Type 2 diabetes, and its association with obesity, changes this relationship somewhat. Individuals with Type 2 diabetes typically have poor eating and exercise habits that contribute to the development of their disease, and these same risk factors also contribute to the risk for and progression of cardiovascular diseases and stroke (Mayo Clinic 2010; WebMD 2010). Though not necessarily directly related to diabetes their diabetes, these individuals have a much greater risk for heart attacks, strokes, cholesterol build-up in arteries, and a host of other cardiovascular diseases and conditions (Medline 2010; WebMD 2010). Still, with proper diet, exercise, and other methods for controlling the disease and correcting underlying conditions, much of this risk can be diminished or eliminated.

Treatment

As mentioned above, the primary treatment for diabetes is through proper dietary habits and monitoring of glucose levels, with the possibility of needing insulin injections. All of these treatments are aimed at keeping the glucose level in the blood within a normal range, correcting the basic imbalance that is the root cause of all types of diabetes, and through this control of the glucose levels these treatments control the other symptoms and potential health hazards of the disease (Medline 2010; WebMD 2010). Dietary changes are needed to ensure that glucose remains at healthy levels; eating too much or too little, especially at the wrong times depending on current glucose and insulin levels, can cause major and immediate problems for diabetics (Mayo Clinic 2010). Carefully monitoring glucose levels helps to ensure that dietary habits remain geared towards promoting health and preventing any extreme flare-up of diabetic symptoms, such as diabetic shock or coma (Mayo Clinic 2010).

Insulin injections are not always a part of diabetes treatment, and other treatment methods have become more effective as the disease has become better understood, but many individuals still need daily injections of insulin to make for what their body cannot produce...

This, too, works to control glucose levels, enabling the body to break own the glucose in the bloodstream and use it for energy as it is supposed to, instead of having it build up as it does in untreated diabetes (Mayo Clinic 2010; Medline 2010). Dietary recommendations for Type 2 diabetes patients are often much stricter in an effort to reduce weight and other complications (WebMD 2010).
Avoiding and Prevention

For Type 1 diabetes, there is little (truly nothing) that can be done to avoid the disease. Though the reason that the immune system in some individuals attacks the specific site on the pancreas where insulin is produced is still unknown, it appears to basically be a congenital disorder, present since birth and typically causing symptoms beginning in adolescence, and sometimes even earlier (thus the term, "juvenile onset diabetes" that is often applied to this type of the disease (WebMD 2010). The same is true of gestational diabetes, which sometimes simply occurs without a very clear understanding of why (Medline 2010). Diagnosing and controlling the disease early, however, can greatly reduce its symptoms, its ongoing severity, and the health risks that it leads t0 (Mayo Clinic 2010).

Type 2 diabetes can be prevented primarily through maintaining healthy dietary and exercise recommendations (Mayo Clinic 2010; WebMD 2010). In a healthy body, glucose levels are naturally monitored by insulin production and the drive to eat, so as long as the proper nutrient and caloric intakes are provided to this system it continues to function (Mayo Clinic 2010; Medline 2010). Again, the exact mechanism by which a resistance to insulin is built up in this type of diabetes (and prediabetes) is unknown, but a proper diet can definitely forestall incidents of developing Type 2 diabetes (Mayo Clinic 2010; WebMD 2010). Instating proper eating and exercise habits after diagnosis can often be sufficient to control or even reverse the disease, as well.