Diabetes can cause serious health complications, including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations. Diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States.

Types of diabetes

Type 1 diabetes occurs in childhood or young adulthood when the body stops making insulin, so the individual requires insulin injections.

Type 2 diabetes occurs in adults and children when there is not enough insulin produced and the body does not use the insulin effectively to control the blood sugar.

Gestational Diabetes occurs during pregnancy and usually goes away after delivery.

Pre-diabetes is a condition that occurs when the blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough to be diabetes.

Diabetes symptoms

Signs of type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes can be severe, very mild or none at all, depending on how high blood sugars are.

• Increased thirst

• Increased hunger

• Fatigue (feeling very tired most of the time)

• Increased urination

• Weight loss

• Blurred vision

• A blood test to check your blood sugar will show if you have pre-diabetes or diabetes.

Diabetes prevention

• Eating a healthy variety of foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, non-fat dairy, healthy fats, lean or substitute meats in moderate portions.

• Getting physically active on a daily basis.

• Weight loss to improve blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol.

• Learning all you can about diabetes.

• Regular health visits.

On the web

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

www.cdc.gov/diabetes

Alaska Department of Health and Social Services:

http://dhss.alaska.gov

Contact Fairbanks Daily News-Miner staff writer Mary Beth Smetzer at 907-459-7546.