When most people speak of diabetes they are really referring to type 2 diabetes.  After all, 90 percent of all diabetes patients in the United States have type 2 diabetes, which equates to roughly 16 million Americans -- nearly double the population of Manhattan. On this page, you will find links to articles where you will find out everything you need to know about type 2 diabetes, but, first, let's learn a little bit more about the condition.

What Is Type 2 Diabetes?

Patients with type 2 diabetes must closely monitor their calorie intake to avoid the many dangerous complications of the disease.
©2007 Publications International, Ltd.
Patients with type 2 diabetes must
closely monitor their calorie intake to
 avoid the many dangerous complications
 of the disease.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. The cause appears to be resistance to insulin's action and/or a deficiency of insulin secretion. People with type 2 diabetes are usually over 35, are overweight, and have a family history of diabetes treated with diet or pills. Separating type 1 and type 2 can be very difficult. Indeed, it has been found that almost 5 percent of adults who are diagnosed as having type 2 actually have type 1. Furthermore, the incidence of type 2 diabetes in childhood is rapidly increasing in frequency, making the automatic diagnosis of type 1 in children with diabetes less reliable as well.

Type 2 diabetes begins decades before diagnosis, with an increasing resistance to insulin. This increasing resistance is the result of genetics, weight gain (especially abdominal fat), decreased activity, and aging. The major site of insulin resistance is the muscle tissue, which normally uses more than 80 percent of the glucose taken into the body. Because of this resistance, the body's insulin levels actually begin to increase. To make up for the lack or diminished effectiveness of insulin, the body cranks up insulin production.

For reasons not entirely clear, in people destined for diabetes, the beta cells slowly fail to keep up with the demand for insulin. They get burned out, in a sense. At first, the plasma glucose level begins to rise above normal after meals; eventually, fasting glucose levels begin to remain above normal, too. When glucose rises high enough to produce symptoms, or when a complication, such as a heart attack, sends the patient to the hospital, the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is made.

For more in-depth information about type 2 diabetes, try the following links:

Causes of Type 2 Diabetes
There is a popular misconception that eating sugar and gaining weight causes type 2 diabetes. While these factors absolutely raise your chances of developing the disease, there are not the only factors. Read this article to learn more.

Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis
There are some routine tests your doctor will prescribe to confirm a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. In this article, you will learn about each test and what you, as the patient, should do to prepare.

Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms
There are some common symptoms of type 2 diabetes, but most patients discover they have the disease only after one of the many complications of insulin resistance becomes a problem. Learn about both symptoms and complications on this page.

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment
On this page, you will learn about the various types of type 2 diabetes medications, the various diet and exercise changes you should make, and how to test and monitor your blood sugar.

To learn more about diabetes in general, including diagnosis, causes, symptoms, and treatment, visit our main Diabetes page.

 

Diabetic Diet
One of the most important aspects of treating and controlling diabetes is monitoring the food you take into your body. However, there may be more wiggle room than you think. To learn more about proper nutrition and diabetes, try the following links:
  • Our main Diabetic Diet page will show you which food groups are diabetes-friendly and which ones you should avoid.  
  • Visit our Diabetic Recipes page to find simple, delicious meals you can make that won't send our blood sugar into a tailspin.  

This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.