|  | Conditions Treatments | Diabetes

What Is the Definiton of Diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition that cannot be cured but can be managed to reduce its effect on daily life. There are three types of diabetes: type 1, type 2 and gestational.

  1. Glucose/Insulin

    • Diabetes is a condition that affects glucose levels in the body, either the glucose level in the blood is too high or the body can't process it properly. Linked with this glucose problem is insulin, which, in diabetes, is not produced or not recognized by the body.

    Type 1

    • Children and young adults are usually affected by type 1 diabetes. In this form of the condition, insulin is not produced by the body. Insulin is needed by the body to convert sugar, starch and other food into energy.

    Type 2

    • More common than type 1 diabetes, type 2 is the body's failure to use insulin to turn food into glucose before transferring the glucose to the cells of the body.

    Cells

    • In people affected by type 2 diabetes, complications occur in the body when glucose builds up in the blood, denying the cells of the body with enough glucose to turn into energy.

    Gestational

    • Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that affects pregnant women at the stage of 28 weeks or later. Although the exact cause of gestational diabetes is unknown, it is thought that as the placenta helps the baby's development, it also blocks the mother's insulin use.

Diabetes - Related Articles