“Diabetes” is the umbrella term for two distinct conditions: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is the result of the body attacking the cells responsible for the production of insulin, which the body needs to metabolize glucose. Type 2 diabetes is the result of the body being unable to use insulin properly. It isn’t known what causes this, although a lack of exercise and unhealthy diet can lead to it. Type 1 diabetes is even less understood, as there is no known cause. Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are still being studied though.
Type 1 Diabetes Cure
Currently there is no cure for Type 1 diabetes; there’s no shot or pill that will make a Type 1 diabetic person non-diabetic, and someone with Type 1 diabetes will live with it for the rest of their life. Once their body destroys its ability to create insulin, there’s no way to repair that ability. Fortunately, it isn’t a death sentence or something unmanageable, and people with Type 1 diabetes can live relatively regular lives.
However, someone with Type 1 diabetes can use an insulin pen needle to control their blood-sugar level by injecting more insulin that their body needs after eating a meal or a sugary snack. Needing more sugar is the easy part, since a person would just need to eat some food or drink a juice box to raise their blood sugar. Having too high blood-sugar is something people normally understand. Having a low blood-sugar isn’t as well understood, but is equally important.
The average person’s blood sugar regulates itself normally, meaning there’s basically no thought given to what you’re eating or when. Someone with Type 1 diabetes has to be acutely aware of what they’re eating and drinking at all times.
Type 2 Diabetes Cure
Someone with Type 2 diabetes still has the ability to produce insulin, their body simply can’t use it as effectively, usually meaning their body needs help. As opposed to Type 1 however, that help is typically focused around a managing a person’s diet and exercise level. Type 2 diabetes can be cured, but only if it hasn’t progressed so far that a person needs insulin injections.
In its early stages, Type 2 diabetes is predominantly due to a poor diet and lack of exercise. With the help of a doctor, a person with Type 2 diabetes can potentially reverse the effects of the disease completely. A diet high in fats and sugars is a leading cause of Type 2 diabetes, and careful control of your diet, along with an exercise regimen, can help your body “remember” how to use insulin properly.
However, if Type 2 diabetes goes untreated in this way for too long, the body’s ability to produce insulin can diminish completely, requiring insulin injections in the same way as Type 1. While Type 2 has a different cause from Type 1, the end result can still be the same because the primary issue of diabetes, insulin production, can (and will) still diminish to the point it vanishes completely.
The absence of a cure to diabetes sounds like the end of the world. After all, it’s a disease that will affect every aspect of your life from the day you recognize the symptoms or get diagnosed. However, it doesn’t have to be. Insulin-injector pens and insulin pumps can help people with Type 1 diabetes to lead normal lives despite their diagnosis. People with Type 2 diabetes stand a fair chance at reversing their diagnoses by strictly adhering to their prescribed diet and exercise routines. Even so, they can still benefit from the same existing infrastructure as Type 1 diabetics.
A diabetes diagnoses isn’t the end of life as you know it. It just means a few altered pieces here and there.
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