Is Snoring a Diabetes warning sign?

There are two basic types of diabetes. Type I diabetes is due to the failure of the pancreas to produce insulin, a hormone essential for the proper use of glucose in the body. The insulin works by attaching to cells to allow the glucose to pass from the blood to the cell where its used for energy or stored for later use.

Type II diabetes is due to insulin resistance. In this case the pancreas produces enough insulin but the body doesn’t respond to the insulin or uses it inefficiently and high levels of glucose can develop in the blood stream. About two thirds of people with insulin resistance still produce enough insulin to process the blood glucose and keep them at a normal level. The other third are considered to have Type II diabetes.

It has been shown that the severity of disordered breathing is related to the severity of insulin resistance. The more severe the disordered breathing the more severe the insulin resistance and the greater the chance of Type II diabetes.

Recently research has shown that diabetes Type II patients with disordered breathing who used a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine showed a significant reduction of Hemoglobin _A1C. (A measure of Hemoglobin _A1C is a direct indication of a person’s average blood glucose level)

The most common and often the first sign of sleep disordered breathing is snoring.

Interestingly diabetes is associated with diet and exercise, as is snoring. Syndrome X is a group of risk factors associated with insulin resistance and include high blood lipid, high blood insulin, high blood glucose and high blood pressure. The treatment for Syndrome X is based around diet and exercise. In Dr Sandra Cabot’s book "Can't lose weight? You may have Syndrome X" , she recommends a ketogenic type diet (a low carb diet or more specifically low in simple sugars diet). And many snorers have found it easier to nasal breathe when on this type of diet reducing or even eliminating their snoring.

Another diet that has had proven results with diabetics is the Medifast for diabetes diet . In a 34 week trial, 24% of the diabetic participants using a Medifast diet either reduced or completely eliminated their diabetes medication.

Get more health information about type1 diabetes. Find out how this disease can be passed through genes. If you are living with diabetes, learn about the complications and treatments.

Common Diabetes Warning Signs

• Frequent urination
• Excessive thirst
• Extreme hunger
• Unusual weight loss
• Increased fatigue
• Irritability
• Blurry vision