Diabetes is a condition widely known in the global sphere, but its actual causes and implications often hide under an array of sweeping notions. Some only associate Type 1 with an ever-present insulin pump or frequent fainting from low blood sugar, and Type 2 is mainly linked to obesity and sugary soft drinks. While both generalizations are aspects of the two main types of diabetes, they don’t express the full picture. The following guide breaks down each condition, their pathology, and how to properly manage them in your life. 

Common Questions About Diabetes

How is diabetes diagnosed?

Like with many diseases, doctors will send a blood or urine sample to a lab to test for diabetes. If a doctor thinks you have Type 1 diabetes, you will submit a urine sample to test for the presence of ketones, a byproduct created when muscle and fat tissue are used for energy. Additional blood tests will also look for autoantibodies, which are destructive immune system cells that are associated with Type 1.

For Type 2, the main test used is called a glycated hemoglobin (A1C) test, which measures your average blood sugar level for the past two to three months. The test identifies the percentage of blood sugar attached to hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells). If your A1C is between 5.7 and 6.4, you have prediabetes, and if you hit 6.5 or higher, you have diabetes. There are other tests used if this one isn’t available, or you have certain conditions that make this test inaccurate. 

What is the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and their causes?

Type 1 diabetes, or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a condition in which a person’s pancreas is unable to make insulin. It occurs in most commonly in children and comprises less than 10% of all diabetes cases. The cause of Type 1 is unknown, but researchers believe it is caused by exposure to an environmental trigger that causes this abnormal autoimmune response. Type 1 diabetes has sudden and evident symptoms that prompt a doctor to run tests to diagnose.

People with Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, may not have symptoms before their diagnosis, which is why anyone over 45 should run blood sugar tests on a regular basis. Also named non-insulin-dependent diabetes, Type 2 develops in middle-aged adults and older due to poor health choices as well as genetic predispositions. Risk factors include lifestyle habits like obesity, physical inactivity, poor diet, and high blood pressure. Cases of Type 2 make up over 90% of all diabetes cases.

While the pathologies of these two conditions are completely different, they fall under the same umbrella because they share an issue with blood sugar levels in the body due to an insulin deficiency. For Type 1, insulin doesn’t exist in the body due to an autoimmune response, while for Type 2, insulin is present, but there’s not enough to efficiently process sugar.

Does eating a lot of sugar cause diabetes?

Not exactly. Eating loads of sugar doesn’t directly cause diabetes, but it does lead to weight gain, which is one of the main risk factors for Type 2 diabetes. It is also important to note that foods like candy bars and soft drinks aren’t the only ones to be concerned about once you have diabetes; even fruit, for example, can cause a dangerous spike in blood sugar levels if not eaten in moderation.

Is diabetes reversible? 

Currently, there is no known cure for either type of diabetes. However, there are lifestyle choices that can help manage the complications of both conditions. Religiously monitoring your A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol and assuring you meet your doctor’s recommended target range for each is essential. Proper nutrition and physical activity help you reach and maintain these targets. Medications can also provide those levels more stability—type one patients need lifelong insulin therapy to maintain healthy A1C levels, a measure Type 2 diabetes patients only need to take if their pancreas stops creating insulin entirely. Otherwise, those with Type 2 will only need an oral prescription to increase the body’s natural production of insulin, improve a body’s sensitively to insulin, lower the production of glucose in the liver, or lower blood pressure.

Managing your diabetes doesn’t have to be a chore with the right doctors there to guide you. The father-daughter team of physicians at Urgent & Primary Care provide exceptional internal medical care at their state-of-the-art clinic in the Albany, NY, area. For more ways to approach your diabetes care, call the family care physicians at (518) 463-8262. For more on their health care services, visit them online.