Diabetes is a disease that is viewed as a group of metabolic conditions. Diabetes, sometimes referred to as Diabetes Mellitus, has four different stage classifications.These stages include the following designations;• Type 1 Diabetes• Type 2 Diabetes• Gestational Diabetes• Pre-DiabeticNow let’s take a closer look at each stage of this diseaseType 1 DiabetesType 1 Diabetes also known by the names insulin-dependent diabetes, ketosis prone diabetes, childhood diabetes, and juvenile diabetes. It should be noted that some of these terms may be outdated. Right now in the US, type 1 diabetes is diagnosed in 5 to 10 % of Americans.Type 1 diabetes is characterized as the body’s inability to produce insulin. When the body does not produce natural insulin this happens because the pancreas, which has what are called beta cells are being destroyed and as this happens, insulin is no longer being produced.Diagnosis of type 1 diabetes is a disease that can be diagnosed throughout someone’s life time, but it usually is diagnosed in young adults and in most often in children. While diabetes knows no boundaries as far as who can have the disease, type 1 diabetes is diagnosed usually more in Caucasians than any other segment of the population including African Americans or Latinos. It should also be noted that the disease is equally spread out between females and males.Type 2 DiabetesType 2 diabetes is characterized as insulin resistance. This resistance combined with the body’s inability to secrete insulin causes our body’s tissues to be less responsive to insulin and is believed to involve our insulin receptors.Type 2 diabetes is prevalent in adults whose ages range from age 50 and older, but it can sometimes be diagnosed in young children. A main cause of the disease is due to obesity and or just being overweight and not doing enough or any type of exercise. Leading a sedentary lifestyle can be very detrimental to a person who has type 2 diabetes.Another factor that is directly related to the lifestyle of the type 2 diabetic is high blood pressure glucose levels. High blood pressure glucose levels, can cause issues with every organ in the body over time and may eventually cause high blood pressure, kidney failure and nerve damage. Fortunately, type 2 diabetes can be controlled through life style adjustments such as exercise, proper medications and diet.Gestational DiabetesDiabetes that occurs in pregnancy is referred to as Gestational Diabetes, it can resolve at birth. There are several risk factors that can account for this occurrence which include the following...• Being pre-diabetic• Having given birth previously to a child weighing 9 pounds or more• Being overweight• Diabetes runs in your family.This form of the disease seems to affect just about all classes of people including Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and African Americans.At an estimated 5 % or higher of American women who have this particular type of diabetes that translates to around 200,000 American women or more. The main reason for Gestational Diabetes is due to women not being able to metabolize glucose properly. In this case the body is able to produce or secrete the proper amounts of insulin, but unfortunately due to the condition known as insulin resistance, the body does not allow the person suffering from this disease to utilize the insulin properly.Pre-DiabeticWhat exactly does it mean to be someone who is a pre-diabetic? Pre-diabetes occurs when a person’s blood sugar ( glucose ) levels are above what are considered to be normal levels, but these levels are not considered to be high enough to be diagnosed as actually having a full blown diabetic condition. Tests that are performed in order to diagnose this condition are a Fasting Plasma Glucose test or FPR for short, or an OGTT which is an Oral Glucose Tolerance test.Both of these tests involve the person to fast overnight and then have the test conducted early in the morning, before a meal is consumed. The OGTT test is performed in two stages; the first test is administered after the person has fasted and then again two hours later, after glucose rich drink is consumed by the patient.Knowing if you’re pre-diabetic gives the person diagnosed positively with the chance to defend against becoming diabetic by changing their lifestyle habits. This will include some things such as weight loss, and diet adjustments Copyright Lew Newmark. Lew was diagnosed with a Vascular disease named Churg Strauss Syndrome in June of 2008. He now lives with this incurable disease each day, and is also pre-diabetic. For more information about CSS and Diabetes visit his blog Lew Newmark: My Domestic Life
