SHARES
DIABETES refers to a group of diseases that affect how your body uses glucose (blood sugar). Glucose is crucial for the cells as a source of energy the body needs. Diabetes means that the level of glucose in your blood is too high and can lead to serious health issues. People who are suffering from Diabetes type 1 lack a hormone called insulin. Insulin works as a key factor for the cells to open their membranes to transport the sugar in the inside of the cell. Without this process, the cells are not provided with energy and the blood sugar level increases. The pancreas of Diabetes type 1 patients is not able to produce insulin anymore. It needs to be supplied by daily injections till the end of the patients’ life. Read through these 20 interesting Facts you might not know!
20 FACTS
- Scientists predict that there may be 30 million new cases of diabetes in China alone by 2025.
- About one third of all people with diabetes do not know they have the disease.
- Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults.
- Ancient doctors would test for diabetes by tasting the urine of a suspected sufferer of diabetes. Sweet urine is high in glucose, suggesting the presence of diabetes.
- People with diabetes are twice likely to develop heart disease than someone without diabetes.
- Good control of diabetes significantly reduces the risk of developing complications and prevents complications from getting worse.
- Men have a higher risk of death from diabetes than women.
- Diabetes costs $174 billion annually, including $116 billion in direct medical expenses.
- Type 1 diabetes can also be called insulin-dependent diabetes because people with type 1 must take insulin in order to live.
- Researchers aren´t exactly sure what causes type 1 diabetes although they have some clues, including genetics and environmental triggers.
- Researchers have noticed that more cases of type 1 diabetes are diagnosed in northern climates, leading them to believe that environmental triggers play a role in the development of type 1. Specifically, viral infections (which happen more often in colder northern climates) may trigger type 1.
- Tight blood glucose control can avoid many of the short- and long-term complications associated with type 1 diabetes, including foot problems and nerve pain.
- Bariatric surgery can reduce the symptoms of diabetes in obese people.
- The name “diabetes” is attributed to the famed Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia who practiced in the first century A.D. He believed that diabetes was caused by snakebite.
- In 1996, a 16-year old girl with diabetes died at her home in Altoona, Pennsylvania, because her parents refused to provide her with medicine and relied on prayer instead. Her parents were charged with manslaughter.
- A meal plan for a person with diabetes isn’t very different from a plan that is recommended for people without diabetes.
- Studies have indicated that individuals with diabetes are at much greater risk for developing Alzheimer´s disease and other forms of dementia than are non-diabetics, though the reasons are unknown.
- Only about 5 percent of all people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes.
- Experts report that diabetes decreases life expectancy by five to ten years.
- Diabetes is responsible for over one million amputations each year, a large percentage of cataracts and at least 5% of blindness worldwide.
So, how often do you do your blood test to check if you are diabetic? Don’t wait until it’s too late, think about yourself and also your loved ones. Check out your health status by grabbing our limited Health Screening Packages!
Sources:
by Jens Behrensen
German fitness addict sharing my experience and trying to bring a healthier lifestyle to people. View all articles by Jens Behrensen.
