Learning about Type 2 diabetes

There are many risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, not all of which can be controlled. Let’s examine some of these risk factors that can have a profound impact on your health.

These factors cannot be changed, but the good news is that many of the other risk factors can be. They are:

Complications

• The human body is not meant to have high levels of circulating insulin. When that happens, the potential health damage can be significant. Let’s take a look at some of the problems. Triglyceride levels increase. Higher-than-normal triglycerides, a type of blood fat or blood lipid, may increase a person’s risk of developing atherosclerosis or artery-clogging heart disease. 
• HDL cholesterol, the so-called good cholesterol fraction, drops. Extensive research reveals that people with lower HDL cholesterol levels have an increased risk for atherosclerosis. 
• The body retains sodium, which can lead to fluid retention. Among other things, fluid retention can raise blood pressure. Blood pressure rises, causing stress on the cardiovascular system. 
• Blood-clotting mechanisms become overactive. Excess insulin levels cause the body to produce fibrinogen, one of the body’s blood-clotting mechanisms, in too-high levels. Among other problems, high fibrinogen levels can cause the formation of tiny blood clots that can clog arteries and contribute to atherosclerosis. 
• LDL cholesterol, the so-called bad cholesterol fraction, changes and becomes abnormally dense. Dense LDL cholesterol also increases the risk for atherosclerosis.

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