Diabetes is a metabolic disorder, which in this century is commonly heard among many people. Researches have done on diabetic patients show a strong inheritance of this disease over many generations. Diabetes is no longer a dreaded disease; a well-managed diabetic has a good life expectancy. Neglect, on other hand produces irreparable damage to arteries over the years. It is said that there is no disease, which provokes greater thought on diet than diabetes.
What is Diabetes mellitus? Diabetes is a disorder that affects the way your body uses food for energy. Normally, the sugar you take in is digested and broken down to a simple sugar, known as glucose. The glucose then circulates in your blood where it waits to enter cells to be used as fuel. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, helps move the glucose into cells. A healthy pancreas adjusts the amount of insulin based on the level of glucose. But, if you have diabetes, this process breaks down, and blood sugar levels become too high. There are two main types of full-blown diabetes. People with Type 1 diabetes are completely unable to produce insulin. People with Type 2 diabetes can produce insulin, but their cells don't respond to it. In either case, the glucose can't move into the cells and blood glucose levels can become high. Over time, these high glucose levels can cause serious complications.
Insulin Resistance. Insulin is necessary for the transport of blood glucose (sugar) into the cells of muscle and fat (which is then used for energy). By transporting glucose into cells, insulin keeps the blood glucose levels in the normal range. Insulin resistance (IR) is the condition whereby the effectiveness of insulin in transporting glucose (sugar) into cells is diminished. Fat cells are more insulin resistant than muscle cells; therefore, one important cause of IR is obesity. The pancreas initially responds to IR by producing more insulin. As long as the pancreas can produce enough insulin to overcome this resistance, blood glucose levels remain normal. This IR state (characterized by normal blood glucose levels and high insulin levels) can last years. Once the pancreas can no longer keep up with producing high levels of insulin, blood glucose levels begin to rise, resulting in type 2 diabetes, thus IR is a pre-diabetes condition. In fact scientists now believe that the arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) associated with diabetes likely develops during this IR period.
Diabetes is a very serious disease and should be treated as such. In nearly all situations, people with diabetes require, at a minimum, routine medical treatment- including daily self-care. Through scrupulous attention to a healthy lifestyle and a strong commitment to maintaining target blood-sugar levels, diabetic people can significantly slow down the degenerative process.
Symptoms of Diabetes
The symptoms of diabetes may develop extremely quickly (over the course of weeks or even days) in children or adolescents who had previously been exhibiting signs of health.
Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes usually arise over weeks and months, as compared to those of Type 2 diabetes that may take years. Although Type 1 diabetics can briefly see mild symptoms similar to the early stages of Type 2 diabetes, the most pronounced symptoms of Type 1 diabetes are usually the more severe symptoms of very high blood sugars and this progress quickly.
Irritability: It is one of the sign of high blood sugar because of the inefficient supply of glucose to brain and other body organs, which make us, feel tired and uneasy.
Diabetes includes fatigue, a sick feeling, frequent urination, especially at night, and excessive thirst. When there is extra glucose in blood, one way the body gets rid of it is through frequent urination. This loss of fluids causes extreme thirst.
Unexplained weight loss: People with diabetes are unable to process many of the calories in the foods they eat. Thus, they may lose weight even though they eat an apparently appropriate or even excessive amount of food. Losing sugar and water in the urine and the accompanying dehydration also contributes to weight loss.
Poor wound healing: High blood sugar resists the flourishing of WBC, (white blood cell) which is responsible for body immune system. When these cells do not function accordingly, wound healing is not at good pace. Secondly, long standing diabetes leads to thickening of blood vessels which may affect proper circulation of blood in different body parts.
Altered mental status: Agitation, unexplained irritability, inattention, extreme lethargy, or confusion can all be signs of very high blood sugar, ketoacidosis, or hyperosmolar hyperglycemia nonketotic syndrome or hypoglycemia (low sugar). Thus, any of these merit the immediate attention of a medical professional. Call your health care provider or 911.
Causes of Diabetes
In type 1 diabetes, the insulin-producing beta cells are destroyed by an autoimmune process, whereby the body's immune system - its defence mechanism against disease - for some reason recognises the cells as being 'foreign' rather than 'self', and therefore attacks them.
Type 2 diabetes is believed to have a strong genetic link, meaning that it tends to run in families. Several genes are being studied that may be related to the cause of type 2 diabetes.
Drugs such as steroids, Dilantin, and others may elevate the blood sugar through a variety of mechanisms. Certain other drugs, such as alloxan, streptozocin, and thiazide diuretics, are toxic to the beta cells of the pancreas and can cause diabetes.
Heredity is a major cause of diabetes: If both parents have Type 2 diabetes, there is a chance that nearly all of their children will have diabetes. If both parents have Type 1 diabetes, fewer than 20 percent of their children will develop Type 1 diabetes. In identical twins, if one twin develops Type 2 diabetes, the chance is nearly 100 percent that the other twin will also develop it
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