Insulin and non insulin dependent diabetes: How to know more about diabetes type I and diabetes type II.Diabetes is a metabolic disorder which affects the uptake of glucose by the body due to insufficient or ineffective insulin.
When food (carbohydrates) enters the body the digestive process converts it to small particles - glucose. Each cell in the body requires glucose for energy. Insulin is a hormone produced by pancreas which acts as a key for glucose to enter the body cells.
When there is insufficient insulin production or the insulin is ineffective to perform its function then the resulting glucose remains in the blood, unavailable to the body cells for energy. This causes high blood glucose levels leading to a condition called diabetes. Common signs and symptoms of diabetes include frequent urination, feeling thirsty, feeling hungry, unintentional weight loss, blurred vision, fatigue, and frequent infections or slow healing sores.
Type I diabetes is also known as insulin dependent or juvenile diabetes. This is a condition where the pancreas produce little or no insulin in the body. As a result insulin needs to be supplied from an external source. Although diabetes can strike anyone at any age, type I diabetes often strikes during childhood or adolescence. Different factors like genetics or exposure to some virus can cause type I diabetes.
Type II diabetes - Also known as non-insulin dependent diabetes or adult onset diabetes is a condition that affects the way your body metabolizes glucose. In this type there is some, not always enough production of insulin but the body is resistant to its effects. This is a more common form of diabetes and if left uncontrolled can cause serious long term complications. Besides family history or genetics and stress there are many other risk factors for type II diabetes like - age, obesity, inactivity, race, pre diabetes and gestational diabetes.
You can find out if you are at risk of or have diabetes by getting your blood glucose levels checked in a laboratory. Fasting blood glucose, post meal blood glucose and random blood glucose can be checked. Normal cutoff for fasting blood glucose is less than 90 mg/dl. If your report shows values between 100-125 mg/dl then you may have pre diabetes or impaired fasting glucose. To confirm this, your specialist may suggest taking fasting blood glucose test several times in a week. If your fasting glucose levels are above 126 mg/dl then you may have diabetes. If you experience any of the above symptoms or if your blood glucose levels are high then consult a specialist immediately to learn the management of the disease. |
