- Diabetes is a long-term health condition that affects at least 171 million people worldwide.
- 2.6 million people within the UK have diabetes, a figure expected to double by 2030.
- More than 1/2 a million people have diabetes in the UK and are unaware.
- People can live for up to 10 years without noticing the symptoms of diabetes.
- 10% of the NHS budget is spent on treating Diabetes and its complications
I will now explain exactly what Diabetes is, however, if like me you would prefer a video then visit this website and scroll to the bottom of the page: http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Introduction-to-diabetes/What_is_diabetes/
Diabetes is a long term health condition where the amount of glucose in your blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly.
For someone without diabetes when you eat carbohydrates, your body breaks it down into glucose within the stomach. We need glucose from food because that's what gives us energy. Carbohydrate containing foods include starchy foods, sugary foods, milk and some dairy products and fruit. This glucose then moves into the bloodstream and the body detects that the blood sugar levels are rising. In response to that the pancreas, which is a little gland that sits just below the stomach, starts to release a hormone called insulin, and it's insulin that helps our body get energy from the food we eat. The bloodstream then transports the glucose and insulin within our body to any cell that needs it. Within the muscle cells insulin acts as like a key that unlocks the door to the cells so glucose can get in and be used up as energy. That way the blood glucose level starts to drop. The blood glucose level can be topped up at any time by the liver, which releases stores of glucose that it has previously saved up. The pancreas then releases more insulin, which is transported to the cells and the process repeats itself.
The body functions best when the blood glucose levels are kept at an optimum level. It doesn't like it when the blood glucose levels rise to high or too low. Normally, there is a cycle within the body, which balances out the glucose and the insulin level and this is achieved with the food you eat, the pancreas and the liver. However, in some people the system doesn't work properly and they develop diabetes.
There are two main types of diabetes Type 1 and Type 2. In Type 1 diabetes the body isn't producing insulin at all. This is due to an auto-immune response where the body has destroyed what are called beta-cells that are the insulin producing cells within the pancreas.
Unfortunately, we don't currently know why this happens in some people and not in others. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 15% of all cases of diabetes and is most common in people under the age of 40 and in childhood.
In Type 1 diabetes carbohydrates are broken down into glucose and transported through the blood to the cells as normal. However, as insulin is not produced, glucose cannot get into the cells and so is stuck in the blood causing the blood sugar level to keep rising.
In response, the body tries to lower the level of glucose in the blood by getting rid of the glucose through the kidneys. That's why people with undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes go to the toilet a lot to pass urine. As the kidneys filter the glucose out of the blood they also take a lot of water with it, so a person with diabetes will get very thirsty. The urine and blood will contain a lot of glucose so it creates an environment for bacteria to thrive, causing genital itching and slow healing of wounds. Glucose can also build up in the lens at the front of the eye, this can mean someone with undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes can have blurred vision as the liquid in the lens turns cloudy. Also, as glucose cannot be used up as energy in the cells, someone with undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes will start to feel very tired and lethargic. However, as the body still needs an energy source, it begins to use up fat stores causing weight loss.
So the symptoms of type 1 diabetes are:
- passing urine more often than usual, especially at night
- increased thirst
- extreme tiredness
- unexplained weight loss
- genital itching or regular episodes of thrush
- slow healing of cuts and wounds
- blurred vision
These symptoms generally happen quite quickly, often over a few weeks, and can be reversed as soon as the patient is treated with insulin (usually in the form of injections or an insulin pump).
Type 2 diabetes accounts for 85% of all cases of diabetes. Its most common in the over 40 age group in the White population and over 25 in the Black and South Asian populations.
Type 2 diabetes develops because either the body doesn't produce enough insulin. or the insulin it does produce isn't working properly. That can be due to being overweight, because a build up of fat can stop insulin from doing its job properly. However, Type 2 diabetes can still happen in people who have a healthy weight.
With a person with Type 2 diabetes glucose travels to the cells with insulin as normal, however, the glucose can't always get into the cells because the cell doors have become furred up with fat deposits..That means the insulin can't open the cells doors properly so the level of glucose in the blood continues to rise. In response to this, the pancreas produces even more insulin so the blood glucose levels continue to rise and the insulin levels continue to rise. This situation is further complicated by the cells demanding energy, which releases emergency signals to the liver to secrete stored glucose. The glucose levels keep going up and up causing the pancreas to produce more and more insulin until it can't cope any more and begins to wear out.
Like Type 1 diabetes the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes are:
However, unlike Type 1 diabetes, the symptoms for Type 2 diabetes come along very slowly and some people don't have any symptoms at all. For that reason, some people can live with undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes for up to 10 years before they release they have it.
Type 2 diabetes can be treated in a number of different ways. Initially, it may be enough just to increase your level of physical activity and make changes to the food you are eating or lose any weight that may be appropriate.
However, Type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition and most people will eventual need some form of medication (either tablets and then insulin injections or a pump) to treat it.
Thank you very much if you have read this far and keep reading my blog in the coming weeks to learn more about the myths surround diabetes, ways to prevent or prolong the onset of Type 2 diabetes and more. However if you can't wait that long an would like to learn more please visit the Diabetes UK website http://www.diabetes.org.uk/
Thanks
Alex
