Let us set the stage here – Fundamental facts on diabetes?
There are three main types of diabetes.
Children are mainly affected by Type 1 diabetes. The ability of the body to produce insulin is impaired. It is due to damage or destruction of the insulin-producing organ pancreas. Such patients require insulin regularly to prevent hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). Type 1 diabetes is often inherited.
Then we have gestational diabetes which, is seen during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes affects the mother and the child.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the third type and accounts for approximately 90 percent of all diabetes.
Diabetes manifests itself when insulin produced in the body cannot adequately metabolize the blood’s sugar, causing blood sugar levels to spike. Insulin plays a blood sugar regulatory role. It prevents blood sugar levels from either rising too high.
Another reason is that the blood sugar conversion process itself has become retarded. The cells of the body have become resistant to the available insulin. As a consequence, blood sugar levels rise. The medical name for such a condition is insulin resistance.
Type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle disease. Multiple risk factors like overweight or obesity, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, enhanced cholesterol levels, smoking, gene dysfunction can cause diabetes. Racial factors also have been found to strengthen risk. (Feskens et al., 1989; Choi et al., 2001; Salman. I et al., 2013; Knowler et al.,1990)
Fasting, low-calorie food, consumption of vitamins is little related to diabetes. Intermittent fasting, incidentally, is one of the recommendations to bring diabetes under control.
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