Diabetes is a disorder that affects the way the body uses food as fuel for energy, growth, and other functions and processes. Simply put, diabetes is a metabolic disorder that involves abnormally high levels of sugar in the bloodstream. To better understand diabetes as a disease process, it is first important to have a basic understanding of the normal body processes involved in metabolism.
Normally, when food is eaten and gets digested, it is broken down into smaller components, the most basic of which is the simple sugar known as glucose. Glucose is the basic unit that can get taken up by body cells and used as fuel for the essential processes that they carry out. But glucose cannot get inside body cells on its own. It needs a transporter to enter a body cell, and this transporter is insulin. Insulin is a hormone made and released by another organ of the digestive system, the pancreas. With insulin, the glucose derived from food can successfully be utilized by body cells and used as fuel for body processes.
Without insulin, or if there is any problem in the way insulin can facilitate the entry of glucose into body cells, glucose cannot be taken up or used by the body cells. Instead, glucose is left to remain and circulate in the bloodstream, eventually leading to elevated glucose levels in the blood—a condition known as diabetes. Diabetes, therefore, can occur either because the pancreas is unable to produce any insulin, the pancreas produces insufficient amounts of insulin, the insulin receptors in the cells are not sensitive enough to successfully facilitate the transfer process of glucose, or a combination of these factors.
Type 1 Diabetes is a condition that results from the failure or inability of the pancreas to synthesize any insulin, and is typically genetic in nature. It is usually diagnosed in children and teens, which is why it was also previously labeled as “juvenile diabetes”. Type 2 Diabetes, on the other hand, occurs as a result of the body cells’ inability to utilize insulin, an insufficiency of the insulin produced by the pancreas, or a combination of both. This type is more associated with lifestyle-related factors such as obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and improper diet. It is typically diagnosed in adulthood, which earned it the initial name “adult-onset diabetes”.
The three classic signs of diabetes are polyuria, polydipsia, and polyphagia. Because of the excessively high levels of glucose in the bloodstream of a person with diabetes, the kidneys work to eliminate glucose through the urine. But because glucose is a solute, the kidneys also pull water from the blood to dilute it, filling up the bladder faster and resulting to polyuria or frequent urination. Since water is eliminated more rapidly through this increased urination, the person experiences increased thirst or polydipsia. And since the body cells cannot effectively utilize the glucose that circulates in the bloodstream, they still send signals to the brain about the need for more fuel, driving polyphagia or increased hunger.
The treatment of diabetes depends on its type. In Type 1 cases where the body is really unable to produce its own insulin hormone, insulin is artificially introduced into the body through insulin injections. For Type 2 cases, management can be done through controlled diet, regular physical activity, and weight management, as well as oral hypoglycemic agents if lifestyle changes are not enough to manage the medical condition.
