What's The Difference Between Type 1 And Type 2 Diabetes?

What's the Difference Between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes share the problem of high levels of blood sugar. The inability to control blood sugar causes the symptoms and the complications of both types of diabetes. But type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes are two different diseases in many ways. According to the latest (2014) estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 29.1 million people, or 9.3 percent of the U.S. population, have diabetes. Type 1 diabetes affects just 5 percent of those adults, with type 2 diabetes affecting up to 95 percent. Here’s what else you need to know to be health-savvy in the age of the diabetes epidemic.
What Causes Diabetes?
"Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease — the body's immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that make insulin," a hormone, says Andjela Drincic, MD, associate professor of internal medicine in the division of diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolism at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The exact cause is not known, but it's probably a combination of the genes a person is born with and something in the environment that triggers the genes to become active.
"The cause of type 2 diabetes is multifactorial," says Dr. Drincic. "People inherit genes that make them susceptible to type 2, but lifestyle factors, like obesity and inactivity, are also important. In type 2 diabetes, at least in the early stages, there is enough insulin, but the body becomes resistant to it." Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include a family history of the disease, a poor diet, a sedentary lifestyle, and obesity. African-Americans Continue reading

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12 Ways to Avoid Diabetes

Nearly 25 percent of Americans are thought to have prediabetes -- a condition of slightly elevated blood sugar levels that often develops into diabetes within 10 years -- but only 4 percent of people know it. What's worse, of those who are aware, less than half really tried to reduce their risk by losing weight, eating less, and exercising more.
These are just a few of the good-for-you habits that can reverse prediabetes and ensure you never get the real thing, which can mean a lifetime of drugs and blood sugar monitoring, an increased risk of heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other scary health threats. Read on for 12 simple tricks everyone can start today.
More from Prevention:
12 Ways to Avoid Diabetes
Shedding even 10 pounds can significantly slash your risk.
Even extremely overweight people were 70 percent less likely to develop diabetes when they lost just 5 percent of their weight -- even if they didn't exercise. If you weigh 175 pounds, that's a little less than 9 pounds! Use our calorie calculator to see how many calories you consume -- and how many you need to shave off your diet -- if you want to lose a little.
12 Ways to Avoid Diabetes
Eating greens with a vinaigrette before a starchy entrée may help control your blood sugar levels.
In an Arizona State University study, people with type 2 diabetes or a precursor condition called insulin resistance had lower blood sugar levels if they consumed about 2 tablespoons of vinegar just before a high-carb meal. "Vinegar contains acetic acid, which may inactivate certain starch-digesting enzymes, slowing carbohydra Continue reading

10 Causes of High Triglycerides in Diabetes

It's not surprising to have high triglyceride levels if you have type 2 diabetes. About 80% of people with diabetes struggle with this problem. Elevated triglyceride levels are also a component of metabolic syndrome, a group of disorders that increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Other symptoms of this syndrome include high blood sugar, high blood pressure, low HDL (good cholesterol), and excess belly fat.
Definition
Triglycerides are fat molecules that make up most of your body fat and the fat found in food. Along with cholesterol, they are one of the lipids that circulate in your blood. The medical term for having elevated levels of triglycerides is hypertriglyceridemia
.
In fasting laboratory tests, a normal triglyceride level is below 150 mg/dL. Borderline high is 150 to 199 mg/dL. High is considered 200 to 499 mg/dL. Very high is over 500 mg/dL.
High triglyceride levels can increase your risk for heart disease, stroke, and nerve damage. There is a link between chronically elevated triglyceride levels and atherosclerosis
, as well as insulin resistance.
Causes of High Triglycerides
There are many causes for high triglyceride levels. The list below includes common causes for people who have type 2 diabetes and related problems:
Poorly controlled type 2 diabetes: When your diabetes is not under good control, you likely have high levels of both glucose (blood sugar) and insulin in your body.
Insulin helps convert glucose into glycogen (the stored form of glucose) and helps to store glycogen in the liver. When the liver becomes too saturated with Continue reading

Lose Weight with Type 1 Diabetes

WRITTEN BY: Cliff Scherb
Editor’s Note: Cliff Scherb, Founder of Glucose Advisors and TriStar Athletes LLC, is a nutrition and fitness expert. He consults through virtually teaching his decision support system – Engine1 the app and its methodologies to aspiring T1 individuals and athletes. Cliff also creates custom training programs and insulin plans for endurance athletes, using Training Stress Modeling and real-time coaching. To inquire about coaching openings, FB LIVE sessions, and general questions please email [email protected]
Losing weight can be difficult — add Type 1 diabetes to the mix with its daily management demands — and it’s even more of a challenge. I know, because I’ve been a Type 1 diabetic for 29 years and I’m also an endurance athlete.
The internet is saturated in advice on how to lose weight with or without Type 1, so it’s hard to know what is worth while and what will just waste your time — or worse, can negatively impact your health.
I’m not going to declare all out war on carbohydrates, or tell you can or can’t drink your calories in the form of olive oil, or feast and fast with cayenne peppers and maple syrup. No, the real distilled learning from my years of consulting and data analysis shows that a balanced, low-insulin diet with nutrient timing and activity is the best way to lose weight with Type 1 diabetes. It also helps you maintain brain and body function as well as energy levels.
If you are reading this you’ve probably already given this some thought and know why it’s important to lose weight and/or lean out Continue reading

Eating with Diabetes: Desserts and Sweets

I’d be willing to bet that most everyone has been told—and therefore believes—that people with diabetes cannot have any sugar and are resigned to living without dessert for the rest of their lives. Well, as a Certified Diabetes Educator, I'm here to tell you that this is a myth. People with diabetes can eat sugar, desserts, and almost any food that contains caloric sweeteners (molasses, honey, maple syrup, and more). Why? Because people with diabetes can eat foods that contain carbohydrates, whether those carbohydrates come from starchy foods like potatoes or sugary foods such as candy. It’s best to save sweets and desserts for special occasions so you don’t miss out on the more nutritious foods your body needs. However, when you do decide to include a sweet treat, make sure you keep portions small and use your carbohydrate counting plan.
No sugar ever again? No way!
The idea that people with diabetes should avoid sugar is decades old. Logically, it makes sense. Diabetes is a condition that causes high blood sugar. Sugary foods cause blood sugar levels to increase. Therefore people with diabetes should avoid sugary foods in order to prevent hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and keep their diabetes under control. However, simply avoiding sugary foods does not go very far in terms of controlling blood sugar. Here's why.
After you eat, your blood sugar level (aka postprandial blood glucose level) is largely determined by the total amount of carbohydrate you ate, not the source of the carbohydrates eaten. There are two types of carbohydrates that elevate your blood sug Continue reading