Diabetes - Some Useful Notes

There are in fact two major types of diabetes – Type 1 and Type 2, and they are completely different in root cause. There is also a type of diabetes known as gestational diabetes that only affects pregnant women.

To understand diabetes, we must first appreciate the role that insulin plays in our body. When we consume glucose, fructose or carbohydrates, our body breaks them down into glucose in the blood stream. In order to utilise the glucose for energy, the pancreas produces insulin which 'unlocks' receptors in our cells and permits the glucose to enter the cells and be converted into energy.

Type 1 diabetes is characterised by the failure of the body to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar levels correctly. It is frequently referred to as juvenile diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes, and it is usually found in people under the age of 30.

The symptoms come on quite suddenly and is characterised by severe thirst caused by an excess of glucose in the blood stream. This also results in excessive urination, another symptom. It is a chronic condition – that is, it is a lifelong condition. It seems that the pancreatic cells that create the insulin might have been damaged or destroyed by the body's own immune system.

Type 1 diabetics make up about 5-10% of diabetes sufferers and it is controlled by introducing insulin either by injection or by a drip feed. There is a danger for type 1 diabetics that they may suddenly lose consciousness and they are also at serious risk of contracting further complications in later life.

There is new technology that has emerged in recent years where an islet cell transplant is undertaken, and although the patient needs to take anti-rejection drugs, the newly introduced cells are capable of producing insulin and patients in the medical trial have reported significantly reduced levels of insulin injection. The hope is that the injections may eventually be totally eliminated through more transplants of islet cells.

Type 1 diabetics are prone in their later years to be affected by vascular disorders, micro-sight problems, micro-sight problems and kidney problems due largely to long term damage to the blood vessels.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90-95% of diabetes cases. Sufferers from type 2 diabetes can manufacture insulin, but their cell receptors have become resistant to the chemical. Thus, their body has to produce greater amounts of insulin in order to 'unlock' the cells so that they can utilise the glucose from the blood stream. Eventually, these sufferers reach the point where they cannot create enough insulin to lower the glucose in their body.

Type 2 diabetes affects 15-20% of people over sixty. A large number of adults remain undiagnosed as diabetes sufferers. It is quite often discovered during a medical check-up following complaints of problems such as skin, chest or urinary infections.

Type 2 diabetes can be managed through diet control and weight reduction or through tablets. Although there is an inherited predisposition to the disease in 80% of cases, it is brought about by being overweight, a lack of exercise and pursuing a diet full of high glycaemic index carbohydrates (white bread, white rice, sugar and fruit).Exercise, weight management and a diet low in sugars, fructose and processed carbohydrates are acknowledged to be important as avoidance techniques.

More alarming is the recent trend of type 2 diabetes cases occurring in children. This is almost certainly due to the high incidence of overweight children, together with the lack of exercise that overweight children take and the foods they eat that are high in carbohydrates and sugar with a high glycaemic index.

Gestational diabetes affects around 4% of women during their pregnancy. Most women recover from this form of the illness once the baby has been born, but it does appear to indicate an increased risk of contracting type 2 diabetes later in their lives.

The most recognisable sign of diabetes is constant thirst and subsequent regular urination. Other symptoms include itching, unexplained weight loss, constant fatigue, dizziness and leg pains walking.

If diabetes only meant taking insulin for the rest of your life, it wouldn't be such a worrying problem. Diabetics have a variety of increased risks including:

- twice the rate of heart disease as non-diabetics

- five times more likely to have a stroke

- the most frequent cause of limb amputations discounting accidents

- blindness; of the new cases of blindness in people from age 24 to 74, diabetes is the most likely cause

- the major cause of end-stage renal disease and over one third of new kidney diseases.

Consistent and accurate management of blood sugar levels lowers the chances of any of the above occurring.

Article Source: Main Articles

This article on the causes and treatment of diabetes was written by Terry Cod, a travel writer who himself suffers from the illness. He is the owner of www.twistedorange.co.uk/ which has sections on avoiding junk food and eating healthily.

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