What is Diabetes?

What is Diabetes? Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for energy. The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies. When you have diabetes, your body either doesn't make enough insulin or can't use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes sugars to build up in your blood. Diabetes can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations. Diabetes is predicted by a clear set of symptoms, but it still often goes undiagnosed. Diabetes is becoming increasingly more common throughout the world, due to increased obesity (also known as metabolic syndrome or pre-diabetes) leading to higher incidences of type 2 diabetes. How many diabetics are there? According to the WHO estimate for 2000, the number of diabetics in the world stands at 177 million people. The WHO predicts this will rise to over 300 million by 2025, roughly 9% of the global population. There are over 2 million diabetic people in the UK according to the IDF, with over 750,000 people undiagnosed. Diabetes Overview This is a comprehensive but brief explanation of what diabetes is, designed to help new visitors to understand the condition without spending all day browsing the site. If you wish to know more about any of the subjects mentioned below, please follow the links for more detailed information. Diabetes is a common hormonal problem that if untreated can lead to diabetes complications such as diabetic neuropathy, kidney problems, heart problems, retinopathy and other disorders. At advanced stages, diabetes can cause kidney failure, amputation, blindness and stroke. Type 2 diabetes, the considerably more common variety of the disease, is directly linked to an unhealthy diet and inactive lifestyle. What are the two major types of diabetes? Type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent) requires insulin to treat, is typically developed as a child or young adult, and is a disease that destroys pancreatic cells meaning no insulin production is possible. Read more about type 1 diabetes here>> Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes) is considerably more common and typically affects people over the age of 45, who are also overweight. Those suffering from type 2 are unable to produce enough insulin, and sugar builds up in the bloodstream. What are the symptoms of diabetes? Type 1 diabetes symptoms often appear suddenly and include high levels of sugar in the blood and urine, frequent urination, hunger, thirst, weight loss, weakness, tiredness, mood swings, nausea and vomiting. Type 2 diabetes symptoms include thirst and regular need to urinate, tiredness, irritability and nausea. Skin infections, blurry vision, tingling or dry skin are also common symptoms. Often symptoms are very mild. How is diabetes controlled? Type 1 diabetes is controlled with insulin, whereas type 2 diabetes can be controlled through diet and exercise. I’m worried that I may have diabetes, what should I do? If you are concerned about your health, see a doctor as soon as possible. Diabetes UK, the leading UK diabetes charity, also operate a Diabetes Careline