Diabetes - What is diabetes?

What is diabetes?

Diabetes develops when your body does not produce enough insulin or does not effectively use the insulin it produces. Your body needs insulin to convert sugar into energy.

Diabetes and your heart

Diabetes increases the risk of high blood pressure, atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries), coronary heart disease and stroke, especially if your blood sugar (glucose) are poorly controlled. Diabetes can cause circulatory problems by damaging blood vessels.

Women with diabetes are more likely to suffer heart attacks, angina (chest pain) or have heart surgery than men with diabetes. Although the causes are not yet fully known, it would appear to be due to the interaction between female hormones, the blood sugar and insulin.

There are three types of diabetes:

• Type 1 diabetes - usually develops in children, adolescents, young adults and even people in their thirties. The pancreas stops producing insulin which the body needs to convert sugar into energy. This type of diabetes is treated with insulin (10% of diabetics are type 1).
• Type 2 diabetes - occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the body does not effectively use the insulin produced. This type of diabetes usually appears in adults who are overweight (90% of diabetics are type 2).
• Gestational diabetes - occurs in 2-4% of women during pregnancy and disappears after the baby is born. This type of diabetes can increase the risks of develop diabetes later in the mother and child.

How to reduce your risk

If you have diabetes, the best way to reduce the impact on your health is to control your other risk factors.

Here's how:

• If you are age 40 or older and have a family history of diabetes, overweight, hypertension or high cholesterol, ask your doctor check your blood sugar levels.
• Achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
• Ask your doctor to refer you to a professional dietician to eat a healthy diet. Work closely with your health care team to define your goals and know your blood glucose target levels.
• Learn to monitor your blood sugar and talk to your doctor if you cannot control it.
• Become physically active. With your doctor, prepare a program for you.