5 early symptoms and risk factors of this disease everyone should know

May 17, 2018 9:40 PM

However, it is important to note that diabetes can strike anyone at any point in time. And as it stands, the numbers of diabetic patients worldwide are on the rise.

Studies have shown that diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, which is also known as blood sugar, rises to a high level.

It can also be said to be a disease in which the body’s ability to produce or respond to the hormone insulin is impaired, resulting in abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates and elevated levels of glucose in the blood.

What are the possible risk factors for diabetes?

Recent studies have shown that gender is a risk factor for diabetes, and men are at higher risk for developing type two diabetes than women. Be that as it may, other risk factors for developing diabetes for both men and women include:

Family history: first degree relative with diabetes
Ethnicity: increased risk for Asians, Hispanics, and African Americans
Obesity
Fat distribution: more fat around the middle
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Sedentary lifestyle (lack of exercise and/or not physically active)
Smoking
Excess alcohol intake
Lack of sleep
Low testosterone in men
An unhealthy diet with high-calorie content containing sugars and lacking beneficial compounds to increase wellness

Here are five early symptoms of diabetes everyone should know

1. Being thirstier and peeing regularly

Studies have shown that people with diabetes pee regularly than normal and are thirstier as well. Normally, the average person usually has to pee between four and seven times in 24 hours, but this is not the case with people with diabetes, as they've been observed to go a lot more.

And this due to the fact that your body reabsorbs glucose as it passes through your kidneys. But when diabetes pushes your blood sugar up, your kidneys may not be able to bring it all back in. This causes the body to make more urine, and that takes fluids.

2. Dry mouth and itchy skin

Dry mouth and itchy skin have been observed to be one of the early symptoms of diabetes. And this is because, in reaction to the first symptom, your body is using fluids to make pee; thus, there's less moisture for other things. You could get dehydrated, and your mouth may feel dry. Dry skin can make you itchy.

3. Unplanned weight loss

If your body can't get energy from your food, it will start burning muscle and fat for energy instead. You may lose weight even though you haven't changed how you eat.

4. Nausea and vomiting

When your body resorts to burning fat, it makes “ketones.” These can build up in your blood to dangerous levels, a possibly life-threatening condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. Ketones can make you feel sick to your stomach.

5. Hunger and fatigue

Science teaches that our body converts the food we eat into glucose that our cells use for energy. But our cells need insulin to bring the glucose in.

However, if your body doesn't make enough or any insulin, or if your cells resist the insulin your body makes, the glucose can't get into them and you have no energy. This can make you more hungry and tired than usual.

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