Understanding type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder that
causes sugar in the form of glucose to
accumulate in the blood
rather than being used as fuel by the
cells in our body
when we eat food is broken down by our
digestive system into nutrient molecules
that are then absorbed through our
digestive tract for use by the body
foods containing carbohydrates or
various sugars are broken down into
glucose is an important source
of fuel for many organs in our body
however to be able to use the glucose
for fuel the glucose molecule must first
enter into the cell
the pancreas produces a hormone called
insulin a chemical messenger essential
for the entry of glucose into cells as
the blood glucose levels rise after a
meal insulin is released into the
bloodstream and sets processes in motion
to trigger the removal of glucose from
the blood to enter into the cells
in type 2 diabetes the cells become
resistant to insulin and ignore its
message to absorb glucose this is known
as insulin resistance
in addition in type 2 diabetes the
pancreas is unable to produce the
greater amounts of insulin needed to
trigger these resistant cells to take in
glucose from the bloodstream
the most notable symptom of diabetes is
frequent urination and excessive thirst
other symptoms include weakness
drowsiness and blurred vision these are
caused by chemical imbalances in the
blood related to high levels of blood
glucose about one in four people with
type 2 diabetes are unaware that they
have the disease
it is important to catch diabetes early
over time high blood glucose damages the
blood vessels which can damage the
organs that these vessels supply leading
to a variety of health complications
damage to the small or micro blood
vessels can cause vision problems
including loss of sight nerve damage and
kidney disease damage to larger or macro
blood vessels can lead to cardiovascular
complications such as heart disease
stroke and poor blood circulation
overweight and inactivity are major
causes of diabetes a family history of
diabetes significantly increases your
risk of developing the disease certain
ethnic populations are also at increased
risk of developing type 2 diabetes
finally some medications may increase
your diabetes risk
specifically corticosteroids thiazide
diuretics drugs used to treat certain
mental illnesses and some anti
retrovirals used to treat HIV infection
in summary type 2 diabetes is a
metabolic disorder
it causes sugar in the form of glucose
to accumulate in the blood
rather than being used as fuel for the
cells in our body
if not diagnosed and treated in a timely
manner type 2 diabetes can lead to many
health complications.
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