Type 2 Diabetes

The food you eat gets turned into glucose which your body converts to energy.   If you have diabetes, your body has trouble converting glucose into energy and unused glucose can build up in your blood and starve your body of energy.  There is more than one form of diabetes but Type 2 diabetes is the most common form.

Some people have a higher risk for Type 2 diabetes than others.  Individuals who are overweight, have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, or exercise less than three times a week should talk with their doctor about getting tested for diabetes.  People over age 45 and people with a family history of diabetes should also get tested.  African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders have a higher prevalance of diabetes.  Women who have had diabetes during pregnancy or have had a baby with a birth weight in excess of nine pounds are also at risk.

Some signs of diabetes include:

• Being very thirsty or very hungry
  
• Feeling tired for no reason
  
• Urinating more than usual
  
• Losing weight for no reason
  
• Having cuts or bruises that are slow to heal
  
• Having trouble seeing (blurry vision)
  
• Losing feeling or having tingling in your hands or feet
  

Not everyone who has diabetes has these signs.  Talk with your doctor about getting tested for diabetes.

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