Diabetes the Causes of Diabetes:

¶ … Diabetes

The Causes of Diabetes:

Diabetes is a disease characterized by the inability of the body to process certain foods, such as starches and sugars, efficiently. More specifically, to convert food into storable energy in the form of glucose, the body produces insulin. Insulin is a peptide hormone produced in the Islet of Langerhans in the pancreas (NIDDKD, 2007). Diabetes type I is a condition where the body fails to produce sufficient amounts of insulin for glucosynthesis and accounts for less than ten percent of all those diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes type II is much more common and describes a condition where the body produces insulin but does not respond to insulin in the normal manner because of insulin resistance (NIDDKD, 2006).

In the United States, approximately eight percent of the total population is afflicted with diabetes and approximately twice that many are at significant risk of diabetes, most of whom have no idea. These pre-diabetic individuals produce lower than normal levels of insulin and/or are in the process of developing increasing insulin resistance gradually (ADA, 2009). Additionally, pregnant women often develop gestational diabetes of whom as many as ten percent are later diagnosed with chronic diabetes (ADA, 2007).

Generally, it is not known exactly what causes diabetes, particularly type I, although it is known that environmental factors such as dietary habits leading to overweight and obesity contribute substantially to the risk of developing the disease (NIDDKD, 2006; NIDDKD 2007).

The Effects of Diabetes:

Ordinarily, diabetes can be managed effectively through the supplementation of synthetically produced insulin in conjunction with regular blood glucose testing. By keeping the blood glucose in the normal range through insulin injections, it is possible to reduce the consequences of diabetes that its effects on the body are less harmful than they would be otherwise (ADA, 2009). Untreated diabetes can result in serious deterioration of the circulatory system as a consequence of long-term exposure to elevated blood glucose levels (NIDDKD, 2006). By monitoring blood glucose levels and administering insulin to reduce glucose concentration in the blood, many patients can carry on with their lives without significant effects of the disease (ADA, 2009).