Diabetes - How It Works

The statistics of Americans who have diabetes is astounding. About one third of these people do not even know they have diabetes. Damage to the body may occur before the disease is diagnosed. If you have a family history of diabetes, be aware of the symptoms. If you show signs of diabetes, increased urination, increased thirst, and a sudden weight gain or loss, you should contact your family doctor.

To have an understanding of how diabetes work, first you must comprehend how the body works. Understanding what changes your body goes through, will help you better comprehend why complications happen. Our bodies break down the food we eat during digestion. Food is broken down to three groups, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Meat, fish, eggs, and other dairy products give us the protein we need. Fats are found in vegetable oils, meat, cheese, and some dairy products. Carbohydrates find their way into our bodies through starches and sugars. Bread, pasta, fruits, and vegetables all have starches and sugars.

Our carbohydrates then break down into blood sugar, this glucose gives us the energy that we need in our body. The energy we need to take a brisk walk, run after a child, or take an aerobics class, all comes from carbohydrates. Blood sugar needs the help of insulin to absorb the glucose. The pancreas puts out insulin and other enzymes important for digesting food. The pancreas is found near the stomach. The pancreas also may stop working because of alcohol abuse, disease, or if removed by surgery.

A diabetic’s body may produce little or no insulin, or the cells become insulin resistant. Glucose will back up into the body if cells don’t absorb blood sugar. The body will then get rid of the excess through frequent urination. That is one of the first symptoms of diabetes. Untreated diabetes causes severe complications, and many who are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes already suffer from some form of complication.

Diabetes is the result when our body can’t regulate the glucose in our blood. The pancreas produces insulin and insulin allows the glucose to flow into the liver, muscles, and fat cells where it’s used for fuel. When someone suffers from diabetes, the glucose in the blood can’t move to the cells and even harms some organs and tissues because of the high levels of glucose in the bloodstream.

When the body doesn’t produce insulin, or doesn’t produce enough to regulate blood glucose levels, Type 1 Diabetes is the result. About ten percent of diabetics in the United States have Type 1 diabetes. Also known as juvenile onset diabetes it usually is diagnosed during childhood or early adolescence. It can occur in adults if the pancreas has been destroyed or removed. Diabetics who are Type 1 need daily insulin to stay alive.

About 90 percent of diabetics have Type 2 diabetes. The body resists the insulin the pancreas produces in these diabetics, and usually is discovered in adults after the age of 45. It’s possible for younger patients to have Type 2 diabetes, and some patients diagnosed will need to use insulin daily. Weigh loss, exercise, change of diet and oral medications are used to control Type 2 diabetes.