November is National Diabetes Month

Diabetes Statistics:

18.8 million Americans have diagnosed diabetes

7.0 million Americans do not know they have diabetes (undiagnosed)

79 million Americans are pre-diabetic (with appropriate lifestyle changes can avoid becoming diabetic)

What is diabetes?  Diabetes is a chronic health condition of impaired sugar and insulin metabolism.  In diabetes, people deal with abnormally high and low blood sugar levels.  There are two types of diabetes.  Type 1 diabetes usually affects children and young people.  The onset of Type 1 diabetes with its cessation of insulin production is likely fairly dramatic.  Type 1 diabetes results because of damage (often auto-immune) to the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. Symptoms of type 1 diabetes include “frequent urination, unusual thirst, extreme hunger, unusual weight loss and extreme fatigue and irritability.”  Treatment of Type 1 diabetes involves insulin replacement shots.  More information about diabetes symptoms can be found at http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/symptoms/?loc=DropDownDB-symptoms  Next time I talk about type 2 diabetes.