Having diabetes is one of the most dreaded chronic medical conditions any person could ever experience. Technically called "diabetes mellitus," diabetes is known to affect almost 20 million people in the United States alone.

Referred to as chronic disease that leads to more serious medical and health complications such as renal or kidney failure, various heart and coronary diseases, blindness, blood vessel disease, nerve damage, and stroke, diabetes can be heavier burden if not given proper medical attention.

Characterized by recurrent and repeated urination, fatigue, exhaustion, extreme thirst, and excessive hunger, diabetes can affect people regardless of age, gender, status, or race. Other symptoms of diabetes include sudden increase in appetite, gradual weight loss, vomiting, nausea, blurring of vision, recurrent infections in the vagina among women, risks of impotence among men, and varying degrees of yeast infections.

Once any of these symptoms become persistent, now is the time to get a diagnosis. Diabetes can be diagnosed through getting sample of urine for a urine test or several drops of blood for a blood test in order to determine the amount of sugar or glucose in the urine or blood. Aside from getting the sugar count in the urine, urine tests can also assess how the kidney is functioning. When it comes to blood test, a possible diabetic can choose from several processes that include fasting glucose test where the blood sample is collected when the patient has not eaten for eight hours, the postprandial glucose test where the blood sample is taken after the patient has eaten, and the oral glucose tolerance test wherein the blood sample is collected before and after the patient take in a glucose through a sweet syrup. Blood and sugar tests can also be used in monitoring the degree of diabetes and how does it progress under a specific treatment.

The association of glucose and diabetes

When diabetes is mentioned, people cannot help but think of the amount of sugar or glucose in the person's body. And why not? Glucose indeed is related to having diabetes because high blood sugar or glucose levels in the body cause this metabolic disease. When a person has high levels of glucose it usually results to deficiency in the secretion of insulin-a hormone that regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates, starches, and fats in the patient's body.

Glucose is directly related to diabetes because once a person is diagnosed with an elevated level of glucose, he or she has a great possibility of developing diabetes. Technically, diabetes refers of a long-term condition wherein the pancreas cannot do its function of producing enough amount insulin that results to high glucose level in the blood.

Basically, glucose serves as a main source of energy of every cell in a human body. The metabolism of this simple sugar greatly depends on insulin produced by the pancreas. When the body has no sufficient supply of insulin, it cannot breakdown glucose that usually result to diabetes.

Studies show that the presence of excessive amounts of glucose in the blood for so long lead to high blood levels of blood sugar and may lead to the impairment numerous body parts that include the heart, the nerves, the blood vessels, the eyes, and the kidneys and will eventually lead to a full blown diabetic condition.

When it comes to treatment, no definite cure has been found out as of today. In order to manage diabetes, most experts only recommend strict habits like well-balanced diet, regular exercise, and meticulous blood glucose monitoring. By doing this, a diabetic-despite his or her condition-has greater chance to live a normal and comfortable life.

Indeed, diabetes can be a life-threatening disease if not managed and monitored regularly. Any diabetes treatment should aim to keep the patient's blood glucose within the standard range and any treatment should also aim to prevent possible developments of enduring complications.

Aside from keeping a strict diet, other alternative treatments for diabetes include taking in supplements such as chromium picolinate, Magnesium, Vanadium, Chinese medicine, herbal medicine, practicing yoga, biofeedback, allopathic treatment, taking in oral medications, insulin injections, and surgery like pancreas transplant.