What is Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the metabolism disorders. Metabolism is the way by which our body uses food which is digested for growth and energy. Most of the food that we eat gets broken down into glucose. Glucose is the form of sugar that is present in the blood. Glucose is also the main source of fuel for our bodies. When we digest our food, glucose makes its way to our bloodstream. Our cells use this glucose for producing energy. However, glucose can never enter our cells without insulin. Insulin makes it possible for our cells to receive the glucose.

Insulin is a hormone which is made by the pancreas. Once we are finished with our eating, the pancreas releases an adequate insulin quantity to shift the glucose present in our blood to the cells automatically, and lessen the blood sugar level.

What is Diabetes

Types of Diabetes: There are three types of diabetes

  1. Type 1 Diabetes: It is due to the body's failure to make insulin. It presently needs the person to inject insulin.
  2. Type 2 Diabetes: It occurs from insulin resistance. It is a situation where cells cannot use insulin properly. Sometimes, it gets combined with absolute deficiency of insulin.
  3. Gestational Diabetes: It occurs when the woman who is pregnant has never had diabetes earlier, but has a high blood glucose level in course of pregnancy. It can also be known as the development of type 2 DM.

Risk Factors in Types2 Diabetes

  1. High blood cholesterol level
  2. Polycystic ovary disease in women
  3. Disease related to heart
  4. Earlier impaired tolerance of glucose
  5. Not enough exercise
  6. A brother, sister or parent with diabetes
  7. Few ethnic groups particularly Native Americans, African Americans Asians, Hispanic Americans and Pacific Islanders.
  8. Age more than 45 years
  9. Obesity
  10. Delivering a baby weighing more than 9 pounds or gestational diabetes

Other than this, different types of diabetes mellitus can be congenital diabetes which occurs due to the defects in genetic of insulin secretion, steroid diabetes induced by high doses of gluco-corticoids, cystic fibrosis-related diabetes and other kind of monogenic diabetes.

Impact of Diabetes: Diabetes leads to blindness, nerve damage and kidney failure. This damage can be the result of damage to small vessels, known as micro vascular disease. Diabetes is an important factor in speeding the narrowing and hardening of the arteries that leads to strokes, large blood vessel disease or coronary disease. It is termed as macro vascular disease.

Causes of Diabetes

Diabetes is an old illness. It affected mankind for hundreds of years and is termed in old Sanskrit writing. It is a metabolic disorder which is chronic with high intensity of sugar in the blood. People with diabetes have high blood sugar because:

  1. Fat, muscle and liver cells cannot respond to insulin normally
  2. Pancreas fails to make enough insulin
  3. Both of the above

Symptoms of Diabetes: High blood levels of glucose create many problems, which include:

  • Hunger
  • Fatigue
  • Blurry vision
  • Frequent urination
  • Excessive thirst
  • Weight loss

Treatment for Diabetes

The immediate actions for treating diabetes can be diabetic ketoacidosis and high level of blood glucose. As type 1 diabetes starts all of a sudden and has many symptoms, newly diagnosed people might have to go to the hospital. The long-term treatment results are:

  1. Lessening the symptoms
  2. Prolong life
  3. Secure diabetes-related complication like heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and elimination of limbs.

These goals can be accomplished by

  • Exercise
  • Self testing of blood glucose levels
  • Foot care
  • Cholesterol control and blood pressure
  • Insulin use or medication
  • Blood pressure
  • Education
  • Weight control and meal planning

Nobody can cure diabetes, but treating it with proper diet, medicines and exercise to control blood sugar and secure symptoms can definitely lessen it. Carrying a gluco watch with yourself will definitely keep you aware about the diabetes rise or fall.

Family history is a necessary factor, during diabetes diagnosis. We all have great risk gene for diabetes. Keep in mind that you are not responsible to get diabetes, but you are just a victim of it. Recent studies showed that diabetes incidences have been increasing. However, knowing and treating diabetes at an earlier stage can definitely save your life.