While it is treatable, diabetes can still be fatal. An estimated 178,000 lives are claimed each year due to diabetes, making it the fourth leading cause of death in America. The Diabetes Research Foundation reports that diabetes kills one American every three minutes and a new case of diabetes is diagnosed every 40 seconds. People with Type 2 diabetes produce insufficient insulin to meet the body s needs. The cells of the body can sometimes become resistant to insulin s effect.
Many people suffer from milder forms of the disease and are unaware of it.
Type 2 diabetes is often linked to obesity and inactivity and can many times be controlled with diet and exercise alone. Sometimes, type 2 diabetics use insulin, but usually oral medications are prescribed if diet and exercise alone do not control the disease. The routine diagnostic test for diabetes is now a fasting plasma glucose. Merrill Osmond recently shared his personal story about living with diabetes. I have known that for literally 10 years.