What is diabetes?
Diabetes occurs when your body is unable to absorb glucose from its cells and use it for energy. This causes the build-up of more sugar in your blood.
Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to serious side effects, resulting in damage to many parts of your body and tissues - including your heart, kidneys, eyes, and nerves.
Why is my blood glucose level so high? How did this happen?
The digestive process involves breaking down the food you eat into various sources of nutrients. When you eat carbohydrates (for example, bread, rice, pasta), your body breaks down these sugars (glucose). When glucose is in your blood, it needs help - a "key" - to get to the end of its use, which is inside your body cells (cells that make up your body's tissues and organs). This aid or "key" is insulin.
Insulin is a hormone produced by your pancreas, an organ found at the back of your stomach. Your pancreas releases insulin into your bloodstream. Insulin acts as a “key” that unlocks the “door” of the cell wall, allowing glucose to enter your body's cells. Glucose provides “fats” or tissues for energy and organs that need to function properly.
If you have diabetes:
Your pancreas does not make any insulin or insulin enough.
Or
Your pancreas makes insulin but your immune system does not respond to it and cannot function properly.
When glucose cannot enter your body's cells, it stays in your bloodstream and your blood sugar level rises.
What are the different types of diabetes?
The types of diabetes are:
Type 1 diabetes: This is an autoimmune disease, which means your body is attacking itself. In this case, the cells that produce insulin in your pancreas are destroyed. Up to 10% of people with diabetes have Type 1. It is most commonly found in children and adults (but can be grown at any age). It was once better known as “adolescent” diabetes. People with Type 1 diabetes need insulin every day. That is why it is also called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
Type 2 diabetes: In this way, your body does not make enough insulin or your body cells do not respond normally to insulin. This is the most common form of diabetes. About 95% of people with diabetes have Type 2. It usually occurs in middle-aged and older people. Other common types of Type 2 include diabetes that starts in adults and diabetes-resistant diabetes. Your parents or grandparents may call you “sugar daddy.”
Prediabetes: This type is a stage before type 2 diabetes. Your glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Pregnancy Diabetes: This type starts in some women during pregnancy. Pregnancy diabetes usually disappears after pregnancy. However, if you have gestational diabetes you are at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life.
Uncommon types of diabetes include:
Monogenic Diabetes Syndromes: These rare forms of diabetes account for about 4% of all cases. Examples are newborn diabetes and developing diabetes mellitus.
Diabetes-related to cystic fibrosis: This is a type of diabetes targeted at people with the disease.
Drug or chemical induced diabetes: Examples of this type occur after organ transplantation, following HIV / AIDS treatment, or are associated with glucocorticoid steroid use.
Diabetes insipidus is a rare rare condition that causes your kidneys to produce large amounts of urine.
How common is diabetes?
Some 34.2 million people of all ages - about 1 in 10 - have diabetes in the US Some 7.3 million adults 18 years of age and older (about 1 in 5) do not know they have diabetes (less than 3% for all US adults). The number of people diagnosed with diabetes is increasing with age. More than 26% of adults 65 years of age and older (about 1 in 4) have diabetes
