Diabetes is a growing problem in this country. With our population at an all time high in weight gain and a low in health care, the problem is only growing. Diabetes is a disease of the metabolism. Our metabolism is what the way our bodies use digested food for energy and growth. Most food that is processed through our bodies is broken down by digestive juices into a sugar called glucose. Glucose is the fuel our bodies run on.
When we eat, and our food is processed, the pancreas is supposed to produce the right amount of glucose from our blood automatically and release the right amount of insulin into our blood. In people with diabetes, little to no insulin is produced or the body’s cells don’t respond correctly to the insulin that is produced. Therefore the glucose builds up and overflows into the urine and passes out of the body. This is how the body loses its main source of fuel even though the bloodstream contains good amounts of the natural glucose.
There are three types of diabetes, type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes. People who have type 1 are known as insulin-dependent. This is an autoimmune disease where the body’s natural system is fighting against another part of the body. In the case of type 1 diabetes, the system attacks the insulin producing cells and destroys them.
Therefore the pancreas can produce little to no insulin. These people are in need of daily injections of insulin to live. Five to ten percent of diabetes cases are type 1 in the US.