Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects the pancreas. When you have Diabetes the pancreas
stops making insulin or doesn't make enough. Doctors are not sure, but they think this happens
when your body is trying to fight a virus. The insulin-making cells look like a virus, so your body
begins to start and fight them. Almost 16,000,000 people in the US have diabetes.
There are three types of diabetes. Type 1, or insulin dependent diabetes, occurs when the
pancreas no longer produces any or very little insulin. Type 2 occurs when the pancreas does not
produce enough insulin or when the body does not use the insulin effectively. Type 3,
Gestational, is a temporary condition the occurs during pregnancy.
When you eat food, your small intestine takes out sugar, or glucose, and puts it in your
blood. The sugar is what give you energy to do their jobs. To get into the cells the sugar need
insulin. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas. Insulin works like a key to open the cells and
let the glucose (sugar) in. Without the insulin the cells would not be fed.
People with type 1 diabetes usually become sick faster, while with people with type 2 have
a slower onset of symptoms. Some symptoms of diabetes are:
Others symptoms might be extreme fatigue (tired), irritability (bad moods), nausea, vomiting,
frequent infections, and tingling/numbness in hands and feet.
Over the past years research has given scientists new ways to look for cures of diabetes.
Doctors can detect diabetes at a earlier stage so it can be treated before it begins to cause serious
health problems. One study shows that if you control your blood sugar levels you can stop from
having life threatening problems. Testing your blood sugar lets you doctor give you better
treatment. Another study working with relatives of people with diabetes of giving them low
doses of insulin can help them from getting diabet...