Some of us are predisposed to developing Type 2 diabetes. Those of us who have a family history of Type 1 OR Type 2 diabetes are more likely to develop the disease in our later years. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t work to eliminate risk factors OTHER than heredity.

Nobody can do anything about growing older, but there are things that we can do about being overweight and not exercising. There are dietary changes and lifestyle changes that we can make that will not only reduce our own risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, but also reduce the risk for our children.

You can make changes that will last a lifetime. I’m not going to tell you that is necessarily easy to make those changes, but it isn’t all that hard either if you really want to lower your own risk for developing Type 2 diabetes and the risk for your children.

Eat less! Count calories, and go on a low-carb diet. Buy fruit as snacks rather than candy bars.

Exercise! If nothing else, WALK. Walking is a good exercise that the entire family can enjoy together.

Limit television time as well as video game time. If you are sitting in an easy chair or lying on the couch watching the idiot box, you aren’t exercising your mind or your body.

The symptoms of Type 2 diabetes are distinctive and yet may still be vague:

* Increased thirst and frequent urination

* Extreme hunger

* Weight loss

* Fatigue

* Blurred vision

* Slow-healing sores or frequent infections

Type 2 diabetes is rarely insulin dependent. Usually Type 2 diabetes can be controlled simply by making adjustments to the diet, increasing exercise, and losing weight. Sometimes oral medications are also required.

The complications that are associated with Type 2 diabetes are much like those that are associated with Type 1 diabetes. Some complications that can be caused by Type 2 diabetes are heart disease (cardiovascular disease), blindness (retinopathy), nerve damage (neuropathy), and kidney damage (nephropathy).

Information is the best weapon that you can have when you have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. You must learn what to eat, how much to eat, and when to eat. You must learn how to test your blood to determine the blood sugar level. You must stop smoking, and you must decrease the amount of alcohol that you consume. Most of the complications that are associated with Type 2 diabetes can be avoided when the patient is willing to make the necessary lifestyle changes.

As lifestyle changes are implemented, the medication can be decreased or even eliminated. But that doesn’t mean the problem has gone away. You will still need to stick with the lifestyle changes that affected the improvement.

The answer to the first question is twofold.

Type 1 Diabetes:

There is no guaranteed method for preventing Type 1 diabetes. Research has uncovered some methods that MAY help some children who would be likely to develop diabetes from actually becoming diabetic.

The children who are most susceptible to diabetes are Caucasian children who have been given cow’s milk as an infant. Caucasian children who are most susceptible to diabetes but who were breast fed and given no cow’s milk have a lower incidence of diabetes. Doctors recommend breast feeding for babies who have a family history of diabetes. Although breast feeding is no guarantee that the child will not have diabetes, it does seem to lower the risk.

Currently the prevention of diabetes research is being conducted. A vaccine has been developed that has proven effective in mice, but has not yet been tested on humans. There are also trials underway to give insulin (oral or injected) before diabetes develops. This is now being tested on humans and is identified as the Diabetes Prevention Trial – Type 1 (DPT-1).

Type 2 Diabetes:

Type 2 diabetes can be prevented, or at least delayed, by making adjustments to diet and exercise levels. It is a fact that Type 2 diabetes can be completely prevented by losing weight and increasing exercise to a modest 30 minutes per day, five days per week. That isn’t a lot, and the exercise doesn’t have to be extreme to be effective.

People who are over 40, overweight, and sedentary are most at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes; but simple dietary changes — making better food choices — and increasing physical activity can actually prevent (or at least delay) Type 2 diabetes.

Those who are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes are usually over 40 years old; many are overweight, and most are living a sedentary lifestyle. Doctors agree that Type 2 diabetes can often be controlled with changes in diet, increased physical activity, and losing weight.

Americans especially eat an atrocious diet that is loaded with unhealthy fat, far too many calories, and not near enough fruit, vegetables, and whole grain foods. We are famous for eating “on the run.” We love our fast food joints. Dinner often consists of a double cheeseburger with a side of fries. We slowly gain weight, and with that weight we put too much demand on our pancreas. It can’t keep up with the need for insulin. We are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

Something has to change. As a matter of fact, several things have to change. First let’s talk about diet. There was a time when those who needed to eat a reduced-calorie or reduced-carb diet were mostly left out in the cold by food manufacturers, but that’s changed. There are a lot of very good food choices out there that fit very nicely into a restricted calorie or carb diet — but YOU have to choose those foods.

Talk to a nutritionist. Your doctor will very likely recommend one anyway. Pay attention. Take notes. Follow the advice.

The next change is that the sedentary lifestyle has got to go. You’re going to have to give up being a couch potato. You’re going to have to start a good exercise program — one that you can stay with. Don’t ever start an exercise program without the blessing of your doctor, but doctors will always allow a reasonable amount of exercise based on your overall health.

Change your eating habits. Start exercising. Lose weight. Live long!

Sometimes the human body fails to process food as it should and physical problems develop that are actually caused by the food. Sometimes eating a diet that isn’t balanced, is too rich, or contains too much of certain substances can also cause physical difficulties to develop.

The immune system of a human body can misidentify a perfectly harmless food as a foreign invading force bent on destroying the body. The immune system mounts a defense to protect the body from this perceived danger. The food isn’t a danger to the body, but the defense staged by the body to combat it is dangerous. When this happens, we call it an “allergic reaction.”

Some people can have such severe allergies to certain foods (peanuts, for example) that even a very small amount can cause an allergic reaction that is so strong that death can occur.

In other instances, the body doesn’t process food correctly. An example of this is sugar diabetes. The pancreas fails to produce any insulin (needed to process carbohydrates) or it doesn’t produce enough. When no insulin is produced, the problem is called Type 1 diabetes and is usually diagnosed in childhood or early adulthood. When the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin, it’s called Type 2 diabetes and is usually diagnosed in people over 40.

Doctors prescribe diets for special needs for many reasons. The body failing to digest food correctly and allergic reactions to food are two reasons. But there are others, as well.

Type 1 diabetes is serious but not necessarily fatal, and those diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes can and do live long, productive, and very active lives. Type 1 diabetics are very likely to be insulin dependent.

Type 2 diabetes is usually diagnosed later in life. Type 2 diabetes is not often insulin dependent. It is most often controlled only by diet and exercise, or by a combination of diet, exercise, and oral medications.

Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are basically the same disease and cause the same problem — too much sugar in the bloodstream. The difference is that in Type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce any insulin; but in Type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does produce some insulin (the insulin produced is less efficient at moving sugar out of the bloodstream).

The symptoms of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are:

* Weight gain or weight loss

* Fatigue

* Excessive and frequent urination

* Blurred vision

* Sores or wounds that do not heal

* Extreme thirst and/or hunger

* A tingling sensation in the legs/feet and arms/hands

In both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, the symptom decrease or disappear with treatment.

The primary symptom of Type 1 diabetes is nausea accompanied by vomiting. The nausea and vomiting can lead to dehydration, and dehydration can lead to a whole host of other problems. The primary symptom of Type 2 diabetes is an increased appetite that leads to weight gain, or an increased metabolism rate that leads to weight loss. Both types of diabetes can be controlled by diet, exercise, and medication and diabetics live long and productive lives if they take care of themselves.