A Straight Forward Look at the Different Types of Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the diseases that lead to most number of deaths every year. It is very important to diagnose it an early level and start taking proper medication and change your lifestyle in order to tackle this disease.

Diabetes has been categorized into 3 main types:

Type 1 Diabetes wherein there is a loss or shortage of insulin producing beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, resulting in a deficiency of insulin in the body. In this type of diabetes, the body does not produce insulin properly. Insulin is an essential hormone that is needed in the conversion of sugar or glucose, starches and other food into energy needed for our daily routine. Type 1 Diabetes is also known as Juvenile diabetes as it is found in children and young people.

Doctors and scientists are yet to come up with any preventive measure which can be taken against type 1 diabetes. Type1 Diabetes can be treated in the early stages through the intake of artificial insulin in the form of injections and through regular monitoring of blood glucose levels using the blood testing monitors. Insulin can be also delivered to the body through a pump by inhaling insulin before meal times.

Type 2 Diabetes occurs due to reduced insulin sensitivity or insulin resistance in the body. In this type of Diabetes either the body is unable to produce enough insulin, or the insulin produced in the body is ignored by the cells. Insulin is essential for the body to be able to convert glucose into energy. The body breaks down all the starches and sugars present in our food into glucose, which in turn is the essential fuel for the cells in the human body. Insulin performs the action of taking the sugar from the blood to the cells; hence it is very important to have good insulin secretion levels for our body to perform its talks well. When the level of glucose increases in the blood instead of going into the cells, it could wither lead to starvation for energy or damage to the eyes, kidney or heart. Type 2 Diabetes has been found more in communities like Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders and Native Americans and also is common amongst the aged population. The treatment for this type of Diabetes includes weight loss, increase in physical activity, and decrease in carbohydrate intake and only if necessary the patients are prescribed oral antibiotic drugs to improve the production of insulin in the body.

Gestational diabetes is a combination of insulin responsiveness and inadequate secretion of insulin in the body. This type of Diabetes normally occurs during pregnancy and is diagnosed through screening during pregnancy checkup. Doctors believe that this is caused due to the hormonal changes in a woman during pregnancy which increases the woman's resistance to insulin which thereby results in impaired glucose tolerance. This type of Diabetes is completely treatable with changes in diet and physical exercise and anti diabetic drugs and insulin. Babies born to mothers with this type of diabetes are at risk to be born with jaundice or low blood sugar.