Beyond Blood Sugar: Top 10 Diabetes-Related Complications
Beyond Blood Sugar: Top 10 Diabetes-Related Complications
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Diabetes Mellitus and Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes is not just one of the most prevailing disorders to plague the world today, it is one that progressively brings more and more complications in its wake if left untreated or improperly treated. This is ultimate because diabetes is, at its core, a metabolic disorder, caused by the body’s inability to use the insulin produced by its own pancreas or insufficient insulin production. As glucose begins to accumulate in the bloodstream, it begins to damage the blood vessels in organs large and small across the body.
How to Reduce Complications of Diabetes?
Monitor, measure, manage
The key to avoiding long-term damage from diabetes is to know when you might be at risk. That means monitoring your body’s bio markers. Not just the blood sugar levels (BSL), which should be done as a matter of course, but also aspects like waist measurement, blood pressure, cholesterol, liver and kidney function, eye checks, etc. to ensure they are normal or within normal ranges.
- Regular Checks
Identifying potential problems early is the best way to stay clear of diabetes complications. This means you should have regular checks for markers like:
- Blood Pressure
- Blood Sugar Levels (HbA1c)
- Lipid & Triglyceride levels
- Kidney function
- Liver function
- Eyes
- Legs and feet
- Teeth and gums
Weight loss
One of the imperatives in controlling BSL is weight—to be precise fat around the midsection. Shedding even a fraction of the excess fat will reduce BP, blood glucose, and cholesterol. To bring your diabetes under proper control, it is critical that you consider factors like GI ratings of foods, carbohydrate & calorie content, portion size, and nutrients in the foods you eat. Here too, a dietician is invaluable in creating a realistic meal plan.
The Major Long Term Health Risks of Diabetes
As mentioned earlier, the long term health complications associated with diabetes fall into two major categories:
1. Macrovascular complications:
brought on by damage to the large blood vessels of the brain, legs, or heart
2. Microvascular complications:
Caused by damage to the small blood vessels in organs like the eyes, kidneys, feet, nerves, etc.
Other organs and systems, i.e. digestive, reproductive, immune systems all fall into one of the other of the above categories. Frankly, no part of the body is immune to the effect of high blood sugar.
Diabetes and Alzheimer's Disease
There is sufficient evidence to show that there is a definite connection between Type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. The primary reason is simply insufficient blood supply or high-glucose content in the blood that leads to damage of the blood vessels in the brain. High blood sugar levels are also known to lead to thickening of arterial walls which ultimately increases the risk of stroke.
Diabetic Nephropathy
Long-term diabetes if uncontrolled leads to damage of the small blood vessels in the kidneys. Patients aren’t usually aware of the damage as it is painless and shows few symptoms until it gets serious. This is why regular health screening of kidney function is very important.
Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease
Heart disease, which includes blood vessel disease, cardiac arrests, and stroke, is a primary cause of death the world over. Diabetics are higher at risk of contracting heart disease, for a number of reasons. But all is not doom and gloom. There are some immediate steps you can take to reduce the risks. For instance:
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