Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease. Common to all those affected is an out-of-control sugar balance. A key role is played by the hormone insulin, which is produced in the pancreas and transports sugar (glucose) into the body cells. If the production of the hormone or its absorption in the cells is disturbed, patients often have to inject insulin.

Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes

Although there are three types of diabetes in total, the most important ones are type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes:

In the rarer type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease, the body no longer produces insulin at all
In type 2 diabetes, which affects around 95 percent of adult diabetics, the cells usually no longer react appropriately to insulin: the sugar remains in the blood, where it damages the blood vessel walls. Because the body also excretes more water, dehydration occurs, in extreme cases leading to coma

How our lifestyle makes us diabetic

People used to talk about adult-onset diabetes – today children are already ill. Type 1 diabetes mainly affects children and adolescents, while type 2 diabetes is more common in adults, but increasingly also in adolescents. Apart from a genetic factor, the main cause of type 2 diabetes lies in our modern lifestyle. The risk for both types is increased by:

bad nutrition
little movement
overweight

“Fat on the stomach and liver is particularly dangerous,” says Professor Karsten Müssig, head of the Clinical Study Centre of the German Diabetes Centre in Düsseldorf. “It produces messenger substances that disturb the sugar and fat balance.”

Other causes of diabetes

However, it is not only an unhealthy diet or obesity that often leads to the diagnosis of type 1 or type 2; the following factors also favour diabetes:

Stress
Depressions
Smoking
Lack of sleep

What are the symptoms of diabetes?

The disease is usually discovered by chance. Noticeable symptoms are not caused by an increased blood sugar level for a long time. The first signs are often difficult for patients to identify:

Strong thirst
Weakness
Tiredness
Urinary tract infections

Often the high blood sugar level has already caused damage at the time of diagnosis: It damages blood vessels, nerves, organs, the blood flow in the feet stops, small injuries quickly turn into larger infections.

The longer people suffer from diabetes, the more often they develop other diseases: After 25 years, the retina of the eyes is damaged in 80 percent of those affected. The kidneys can fail, every third heart attack and every second fatal stroke is the result of diabetes. The risk of dementia and cancer is growing. On average, diabetes shortens life expectancy by ten years.

Diagnosis of diabetes: Which treatment is suitable for diabetes?

Both prevention and treatment of the metabolic disease rely on two main factors: diet and exercise. Large prevention studies show that the right lifestyle often has a positive influence on type 1 and type 2. “Even if blood sugar levels are already elevated, diabetes can be reduced completely,” says expert Karsten Müssig.

Glucose reaches the muscle cells better through movement

If you weigh too much (body mass index over 30 – you can check in BMI calculator if you are affected), you should lose five to ten percent of your body weight and eat the right foods. Because not only the amount of calories, but also certain foods have an influence on blood sugar.

Treatment through sport

Every diabetic should also integrate sport into everyday life. Exercise makes it easier for glucose to reach the muscle cells – the dangerous liver fat disappears. Even moderate exercise has a protective effect, but the more you exercise, the lower the risk of diabetes. Even after the onset of the disease, sport helps to save on medication and insulin.

If the blood sugar level cannot be lowered permanently, doctors prescribe tablets. Nearly half of all type 2 diabetics swallow blood sugar reducers. However, many of these drugs can lead to weight gain or dangerous hypoglycaemia. And unfortunately, therapy with antidiabetics is not a permanent solution. A fact that many people underestimate at first.

Diabetes is a life-long challenge

“They think, ‘Then I’ll just take one tablet and that’ll be enough,” says Bernhard Kulzer, psychologist at the Diabetes Center in Bad Mergentheim. “But diabetes is a lifelong challenge.” When the pancreas completely loses the ability to produce insulin, the hormone must be supplied from outside. It is always necessary to find the fine line between low blood sugar and high blood sugar.

Prevention and detection of diabetes

Testing correctly: The family doctor checks the blood sugar level, for example, in the Health Check 35+, which statutory health insurance companies pay every two years from the age of 35. The German Institute for Nutritional Research offers a questionnaire to assess your own diabetes risk.

Diabetes? Eating right…

Healthy nutrition prevents diabetes and helps to get the disease under control! You should follow these tips if you are diabetic:

The German Society for Nutrition recommends a lot of fibre: 30 grams a day. Four slices of wholemeal bread contain 15 grams of dietary fibre. 100 grams of legumes contain about seven grams
Cereals and vegetables and vegetable oils instead of butter are also recommended
You should avoid red meat and foods that cause blood sugar to rise quickly, such as sweets and fruit juice. Sweetened soft drinks are particularly harmful because they promote fatty degeneration of the liver
A study by the German Institute of Nutrition Research also showed that people who drink more than four cups of coffee a day are less likely to develop diabetes

… and move correctly

Regular exercise is also important. The ideal is 150 minutes of sport, spread over at least three days a week. A mix of everyday exercise and light endurance and strength training is best.