| |
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disorder that affects the way your body uses food for energy. Normally, the sugar you take in is digested and broken down to a simple sugar, known as glucose. The glucose then circulates in your blood where it waits to enter cells to be used as fuel. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, helps move the glucose into cells. A healthy pancreas adjusts the amount of insulin based on the level of glucose. But, if you have diabetes, this process breaks down, and blood sugar levels become too high.
There are two main types of full-blown diabetes. People with Type 1 diabetes are completely unable to produce insulin. People with Type 2 diabetes can produce insulin, but their cells don't respond to it. In either case, the glucose can't move into the cells and blood glucose levels can become high. Over time, these high glucose levels can cause serious complications.
Causes of Diabetes
Hereditary or Inherited Traits : It is strongly believed that is due to some genes which passes from one generation to another. It depends upon closeness of blood relationship as mother is diabetes risk is 2 to 3%, father is diabetic risk is more than the previous case and if both the parents are diabetic, it has much greater risk for diabetes.
Age : Increased age is a factor which gives more possibility than in younger age. This disease may occur at any age, but 80% of cases occur after 50 year, incidences increase as age do in this group.
Poor Diet (Malnutrition Related Diabetes) : Improper nutrition, low protein and fibre intake, high intake of refined products are the expected reasons for developing diabetes.
Obesity and Fat Distribution : Being overweight means increased insulin resistance, that is if body fat is more than 30%, BMI 25+, waist grith 35 inches in women or 40 inches in males.
Sedentary Lifestyle : People with sedentary lifestyle are more prone to diabetes, when compare to those who exercise thrice a week, are at lesser risk of falling prey to diabetes.
Stress : Either physical injury or emotional disturbance is frequently blamed as the initial cause of the disease. Any disturbance in Cortiosteroid or ACTH therapy may lead to clinical signs of the diseases.
Drug Induced: Clozapine (Clozaril), olanzapine (Zyprexa), risperidone (Risperdal), quetiapine (Seroquel) and ziprasidone (Geodon) are known to induce this lethal disease.
Infection : Some of the strephylococci are suppose to be responsible factor for infection in pancreas.
Sex : It is commonly seen in elderly especially males but strong evidence of developing diabetes in females with multiple pregnancy has been observed or in females suffering from (PCOS) Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
Hypertension : It had been reported in many studies that there is direct relation between high systolic pressure and diabetes.
Serum lipids and lipoproteins : High triglyceride and cholesterol level in the blood are related to high blood sugars, in some cases it had been studied that risk are involved even with low HDL levels in circulating blood. |
|
