Diabetes is one of the most common illnesses affecting men around the world. The disease is caused by our bodies not producing enough insulin (or producing insulin at all) or developing insulin resistance. When we don’t have enough insulin, sugar won’t be able to get into our cells, and this makes our blood glucose levels dramatically increase.
Diabetes can also affect women, but it affects men at a much higher rate. According to the American diabetes association, around 14% of adult males suffer from type 2 diabetes, while it only affects around 9% of women. The case is even worse in the United States, with prediabetes (a condition that could lead to diabetes) affecting around 37% of the adult male population.
While diabetes doesn’t have a cure yet and people can maintain high blood glucose levels for a long time, one of the most important ways to forestall its worst symptoms is through early diagnosis. Unfortunately, not every man can go for regular checkups to test for diabetes. However, they can look after themselves and quickly report to the hospital whenever they find themselves showing symptoms of diabetes.
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Symptoms of Diabetes In Men
As with all sicknesses, the symptoms of diabetes vary from person to person. So the fact that you aren’t experiencing all or even a majority of these symptoms doesn’t mean you aren’t suffering from diabetes.
Dry Mouth
Dry mouth is sometimes called xerostomia, and as the name implies it’s a condition where your mouth gets uncomfortably dry. This is caused by your mouth not making enough saliva.
While this can be caused by other illnesses, it can also be caused by high blood sugar.
More Hunger
If you find yourself getting hungrier even after eating a full meal or taking meal replacement for diabetes, well that’s another symptom of diabetes.
Erectile Dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is a sexual dysfunction that affects men alone. It’s the inability of men to have or maintain an erection.
While this can be a symptom of many other illnesses like digestive and kidney diseases, high blood pressure, and even smoking, it is also one of the most common symptoms of diabetes.
Weight Loss
Weight Loss is a pretty common symptom of diabetes. Patients with high blood sugar levels urinate a lot, and when that urination is consistent over a long period, it can lead to weight loss.
So if you think you’re frequently urinating and are losing weight, you might be developing diabetes. If that’s the case, you should go to the hospital to see if you can get a diabetes diagnosis.
Fatigue
While fatigue can be a symptom of other health issues, it can also be one of the early symptoms of diabetes. If you find yourself constantly getting tired or feeling weak, you should get yourself checked.
Even if your fatigue isn’t one of the symptoms of diabetes, it could be a symptom of something else.
Other symptoms of diabetes include nausea, blurred vision, and tingling feelings in the hands or feet.
Risk Factors For Diabetes Symptoms In Men
Any man can get diabetes, but some risk factors make it more likely for some men to get it.
Obesity
Obesity is one of the most common risk factors for diabetes.
Doctors usually advise weight loss for obese patients precisely because of illnesses like diabetes, because the more chronic your obesity is, the greater your risk of getting diabetes.
Genetic Factors
Having relatives who have suffered from diabetes before carries with it an increased risk of suffering from the disease. So check out your family history to see if anyone has suffered from diabetes before.
Sedentary Lifestyle
Living a sedentary lifestyle is another important risk factor that can contribute to an increased risk of suffering from diabetes.
Eating a Diet High In Sugar
If you already have other risk factors, you might compound them by having a diet that’s high in sugar. Since diabetes is essentially caused by your body’s inability to deal with sugar properly, a diet high in sugar may lead to increased blood glucose.
So if you’re in the habit of constantly eating things like sugar-sweetened beverages or have a diet with excess sugar, you should probably make some lifestyle changes. Additionally, a sedentary lifestyle could lead to weight gain, which would in turn lead to obesity.
High Blood Pressure
People with high blood pressure have an increased risk of having diabetes.
How To Prevent Diabetes
The good thing is that there are a lot of things that can help prevent diabetes (at least type 2 diabetes).
The first thing you must have to do is have a healthier diet and exercise more. While we aren’t saying you should go all out and build muscle mass, you still should be able to stay fit through exercises. It reduces your risk factor for diabetes by a lot. Additionally, considering cgm for non-diabetics can provide valuable insights into maintaining optimal blood sugar levels.
Your diet is very important too because it can help you manage your blood sugar and can even lower your blood sugar levels. If you want to prevent your body from developing diabetes, you should cut refined sugar and carbs completely from your diet.
The reason is simple. Your body cuts down these foods into smaller sugar molecules, and then they are absorbed into the bloodstream where sugar builds up.
This leads to an increase in blood sugar levels. To combat this, the pancreas produces more insulin in an attempt to lower blood sugar levels (since this is what insulin does).
If this happens over and over again it can lead to higher levels of blood sugar and may eventually lead to diabetes. Replacing the carbs in your diet with whole grains and meals high in fiber can lead to a decreased risk of getting diabetes.
While diabetes can be a mild illness for some people, it can lead to long-term health complications if not quickly treated. If you know that you’re someone with a higher risk of having diabetes, don’t wait till you start seeing the early signs.
Speak to your healthcare provider or a healthcare professional to look at the different ways you can live a healthy lifestyle, and avoid adult-onset diabetes.