Kinds Of Diabetes
Read about the kinds of diabetes. Diabetes has become one of the deadliest diseases in the world, especially with the increasing incidence of obesity. The technical term for this disease is diabetes mellitus. It is a condition that arises when the metabolism of a person goes awry. Symptoms of diabetes may show up in various areas of the body because nutritional requirements in various organs are not met.
There are two kinds of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Both types result in the accumulation of excess sugar in the bloodstream, resulting in malfunction in various organs. In a normal person, blood glucose remains stable, while a diabetic person has so much sugar in his blood that the body has to excrete it through the urine. The enzyme called insulin, which is responsible for properly metabolizing the food that comes in, may be insufficient or absent, leading to this disease.
Type 1 Diabetes
Among the two kinds of diabetes, this is the type that has something to do with autoimmune response. In this case, the body attacks the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, causing malfunction in both the production and secretion of this enzyme. Because of its nature, type 1 is also known as an autoimmune disorder that leads to metabolic dysfunction. There is another name for this type, Juvenile Diabetes.
A person cannot exist with little or no insulin supply, so type 1 diabetics need to inject insulin regularly to replenish the body’s supply of this important enzyme. Typically, symptoms appear before the patient reaches middle age. Some younger adults show symptoms early, especially if they have a genetic predisposition to the disease.
Type 1 is not something a person can prevent, and those who have it in their genes have to face the risk of contracting it early in life. Among the two kinds of diabetes, this is the kind that is not preventable by adjustments in the diet. Nevertheless, type 1 diabetes still need to watch what they eat, to avoid overload of sugar in their blood.
Type 2 Diabetes
Among the kinds of diabetes, type 2 is the preventable one, and it occurs later in life. Like in type 1 diabetics, people that develop type 2 diabetes have difficulty developing insulin inside the pancreas. However, unlike type 1, type 2 diabetes develops even in people that originally have healthy insulin-producing cells. Most of the people afflicted with type 2 diabetes are overweight.
Indiscriminate eating can build up insulin resistance in type 2 diabetics. The body shows normal production of insulin, but the cells are not responding to the enzyme. Because the sugar levels in the blood are higher in diabetics, insulin production goes on overdrive, which can be dangerous to the body. Hence, the body simply increases its resistance to the elevated levels of insulin.
Both kinds of diabetes are considered hereditary, or could pass from parent to child. Prevention measures for type 2 diabetes include eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly to avoid gaining too much weight. People predisposed to developing diabetes are advised to regularly have their blood sugar checked to monitor the occurrence of the disease.