In this two part series, I will discuss some of the key points about diabetes mellitus.
We will cover what the disease is, its different types of manifestations, how it is diagnosed and managed and the importance of good diabetic control in reducing complications.
The Importance of Glucose Before we discuss what diabetes mellitus is, it is important to understand the role of glucose in the human body.
Glucose is the smallest unit that all sugars can be broken down into.
Glucose is obtained from our diet when we eat carbohydrates.
You can think of carbohydrates as being long chains of glucose molecules stuck end to end.
When we eat foods that contain carbohydrates (starch, fructose, lactose) our body digests, or breaks down, these bigger molecules into the smallest unit called glucose.
So why does the body break all carbohydrates down to glucose? Well glucose is our body's primary source of fuel.
The human body combines glucose with oxygen to release energy (note: this is an over simplification but fundamentally true).
The human brain dislikes using any other source of fuel.
We can use fats, however this isn't as efficient, and so our bodies tend to store fats and use them as a back up.
The body breaks down the carbohydrates into glucose molecules.
This occurs at multiple sites, but is usually complete by the time it reaches your small bowel.
The glucose is then absorbed into your blood stream.
So soon after a meal, you will have surge of glucose.
This surge of glucose in your blood stream is detected by an organ called the pancreas.
The pancreas is an organ that produces various chemicals that are released in the small bowel to aid digestion, however it also releases a special hormone in to the blood stream known as insulin.
If there was no insulin, or not enough insulin, most of the glucose would remain locked in our blood stream.
To get the glucose to where it's needed, (brain, muscles etc) you will need the hormone insulin.
The pancreas secretes insulin in response to rising blood sugars.
It aims to keep blood sugar levels relatively constant and ensure that glucose is taken up by parts of the body that require it.
What is Diabetes Mellitus? Diabetes mellitus is a condition where the pancreas either doesn't produce any insulin or doesn't produce enough.
From what we have discussed above, you can see that this would cause glucose to remain locked in the blood stream.
This is why diabetic patients who are not well controlled on treatment, or have no treatment, have high blood sugar (glucose).
We know that diabetes is an autoimmune condition.
This means that the body's immune system attacks the pancreas.
There is some evidence to suggest that this has something to do with genetics; however, it is also acknowledged that various environmental factors such as viral infections play an important role in type 1 diabetes.
In type 2, factors like weight, high blood pressure and lack of exercise are also to blame.
Types of Diabetes There are many different types of diabetes, I will concentrate on what I regard as the three main types: type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is also known as early onset diabetes and insulin dependent diabetes.
It commonly diagnosed at an early age, though not exclusively.
Type 1 diabetes presents with a complete failure of insulin production from the pancreas.
First time presentation can often be due to serous illness due to a condition called ketoacidosis, more about this in a future article.
Type 2 diabetes, also referred to as late onset or non-insulin dependent diabetes, tends to present later in life.
In type 2, the pancreas still manages to produce some insulin, though usually not enough.
Also tissues like brain and muscle tend not to be as sensitive to insulin as compared with non-diabetics.
Gestational diabetes, as the name suggests, occurs during pregnancy.
It is thought that gestational diabetes occurs in about 2-5% of pregnancies, though figures vary according to different studies.
Some of the women who develop diabetes during pregnancy will unfortunately remain diabetic after delivery.
It is thought that the women who continue to have high sugars after delivery were likely undiagnosed type 1 or type 2 diabetics.
Gestational diabetes is more likely to occur in older women, women who are obese, certain ethnic groups (Hispanics, American Indians and African Americans) and women who smoke.
In part 2 we will discuss how to tell if you have diabetes, diabetes and its consequences and a brief discussion on its management.
We will cover what the disease is, its different types of manifestations, how it is diagnosed and managed and the importance of good diabetic control in reducing complications.
The Importance of Glucose Before we discuss what diabetes mellitus is, it is important to understand the role of glucose in the human body.
Glucose is the smallest unit that all sugars can be broken down into.
Glucose is obtained from our diet when we eat carbohydrates.
You can think of carbohydrates as being long chains of glucose molecules stuck end to end.
When we eat foods that contain carbohydrates (starch, fructose, lactose) our body digests, or breaks down, these bigger molecules into the smallest unit called glucose.
So why does the body break all carbohydrates down to glucose? Well glucose is our body's primary source of fuel.
The human body combines glucose with oxygen to release energy (note: this is an over simplification but fundamentally true).
The human brain dislikes using any other source of fuel.
We can use fats, however this isn't as efficient, and so our bodies tend to store fats and use them as a back up.
The body breaks down the carbohydrates into glucose molecules.
This occurs at multiple sites, but is usually complete by the time it reaches your small bowel.
The glucose is then absorbed into your blood stream.
So soon after a meal, you will have surge of glucose.
This surge of glucose in your blood stream is detected by an organ called the pancreas.
The pancreas is an organ that produces various chemicals that are released in the small bowel to aid digestion, however it also releases a special hormone in to the blood stream known as insulin.
If there was no insulin, or not enough insulin, most of the glucose would remain locked in our blood stream.
To get the glucose to where it's needed, (brain, muscles etc) you will need the hormone insulin.
The pancreas secretes insulin in response to rising blood sugars.
It aims to keep blood sugar levels relatively constant and ensure that glucose is taken up by parts of the body that require it.
What is Diabetes Mellitus? Diabetes mellitus is a condition where the pancreas either doesn't produce any insulin or doesn't produce enough.
From what we have discussed above, you can see that this would cause glucose to remain locked in the blood stream.
This is why diabetic patients who are not well controlled on treatment, or have no treatment, have high blood sugar (glucose).
We know that diabetes is an autoimmune condition.
This means that the body's immune system attacks the pancreas.
There is some evidence to suggest that this has something to do with genetics; however, it is also acknowledged that various environmental factors such as viral infections play an important role in type 1 diabetes.
In type 2, factors like weight, high blood pressure and lack of exercise are also to blame.
Types of Diabetes There are many different types of diabetes, I will concentrate on what I regard as the three main types: type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is also known as early onset diabetes and insulin dependent diabetes.
It commonly diagnosed at an early age, though not exclusively.
Type 1 diabetes presents with a complete failure of insulin production from the pancreas.
First time presentation can often be due to serous illness due to a condition called ketoacidosis, more about this in a future article.
Type 2 diabetes, also referred to as late onset or non-insulin dependent diabetes, tends to present later in life.
In type 2, the pancreas still manages to produce some insulin, though usually not enough.
Also tissues like brain and muscle tend not to be as sensitive to insulin as compared with non-diabetics.
Gestational diabetes, as the name suggests, occurs during pregnancy.
It is thought that gestational diabetes occurs in about 2-5% of pregnancies, though figures vary according to different studies.
Some of the women who develop diabetes during pregnancy will unfortunately remain diabetic after delivery.
It is thought that the women who continue to have high sugars after delivery were likely undiagnosed type 1 or type 2 diabetics.
Gestational diabetes is more likely to occur in older women, women who are obese, certain ethnic groups (Hispanics, American Indians and African Americans) and women who smoke.
In part 2 we will discuss how to tell if you have diabetes, diabetes and its consequences and a brief discussion on its management.