The Diabetes Lexicon

The diabetes lexicon. This is Dr. Steven Andrew Davis, Speaking of Health. OK, then, diabetes lingo, words and phrases used and heard by millions for a disease shared by millions. In the US alone, diabetes kills almost 200,000 people each year. So---how savvy are you?

What is insulin? Something diabetics don’t have? Actually, insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas. In type 1 diabetes, which usually comes on early in life, the patient makes very little insulin. No insulin shots – and the patient doesn’t survive. But there’s type 2 diabetes as well. This is the most common form of the disease and most often comes on in adult life. Here insulin may be in short supply or just not used efficiently. And that means that the sugar, starches and other foods you take in cannot be turned into energy. Instead, the sugars build up in the bloodstream.

Finally, what is ADA and AHA? ADA is American Diabetes Association; AHA is American Heart Association. How do the heart people relate to diabetes? Because diabetics are two to four times “more likely to have heart disease or a stroke. Their heart disease also tends to be more severe; their heart attacks more likely to be fatal.

Diabetes and Heart disease: for more lingo and information access, access our website, speakingofhealth.com. Speaking of Health, I’m Dr. Steven Andrew Davis for CBS News.