What is diabetes ?

Diabetes prevents the body from properly using energy from food. The condition occurs when the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone required to sustain life, or when the pancreas makes insulin, but the body resists it.

• Insulin, a hormone required to sustain life
  Insulin is a hormone produced by the Pancreas to aid accessing to the energy stored in the food. Largely this results from the ability of the body, under the influence of Insulin, to release sugar from the food intake, to store it and to use it, when needed, to drive our normal functions.
  

• The normal stability of blood sugar levels
  The normal metabolic process of releasing glucose from the food intake ensures that the amount of sugar in our blood remains within the region of 3.5 to 4.5 mmol/l(60-80 mg/100ml). Insulin levels rise when we have a meal in order to capture the sugar from the food intake. Insulin levels reduce after the processing of the food intake over a period of approximately 2 hours. During the rest of the day, an associated mechanism prevents blood sugar levels from falling below the normal levels by releasing glucose from the body storage areas in fat and tissues.

• The Diabetes disease
  Diabetes is a description of the condition where there is a mismatch between the food intake and the levels of production or utilisation of Insulin.
  • In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas no longer produces insulin, an important hormone that helps metabolise glucose and supply energy to cells. A person with this condition must administer insulin using injections or an insulin pump.
  • Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder resulting from the body's inability to make enough, or properly use, insulin. Type 2 diabetes is often controlled by diet and exercise, oral medications and, in some cases, insulin. Research indicates that obesity and weight gain are associated with an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes. Insulin pumps have been successfully used to treat Type 2 patients requiring insulin and with poor glycaemic control.

Without an adequate availability of insulin, a person is unable to get energy from food or to keep glucose levels in balance. Poor glucose control can lead to acute complications from hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose) or hyperglycaemia (a condition associated with higher-than-normal blood glucose), which can lead to ketoacidosis, causing coma or death, if left untreated. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputation, and is a major factor in cardiovascular disease and nerve damage.