Type II Diabetes: How to Detect, Prevent and Control It

Three years ago I went for my routine physical. After all the bend overs and regular medical procedures, my doctor said," let's take a blood sample before you leave." Two days later I got a phone call and was asked to give another blood sample. A few days after that, my doctor asked me to return. He sat me down and said, you are bordering on Type Two Diabetes.

My life and habits changed drastically at that point. The first thing that I decided to do was learn everything that I could about the disease. The following is what I discovered. In the United States, there are over six million individuals that have Type Two Diabetes but, don't know it. If you are over weight or if you come from a family that has a history of it, you are more likely to get it.

The reason that Type Two Diabetes is hard to discover is because the symptoms can hide themselves from the person. Many times the symptoms are over looked or misinterpreted. Watch for these symptoms to see if you are at risk. (1) Extreme hunger or thirst. (2) Increased tiredness. (3) Blurry eye vision. (4) Frequent urination. (5) Unusual weight loss.

With Type Two Diabetes, your body can't transfer sugar from your blood to your cells. The high sugar level hurts your eyes, kidneys, and nerves to the heart. This can increase your chances for stroke or heart attack and even other problems.

There is good news. Type Two Diabetes can be delayed or prevented. There is medication that can help. However there are three things that a person can do to take action and be successful. (1) Increase your physical activity. This means exercise daily. Have a routine and stick to it. (2) Make healthy food choices. Eat lots of fruits and veggies. Select whole grain foods. Cut back on high calorie snack foods. (3) Lose excess weight. Exercise and diet will help. However, start charting your weight. Study your body and especially your daily habits.

Here are some extra very simple tips to help. Walk around the house while you talk on the phone or do house cleaning chores. Park your car farther away at your job, mall, restaurant or even your home. The extra walking will help. Fall in love with the water bottle. Drink water instead of beverages. Stay away from sugar products at all costs. When I stopped taking sugar in my coffee, I dropped 12 pounds in less than four weeks. Take the stairs every chance you get. Eat a well balanced breakfast every day. Walk, walk, walk. Find an exercise niche and exploit it. Use a scale and record your weight every day. Have your blood checked.

Little things add to up to total control of Type Two Diabetes. Develop a good frame of mind and meet your problem head on it. Talk with others that have the disease. You can find out what they are doing. Maybe you can use some of their ideas. Checkout the American Diabetes web site.

However, the most important thing is to be true to yourself. You have treat the matter seriously. You can control it but, it can also lead you down a road to self destruction as well.

Sources:

Melanie Schultz; For Your Health