Why diabetes has an 'ageing effect' & what you can do about it
Type 2 diabetes is a condition that causes people's level of blood glucose (sugar) to become too high.
Why type 2 diabetes is 'ageing'
When glucose (sugar) builds up in the blood, it creates changes in cells and makes our blood 'sticky'. If left uncontrolled, over time this can start to cause damage to organs all around the body. It is this damage that speeds up the ‘ageing process’ - increasing the risk of complications (e.g. problems with eyes, heart, feet, kidneys) and the likelihood of dying at a younger age.
Why it's especially important to control blood sugar as we age
High levels of sugar become harder to handle as we age. Our muscles find it harder to use the sugar in our blood for fuel and our pancreas makes less insulin. This results in our glucose accumulating in our blood and staying there for longer.
The good news!
The good news is there are lots of things you can do to lower your blood sugar levels and reduce its ageing effect - and as your blood sugar comes down, your energy will go up, helping you to feel years younger.
Take the Diabetes Age test to see how you can reverse the ageing effect of type 2 diabetes
Diabetes Age is a scientifically-validated assessment that helps you understand how your diabetes is affecting you, plus the different options you have to get your blood sugar under control and reverse its ageing effect for life.