What is diabetes?
Your body needs sugar or glucose for energy. The amount of sugar in your blood is controlled by a hormone called insulin, which is produced in the pancreas. When you digest food it enters your blood stream, and insulin moves the sugar out of the blood and into cells where it can be broken down and put to use. However, if you have diabetes the insulin can’t do it’s job. Either there’s not enough of it, or it’s not working properly. There are two main types of diabetes. Type 1 is often diagnosed in childhood, and means the body’s immune system attacks and destroys cells which produce insulin.
Type 2 can develop in later life, when the body fails to produce enough insulin, or fails to react to it. In the UK, around 90% of diabetics have Type 2 diabetes.
What is pre-diabetes?
Pre-diabetes means your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough for you to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. It means you are at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, but may not yet be experiencing any symptoms.
How do I know if I’m pre-diabetic?
Often, you won’t know, without a blood test. But there are factors that might contribute to your risk…
What are the risk factors for diabetes?
• Age – Your risk increases with age, especially once you’re over 40.
• Heritage – People who are of Black African, African-Caribbean, Chinese or South Asian origin are 2 to 4 times more likely to develop diabetes, and at an earlier age.
• Family – You are 2 to 6 times more likely to develop diabetes if you have a parent, sibling or child with diabetes.
• Health – You are more at risk if you are a smoker, if you lead a sedentary lifestyle, or if you drink too much alcohol. There are also increased risks for those who have had a previous heart attack or stroke, have had gestational diabetes (diabetes in pregnancy), those who’ve been on long term steroids, live with other auto-immune issues, or have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
• Weight – You’re more at risk of diabetes if you’re overweight, especially if you carry your weight around your middle.
What are the symptoms of diabetes?
If you know you have an increased risk of developing diabetes, it’s really important to be aware of some of the symptoms. These can creep up slowly, appear in any combination, and can therefore be difficult to put together.
• Thirst – drinking more than usual and feeling thirsty all the time, often with a dry mouth
• Wee – needing to wee more often, particularly at night
• Fatigue – feeling unusually tired, and not refreshed by sleeping
• Weight loss – especially when you’re not trying to lose weight or doing anything differently, and especially if you’re losing muscle bulk
• Thrush – yeast infections or itching around the vagina or penis
• Recurrent infections – like repeated cystitis or skin issues
• Slow healing – cuts and scrapes take longer to heal
• Blurred vision – and other eye problems
• Bad breath – fruity or strong-smelling breath.
How can Bluecrest Wellness help?
At Bluecrest Wellness, diabetes checks are included in all of our Health Assessments. Specifically, our HbA1c test, which gives a picture of the average amount of glucose in the blood over the last few months. You should aim to have an HbA1 check at least once a year, to keep checking your blood sugar levels. With personalised result reports, each test allows you to track changes over time, offering invaluable insights into your health status.
We can help you understand your risk and what’s going on inside your body, before you even notice a symptom.
How can I avoid diabetes?
While there are no lifestyle changes you can make to avoid Type 1 diabetes, the good news is that with the right support and action, 50% of people with pre-diabetes can prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes.
The main things you can do are to maintain a healthy weight – and lose weight if you need to – and then continue to eat well and move more.
If you understand your risk, you can make informed choices about what you need to do and how strict you need to be about diet and exercise.
What problems are caused by poorly managed diabetes?
People with diabetes have a higher risk of lots of health problems, including vision problems, mobility issues, heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure.
More immediately, having too little sugar in the blood (hypoglycaemia) can cause someone to feel sick, grumpy and dizzy, and possibly even lose consciousness, while too much (hyperglycaemia) can cause someone to feel weak, thirsty, and possibly lead to diabetic ketoacidosis – a serious and life threatening condition that needs urgent treatment.
Understanding diabetes could help you spot symptoms early in yourself or a loved one.
Meanwhile, Bluecrest is here to help you understand your risk, stay ahead of your health, and live health confident.
