Did you know that approximately 537 million people are living with diabetes, and over 90% of them have type 2 diabetes? Let’s dive into what type 2 diabetes is.

What is Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 Diabetes, one of the three main types of diabetes, is a chronic health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. When you eat, your body breaks down most of the food into sugar, or glucose, and releases it into your bloodstream. When your sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin is a hormone that moves the sugar, or glucose, from the blood into the cells in your body. With type 2 diabetes, your body either does not make enough insulin or cannot use it properly. When there isn’t enough insulin or the cells stop responding to insulin, too much sugar stays in your bloodstream.

So, what does this mean for your body?

Let’s imagine your body as a busy city, with insulin serving as the essential delivery trucks responsible for transporting sugar (glucose) from the streets (bloodstream) into various buildings (cells) where it is needed for energy. In a healthy city, these trucks (insulin) operate smoothly and ensure that each building (cell) receives its necessary supplies to function. However, with type 2 diabetes, there are two main issues:

• The first is that there aren’t enough delivery trucks (insulin) on the road. In this case, the insulin is not sufficient. Many buildings (cells) remain empty and wait for supplies that never arrive. This results in the sugar accumulating in the streets (bloodstream), leading to overcrowding and chaos, like a traffic jam. This excess sugar leads to further complications.
• The second is that some buildings (cells) have stopped accepting deliveries. This is like insulin resistance, where the cells no longer respond effectively to insulin. As you can imagine, the trucks (insulin) keep arriving, but they cannot deliver the sugar. Therefore, the sugar stays outside, creating a backlog in the streets. Over time, this can lead to even more severe complications as the city’s systems become overwhelmed.

Managing Type 2 Diabetes

Managing type 2 diabetes is crucial to preventing long-term health problems such as damage to your heart, blood vessels, kidneys, eyes, feet, nerves, skin, bones, and brain. It is also essential for maintaining a good quality of life. While diabetes can be challenging, it is possible to manage diabetes through a combination of diet, exercise, and medication. A healthy, balanced diet can help regulate blood sugar levels and regular physical activity can help improve insulin sensitivity (your body’s ability to effectively respond to insulin). In some cases, medications such as metformin or insulin therapy may be necessary to help your body properly process glucose.

Learn More

To learn more about diabetes management, contact us today via email at healtheducation@ccopharma.com to enroll in our Diabetes Management course!