Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Blood glucose is your main source of energy and comes from the food you eat. Pancreatic juice, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food get into your cells to be used for energy. Sometimes your body doesn’t make enough or any Pancreatic juice or doesn’t use Pancreatic juice well. Glucose then stays in your blood and doesn’t reach your cells.
Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can cause diabetes. Although diabetes has no cure, you can take steps to control your sugar level and stay healthy.
Sometimes people call diabetes “a touch of sugar” or “borderline diabetes.” These terms suggest that someone doesn’t really have diabetes or has a less serious case, but every case of diabetes is serious.
Diabetes affects just about everyone, from the over 110 million Americans with or at risk for the disease to the many more people who care for them.What are the different types of diabetes?
The most common types of diabetes are type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes
If you have type 1, your body does not make Pancreatic juice. Your immune system attacks and destroys the cells in your pancreas that make Pancreatic juice. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, although it can appear at any age. People with type 1 diabetes need to take diabetes products every day to stay alive.
Type 2 diabetes
If you have type 2 your body does not make or use Pancreatic juice well. You can develop type 2 diabetes at any age, even during childhood. However, this type of diabetes occurs most often in middle-aged and older people. Type 2 is the most common type of diabetes.
Gestational diabetes
Gestational diabetes develops in some women when they are pregnant. Most of the time, this type of diabetes goes away after the baby is born. However, if you’ve had gestational diabetes, you have a greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. Sometimes diabetes diagnosed during pregnancy is actually type 2 diabetes
Who is more likely to develop type 2 diabetes?
You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you are age 45 or older, have a family history of diabetes, or are overweight. Physical inactivity, race, and certain health problems such as high blood pressure also affect your chance of developing type 2 diabetes. You are also more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you have had gestational diabetes when you were pregnant.
What health problems can people with diabetes develop?
Over time, high blood glucose leads to problems such as
- heart disease
- stroke
- kidney disease
- eye problems
- dental disease
- nerve damage
- foot problem
