Many people don't even realize that there are different forms of the disease and often look at me shocked when I tell them I'm type 1 diabetic.
The different forms of this disease are pre-diabetes, type 1, type 1.5, type 2, and gestational...but throughout the 90s, early 2000s it was just diabetes. Unfortunately, now type 2 is becoming an epidemic and explains why we now hear so much about it and often still stayed confused...Let me help clear up the confusion....
With type 1 like I have, my body produces no insulin at all. My pancreas as we say has shut down on insulin production. Type 1 diabetics didn't grow up eating to much sugar to lead us here... researchers believe type 1 diabetes is a result of an auto- immune destruction of pancreatic islet cells that produce insulin. So ever since my diagnosis at 14, I must now inject insulin 3-4 times/day or when I eat, to shuttle glucose from my blood into my bodies cells to use for energy. Regular blood sugar monitoring is essential to learn what effects our blood sugar and causes it be out of a healthy range (fasting 70-85 mg/dl) I know... sounds like a science project. Well, keeping our bodies system healthy and in balance kind of is.
Prediabetes, type 1.5, type 2 and gestational are all at different stages. The body still produces it, but has become resistant to the insulin the body is producing. In many cases diet, exercise and some other lifestyle choices play a huge role in treating these forms and also determines if and when diabetes of these types will ever occur.
Simply said, what we put on our plate, drink and how much exercise we get everyday really matters to help prevent any form of diabetes.... I hope I helped clear up any diabetes myths!
