- Home
- Healthy Living
- It's not just: "a touch of sugar"
It's not just: "a touch of sugar"
- By Noel Peterson, MD
- Published 06/10/2010
- Healthy Living
- Unrated
Noel Peterson, MD
Dr. Noel Peterson can be reached at Eastern Cardiology, PA, Greenville, NC. 252-758-3000.
Diabetes. It’s not about being too sweet. Diabetes is a major risk factor for heart disease. It is more serious than high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, physical inactivity, or obesity.
What is diabetes?
The food that we eat is turned into glucose (or sugar) for our bodies to use for energy. The hormone insulin converts sugar and other food into energy and helps glucose get into our cells. Diabetes occurs when your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use its own insulin. As a result sugar levels in your blood build up and become too high.
What are the types of diabetes?
Type 1 (Juvenile diabetes), starts early in life. It is a result of our body’s failure to produce insulin. People must take insulin every day to regulate their sugar.
Type 2 is most common. 90-95% of Americans with diabetes have type 2. Usually develops in middle aged to older adults and is usually a result of obesity and physical inactivity. Your body doesn’t make enough insulin and it can’t use the insulin that it makes efficiently.
Who gets diabetes?
Certain
ethnic groups are more susceptible, including Hispanics, Blacks, Native Americans, and Asians. Obesity and physical inactivity are the leading risk factors for developing diabetes in all age groups. People with Metabolic Syndrome are at high risk for developing diabetes.
Metabolic Syndrome
o Waist circumference
* Men > 40 inches
* Women > 35 inches
o Triglycerides > 150 mg/dL
o HDL
* Men < 40 mg/dL
* Women <50 mg/dL
o Blood pressure > 130/>85 mm Hg
o Fasting glucose > 100 mg/dL
o
How do I know if I have diabetes?
* Fasting blood sugar < 100 = Normal
* Fasting blood sugar 100-126 = Pre-diabetes
* Fasting blood sugar > 126 = Diabetes
Diabetes and the heart
Diabetes is a major risk factor for heart disease. The damage that it exerts on the blood vessels, essentially, makes it equivalent to having heart disease. Diabetes is associated with increases in heart disease including heart attacks and heart failure. If you already have developed diabetes it is essential that you control all of your other cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
What is diabetes?
The food that we eat is turned into glucose (or sugar) for our bodies to use for energy. The hormone insulin converts sugar and other food into energy and helps glucose get into our cells. Diabetes occurs when your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use its own insulin. As a result sugar levels in your blood build up and become too high.
What are the types of diabetes?
Type 1 (Juvenile diabetes), starts early in life. It is a result of our body’s failure to produce insulin. People must take insulin every day to regulate their sugar.
Type 2 is most common. 90-95% of Americans with diabetes have type 2. Usually develops in middle aged to older adults and is usually a result of obesity and physical inactivity. Your body doesn’t make enough insulin and it can’t use the insulin that it makes efficiently.
Who gets diabetes?
Certain
Metabolic Syndrome
o Waist circumference
* Men > 40 inches
* Women > 35 inches
o Triglycerides > 150 mg/dL
o HDL
* Men < 40 mg/dL
* Women <50 mg/dL
o Blood pressure > 130/>85 mm Hg
o Fasting glucose > 100 mg/dL
o
How do I know if I have diabetes?
* Fasting blood sugar < 100 = Normal
* Fasting blood sugar 100-126 = Pre-diabetes
* Fasting blood sugar > 126 = Diabetes
Diabetes and the heart
Diabetes is a major risk factor for heart disease. The damage that it exerts on the blood vessels, essentially, makes it equivalent to having heart disease. Diabetes is associated with increases in heart disease including heart attacks and heart failure. If you already have developed diabetes it is essential that you control all of your other cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure and cholesterol levels.