Diabetes tends to be younger and has unpredictable developments. The disease has a significant impact on health, daily life and especially causes many serious complications such as cardiovascular, kidney, eye, neurological complications, …

 

Part 1: Classification of diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease that lasts a lifetime. Affects the body’s ability to use energy from food. Normally, the body breaks down sugars and carbohydrates from food into a special form of sugar called glucose (simple sugar). Glucose provides fuel for the cells in the body. However, cells need insulin, a hormone in the blood to absorb sugar and use it for energy. In diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin, or cannot use the insulin which it produces, or a combination of the two.

When cells cannot tolerate or absorb glucose, glucose builds up in the blood. High blood sugar can damage the small blood vessels in the kidneys, heart, eyes, or nervous system. That’s why diabetes, especially if left untreated, can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and more.

There are 3 main types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes.

• Type 1 diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes is a disease caused by the destruction of beta cells of the pancreas, causing decreased insulin secretion or no insulin secretion, making the amount of insulin circulating in the blood very little, unable to regulate blood sugar. The onset of type 1 diabetes is related to genetic and environmental factors, but the onset and progression of the disease as well as the age of onset are related to many other factors.

The majority of type 1 diabetes occurs in children and young adults (most often under the age of 20), accounting for about 5-10% of all diabetes cases. In this form, the disease symptoms occur suddenly and progress quickly, so the disease can be easily detected.

• Type 2 diabetes:

Although reaching the same amount as the normal person, the insulin secreted by the pancreas in this type of diabetes is reduced, or does not play a role in blood sugar regulation due to the progressive decrease in the function of pancreatic beta cells in the background of insulin resistance.

This is the most common form of diabetes, most common in people over 40 years old and tends to be younger. The number of patients in this type of diabetes accounts for 90-95% of the total cases. The disease does not have obvious symptoms, so it is difficult for patients to detect.

• Gestational diabetes:

In pregnant women, the placenta will produce female hormones such as estrogen and progesterone, which will act on insulin receptors on target cells, increasing insulin resistance. However, when the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to overcome this resistance, it leads to a buildup of sugar in the blood, leading to diabetes during pregnancy.

Although gestational diabetes disappears as soon as the mother gives birth, pregnant women need effective treatment during pregnancy to avoid adverse effects affecting both mother and baby.

 

Part 2: Early warning signs of diabetes

Type 1 diabetes:

The disease progresses very quickly, with symptoms often occurring rapidly over several days or weeks. Often there is a typical 4 multiple syndrome.

• Hunger and fatigue: Your body converts the food you eat into glucose that your cells use for energy. But your cells need insulin to absorb glucose. If the body does not produce enough or if the cells are resistant to the insulin the body makes, glucose will not be able to get in and make energy. This can make yu hungrier and more tired than usual.
• Urinating more often and feeling more thirsting:The average person needs to urinate four to seven times in 24 hours, but people with diabetes due to high blood sugar can go many times more than usual. Why is it like that? Normally your body reabsorbs glucose as it passes through your kidneys. But when diabetes pushes your blood sugar high, your kidneys may not be able to bring it all back up. This causes the body to make more urine and to lose water. The result: You will have to go more often. You can also go out more. Because you pee a lot, you may be very thirsty. As you drink more, you will also pee more.
• Dry mouth, extreme thirst, and itchy skin:Because your body is using fluids to urinate, there’s less moisture for other things. You may become dehydrated, and your mouth may feel dry. Dry skin can make you itchy.
• Much weight loss:Although the patient eats a lot, he loses a lot of weight.
• Reduced vision: Changing fluid levels in your body can cause the lenses in your eyes to swell, causing blurred vision and reduced vision.

