What Causes Diabetes

Advertisements

Diabetes is categorized as a metabolism disorder. Metabolism is how our body consumes the digested food for the purpose of energy and growth. What we eat is broken down into glucose, which is utilized as fuel for our blood cells. For growth and energy, glucose needs to penetrate through the blood cells, which is not possible without insulin.

Insulin is a hormone which is created in the pancreas. When we eat food, our pancreas releases an adequate amount of insulin that transfers glucose to the cells. It later lowers our sugar level. A person suffering from diabetes will have elevated level of glucose in the blood.

Diabetes is a condition that is being suffered by a lot of people throughout the world. It may come as a surprise to many that in the US, over 16 million people are a victim to this condition. The question that pounders everyone is that what causes diabetes. There is no single reason that can be pointed out as a cause for diabetes. Diabetes can occur because of several reasons. Diabetes can be classified as type 1 and type 2.

In type 1 diabetes, the cells in the pancreas that are responsible to make insulin are destroyed, which leads to an adverse shortage of insulin. It is believed that this happens when the body attacks its own cells and destroys them. Another name for this is autoimmune reaction. It is not clearly evident as to why does this actually happen.

However, some reasons that are believed to lead to this situation include the following; infection with a specific virus or bacteria, counter with food borne chemical toxins, and exposure as a very young infant to cows’ milk. One should know that these are basically assumptions and have not been completely proven.

The other type is the type 2. Type 2 diabetes occur when the blood cells stop to stimulate to the affect of insulin when the amount of insulin is inadequate, or when the available insulin is abnormal and fails to function properly. Increasing age, obesity and physical inactivity are the factors that may lead to this condition.

Other rare causes of diabetes that can be highlighted include certain medicines, pregnancy or any illness or disease that may cause any sort of damage to pancreas and hinder its insulin producing ability. Intake of some particular drugs can lead to diabetes as well. Drugs like steroids, dilantin and others may increase the level of sugar in the blood.

Health is an important aspect and should be taken care of. The healthy you live, the more the chances of a long life are. Therefore, it is extremely essential to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Maintaining a check on your weight is important. Physical activity is essential. It keeps our metabolism right and helps us avoid obesity. It is important to control factors that lie within our power. Eating healthy food and avoiding unhealthy intake of edibles etc. are some of the things one can easily do.