What is diabetes?
Diabetes has been emerged as the leading fatal disease in the world surpassing HIV/AIDS. Every year millions of lives have been taken away by this disease all over the world.
Diabetes is formed as a result of metabolic disorder. The food which we consume gets broken down into glucose which is later carried by the blood. This glucose is absorbed by the cells in order to produce energy. The glucose can enter into the cells only with the help of insulin, a hormone produced by pancreas. But for a diabetic, the pancreas produces little or no insulin which makes the glucose to accumulate in your blood.
Thus in short, diabetes is a disease formed due to the incapacity of your body to produce insulin. Insulin is responsible for converting starch, sugar, and other forms of food into energy.
How many types of diabetes are there?
Diabetes is normally of three types. They are
Type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes)
Type 1 diabetes also known as insulin dependent diabetes is an immune related disorder where the immune system of a person destroys the beta cells in the pancreas, the one which is responsible for producing insulin.
It is also known as juvenile-onset diabetes and it is responsible for 20% of all diabetic causes. This type of diabetic can affect people of all age group, especially the middle aged people. Also factors such as diet, virus attack etc may also trigger the onset of this disease. Type1 diabetics should inject insulin several times a day. They have to pay more attention to their diet and routine exercises.
Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes)
Type 2 diabetes commonly known as non-insulin dependent is most common form of diabetes. This type of diabetes is found among 80% of people having diabetic diseases. Also known as the late onset diabetes, this type of diabetics is featured by insulin deficiency and insulin resistance.
Heredity is considered as the major cause of this type of diabetes. However inappropriate lifestyle may also trigger the severity of the disease. This type of diabetes remains silent for years and they don’t show off any symptoms. But once they start appearing, the side effects will be severe. The person having this kind of diabetics is supposed to suffer from severe cardiovascular disease. The severity of type 2 diabetes is more than type 1. Also type 2 diabetics have to follow a strict diet and routine exercises to keep the blood glucose level under control. Insulin injections may not require in the initial stage.
Gestational diabetes mellitus
Pregnant woman are the victims of gestational diabetes. Women with a family history of diabetes are more prone to gestational diabetes. Late pregnancy, excess weight, dietary habits etc are some other factors that trigger gestational diabetes. However this type of diabetes will come to normal after the delivery. But this alone can be a risk factor for developing diabetes in future.