What is diabetes? This is a question that is on many people’s lips. Diabetes is categorized as a metabolic disorder. The way our bodies use convert food to energy and growth is referred to as metabolism. What we eat is broken down into glucose, which is major source of fuel for our body functions. When food is fully digested, the glucose makes it way in the blood stream to be absorbed by various body cells for growth and energy supply. However, it is insulin that enables the body cells to absorb glucose. The pancreas is the body organ responsible for production of the insulin hormone.
Basically, after eating the pancreas produces enough quantity of insulin to transfer glucose present in our bloodstream to body cells. Persons suffering from diabetes has a condition in which the blood sugar level is too high than normal, a situation that is medically termed as hyperglycemia. This is as a result of either the body being unable to produce enough insulin or cells failure to respond to the insulin from the pancreas. Consequently, too much glucose collects in the blood and passes out through urine from the body. Thus, even though there is enough glucose in the blood, it is also detrimental since the cells never get it for growth or energy provision.
The word diabetes is derived from the Greek and implies a siphon. It was described by a Greek physician by the name Aretus Cappadocian in the second century A.D. as daibainein. He observed that diabetics were passing too much urine just like a siphon. The word diabetes was adopted from the Medieval Latin diabetes by the English. Thomas Willis added the term mellitus in 1875 though the condition is commonly referred to as diabetes. In Latin Mel refers to honey and as the urine and blood of diabetic patients has excess blood sugar, and glucose is tasty as honey, diabetes could mean siphoning off sweet water. In China it was noted that ants were attracted to urine of some of diabetic patients as it was sweet and the reference of sweet urine disease was adopted.
Diabetes is categorized into three types named as Diabetes Type 1 and diabetes Type 2 as well as gestational diabetes. In answer to the question to what is diabetes Type 1 we find that in this condition the body produces no insulin at all. Gestational diabetes is developed during pregnancy and is prone to women. To the query what is diabetes Type 2 it was found that under this condition the body produces enough insulin but is unable to utilize it properly or the body is unable to produce enough insulin. The World Health Organization categorizes diabetes Type 1 and diabetes Type 2 as chronic health conditions. This implies that the disease is tenacious and perpetual. However, gestational diabetes usually heals itself after child birth.
Diabetes Type 1 and Type 2 have no known cure and last for a lifetime. However, all types of diabetes test and diabetes treatment are available. This should be done regularly and not when the diabetes symptoms start to show. The patients are now able to inject normal insulin that became possible from 1921. Dietary and exercise adherence as well as regular injection of insulin are usually prescribed for diabetes Type 1 patients. Type 2 patients are mostly treated with tablets, a special diet and exercise and sometimes insulin injections may be prescribed.
Diabetes need to be adequately controlled since it may lead to serious complications such ketoacidosis, hypoglycemia, and nonketotic hypersosmolar coma. Lasting complications may include retinal damage, cardiovascular diseases, erectile dysfunction, slow healing on wounds on the feet that might lead to amputation.
