Hypoglycemia And Diabetes: What’s The Difference?
When finding out information about diabetes, it is often easy to become confused on the issue of hypoglycemia. Sometimes you will hear the two words interchanged as though they mean exactly the same thing. If you are a sufferer of diabetes, then you should get it straight and make sure you know exactly what all of the terms mean. Here I will describe the distinction between diabetes and hypoglycemia, and hopefully you will finish with a deeper understanding of the medical problems. So read on to find out what the difference is.
Hypoglycemia, type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes all deal with the same things: blood sugar and insulin. Hypoglycemia is when your pancreas produces excess amounts of insulin. As a result, blood sugar drops, and symptoms arise from this. These symptoms include confusion, sweatiness, and shakiness. Hypoglycemic side effects can be cured simply by having a sugary snack, but the excess insulin root problem cannot be cured as far as we know.
Type 1 diabetes is when your pancreas stops producing insulin, since the insulin-producing cells are being attacked by your own immune system. As a result, blood sugar rises, and symptoms come from this. Type 1 diabetes usually comes from genetic predisposition, and is onset by some environmental trigger. This trigger could be excess amounts of sugar, or any number of other things that are not fully understood. So, type 1 diabetes is essentially the opposite of hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia is too much insulin, type 1 diabetes is too little.
Type 2 diabetes is caused by lack of exercise, as well as poor diets. It is when your body becomes resistant to insulin, and you cannot use it efficiently. This lack of insulin results in high blood sugars. This is the most common form of diabetes, and millions of people suffer from it (with millions more who do not realize that they have it). The effects of type 2 diabetes can sometimes be reversed through a severe lifestyle change, including a healthy diet and exercise.
So now you know about the 3 main diseases that mess with blood sugar and insulin. Since they all deal with the same things, they are often confused with each other. Type 2 and type 1 diabetes could be confused with each other, or with hypoglycemia. Now that you know what each of them is, you will be more likely to recognize one if it should occur.
This diabetes education article brought to you by Diabetes Management Software – DiaMed by Chiron Data Systems
July 29th, 2009 at 3:51 am
the best way to manage diabetes is through Diet and Exercise. Food supplements like Alpha Lipoic acid helps in preventing nerve damage while Chromium helps in the regulation of blood sugar.
September 27th, 2009 at 1:39 am
the standard for diabetes is Metformin but i also try to use alternative medicine in controlling diabetes. Alpha Lipoic Acid and Charantia seems to work well too against diabetes.
October 10th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Diabetes today is mostly caused by a lifestyle that has less exercise and too much sugar. Diabetes can be easily avoided by just doing simple exercises each day like jogging and avoiding sugars. If you already have diabetes, exercise is still the best way to manage it. Food supplements like Charantia and Chromium also helps.
October 12th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Thank you for submitting your comment. Obviously you are talking about type 2 diabetes. Type 1 or Juvenile diabetes is hardly “avoidable”.
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:00 am
And what about those of us who struggle with hypoglycemia? Mine actually has gotten worse since I am now at a healthy weight. But I thank whoever wrote this article for writing one that anyone can read and understand what is being said and easily scan for the information they are seeking.