Diabetes affects nearly every organ by damaging blood vessels and nerves due to high blood sugar, primarily impacting the heart, kidneys, eyes, nerves (neuropathy), and feet, but also the brain, digestive system, skin, and sexual organs, leading to issues like heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, blindness, and amputations. The pancreas, which produces insulin, is central to the condition itself, as insulin manages blood sugar for all cells.
About diabetes – long-term effects
Over time, high blood glucose levels can damage the body's organs. Possible long-term effects include damage to large (macrovascular) and small (microvascular) blood vessels, which can lead to heart attack, stroke, and problems with the kidneys, eyes, gums, feet and nerves.
The Takeaway. High blood sugar levels caused by diabetes, which can impair blood circulation and wound healing, can cause people to bruise easily and heal slowly. Medical devices like syringes and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) can cause bruising where they pierce the skin.
Over time, diabetes that isn't well controlled can damage blood vessels in the kidneys that filter waste from the blood. This can lead to kidney damage and cause high blood pressure.
Diabetes and the pancreas are closely linked. This is because your pancreas produces insulin. Insulin is needed to transport glucose into cells. High blood sugar can happen when your pancreas doesn't produce enough or any insulin.
End-stage diabetes, also known as late-stage diabetes, occurs when the disease progresses to a point where it significantly impacts the body's ability to function. This stage may involve complications such as chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, nerve damage (neuropathy) and chronic infections.
Symptoms
Saturated fats.
Avoid high-fat dairy products and animal proteins such as butter, beef, hot dogs, sausage and bacon. Limit coconut and palm kernel oils.
It's not your fault
You've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes because your body doesn't use insulin well. Because of that, it can't keep your blood sugar at normal levels. There are many factors that can lead to type 2 diabetes.
Having diabetes predisposes people to ischaemic heart disease, which is a key mechanism. In addition, diabetes-specific factors such as hypoglycaemia and cardiac autonomic neuropathy may increase the chances of an irregular heartbeat and sudden cardiac death.
With type 2 diabetes, this system doesn't work as well as it should. This happens in 2 ways. Either the pancreas doesn't make enough insulin, or the insulin made doesn't work correctly. Both of these means sugar stays in the blood instead of going into cells for energy.
High blood sugar levels can cause the body to produce more urine, leading to frequent bathroom trips that interrupt sleep. This constant disruption can lead to fragmented sleep, leaving individuals feeling tired and unrested in the morning.
Coffee—even without sweetener. Some people's blood sugar is extra-sensitive to caffeine. Losing sleep—even just one night of too little sleep can make your body use insulin less well. Skipping breakfast—going without that morning meal can increase blood sugar after both lunch and dinner.
Examples of the worst foods for diabetics include:
Aim for at least eight cups of water per day and try to drink a glass of water first thing in the morning.
“The best way to reverse type 2 diabetes is to decrease your body's resistance to the actions of the insulin made by the pancreas,” she said. “For most people, this means trying to attain a healthy weight, exercising regularly, and minimizing sugars and excessive carbohydrates in your diet.”
To prevent prediabetes from progressing to type 2 diabetes, try to:
If your fasting blood glucose level is 126 mg/dl (7.0 mmol/L) or higher on more than one testing occasion, it usually means you have diabetes.
Signs that your diabetes may be getting worse