Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic disease in which your blood sugar, also known as glucose, is too high. Glucose is essential to your health as it is the body’s main source of energy. There are a number of types of diabetes, the most common ones are the following:
Prediabetes
Prediabetes occurs when your blood sugar is high, but it is not high enough
to become diabetes or warrant medical therapy. This type of diabetes can
lead to type 2 diabetes and may be corrected with diet and exercise.
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when the pancreas does
not produce enough insulin or no insulin at all. This can occur when the
immune system destroys beta cells that make insulin in your pancreas.
Insulin is an important hormone needed to allow sugar (glucose) to enter
our cells and produce energy (insulin is like the key that unlocks the
door to your cells for glucose). Type 1 diabetes is commonly diagnosed
in children and young adults and can be caused by different factors such
as genetics and some viruses.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is similar to Type 1 except the insulin-producing beta
cells may be intact or damaged while the body’s tissue sensors for
insulin become resistant to the action of insulin. Type 2 diabetes occurs
usually in the setting of excess carbohydrate intake and most commonly
in the setting of obesity. Reduction in sugar intake and weight loss,
for example, can reduce risk for Type 2 diabetes. However, some healthy
weight patients with balanced diets can develop Type 2 diabetes, pointing
to genetic factors
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes occurs in pregnant women when a woman’s body
cannot make enough insulin needed for pregnancy or when certain hormones
in the placenta block the actions of the mother’s insulin. This
type of diabetes can occur without being diagnosed with diabetes before
pregnancy and it does not mean you will have diabetes after delivery.
This condition may be very dangerous for the baby and should be screened
for and, if detected, carefully monitored during pregnancy
*Diabetes can affect people of all genders. In this material, the terms “male” and “man” are used to refer to people assigned male at birth. The terms “female” and “woman” are used to refer to people assigned female at birth.
