What is Diabetes?
Thursday, April 16th, 2009What is Diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus or commonly called diabetes, is a condition when body can not produce enough insulin; or when body can not use insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, which is needed to convert glucose into energy for daily life. Most of the food we eat is broken down into glucose, the form of sugar in the blood. Glucose is the main source of fuel for the body.
When we eat, the pancreas automatically produces the right amount of insulin to move glucose from blood into our cells. In people with diabetes, however, the pancreas either produces little or no insulin, or the cells do not respond appropriately to the insulin that is produced. The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.
Type of Diabetes
There are three major forms of diabetes :
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes occurs when the body unable to produce any insulin. A person who has type 1 diabetes must inject insulin daily to live.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common of the three major types and accounts for between 85 - 95% of all people with diabetes. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body can still make some insulin, but not enough, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance).
This form of diabetes is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, physical inactivity, and ethnicity. About 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes is diabetes that happens for the first time when a woman is pregnant. Gestational diabetes goes away when you have your baby, but it does increase your risk for having diabetes later.