
Read more on eye complications due to Diabetes here:
https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/complications/eye-complications
https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/27/suppl_1/s84.short
What is the impact of Type 2 Diabetes on the feet?
People with Diabetes are more susceptible to developing foot complications. If blood sugar levels continue to stay consistently high, nerve damage sets in. Patients can experience a tingling, burning, or stinging sensation in the feet. Over time, it can progress to loss of feeling.
Read more here:
https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/complications/foot-complications
https://type2diabetes.com/complications/complications-affecting-feet/
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/features/healthy-feet.html
What is the impact of Type 2 Diabetes on the heart?
Blood sugar in the blood over time damages the nerves that control the heart. Type 2 diabetes patients are at high risk of developing coronary artery disease. The risk is enhanced with high concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and decreased quantity of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL). High blood pressure, high levels of blood sugar, and smoking are also other impacts.
Additional reading to learn more about the impact of Diabetes on the heart and the cardiovascular system you can check here:
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/complications/cardiovascular_disease
What is the impact of Type 2 Diabetes on the kidney?
Our kidney filters waste products in the blood. People with Diabetes who cannot control their blood sugar levels put the kidney to stress from over-filtration. Over time, the filtration capacity of the kidney gets impaired, and the kidney gets damaged. In such a condition, the kidney starts leaking, releasing small amounts of useful protein in the urine. Continued damage can grievously damage the kidney resulting in kidney failure.
Read more on Diabetes' impact on the kidney here:
https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/complications/kidney-disease-nephropathy
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/professionals/resources/shared-practice/kidney-care