If you have diabetes, it can affect your major body systems, including your circulatory, nervous, and immune systems. Type 2 diabetes can often be prevented, but you need to know what lifestyle and dietary steps to take. Your provider can help.

What You Need To Know About Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is caused by too much sugar, or glucose, in your blood. According to the American Diabetes Association, over 9% of the population of the United States have diabetes. This type of diabetes develops over time, which means you can take steps now to prevent developing type 2 diabetes later.

These are some of the important steps to take to help prevent type 2 diabetes:

• Watch your diet, consuming foods that are low in sugar, salt, and fat
• Watch your calories to maintain a healthy weight
• Exercise regularly to help burn excess calories and help your body function

You should also visit your provider regularly, at least once each year. Your provider will order laboratory testing to determine glucose levels in your blood. In addition, your A1C may be measured, which indicates an average of your blood sugar over a 2-to-3-month period. These tests determine whether you are prediabetic, or whether you have type 2 diabetes.

You may have type 2 diabetes if you are experiencing:

• Frequent feelings of hunger or thirst
• Fatigue or blurred vision
• Frequent feelings of having to urinate
• Injuries or bruises that are slow to heal
• Nerve pain in your extremities, known as peripheral neuropathy

Diet and lifestyle modifications are often the first line of treatment to manage blood sugar levels. Medications may also be prescribed to:

• Boost insulin production
• Decrease sugar absorption by your intestine
• Improve insulin usage by your body
• Improve insulin resistance

Want To Know More About Type 2 Diabetes?

To discover more about the prevention, signs, symptoms, and treatment of type 2 diabetes, talk with your provider today.