Signs of Type 2 Diabetes - Symptoms, Preventions, and More
Video Transcript:
29 million Americans struggle with diabetes. And out of that group, 90 to 95% of those cases are actually type two diabetes. Research also suggests that 1 out of 3 people have something called pre-diabetes, and out of that group, 9 out of 10 of those people don't even know that they have that condition.
My name is Marcie Vaske and today we're gonna be talking about risks that you need to be watching out for to be sure that you do not end up with type two diabetes.
I'm a functional medicine nutritionist specializing in gut health, but as I said today I am gonna talk about diabetes and blood sugar, which is connected to our gut.
I work with Oswald digestive clinic and so I see a lot of individuals that do struggle with their blood sugar along with a lot of gut issues such as constipation, diarrhea, gas, and bloating.
And if that sounds like someone that you know or you, I encourage you to make an initial appointment, or if you kind of like to do things on your own and just wanna learn more about the gut and how to keep it healthy. You can also download our free guide, which is Five Ways to Improve Gut Health.
So as I mentioned, we're gonna be talking about type 2 diabetes, but let's kind of dig into what is Type 2 diabetes.
What is Type 2 Diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes makes up for nearly 90 to 95% of diabetes, conditions or cases. And what it is, is that it's an abnormally high blood sugar level, and this occurs when our body stops using our sugars properly.
Now there's a very important hormone when it comes to regulating our blood sugars, which is called insulin. And insulin is produced by the pancreas that comes out to help balance our blood sugars. Insulin helps to move that sugar into the cell so that it's used for energy.
So for example, after you eat a meal, your blood sugar will increase and the pancreas will ex put out the insulin to help put the glucose into our cells. But what happens, as I said, is that if the insulin is getting dysregulated, that cannot get that sugar into our cells properly.
Most people who end up with type two diabetes actually begin with something called pre-diabetes. So I think it's important to go over and find out what are some of the signs that you should be looking for if you're worried about that possibly ending up with diabetes or if you have a family history of it.
5 Signs that you have Type 2 Diabetes
So I feel like it's important to learn about the signs that we should be looking for, especially when 9 out of 10 people who are don't even know that they might be pre-diabetic leading to that type 2 diabetes. So today I wanna run through five signs to look for in the event that you're at risk for diabetes.
Excessive Thirst and also Frequent Urination
Now, the first one I wanna run through is excessive thirst and also frequent urination. They kind of go hand in hand and can get confusing because if we're drinking a lot, sometimes we're not realizing that, you know, we're running to the bathroom all the time.
But is it a risk factor for you? What happens is if you are drinking more than a gallon a day and you still feel like you're extra thirsty and it's just not quenching your thirst, that could be due to high blood sugars in your body and not to get confused with that frequent urination.
But most people go to the bathroom around seven times a day. But if you end up going more frequently than that and it doesn't line up with how much you're drinking, then that also could be an indication that there are some high blood sugars going on.
If these two aren't tied together for you necessarily, meaning you're really trying to push your water and yes, you're gonna go to the bathroom a little bit more.
But if you're pushing water and you still feel like you're very thirsty and you go to the bathroom multiple times and wake up multiple times during the night to go, it is a sign of high blood sugar in the body.
Extreme hunger
The number two sign to look for is extreme hunger. If you feel like you have been eating more throughout the day and you can't really get full or you eat a meal and an hour later you're starving again, that is an indication that blood sugars could be dysregulated.
This happens because our blood sugars aren't sending the right signaling to the brain and our body feels like we just need to keep eating. So that is risk number two, extreme hunger.
Pins and Needle feeling
The third sign to be on the lookout for is that pins and needle feeling high blood sugar tends to deteriorate the nerves which are furthest from our spinal cord.
So a lot of times people begin to feel these pins and needles in their feet or maybe their calves, and if you are experiencing this, we call that neuropathy.
This is definitely a sign that there might be some high blood sugar going on, and it might not happen all the time, but if you specifically feel it when you wake up in the morning, some numbness or that tingling, definitely have it checked out by your physician.
Wounds that don't heal very quickly or more Skin Infections
Number four on the list is wounds that don't heal very quickly or more skin infections. We know that blood sugar really takes its toll, on our arteries and our veins, therefore making healing of our wounds more difficult.
Without that good blood flow, the wound healing is slow and you might be getting more skin infections. So again, if you're sort of noticing this, you'll definitely wanna be watching out for your blood sugar and maybe even check into it with your physician.
Reoccurring Urinary Tract Infections
The fifth subtle sign to look out for is reoccurring urinary tract infections. Sugar found in the urine actually is a breeding ground for bacteria to form, which would lead to increased urinary tract infections.
In fact, people who struggle with diabetes are two times more likely to get reoccurring UTIs.
What to do if you have Type 2 Diabetes?
So if you've been finding yourself with any of these signs that I spoke about, wound healing is slow, more UTIs, skin infections, having some difficulty with not feeling thirst or always feeling thirsty, going to the bathroom all the time and even feeling really hungry for no reason it would be great to get some labs done and also, think about how are you eating?
Are you eating balanced because of course diet and movement are gonna be two key factors for helping to keep that diabetes at bay Whether you're pre-diabetic or if you are already diabetic, really watch your diet and pull out some of those carbs.
And making sure you're getting some healthy proteins and healthy fats to keep your blood sugar steady and not having all of these highs and lows in blood sugars because as I just talked about, you can see that having diabetes or pre-diabetes really can cause a lot of issues, and this was only five signs to look for.
There are plenty of others that we need to be aware of. Diabetes takes a toll on the body, so if you have a family history of it or you are overweight or you think that you're eating kind of a bad diet and really need to clean it up though, I would strongly encourage you to do that.
If you need help with that, we can certainly help you here at Oswald Digestive Clinic to get you on a better path to healing and health.
If you'd like to explore any of this information further or obtain an individualized nutrition plan, you can schedule an initial appointment at our clinic. We also take insurance and some of our clients get full coverage, which is great.
Or you can just start by downloading our FREE GUIDE: 5 WAYS TO IMPROVE GUT HEALTH
