Common Diabetes Symptoms
- Feeling hungry all the time
- Feeling thirsty
- Dry skin or itchy skin
- Too much urination
- Easy tiredness or being fatigue all the time
- Blurry vision
- Unwanted weight loss
- Sores that normally don’t heal quickly
- Frequent yeast infections
Do I Have Diabetes?
Diabetes is confirmed only when pancreas either produce insufficient quantity of insulin or produces no insulin at all. Sometimes the cells do not properly respond to insulin produced by pancreas. Many treatments are available for this disease but there is no permanent relief from it.
There are so many myths prevalent about diabetes among people that confuse them about the facts. The American Diabetes Association has listed some common questions or doubts about diabetes prevalent among American people.
Question: Is Diabetes a common health problem and not a serious issue?
Answer: It has been revealed by studies that diabetes alone is responsible for as many deaths as combined deaths caused by AIDS and breast cancer. Diabetic people are more likely to have heart and kidney problems.
Question: Should Diabetic people eat special food suitable for them?
Answer: Diabetic people should eat a healthy diet like any other person. The definition of a healthy diet is same for a diabetic person as it is for a healthy person, which means a diet low in fat (Trans and saturated fat), medium salt and sugar, whole grain meals, fruits and vegetables. Generally there is no special benefit of eating special diabetic foods. Such foods are generally more expensive and still raise blood sugar levels. Some foods even have laxative effect, if they have sugar alcohols.
Question: Overweight or obese people more likely to have type 2 Diabetes?
Answer: Overweight people are high at risk of getting affected with diabetes. However, many factors are responsible for it like ethnicity, family history about this disease, age etc. People generally think that weight is the only factor that is responsible for diabetes, but this is not true. In actual, there are many obese people who do not have type 2 diabetes and many type 2 diabetic patients are not overweight.
Question: Should Diabetic people limit the intake of starchy foods like potatoes, pasta and bread?
Answer: A healthy meal contains starchy foods too. The portion size is important in a healthy meal. You can include pasta, rice, whole grain breads, starchy vegetables such as peas, potatoes, yams and corn and cereals in your diet, but in small quantity. The key factor is portion size. Diabetic people should have 3-4 servings of foods containing carbohydrates. Starchy foods such as whole grains are also an important source of fiber that keeps gut healthy.
Question: Does eating large quantity of sugary foods lead to Diabetes?
Answer: It is not true. Genetics are responsible for type 1 diabetes and the causes this disease are not known. Genetics and lifestyle of a person is responsible for type 2 diabetes. Obesity is increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. Diet rich in calories, whether from fat or sugar can result in weight gain. Family history of diabetes is also an important factor to consider. It is recommended to have regular exercise schedule and follow healthy diet plan.
Question: Should Diabetic patients avoid chocolates or sweets?
Answer: Diabetic people can have sweets and chocolates in small quantities, if they follow a regular exercise schedule.
Question: Diabetes is contagious?
Answer: This is not true. The exact cause of diabetes is not known. But diabetes is not contagious at all. It is different from flu or cold. It can be genetically linked but it is not contagious.
Question: Can Diabetic people eat as much fruit as they like?
Answer: Fruit is healthy for all. Fruits have lots of minerals and vitamins and fiber. Fruits also contain carbohydrates, so they should be included in meal plan. Diabetic patients should consult their doctor about the types of food that they should eat and in what quantity.
Question: Are Diabetic people more likely to catch old and fall ill?
Answer: It is also not true. Diabetic people are advised to have flu shots. The reason behind this is that any sort of illness is difficult to heal in diabetic patients. Diabetic patients who often get affected with cold and flu are more likely to develop complications in their body in comparison to healthy people.
Question: Are those Diabetic patients, who have been advised to take insulin by their doctor, have failed to control their diabetes level effectively?
Answer: Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease. In the starting, it is possible to keep type 2 diabetes under control effectively with the help of oral medications. However, as the time passes, the production of insulin in body starts decreasing and oral medications fail to maintain blood sugar levels in body. Hence doctors advice insulin in such cases. It is wrong to think that taking insulin is a bad thing and can make life worse. In fact, if it helps in maintaining a healthy blood sugar level, it is not a bad thing at all.
References
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/overview/index.aspx#what
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-myths/
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/diabetes/basics/327.html
http://stephhicks68.hubpages.com/hub/Do-I-have-Diabetes–Early-Warning-Signs
by on 09. Oct, 2011 in frequently asked questions
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