General Health Information

Did you know that type 2 diabetes is an inherited disease? Your genetics and family history can help determine whether you are susceptible to diabetes. But diabetes can be triggered off from environmental factors as well.
People who have type 2 diabetes spend up to 10 years being insulin resistant while running high blood glucose levels. This type of internal environment is like a gun waiting to go off, especially when the body experiences bad eating habits, obesity, taking illegal drugs, high alcohol use, and a lack of exercise.

It is imperative that if you have cases of type 2 diabetes in your family, you should take very good care of your health and have regular checkups done with your doctor. If you are unsure if you may be genetically disposed to triggering off type 2 diabetes, then based on recent studies, below are four reference points to help you:

A) You have between 4% and 6% chances of getting diabetes, if your father has type 2 diabetes, but your mother does not.

Most people with pre-diabetes are overweight, so treatment usually involves losing 5 percent to 10 percent of body weight through diet and exercise. A major study several years ago found that walking 30 minutes a day and dropping about 15 pounds can cut in half the risk of getting full-blown diabetes in patients with pre-diabetes.

Research has also found that taking a daily pill called metformin (more commonly known as glucophage) reduces the risk of diabetes in high-risk patients by almost a third. More commonly used for Type 2 Diabetes, glucophage is designed to work in concert with a proper diet and regular exercise. Your doctor can educate you on how much medicine to take and when to take it. Generally, he’ll start you out with a low dose of the medicine and slowly increase your dose until your blood sugar is better controlled. Glucophage should be taken with meals.

If you have diabetes or are concerned that you might have diabetes, discover the answers to your questions here: Diabetes Base