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About Diabetes
Diabetes, a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, affects 20.8 million children and adults in the United States. This means that 7% of the population have diabetes and an estimated 6.2 million Americans are unaware that they have the disease. One way for your doctor to determine whether or not you are a pre-diabetic or have diabetes is to conduct a FPG (Fasting Plasma Glucose) Test or an OGTT (Oral Glucose Tolerance Test). The FPG test is recommended by the American Diabetes Association in that it is an easier, faster and less expensive test.
Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes
The two major types of Diabetes are Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes is a result of the body’s failure to produce insulin. Insulin is the hormone that releases cells of the body enabling glucose to enter and motion them. An estimated 5-10% of Americans are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. When the body does not properly use insulin combined with relative insulin deficiency, this is diagnosed as Type 2 diabetes. The majority of Diabetics are diagnosed with this type of diabetes.
Gestational Diabetes
About 4% of pregnant women are diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. There are about 135,000 cases reported annually. Pregnant women who have never been diagnosed with diabetes but have a high blood sugar or glucose levels while they are pregnant is a result of Gestational Diabetes. There are no known causes of this type of diabetes but there are treatments, some of which include, special meal plans, scheduled physical activity and some may require daily blood glucose testing and insulin injections.
Pre-Diabetes
Most people, before being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, almost always have “pre-diabetes”. Their blood glucose levels are higher than normal yet not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetics. In some cases there is already occurring damage to the body, including the heart and circulatory system. Studies have proven that treating and managing your blood glucose levels in pre-diabetics, you can postpone or prevent Type 2 diabetes from future development all together. To learn if you are pre-diabetic, your doctor can perform one of the two tests mentioned above that include the FPG (Fasting Plasma Glucose) Test or an OGTT (Oral Glucose Tolerance Test).