Diabetes - A Chronic Disease

Diabetes is a chronic disease, often lasting someone's whole life. Diabetes is becoming more and more common in people in the Western world particularly in countries such as Australia and the United States. It is thought that poor diet, poor exercise and not leading a healthy lifestyle could be to blame. In 2008 there were about 24 million people with diabetes in the United States alone, from those 5.7 million people remain undiagnosed. Other 57 million people are estimated to have pre-diabetes.



Diabetes or Diabetes Mellitius (Ancient Greek for "to pass through") is metabolism disorder due to hereditary and environmental causes which results in abnormally high blood sugar levels or "hyperglycemia". Blood glucose levels are controlled by a complex interaction of multiple chemicals and hormones in the body, including the hormone insulin made in the beta cells of the pancreas. Diabetes mellitus refers to the group of diseases that lead to high blood glucose levels due to defects in either insulin secretion or insulin action.
When we eat food, the body digests it and goes through various process to convert it into energy. In people with diabetes, insulin is no longer produced or not produced in sufficient quantities by the body.   When people with diabetes eat glucose, which is contained in foods such as bread, fruit, starchy vegetables, milk, yoghurt and sweets, instead of being converted into energy the glucose stays in the blood.    This is why blood glucose levels are higher in people with diabetes.



Glucose is carried around our body in our blood. Our blood glucose level is called glycemia.
Type 1 Diabetes - Often referred to as "juvenile" diabetes is usually found in young children, typically occurs in people under 30 years but can occur at any age. It is diagnosed when the pancreas fails to produce any insulin at all, or too little for the body. To stay alive, people with type 1 diabetes depend on up to four insulin injections every day of their lives.
Type 2 Diabetes - Is the most common form of diabetes affecting 85-90% of people diagnosed with diabetes. In Type 2 diabetes the pancreas makes some insulin but is not produced in the amount the body needs to work effectively. In many cases, Type 2 Diabetes can be controlled through diet and exercise. If this does not produced the necessary results, oral medication can be prescribed.
Type 2 diabetes results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Although there is a strong genetic predisposition, the risk is greatly increased when associated with lifestyle factors such as high blood pressure, being overweight, insufficient physical activity and having a poor diet. 

For more information about diabetes go to: http://www.isd4u.com