Frequent urination, excessive thirst, unexplained weight loss or gain and remaining hungry despite having eaten…these all seem like normal occurrences if experienced individually. But what if you experience all of them together? You could be at risk of developing diabetes!

Many of our patients (the founder of Sonlandpark Pharmacy’s Sun Diet included) have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. It is one of the main reasons why our program was developed. Diabetes is a very serious, often fatal disease and consists of two types: Diabetes Type 1 and Diabetes Type 2.

Diabetes Type 1 is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, known as ‘insulin dependent’ diabetes. With Type 1, the body does not produce insulin.

Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. With the help of insulin therapy and other treatments, even young children can learn to manage their condition and live long, healthy lives – See more at diabetes.org.

Diabetes Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes. If you have type 2 diabetes your body does not use insulin properly. This is called insulin resistance.

The most common cause is an excessive intake of refined carbohydrates and sugars.  At first, your pancreas makes extra insulin to make up for it. But, over time it isn’t able to keep up and can’t make enough insulin to keep your blood glucose at normal levels – See more at diabetes.org.

There are 3 main origins of diabetes:

1. If one of your parents was a diabetic, your chance to be a diabetic is more than 25%.
2. Age above 50.
3. The prolonged intake of refined carbohydrates. This often brings about hyper-insulin and a breakdown in your body’s ability to metabolise carbohydrates.

Typically there are common symptoms to look for if you are a pre-diabetic, or perhaps even a full-blown diabetic. These are:

• Urinating often.
• Feeling very thirsty.
• Feeling very hungry – even though you are eating.
• Extreme fatigue and trouble sleeping
• Blurry vision.
• Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal.
• Sudden Weight loss or gain – even though you are eating more (type 1)
• Tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet (type 2)

Very often at Sonlandpark Pharmacy’s The Sun-Diet, our patients ask us if low blood sugar is not the opposite of diabetes.  No, the opposite of diabetes is normal.

We know that diabetes does not exist in cultures where refined carbohydrates are not consumed. Diabetes also does not progress when no refined carbohydrates are taken in. That makes diabetes one of life’s easiest illnesses to control.  One needs only to have it diagnosed when it is in the early stages, and stop eating the carbohydrates without which it cannot progress.

Don’t wait for symptoms, because by then it is rather late.  The symptoms of early diabetes are probably obesity itself as well as the signs of low blood sugar.  Low blood sugar might be the first recognisable stage of diabetes. Roughly, this is how obesity, low blood sugar, and diabetes develops:

1. Stage one begins with a genetic defect in your carbohydrate metabolism. You have a carbohydrate allergy, demonstrated by being overweight, but your glucose tolerance is still normal.
2. In stage two the pancreas continues to produce excessive insulin. The result — more obesity, and low blood sugar can be demonstrated.

• In stage three the pancreas continues to produce an abundance of insulin, but the body can no longer immediately control the blood sugar balance. The result — obesity and symptoms of low blood sugar.

1. In stage four the pancreas, although still releasing large amounts of insulin, cannot produce enough of the hormone to handle the increasing demands of its supply.

The result is obesity and a high level of blood sugar; that is, diabetes.

This is an oversimplification, and the phases may all occur at once, so that not all stages are found in every diabetic’s past history.  But the common denominator here is the trio:  Obesity, low blood sugar and diabetes.  Excessive insulin is the common enemy.

If you suffer from the above mentioned symptoms, have yourself tested at a clinic or doctor nearby. The key to prolonging the onset of this disease is early diagnosis! Should you be interested in an eating plan and a lifestyle program to treat or prevent diabetes, book a consultation now!

The post Am I pre-diabetic? first appeared on Sun Diet.