What is Diabetes?

There are nearly 24 million people in the U.S. known to have some form of diabetes. Among them there are children. Diabetes, if not treated earlier can turn into a devastating time bomb causing heart disease, strokes and other conditions that slowly damage internal organs over the time.

Diabetes is a condition when our body does not create or use DuniaCash insulin according to our body needs. Insulin is just a hormone that our body needs to turn sugar, starches into energy required for our survival. Unfortunately the exact cause of diabetes remains unknown, however factors such as being overweight, genetics and leading sedentary lifestyle do make us more susceptible to becoming a diabetic.

Diabetes mellitus is a cluster of metabolic illnesses distinguished by elevated blood sugar glucose levels. This condition happens due to deteriorating insulin secretion, or its function. Diabetes mellitus, usually known as diabetes had first been acknowledged as a disease related with “sweet urine,” and severe muscle loss in the ancient times. High levels of blood glucose also medically known as hyperglycemia cause excretion of glucose into the urine, therefore the “sweet urine” was coined.

Usually, blood glucose levels are closely managed by insulin, a hormone manufactured by our pancreas. Insulin reduces the blood glucose levels. When the blood glucose is high especially after a meal our pancreas release insulin to regulate the glucose level. Individuals with diabetes have the deficiency or shortage of insulin and tend to get hyperglycemia. Diabetes appears to be a persistent health condition, it can be managed but unfortunately may remain a lifetime.

DuniaCash Side effects of diabetes to your health

Eventually diabetes may cause kidney failure, blindness, and nerve damage. These sort of problems are the outcome of the harm to tiny vessels known as microvascular illness. Diabetes is also a vital cause in promoting the narrowing and hardening of our arteries leading to atherosclerosis which triggers strokes, coronary heart diseases, and other big blood vessel illnesses. This is known as macrovascular disease. Diabetes is estimated to be present in roughly 18 million people in the United States. Additionally it is estimated that other 12 million individuals in the United States already have diabetes and not aware of it.

Diabetes is the 3rd main cause of death in the United States following cancer and heart disease.

What causes diabetes?

Inadequate release of insulin whether according to or not to the body’s needs. Defective insulin that is unusual or the incapability of cells to utilize insulin adequately and resourcefully causes hyperglycemia and diabetes. This last state impacts mostly the cells of fat tissues and muscle bringing body’s system to a state of “insulin resistance.” This is the major trouble that triggers type 2 diabetes. On the other hand the total shortage of insulin, commonly next to a destructive course impacting the insulin manufacturing beta cells in our pancreas, is the major abnormality that triggers type 1 diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, there also is a constant drop in beta cells that worsens the whole situation by elevating blood sugars. Usually, if an individual is resistant to insulin, the body can, to certain level, boost production of insulin and beat the level of resistance. However, if production drops and insulin can’t be produced as before, the individual will develop hyperglycemia.

Glucose is a basic sugar which is present in food. Glucose is a vital nutrient that provides energy for the adequate performance of our body cells. Carbohydrates are processed in our small intestine and the glucose in digested food is then passed through the intestinal cells into our bloodstream, and is then transported by our bloodstream to all our cells in the body where it is then used for vital cellular processes. However, glucose is not capable to get through to the cells by itself and requires insulin to help in transporting  to the cells. If there’s no insulin, the cells will not get the vital glucose energy regardless of the presence of plentiful glucose in our bloodstream. In other kinds of diabetes, the cells’ incapacity to consume glucose leads to the ironic state of starvation despite abundance of glucose. That unused and wasted glucose is then expelled through the urine.

Insulin is a hormone that is manufactured by particular cells called beta cells of our pancreas. Besides helping glucose carry to the cells, insulin is also vital in closely controlling the level of glucose in our blood. After a food, the blood glucose level goes up. Reacting to the elevated glucose levels, the pancreas usually start releasing additional insulin into our bloodstream to assist glucose reach the cells and stabilize blood glucose levels after a food intake. When the blood glucose levels are normalized, the insulin secretion from the pancreas is stopped. It is significant to remember that even in the fasting situation there is a low constant production of insulin that varies a little and helps to control stabilize blood sugar levels while fasting. In normal patients, this sort of regulatory mechanism tries to keep blood glucose levels in a closely managed levels. As mentioned earlier, people with diabetes have their insulin either not present or relatively inadequate for their body’s needs, or not utilized efficiently by the body. All of these trigger heightened levels of blood glucose leading to hyperglycemia.

This web site intends to educate you more on what diabetes is, symptoms of diabetes, how to care for diabetic people, how to manage diabetes and try to create a community of diabetics who will listen and share their own experiences.