Diabetes - General

People with pre-diabetes have blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. This condition raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

Pre-diabetes is also called impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), depending on the test used to diagnose it. Some people have both IFG and IGT.

IFG is a condition in which the blood glucose level is high (100 to 125 mg/dL) after an overnight fast, but is not high enough to be classified as diabetes. (The former definition of IFG was 110 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL.)

What are the types of diabetes?

The three main types of diabetes are:

1. type 1 diabetes
2. type 2 diabetes
3. gestational diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease results when the body’s system for fighting infection (the immune system) turns against a part of the body. In diabetes, the immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. The pancreas then produces little or no insulin. A person who has type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily to live.

Diabetes is a disease that affects millions of Americans. Diabetes has severe consequences. Amputations, kidney failure, blindness, and congestive heart failure are known outcomes of the ravages of this disease.

Diabetes is preventable under most circumstances. Here are 5 ways to minimize your risk:

• Lose extra weight
• Skip fad diets
• Get plenty of fiber
• Go for whole grains

Diabetes may run in your family, but even so, healthy lifestyle choices can help you prevent it, expecially a healthy diet and regular exercise. Even if you've already been diagnosed with diabetes, the same healthy lifestyle choices can help you prevent potentially serious complications.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, the German Institute of Human Nutrition, and the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School have reported that soda and sweetened fruit drinks are adding to weight gain (and probably the risk of diabetes, fractures, and dental caries) in children and adults. Because obesity has become a major health problem, drinking water, low-fat milk, and small quantities of fruit juice would be a better choice than sweetened beverages.

Gestational diabetes can begin during the late stages of pregnancy. Although this form of diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born, a woman who has had it is more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.

Editor's Note:

"Race" is sometimes mentioned as a risk factor in the development of certain cancers and a number of other diseases. When you read this in a discussion about an illness, note that the explanation seldom refers to anything biological. Instead, it usually refers to behavior, such as eating habits. The kinds of behavior usually mentioned as risk factors are culturally determined. They are not genetic or biological.

High fructose corn syrup, according to Dr. Mercola, is the cheapest ingredient in the American food chain (profit factor) after air, water and salt. Small wonder that it's found in so many prepared foods and beverages. Its use parallels the increase in obesity, but is it one of the causes?

The USDA's top 10 antioxidant list includes:

• small red beans
• wild blueberries
• red kidney beans
• pinto beans
• blueberries
• cranberries