Type 2 diabetes:

In type 2 diabetes, patients progress very silently, even without symptoms, without aggressive symptoms like type 1 diabetes. In general, the person may never feel the obvious warning signs. Diabetes can develop for many years, and the warning signs can be difficult to diagnose. Some signs are:

• Yeast infections: Both men and women with diabetes can get these. Yeast eats glucose, so having plenty around makes it thrive. The infection can develop in any warm, moist fold of skin, including: between fingers and toes, under the breasts, in or around the genitals.
• Slow-healing sores or cuts: Over time, high blood sugar can affect your blood flow and cause nerve damage that makes it difficult for your body to heal. Pain or numbness in your legs. This is another result of nerve damage.

Gestational diabetes:

High blood sugar during pregnancy often has no symptoms. You may feel a little thirstier than usual or have to urinate more often. Usually detectable mainly on 3-segment glucose test at 28 weeks gestation.

 

Part 3: Prevention of diabetes

• Weight control

Control body weight by losing weight, thereby reducing the risk of diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends that people with prediabetes (high blood sugar but not reaching the threshold for a diagnosis of diabetes) should lose at least 7% to 10% of their body weight to prevent the disease from progressing.

• Increase physical activity

Regular physical activity is not only good for diabetes prevention, but also brings many benefits to the body.

Physical activity helps to lose weight, which is a risk factor for diabetes.

Exercise also helps lower blood sugar levels.

Increases insulin sensitivity, keeping blood sugar levels in the normal range.

Movement goal:

Aerobic exercises: should maintain 30 minutes of exercise per day or 150 minutes per week, gradually increasing the level of exercise from medium to high. Sports can refer to as brisk walking, swimming, cycling or running.

Resistance exercises: Practice intense exercises such as weightlifting, Calisthenics (only using the body and the bar), … at least 2 to 3 times a week, helping to increase strength, balance and maintain an active life.

Shorter periods of inactivity (such as sitting at a computer) can help control blood sugar. Every 30 minutes of being still, get up, walk, or do light activity.

• Eat healthy fruits and vegetables

Whole grains, nuts and seeds provide vitamins, minerals and are low in carbohydrates. Carbohydrate foods that are low in sugar, starch (an energy source for the body) and high in fiber offer many benefits in diabetes prevention, including:

Fruit, such as tomatoes, bell peppers, etc.

Non-starchy vegetables, such as leafy greens, broccoli, and cauliflower.

Legumes, such as beans, chickpeas, and lentils.

Whole grains, such as whole-wheat pasta and breads, whole-grain rice, whole-grain oats, and quinoa.

• Eat healthy fats

To lose and manage weight, the diet should include a variety of foods with unsaturated fats, also known as “good fats.”

Unsaturated fats (including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) help reduce bad cholesterol in the blood and the risk of cardiovascular disease. Good sources of fats include: olive oil, sunflower oil, canola oil…; nuts such as almonds, peanuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds; fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna…

Saturated fats (bad fats) found in dairy products and meat should make up only a small part of the diet. Replace with low-fat dairy products, lean chicken and pork.

• Avoid crash diets (trend diets)

Many trending diets — such as the glycemic index, paleo or keto diet — can help with weight loss. However, there is little research on the long-term benefits of these diets or their benefits in preventing diabetes.

The dietary goal is to help lose weight and maintain a healthier weight in the future. Therefore, choosing a healthy diet should be based on a strategy that can be maintained as a long-term habit. Making healthy dietary choices should be based on some personal preference for food and culinary traditions, which helps maintain benefits over time.

A simple strategy to help make good food choices and eat the right portions is to split your plate. The following three items on the plate will help promote healthy eating:

Half: non-starchy fruits and vegetables.

A quarter: whole grain.

A quarter: foods high in protein, such as legumes, fish or lean meat.

• Regularly check sugar levels

Along with the above diabetes prevention methods, patients should also check their blood sugar regularly according to the doctor’s advice on the time and the target blood sugar level. Keeping blood sugar levels as close to target levels as possible helps prevent or delay diabetes-related complications.

 

Reference: vinmec.com, tamanhhospital.vn

 

Medical Second Opinion (MSO)

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