{"id":5815,"date":"2021-06-03T22:54:36","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T22:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/strategicarc.biz\/MHEDS\/?p=5815"},"modified":"2026-05-26T18:01:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T22:01:39","slug":"what-is-diabetes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mheds.org\/staging\/1268\/what-is-diabetes\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Diabetes?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/strategicarc.biz\/MHEDS\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/AdobeStock_136207873-1024x683.jpeg?resize=1024%2C683&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mheds.org\/staging\/1268\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/AdobeStock_136207873-scaled.jpeg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mheds.org\/staging\/1268\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/AdobeStock_136207873-scaled.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mheds.org\/staging\/1268\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/AdobeStock_136207873-scaled.jpeg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mheds.org\/staging\/1268\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/AdobeStock_136207873-scaled.jpeg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mheds.org\/staging\/1268\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/AdobeStock_136207873-scaled.jpeg?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mheds.org\/staging\/1268\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/AdobeStock_136207873-scaled.jpeg?resize=600%2C400&amp;ssl=1 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As of 2015, 30.3 million people in the United States had diabetes. Diabetes is a disease where your blood sugar is too high. &nbsp;Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose (sugar) from food get to your cells. Sometimes bodies don&#8217;t make enough or any, and then the glucose stays in your blood and can&#8217;t be converted into energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-heading\">Types of Diabetes <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Type 1 <\/strong>&#8211;  This is when the body does not make any insulin. Your immune system attacks and destroys the cells in your pancreas that make insulin.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Type 2 &#8211; <\/strong>This is when your body does not make or use insulin properly. <\/li><li><strong>Gestational &#8211; <\/strong>This type of diabetes happens in some pregnant women but usually goes away after birth. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Symptoms <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Increased thirst and urination<\/li><li>Increased hunger<\/li><li>Fatigue<\/li><li>Blurred vision<\/li><li>Numbness or tingling in the feet or hands<\/li><li>Sores that do not heal<\/li><li>Unexplained weight loss<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prevention <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Genetic factors can play a part in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, type one diabetes cannot be prevented, but they can live very normal lives with daily insulin shots. You can take steps to prevent or control type 2 diabetes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Stay Active. <\/strong>Keeping excess weight off can help lower your risk of getting diabetes. <\/li><li><strong>Eat healthily.<\/strong> Drink water instead of sweet beverages. Avoid saturated fats.<\/li><li><strong>Get regular checkups. <\/strong>If you have a family history of diabetes, talk to your doctor. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As of 2015, 30.3 million people in the United States had diabetes. Diabetes is a disease where your blood sugar [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,121],"tags":[118,119],"class_list":["post-5815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-patient-education","tag-diabetes","tag-health"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is Diabetes? - MHEDS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mheds.org\/staging\/1268\/what-is-diabetes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is Diabetes? - MHEDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As of 2015, 30.3 million people in the United States had diabetes. 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