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Why Diabetes Is Known As The Silent Killer


By Michel Maling

Did you know that Diabetes, at the moment, kills twice as many people each year as HIV/Aids, yet most of us know more about Aids than Diabetes?

More and more young people worldwide are getting diabetes. This is pretty scary and is related directly to our lifestyles. A few decades ago, only older people used to get type 2 diabetes, now it is not uncommon for children as young as eight to be diagnosed with this condition. At the current rate that this disease is going, soon four out of five people will have diabetes in developing countries, and the people most affected will be of working age.

Anyone at any age can develop diabetes, and once you have it, you will have to manage it for life. Lots of people have it for a few years before they are diagnosed, and only realize that they have it once they get other complications like kidney failure, stroke, heart disease or eye problems. If diabetes is not managed it could become debilitating or even fatal.

Type 1 diabetes usually occurs in children, but can affect adults. This is where you will need to take a number of injections of insulin every day to control the levels of glucose in your body. With diabetes 1, you body battles to produce insulin which is needed to break down glucose in the body.

Type 2 diabetes was previously known as non insulin dependent diabetes or adult onset diabetes. This is usually associated with being overweight and is the most common form of diabetes. There is a progressive loss of insulin production together with resistance to its actions. Unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles play a huge role in getting this type of diabetes, and it can be controlled with oral medication, regular exercise and a healthy eating plan.

Here are some of the symptoms for type 1 diabetes:

Frequent urination, always thirsty, extreme fatigue or lack of energy, cuts and bruises that don't heal, tingling and numbness in hands and feet, blurred vision and unusual weight loss.

Type 2 diabetes is known as the silent killer and often has no symptoms, so get yourself tested every year if you have any of these risk factors:

Overweight (mainly carrying weight around tummy area), sedentary lifestyle, smoker, family history of diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

A test is a simple finger prick at your local pharmacy, and early diagnosis if vital, so that your diabetes can be managed before you get other life threatening complications.

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