Type 2 diabetes
Sugar disease, “sugar”, diabetes mellitus
What it is
The body cannot use insulin well, so glucose (sugar in the blood) stays too high. Over years high sugar damages the eyes, kidneys, nerves, feet and heart. It is common in adults, especially with extra weight around the belly.
Common signs
- Often no signs at all for years
- Passing urine often, especially at night
- Very thirsty
- Tired and weak
- Wounds that heal slowly
- Blurred vision
How it is diagnosed
A health worker tests your blood sugar. A fasting sugar of 7.0 mmol/L or higher, or an HbA1c of 6.5% or higher, means diabetes. Often the test is repeated on another day to be sure.
Tests
- Fasting finger-prick glucose — sugar level after no food overnight
- HbA1c — average sugar over the last 2–3 months
- Urine test — checks for kidney damage
- Eye check — looks for damage at the back of the eye
- Foot check — looks for loss of feeling and wounds
How food affects it
Food is a main part of treatment. Smaller portions of starchy food and more vegetables and beans keep sugar steadier. Losing some weight can greatly improve sugar levels. Food does not cure diabetes — keep taking your medicines and talk to your health worker.
Food as medicine, alongside your medicine. Food works alongside your medicines, not instead of them. Never stop or change your tablets without talking to your health worker.
Eat often
- Leafy greens, okra, garden egg, tomatoes and onions — fill half the plate
- Beans, lentils, cowpeas and moi moi — fibre slows the rise in blood sugar
- Fish, eggs, chicken without skin
- Whole grains: millet, sorghum, teff/injera, ofada or brown rice
- Unripe plantain, cooked and not fried
- Groundnuts and avocado — small handfuls
Eat in moderation
- Rice, yam, fufu, gari and ugali — about a fist-sized portion
- Sweet fruit like ripe mango, ripe banana and pineapple — one small piece at a time
- Sweet potato — small portion
- Palm oil and other oils — a little
Avoid or cut down
- Sugary drinks: soda, malt, sweetened zobo, fruit juice
- Sweets, cakes and fried snacks (puff-puff, chin chin, mandazi)
- Adding sugar to tea or pap
- Alcohol, especially beer and sweet palm wine
- White bread and large portions of white rice
Get help urgently
Go to hospital now if you are very drowsy or confused, vomiting, breathing fast, or very thirsty with lots of urine. If sugar is low (shaking, sweating, confusion), eat or drink something sweet at once, then seek help.
General information, not a diagnosis. Always follow the advice of your health worker.