Diabetes UK
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a long-term condition where you have too much glucose (sugar) in your blood because your body can’t use it properly. This is because your body has a problem with the hormone insulin. Insulin helps glucose get in to your body cells where it is used for energy. In diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin, or the insulin it does make doesn’t work properly.
There are two main types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2.
Type 1 means your body doesn’t make enough insulin so you need to take insulin either by injections or via an insulin pump. You should also follow a healthy balanced diet and get regular physical activity. It usually begins in people under 40 years old and often develops during the teenage years.
Type 2 means your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or the insulin it does make doesn’t work properly. Type 2 is treated by following a healthy balanced diet and getting regular physical activity, but many people will also need medication, including insulin. The risk of developing Type 2 is increased in white people over the age of 40, and in Black or Asian people over the age of 25.
Symptoms
The symptoms of both types of diabetes are:
- Passing urine frequently
- Feeling very thirsty
- Extreme tiredness
- Weight loss (in some cases)
- Blurred vision
- Regular episodes of thrush or genital itching
- Slow healing of cuts or grazes
In Type 1 diabetes these symptoms are generally obvious and come on very quickly. But in Type 2 they are not so obvious and you can easily put them down to “getting on a bit”. Sometimes people with Type 2 don’t have any symptoms at all, so if you’ve got any of the risk factors (below) you should talk you a doctor to see if you need a test for diabetes.
Risk factors
Type 1 diabetes isn’t caused by any lifestyle factors and there’s nothing you can do to prevent it.
But there are a number of risk factors for Type 2 diabetes including:
- Being White and over 40 or Black or Asian and over 25
- Having a close family member with Type 2 diabetes (eg a parent, brother or sister)
- Being overweight or having a large waist (more that 31.5 inches for women, more than 37 inches for White or Black men or over 35 for Asian men)
While there’s nothing you can do about your age or family, you can greatly reduce your chance of developing Type 2 by maintaining a healthy weight or losing weight if you need to.
Reducing your risk of Type 2 diabetes
Eating well
- Eat three meals a day, and at each meal include some slowly absorbed (have a lower GI) carbohydrate foods as these will fill you up for longer.
- Cut down on the fat you eat
- Eat more fruit and vegetables – at least five portions a day
- Limit sugar and sugary foods
- Drink alcohol in moderation only
- Watch your portion sizes and try to cook from scratch so you’ve got more control over what you’re eating
- For general good health, limit your salt intake and have two portions of fish a week, one of which should be oily
Keeping active
Get a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity a day – things like walking, dancing gardening, housework all count.