According the American Diabetes Association more than 8 million people in the U.S. have diabetes and they don’t know it. This is a serious issue because diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in this country. The numbers continue to grow, especially among the Hispanic community.
Many people don’t realize it, but everything you do and eat affects how your body works. Many people work stressful jobs with limited mobility, standing for 8 hours or sitting. You may not have time to make your own lunch and eat out all the time, eating processed foods and fast food. Then when you get home you sit in front of the TV and do not exercise. All of this affects your body and puts you at risk for diabetes.
Early Signs and Symptoms
Increased urination and thirsty all the time: The increased levels of sugar in your bloodstream make your kidneys to work harder. When you have all this sugar, your kidneys can’t handle it so they return it to the bloodstream and the excess sugar is released through your urine. This is why your urine smells sweet. Increased urination leads to being thirsty all the time and even having dry mouth.
Tired all the time: You might feel tired all the time even though you slept 8 hours. Dehydration can contribute to you feeling tired because when your sugar levels are off, your body can’t use it efficiently for energy.
Losing weight without trying: This typically occurs to people with Type 1 diabetes. Losing too much weight while you’re eating your normal meals can be a problem, especially if you lose too much weight in a short period of time.
Frequent infections: Skin, yeast, urinary tract, or mouth infections could all be related to high blood sugar levels. High blood sugar can damage your circulatory and nervous systems and can cause even more problems.
Cuts, sores, bruises, and tingling: High levels of sugar can damage the nervous system and you can develop neuropathy, which is where the tingling of your toes and fingers come from. Nerve damage caused by blood sugar can prevent your cuts, sores, or bruises from healing fast.
Dark skin around your neck: Scleredema diabeticorum is when the skin on the back of your neck thickens or gets dark. This is due to high glucose levels.
There are ways to prevent diabetes, such as eating healthy and keeping active. Work together with your family or friends and help out each other by encouraging others to live a healthy lifestyle in order to lower your risk of diabetes.
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