What is Diabetes - Really?

There are three primary types of diabetes that people are thinking of when they ask, "What is diabetes?" These types of diabetes are the most common forms found in the United States and affect a majority of individuals at some time in their life. In the United States, about 5-10% of children and young adults are found to have Type 1 diabetes yearly. It is the result of an auto-immune disease. When the immune system attacks the beta cells that produce insulin in the pancreas and kills them. As a result the pancreas cannot produce insulin. Most cases of Type 1 diabetes have a sudden occurance of symptoms which include extreme thirst, frequent urination, extreme hunger, weight loss, blurred vision, and/or extreme fatigue. When there is no medical treatment for this condition it can result in diabetic ketoacidosis, or diabetic coma. This is a serious and life-threatening condition when it is not treated. The National Institute of Health has found that 95% of the adults in the United State who are over age thirty-five suffer from Type 2 diabetes. One reason for this is that 80% of the people who have Type 2 diabetes are overweight. A person with this type of diabetes is not getting insulin because their cells have become resistant to it. Obesity, lack of exercise, some ethnicity's, and age are just a few of the triggers for Type 2 diabetes. It is also caused by genetics, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The greatest cause of Type 2 diabetes is unhealthy eating habits. People who do not eat properly and have daily exercise are highly susceptible to Type 2 diabetes. People will develop the symptoms of this diabetes gradually over a long period of time. They will feel extreme fatigue, blurred vision, increased thirst and hunger, slow healing of wounds and sores, and frequent urination. Changing one's lifestyle with correct diet and exercise often resolve Type 2 diabetes. Most people who resolve their Type 2 diabetes in this way do not need further medical intervention. But, some cases of Type 2 diabetes are not resolved even with a change in lifestyle and medication is required. Women in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy can get gestational diabetes. This diabetes occurs in 3-8% of pregnant women and is resolved when they have the baby. Many women who develop this diabetes during pregnancy are instructed on the proper exercise and diet to keep the diabetes in control when they are pregnant. Most women who have gestational diabetes with a baby, will continue to develop the condition each time they get pregnant. There is about a forty percent risk that they will develop Type 2 diabetes later in life.