Connor Oswald

Health 1020

Type 2 Diabetes

Connor Oswald
Health 1020
 Connor Oswald
Health 1020

Diabetes is one of the most common diseases among American people

in this day and age. Twenty-Nine million people are affected by diabetes in

the U.S. as of 2012. It is a problem with the body and insulin, and not being

able to produce enough to keep the body proficient. There are different

symptoms for men and women individually. The signs are similar, but more

specific for the two genders. The American Diabetes Association

recommends that screenings

start as early as the age of

45 years old or even earlier.

It can cause major problems

and even death if not

treated correctly. It affects a

certain demographic of

people more than others, Non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, and American

Indian/Alaska Native adults are about twice as likely to have diagnosed

diabetes as non-Hispanic white adults.-Center for Disease Control. There are

a variety of different nutrients involved with type 2 diabetes. Nutrients like

glucose, and insulin, which are the main contributors and cause diabetes in

the first place. There is no known cure for type-2 diabetes, but there are

various ways of controlling the disease. Things such as keeping a healthy

active lifestyle, maintaining good habits, quitting bad habits such as

smoking, a good nutritional diet that caters to the needs of being diabetic,

and just a healthy overall lifestyle.

 Connor Oswald
Health 1020

There can be a various number of symptoms for being diabetic and

things can seem only slightly un-normal. Many people live with diabetes

today and never have a clue about it. Some of the symptoms can include

things such as, using the restroom often, being thirsty a lot, having a

constant hunger, feeling tired all of the time, which is more related to type-1

diabetes. Type-2 diabetes has much less subtle signs and symptoms and

affects adults more than children. With type-2, one may not even know they

are diabetic; instead it is found when they have a check-up with the doctors.

Basically the signs and symptoms can be things that you would barely even

think about as being not normal. But they are things that can and need to be

recognized to be able to diagnose the problem. When someone is able to

detect the disease early enough, then they are able to prevent further

complications due to diabetes later in life. The way to diagnose diabetes

most accurately is to test the blood glucose levels of someone, and to test

twice, unless of course the reading is off the charts. It is always safe to be

tested twice to make sure of the diagnosis. There are a couple of different

ways of being tested to see if you have diabetes. You basically just want to

be able to prevent type-2 diabetes from occurring and some ways to prevent

type-2 diabetes are things like exercising normally and daily, and losing body

fat and having the ideal body weight range. The pathology of type-2 diabetes

basically has to do with insulin levels and the regulation of insulin in the

body. The body either cannot produce enough insulin or creates a natural
 Connor Oswald
Health 1020

resistance to insulin resulting in a fluctuation of blood glucose levels. In

type-2 diabetes, the body either produces inadequate amounts of insulin to

meet the demands of the body or insulin resistance has developed. Insulin

resistance refers to when cells of the body such as the muscle, liver and fat

cells fail to respond to insulin, even when levels are high. In fat cells,

triglycerides are instead broken down to produce free fatty acids for energy;

muscle cells are deprived of an energy source and liver cells fail to build up

glycogen stores.- News Medical Life Sciences.

Population of people who are affected by type-2 Diabetes have some

sort of relation between all of the things that cause it. There are different

reasons of the disease, and a lot of the reasons have to do with things such

as, physical activity, genetics, lifestyle, and weight gain. It also pertains to a

certain demographic of people, as I previously stated, Non-Hispanic black,

Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native adults are about twice as likely

to have diagnosed diabetes as non-Hispanic white adults.-Center for

Disease Control. This is interesting because there are more white males and

females in the U.S. than any other race or ethnicity. Also, obesity and

inactivity among the population is becoming one of the leading causes of

type-2 diabetes. So being active and maintaining a healthy weight and

lifestyle are key points of being free of the disease. Also losing weight is one

of the best ways to decrease your risk of the disease, which is a problem

because of the population of the U.S. being partially over-weight and obese.
 Connor Oswald
Health 1020

Glucose is basically a fuel for the body, and it is regulated by certain

hormones in the body, hormones such as insulin.

When you have type-2

diabetes, then your body

is not proficient in

creating enough insulin

to be able to sustain the

necessary glucose levels needed by the body. Insulin and glycogen are the

main nutrients of the disease and they are basically the causing and

regulating factors. Normal blood glucose levels are glucose levels normally

ranging from 70 to 110 mg/dl.- National Center for Biotechnology

Information. Excess glucose levels result in fat storage. Glucose is created

and regulated within the liver. Insulin is created in the pancreas. These are

just some of the ways that the body uses and interacts with the two main

ingredients for diabetes.

Different medications are used to treat and help prevent type-2

diabetes. This such as injectable diabetes medications, where the medicine

is used to promote the release of insulin. Following is a list of medications

listed in Foundations of Nutrition, all being oral diabetes medication;

Sulfonylureas, Biguanides, Thiazolidinediones, Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors,

Meglitinides, Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors, and a combination

therapy. Things that cannot be reversed are things like aging and genetics,

both contribute to the creation of insulin resistance. So medicines are not

 Connor Oswald
Health 1020

able to help with the reversing of these un-reversible points, but they do help

with being able to control the levels of glucose, and blood sugar levels.

Treatment is basically maintaining the healthy lifestyle and being able to

make good choices about your own personal health, and being able to take

care of your individual body. Things like physical activity, weight loss, and

other key items of health.

Type-2 diabetes is something that is becoming more and more

common in America today, and we need to all be better to be able to

recognize the issues and importance of the disease. This way we can be able

to better assess and treat it. People associated with it also need to be more

aware and provided better knowledge on how to prevent and treat the

disease once they have it. Just the little things that eventually go a long way

are the things that will help with the Diagnosis, Prevention, Treatment and

other things that go along with it. If everyone is informed and knowledgeable

of the basic facts and counter measures, then we can better combat it.
 Connor Oswald
Health 1020

Bibliography:

"Type 2." American Diabetes Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
"Diabetes Latest ." Center for Disease Control. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr.

2017.
"Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 Pathophysiology." News Medical Life

Sciences. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.

"The Genetic Landscape of Diabetes." National Center for

Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. 13

Apr. 2017.
Wardlaw, Gordon M., Ph.D., Anne M. Smith, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., and

Angela L. Collene, M.S., R.D., L.D. Foundations of Nutrition. 4th ed.

N.p.: McGraw Hill, n.d. Print.

Connor Oswald
Health 1020