Wellness Wednesday.

Since the Southern Cookin' Queen (Paula Deen) recently shared that she has diabetes, I thought it would be a good 'Wellness Wednesday' topic.  While there are multiple types of diabetes (type 1, type 2, prediabetes & insulin resistance, gestational diabetes...) I'll be discussing type 2 diabetes - the type in Ms. Deen's situation.

What is type 2 diabetes?
According to the American Diabetes Association, type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes.  Let's start at the beginning.  When we eat, our body breaks down all of the sugars and starches into glucose - which is the main source of fuel for the cells in our body.  The glucose has to find a way to get into our cells - and it does so with the help of insulin.  In type 2 diabetes, the body either does not make enough insulin OR insulin resistance occurs - the glucose cannot get into your cells correctly so it starts to accumulate in the blood, also referred to as hyperglycemia.

Why is this bad?
Having too much sugar in your blood can cause a host of different symptoms. 

• Frequent urination - The kidneys cannot filter the glucose back into the blood.  I'll skip the physiology lesson here, but in turn the kidneys then take water from the blood to dilute the glucose, which all eventually ends up in the bladder to be expelled.
• Increase thirst - While your kidneys are pulling that water from the blood, your body is thinking, "I need to replace that..." and you want to drink more liquid...the cycle begins.
• Intense hunger - While the glucose is accumulating in the blood and trying to be excreted by the kidneys, the cells in your body aren't getting the energy they need...food = energy...so your body thinks, "I need more food!"
• Weight gain - Probably a result of the intense hunger, usually leading to increase in food consumption.
• Fatigue - Again, the cells aren't getting the fuel they need to function = one tired body!
• Eye complications - Having high levels of glucose in the blood can cause a host of eye problems, mainly due to damage of the blood vessels.  If it gets bad enough, the blood vessels essentially can "shut down" and will stop delivering blood to these important organs.  No blood = no function!
• Nerve damage - Having high levels of glucose in the blood can also damage nerves (similar to the scenario above with damage to the small blood vessels supplying these structures, nerves included), especially ones that help you feel things.  It is common for people with diabetes to have painful extremities and/or completely lose feeling in those extremities.  Sensation is one of the body's protective mechanisms.  Pain is one way of our body telling us that something is wrong.  The doctor will commonly check the feet of a person with diabetes, because the tiniest scratch that isn't felt can turn into a nasty infection - all because the person couldn't feel that something was wrong! 

I could keep adding important body parts to the list that are affected by diabetes, because guess what - every functioning part of your body has a blood supply and too much glucose in the blood means putting those vessels at risk for damage.  And like I noted above...no blood supply = no function!

Who is affected?

Anyone can develop type 2 diabetes.  One common misconception is that only obese people get diabetes.  While common, this is not necessarily the case in every obese person.  Slender people can also get type 2 diabetes, but these cases usually affect the older age groups.  Certain racial groups are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes - according to the CDC - Latinos, American Indians, Asian Americans, and non-Hispanic blacks are twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.  Research has also shown that certain gene variations can raise the risk of developing diabetes, however genes alone are not enough to directly cause the disease.

Treatment and Care
Many people have been able to reverse type 2 diabetes by committing to a healthy diet and active lifestyle.  There are medicinal treatments as well, including insulin injections if necessary.  Controversy exists around simply educating patients how to reverse this type of diabetes or just managing it with conventional treatment - medication.  If you are affected by type 2 diabetes - or any diabetes for that matter - it is important to collaborate with an appropriately trained health care professional and develop (together!) a treatment plan that is personalized to fit your wants and needs.