In the United States alone, 30.3 million people suffer from diabetes. November is National Diabetes Awareness month, so there’s no better time to learn what diabetes is and what you can do to prevent it.

What is Diabetes?

People with diabetes have too much sugar in their blood. Blood sugar comes from the food you eat.  Your pancreas makes a hormone called insulin which is responsible for handling how the sugar is used. When things work the right way, insulin takes the sugar and turns it into energy that you use throughout the day.  However, if you don’t have enough insulin or if your insulin isn’t working properly, the sugar doesn’t get turned into energy and instead stays in your blood. When this happens, you have diabetes.

What Causes This to Happen?

There are two types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. There are still many things we don’t understand about diabetes, including the exact cause. What we do know if that when you have type 1 diabetes, your immune system destroys cells that produce insulin, so sugar builds up in your bloodstream.

In type 2 diabetes, your cells stop listening to the insulin and sugar builds up. Genetic factors may play a role in both types. Weight is not considered to be a factor in type 1, but being overweight may play a role in developing type 2 diabetes.

There are also some risk factors specific to each type.

Risk factors for type 1 diabetes

• Family history. Your risk increases if a parent or sibling has type 1 diabetes.
• Environmental factors. Circumstances such as exposure to a viral illness likely play some role in type 1 diabetes.
• The presence of damaging immune system cells (autoantibodies). Sometimes family members of people with type 1 diabetes are tested for the presence of diabetes autoantibodies. If you have these autoantibodies, you have an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes. But not everyone who has these autoantibodies develops diabetes.
• Geography. Certain countries, such as Finland and Sweden, have higher rates of type 1 diabetes.

Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes

• Weight. The more fatty tissue you have, the more resistant your cells become to insulin.
• Inactivity. The less active you are, the greater your risk. Physical activity helps you control your weight, uses up glucose as energy, and makes your cells more sensitive to insulin.
• Family history. Your risk increases if a parent or sibling has type 2 diabetes.
• Race. Although it’s unclear why, people of certain races — including African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians and Asian-Americans — are at higher risk.
• Age. Your risk increases as you get older. This may be because you tend to exercise less, lose muscle mass and gain weight as you age. But type 2 diabetes is also increasing among children, adolescents and younger adults.
• High blood pressure. Having blood pressure over 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) is linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels. If you have low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol, your risk of type 2 diabetes is higher. Triglycerides are another type of fat carried in the blood. People with high levels of triglycerides have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Your doctor can let you know what your cholesterol and triglyceride levels are.

Prevention Tips

Type 1 diabetes can’t be prevented. However, some healthy lifestyle choices can prevent and treat type 2 diabetes.

• Eat healthy foods. Choose foods lower in fat and calories and higher in fiber. Focus on fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
• Get more physical activity. Aim for 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day.
• Lose excess pounds. If you’re overweight, losing even 7 percent of your body weight can reduce the risk of diabetes.
• To keep your weight in a healthy range, focus on permanent changes to your eating and exercise habits. Motivate yourself by remembering the benefits of losing weight, such as a healthier heart, more energy and improved self-esteem.

Talk to your doctor if you’re worried about diabetes. If you do not have a doctor and would like to find one, UT Medical Center’s Healthcare Coordination can help. They will talk to you about what insurance you have, what type of doctor you need, and what days are most convenient for you to make an appointment. Call them today at 865-305-6970 to make an appointment.

For more information about diabetes, contact the Health Information Center. The Health Information Center is a library staffed by medical librarians and certified health information specialists. If you let us know your health information needs, we will do research for you, print what we find, and mail it straight to your house. You can call us at 865-305-9525. We also have a large collection of health books covering a variety of topics, including several popular diabetes books:

Mayo Clinic, the essential diabetes book

Diabetes & heart healthy cookbook

Diabetes & carb counting

Becoming a library member is free and only requires a picture ID.

The Health Information Center in located on the first floor the hospital. We have computers, printers, and a quiet place to take a break. We are open the following times:

Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 am-9 pm
Fri., 8:30 am-5 pm
Sat., 9 am-5 pm
Sun., 1 pm-9 pm