Treatment and Prevention of Diabetes

Prevention

There is no prevention for type 1 diabetes because the cause is often unknown. Type 2 diabetes is very preventable. The first step in preventing type 2 diabetes is understanding the risk factors:

overweight
sedentary lifestyle
genetics

Lifestyle changes are the best way to prevent type 2 diabetes. The changes individuals make when it comes to prevention of the onset of type 2 diabetes can also be used to help prevent the complications associated with type 2 diabetes. The following are techniques to help prevent type 2 diabetes

Reach and maintain a healthy weight
Stay physically active (typically with 30 minutes of activity daily)
Eating a healthy diet and being mindful of sugar and saturated fats
Do not smoke

With each of these techniques, you should be able to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Treatment

Individuals with type 1 diabetes need insulin to survive. Insulin is often the only medication for individuals with type 1 diabetes, however, there are many different types of insulin for different times of the day and for different patients. Insulin helps to manage blood glucose by "opening up" the cells so they can obtain the glucose in the blood and obtain the energy they need to survive. Without the proper amounts of insulin, cells experience insulin resistance which causes the blood glucose to build up and cause damage to the arteries. The different types of insulin include:

Mealtime: Rapid/ regular insulin is given before mealtime to help control the rise in blood glucose levels after eating.
Background: This insulin is given to help control blood glucose between meals and overnight. It is often given twice a day and given with rapid-acting insulin.
Pre-mixed: This insulin is a combination of rapid-acting (mealtime) insulin and long-acting (background) insulin given twice a day and can be used with oral antidiabetes medications.

Individuals with type 2 diabetes often do not use regular insulin. They are fr more likely to manage their diabetes with oral antidiabetic medications.

Metformin: lowers blood glucose by decreasing the amount of glucose made by the liver and making the muscle tissues more sensitive to insulin.
DPP-4 inhibitors: help to improve the A1C without causing hypoglycemia by preventing the breakdown of some hormones in the body which in turn allows the hormones to stay active which lowers the blood glucose, without causing weight gain.
Sulfonylureas: stimulate the beta cells in the pancreas to make more insulin which will help lower blood glucose.
TZDs: Help insulin to work better in the muscle and fat and reduce glucose production in the liver.

Many other less common medications may be prescribed based on your specific needs.