Why are health officials so concerned about the growing epidemic of type 2 diabetes? The main reason for their worry is the many health complications diabetes can cause.
When the blood sugar level is high, and it stays elevated for long periods of time, it can damage both blood vessels and the organs that they supply, including the heart, eyes, nerves, and kidneys.
The complications of type 2 diabetes are numerous and often devastating: blindness, loss of limbs, loss of sensation in the limbs, painful sensations in the hands and feet, kidney failure, heart disease, and more. Because diabetes can come on without any symptoms, these debilitating complications can occur even before you’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Complications of type 2 diabetes include:
• Eye diseases such as glaucoma diabetic retinopathy, and cataracts, which can lead to blindness.
• Nerve damage which can cause painful throbbing, tingling, or loss of feeling in the hands and feet.
• Frequent skin infections.
• Poor wound healing, especially in the legs and feet which can lead to amputations.
• Chronic kidney failure which can lead to the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant.
• Atherosclerosis, which markedly increases the risk for a heart attack and stroke.
• Frequent urinary tract infections.
• Hearing loss.
Because of the rise in type 2 diabetes cases in this country, these complications have become major health threats. According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes is a significant cause of heart disease and stroke, and it is the leading cause of kidney failure, non-traumatic amputations, and blindness. It is also the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.
Every year, close to a quarter of a million people will die in this country because of complications resulting from type 2 diabetes.
The problems caused by type 2 diabetes are global. They can affect people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. They have a significant effect on people’s health and lifespan. And the costs of caring for type 2 diabetics are astronomical.
To treat the symptoms and complications of type 2 diabetes, people often turn to a variety of medications. These diabetes drugs can cause side effects that require still more medications to counteract them. What people often don’t realize is that, in most cases, diabetes type 2 can be managed well with diet and lifestyle changes alone. You can avoid diabetes and its complications without taking medicines, if you change your habits. In the next chapter, we’ll show you how to revise your diet and lifestyle. You can effectively and safely treat–and in some cases–even reverse your diabetes.