Diabetes: what are the first symptoms and 4 other frequently asked questions about this disease

Diabetes is a serious chronic disease that can affect anyone.

It is estimated that 422 million people live with diabetes around the world, four times more than 40 years ago, according to World Health Organization (WHO).

Diabetes occurs when the body cannot process all the glucose in the bloodstream.

Glucose is not bad, on the contrary, it is the fuel for all cells in the body.

To use this glucose, some tissues need the action of insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas that allows this sugar to more easily enter the cell and be converted into energy.

Complications of diabetes can lead to heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputation.

Despite the risks, many people with diabetes don’t know it. Lifestyle changes can prevent this in many cases.

On World Diabetes Day, which is commemorated on November 14, we at BBC Mundo investigate the most common doubts expressed by users on the Google search engine about diabetes and ask three specialists about them.

1. What are the first symptoms of diabetes? And in children?

“Typically, a doctor warns a patient that he or she has type 2 diabetes based on the results of laboratory tests that measure blood sugar levels. Most patients with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms. Symptoms are more common in patients with type 1 diabetes, when levels remain very high for a long time.

Fatigue, thirst, hunger, excessive urination, blurred vision and weight loss may develop,” it says. Victor Montori, endocrinologist doctor specializing in diabetes at the Mayo Clinic in the United States.

2. When is blood sugar dangerous?

“On an empty stomach, normal blood sugar levels are 70 to 110 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl). After a meal, these values ​​rise, but insulin ensures that they quickly return to the normal range (usually 2 hours). Levels higher than 180 mg/dl maintained for more than 2 hours are toxic to the cells and if repeated many times can cause permanent damage, especially to the kidneys, eyes, heart and nerves in the legs.

3. What are the differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes?

“In the classification of diabetes there are 4 types, but in practice it is expressed as type 1 or 2. Type 1 mainly occurs in young people under 30 years of age, thin and who have no hereditary history of diabetes.”

4. Can diabetes be cured? It can be avoided?

5. What foods cause diabetes?

“None. There are no foods that can, on their own, develop diabetes. The confusion arises because prehistoric man had to conserve energy in order to live, and he accomplished this through insulin-saving mechanisms.”

“But with the passage of time and the wide availability of food, we began to experience problems: the consumption of excess energy that began to arise with industrial development. And they were no longer natural foods, but preserved foods for which the digestive system is not prepared. An excess of calories began to be deposited in fatty tissue, in the liver and in other structures. The consequence was the development of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cancer, etc. -José Agustín Mesa Pérez, endocrinologist and president of the Latin American Diabetes Association.

“The adequate consumption of vegetables (both raw and cooked and of different colors) and fruits can help balance the diet and include natural antioxidants that help prevent diabetes.”

“Diets high in fats, especially if they are of animal origin, as well as simple carbohydrates (sugars) and manufactured foods are associated with a greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes. Excessive fast food and snacks are one of the causes of the greater frequency with which we detect type 2 diabetes in children.” – Dr. Fabiana Vazquez, member of the Argentine Diabetes Society. (JO)