What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a set of related diseases in which the body cannot regulate the amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood.
Glucose in the blood gives you energy-the kind you need when you walk briskly, run for a bus, ride your bike, take an aerobics class, and perform your day-to-day chores.

TYPES OF DIABETES:

Type 1 diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes is autoimmune disease that affects 0.3% on average. It is result of distruction of beta cells due to aggresive nature of cells present in the body. Researchers belive thats some of the Etiology and Risk factorswhich may trigger type 1 diabetes may be genetic, poor diet (malnutrition) and environment (virus affecting pancreas).
Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes, is also called non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or adult-onset diabetes. It occurs when the body produces enough insulin but cannot utilize it effectively.

Causes of Diabetes :

infection with a specific virus or bacteria

exposure to food-borne chemical toxins

exposure as a very young infant to cow's milk, where an as yet unidentified component triggers the autoimmune reaction

increasing age

obesity

physical inactivity

certain medicines

Sex : It is commonly seen in elderly especially males but strong evidence of developing diabetes in females with multiple pregnancy has been observed or in females suffering from (PCOS) Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

Hypertension : It had been reported in many studies that there is direct relation between high systolic pressure and diabetes.

Serum lipids and lipoproteins : High triglyceride and cholesterol level in the blood are related to high blood sugars, in some cases it had been studied that risk are involved even with low HDL levels in circulating blood.

The hormone insulin comes from the pancreas, a gland located just behind the stomach. When you eat, your pancreas secretes insulin into your bloodstream. As insulin circulates, it acts like a key by unlocking microscopic doors that allow sugar to enter your cells. Insulin lowers the amount of sugar in your bloodstream. As your blood sugar level drops, so does the secretion of insulin from your pancreas.

Obesity is also one of the major factors causing diabetes. Excessive body weight as compared to the height of an individual, serves as a predisposing factor for diabetes mellitus. It is commonly seen in patients at 40 years of age suffering from Type 2 Non-Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Due to extra amount of fat in the body, the insulin does not function properly in the body. Normally, the main function of Insulin is to allow the sugar present in the blood to enter the muscle and tissue cells. But due to increased fat in the body, the muscle and tissue cells become resistant to insulin, leading to high blood sugar level in blood (hyperglycemia) and finally diabetes.

Genes Can Cause Type 2 Diabetes:

If you or someone in your family has Type 2 diabetes, you may wonder if other family members are at risk. It turns out that Type 2 diabetes often runs in families and is also more common in some ethnic groups. In fact, researchers have found many genes that can effect your heritable risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.