Diabetes Mellitus - Causes and Symptoms
What is Diabetes Mellitus? Diabetes Mellitus is a change in the internal chemistry within your body due to a failure in the production of the hormone insulin, which results in abnormally high levels of glucose within the blood.
How does insulin control blood sugar levels? Insulin is produced in the pancreas and is the only hormone that reduces blood glucose levels.
It does this in three ways:
When this occurs glucose is filtered out of the blood by the kidneys and excreted via the urine.
When filtering out the glucose the kidneys excrete more salt and water than is normal and thus there is excessive urine production - known as polyuria.
This process causes excess thirst and dehydration very quickly.
As well as the functions described above insulin acts to prevent weight loss and build body tissue, so if there is a problem with it's production the sufferer can experience weight loss.
Symptoms
Type 2 diabetes mellitus exhibits some production of insulin but not enough and can also be combined with a reduced body response to insulin.
Who gets diabetes mellitus? Type 1 is associated with younger people and although there may be a genetic link (scientists have identified a diabetes gene) a strong family link does not necessarily mean all the family will have or develop diabetes.
Some viral infections have been associated with diabetes such as mumps but there is no definite link between general infections such as coughs and colds and the onset of diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is more common in women than it is in men and affects people in later life often those that are overweight and eat a poor unbalanced diet.
Secondary diabetes affect people that develop the condition secondary to other problems, for example pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), Cushing's syndrome (the body produces too much steroid) or acromegaly (the body produces too much growth hormone).
Diabetes is a huge subject.
The topic will be updated as soon as possible but for dietary advice check out this site...
http://www.
squidoo.
com/diabetes-and-dietary-advice
How does insulin control blood sugar levels? Insulin is produced in the pancreas and is the only hormone that reduces blood glucose levels.
It does this in three ways:
- By increasing the amount of glucose stored in the liver in the form of glycogen
- By preventing the liver from releasing too much glucose
- By encouraging cells elsewhere in the body to take up the glucose.
When this occurs glucose is filtered out of the blood by the kidneys and excreted via the urine.
When filtering out the glucose the kidneys excrete more salt and water than is normal and thus there is excessive urine production - known as polyuria.
This process causes excess thirst and dehydration very quickly.
As well as the functions described above insulin acts to prevent weight loss and build body tissue, so if there is a problem with it's production the sufferer can experience weight loss.
Symptoms
- Thirst
- Dehydration
- Passing large quantitues of urine
- Urinary tract infections
- Weight loss
- Tiredness and lethargy
- Blurred vision resulting from dehydration of the lens in the eye
Type 2 diabetes mellitus exhibits some production of insulin but not enough and can also be combined with a reduced body response to insulin.
Who gets diabetes mellitus? Type 1 is associated with younger people and although there may be a genetic link (scientists have identified a diabetes gene) a strong family link does not necessarily mean all the family will have or develop diabetes.
Some viral infections have been associated with diabetes such as mumps but there is no definite link between general infections such as coughs and colds and the onset of diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is more common in women than it is in men and affects people in later life often those that are overweight and eat a poor unbalanced diet.
Secondary diabetes affect people that develop the condition secondary to other problems, for example pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), Cushing's syndrome (the body produces too much steroid) or acromegaly (the body produces too much growth hormone).
Diabetes is a huge subject.
The topic will be updated as soon as possible but for dietary advice check out this site...
http://www.
squidoo.
com/diabetes-and-dietary-advice
Source...