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What is Diabetes?
By pohheng | April 26, 2008
This is another area where i thought i knew but in fact, i don’t. I always thought diabetes is people who’s blood sugar is too high and have to bring it down to safe levels…and you know, just avoid food with sugar. Now i found out that there’s much more to that.
Diabetes Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic disease (illness) where the body does not make or does not use insulin properly, resulting in having too much sugar (glucose) in the blood. Sugar comes from the food we eat. The body needs sugar to make energy. The amount of sugar in the blood of a normal person is closely controlled by a substance called insulin. Insulin is made by the pancreas, a gland found below the stomach. People with diabetes either do not produce enough insulin or the insulin produced does not work well. As a result, sugar builds up in the blood. Over time, high sugar levels can give rise to problems like infections, blindness, kidney disorders, stroke, heart disease, and foot and leg disorders.
Diabetes Mellitus is present when there is too much glucose in the blood. Insulin is a hormone that lowers glucose levels in the blood. Glucose (a form of sugar) is the main source of fuel for our bodies. It comes from foods containing carbohydrate. Diabetes Mellitus develops when the pancreas (the organ responsible for producing insulin) is either unable to make insulin, or the insulin is unable to work effectively or both. Without insulin doing its job, glucose builds up in the blood leading to high blood glucose levels causing health problems.
Topics: Diabetes Overview |