Diabetes is quickly becoming a major health concern in the world. We have reached a time when it is really important for everyone to be aware about this condition as well as its early symptoms and prevention measures in order to limit the spread of this condition.
There are two types of diabetes, but the Type 2 diabetes where the body loses its effectiveness to respond to insulin or fails to recognize the insulin, is the most common problem around.
Diabetes is also often considered as a problem carried in family and hence if you have a family history of diabetes, it is important to be cautious from the very beginning.
This article will provide you with information about some early symptoms of diabetes as well as the prevention methods.
Keep in mind that these early symptoms become prominent only when you have become diabetic or in the early stages of diabetes but you might not be able to note them when you are in the pre-diabetic stage.
So, if you have a family history of diabetes, it is best to check your fasting blood sugar levels at least once in 6 months to ensure that you are not stepping to the pre-diabetic group.
Early symptoms of diabetes
Diabetes once diagnosed can be treated and controlled, but if not diagnosed in time it increases the risk of complications by many folds. Check out the early symptoms of diabetes that will tell you if you might have a sugar problem and if you need to get your blood tested.
Feeling thirsty
Feeling thirsty all the time is a common symptom of diabetes that you can easily point out. The thirsty feeling of diabetes is different from the normal one that you feel during summer or after doing some physically challenging work. The thirsty feeling caused due to diabetes will not be comforted for long even after you drink sufficient water.
More urination
Increased number of trips to the toilet is another common symptom of diabetes. If you have to leave your bed more than 2-3 times a night to relieve your bladder even when you are having a good sleep, it certainly indicates to diabetes.
Unexplained fatigue
Fatigue is very common for diabetes patients. If you are diabetic it means your body is not able to use the blood glucose properly, which explains the fatigue. So, if you are feeling tired all the time of the day even after having a good sleep at night, it might be a symptom of diabetes.
Extreme hunger
Feeling extremely hungry all the time can be an early symptom of diabetes. If you have suddenly started to feel hunger pangs all the time and your hunger seems not to be controlled even after having your normal daily food, it might indicate towards diabetes.
Sudden weight gain or loss
If you are suddenly experiencing weight gain or weight loss without making any changes to your normal diet or lifestyle, it can be counted as a symptom of diabetes.
Frequent infections
Increased number and periods of infections is another indication that you might have diabetes. Increased blood glucose levels reduce the ability of the body to fight with the common infections making you prone to skin, urinary and vaginal infections.
Slow healing of wounds
Patients with diabetes show very slow wound healing. If you got a normal wound in any part of your body, when taken proper care of, it should not take more than a week to heal. But if every wound or infections seem to take ages to be cured, your chance of having diabetes is high.
In most of the cases these symptoms appear suddenly and not alone. If you are experiencing only one of the symptoms mentioned above and not at least 3-4 of them together, it might not be caused due to diabetes but some other problems. However, in such cases, visit your doctor to know for sure.
Having elaborated on the common symptoms of diabetes, now let us get to the prevention methods. As already mentioned, one of the first things that you can do to prevent diabetes, particularly if it runs in your family, is to get your blood sugar levels checked once in every 6 months. The other prevention measures that you can take for diabetes include,
Maintaining the right body weight
Studies have linked obesity with increased risk of getting diabetes. So, if diabetes prevention is in your mind, you should attempt to maintain a healthy body weight all the time.
Leptin is directly related to increased insulin resistance in the body which is the primary cause of Type 2 diabetes. Leptin is a hormone produced in the fat cells of the body and hence to keep the amount of leptin in your body under check, it is important that you maintain the right body weight.
Get the right diet
The right diet has a direct role in your total body weight and also the sugar levels in your blood. There are foods and drinks that can be helpful to promote a better health of liver and pancreas which can be very effective to maintain proper insulin levels in the body.
So, get rid of the fatty foods that come with high amount of bad cholesterol and triglycerides. Also restrict the amount of carbohydrate and sugar you consume in your diet if you are in the pre-diabetic group as that is again related to weight gain.
Increasing the amount of whole grains and fibers in your regular meals can always be helpful to promote a better health and also to prevent diabetes.
Exercise is the key
To prevent diabetes maintaining the right body weight is vital, and for that you need to maintain the right diet as well as do sufficient physical exercises. If you are not pre-diabetic you really have no reasons to worry.
All you need to do is to opt for regular exercise so that you can maintain a perfect body weight. For keeping diabetes at bay you need not to opt for targeted exercises, doing cardio for 20 minutes a day, for 5 days a week can give you all the benefits.
Keep stress at bay
Another common reason that is often pointed as the primary cause of a number of serious health problems including diabetes is stress. Stress and anxiety disrupts the normal hormonal balance of the body which can lead to diabetes and a bunch of other serious conditions including high BP.
So, to prevent diabetes, keep stress at bay. Indulging in your hobbies, taking breaks from work, sleeping adequately, exercising and practicing yoga can be very helpful to reduce stress from your daily life and also to keep you away from diabetes and a bunch of other health problems.
